10/15/2026
Gray Zones: Unmaking the Myth of a Polarized Nation
đź“ŤThe Puffin Cultural Forum | 20 Puffin Way, Teaneck, NJ
Featured here, photographs by Danny Wilcox Frazier ( Danny Wilcox Frazier )
1.) John Neumann works on an old pickup, Neumann ranch, Cactus Flat, South Dakota. John shot himself on June 9, 2019. He left behind a six-month-old son, Stetson, and fiancĂ©e, Tabatha Swartz. The lack of access to healthcare in rural South Dakota was central to the cowboy’s death. Stetson will take over the ranch when he turns 18, John’s wish for his son. (2008)Â
2.) Home Defense, Cowles (population 30), Webster Co., Nebraska. Webster County has lost 61% of its population over the past century. (2017)
Documentary photographer and filmmaker Danny Wilcox Frazier focuses his work on marginalized communities both in and outside of the United States. Frazier has photographed people struggling to survive the economic shift that has devastated rural communities throughout the U.S., including in his home state of Iowa. His work acknowledges isolation and neglect while also celebrating perseverance and strength.
With his photographs from Iowa, Frazier documented those individuals continuing to live traditional lives in rural communities across the state, people challenged economically but often unwavering in their conviction to stay. The project was awarded the Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize and was published in 2007. After completing the book (“Driftless”), Frazier directed and co-produced with MediaStorm an Emmy nominated documentary by the same name that confronts issues highlighted by his photographs.
Frazier’s photographs are in public and private collections, including: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, Duke University’s special collections library, Honickman Foundation, and Smithsonian, National Museum of American History.
On view now at the Puffin Cultural Forum!
Tuesday-Friday 11AM-4PM
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