Seph Lawless

{{Infobox person

| name =

| image =

| birth_date =

| nationality = American

| occupation = Photographer

| years_active = 2005{{ndash}}present{{cite web|title=About|url=http://sephlawless.com/my-story/|website=SephLawless.com|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}

| website = {{Official website}}

}}

Seph Lawless is an American photographer who has documented urban decay and abandoned spaces in the United States.{{cite news|last1=Sandy|first1=Eric|title=The Art of the Autopsy: Photographer Seph Lawless Spends his Days Documenting Decaying Ruins|url=https://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-art-of-the-autopsy-photographer-seph-lawless-spends-his-days-documenting-decaying-ruins/Content?oid=3625444|accessdate=November 28, 2017|work=Cleveland Scene|date=August 7, 2013}}{{cite news|url=http://6abc.com/hobbies/hauntingly-beautiful-abandoned-houses/1058329/ |title=Photographer captures 'Hauntingly Beautiful' abandoned homes |work=6ABC |date=October 30, 2015|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}

Early life

Lawless grew up in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.{{cite news|last=Uberti|first=David|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/19/-sp-death-of-the-american-shopping-mall|title=The death of the American mall|work=The Guardian|date= June 19, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Petkovic|first1=John|title=Cleveland photographer Seph Lawless chronicles left-for-dead America|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/10/cleveland_photographer_seph_la.html|accessdate=December 1, 2017|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 7, 2017}} He has stated that his father was a longtime worker at Ford Motor Company.{{cite web|last1=Newton|first1=Matthew|title=Taking Pictures Of The Dead Shopping Malls Of Our Youth: Images From Suburban America|url=https://thoughtcatalog.com/matthew-newton/2014/06/photographing-the-dead-shopping-malls-of-our-youth-images-from-suburban-america/|accessdate=November 28, 2017|website=Thought Catalog|date=June 9, 2014}}{{cite web|last1=Valera|first1=Stephanie|title=Ruins of the Rust Belt: Haunting Photos of Abandoned Buildings by Seph Lawless|url=https://weather.com/travel/news/ruins-rust-belt-abandoned-buildings-photos-seph-lawless-20140206|website=The Weather Channel|accessdate=November 28, 2017|date=June 9, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Van Susteren|first1=Greta|authorlink1=Greta Van Susteren|title=From bustling center of prosperity to ghost town|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/3531984184001/?#sp=show-clips|accessdate=November 28, 2017|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=May 2, 2014}}

Photography

In 2012 and 2013, Lawless photographed abandoned industrial infrastructure and other aspects of industrial decline in the Rust Belt and elsewhere in the United States for his self-published 2014 book, Autopsy of America: The Journal Entries of Seph Lawless.

A second book, Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall, contains photos from 2013 and 2014 documenting abandoned and boarded-up shopping malls.{{cite news|first=Jordan G. |last=Teicher|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2014/06/22/seph_lawless_photographs_abandoned_malls_in_his_book_black_friday.html|title=A Haunting Look Inside Some of America's Abandoned Shopping Malls|work=Slate|date= June 22, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}} He photographed abandoned malls in Michigan and Ohio,{{cite news|first=Aaron|last=Smith|url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/06/30/news/economy/dead-malls/index.html|title=Autopsy of America: Photos of dead shopping malls|work=CNNMoney|date=June 30, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}} including the abandoned Rolling Acres Mall in Akron, Ohio, built in 1975 and closed in 2008, and the Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio, which was said to be the world's largest shopping center at the time of its opening in the 1970s, and which closed in 2009.{{cite web|first=Stephanie|last=Valera|url=http://www.weather.com/travel/abandoned-malls-seph-lawless-photos-20140408|title=Black Friday: Ghostly Images of Abandoned Malls by Seph Lawless|website=The Weather Channel|date=May 14, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}{{cite news|first=Adele|last=Peters|url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/3029341/eerie-photos-of-abandoned-shopping-malls-show-the-changing-face-of-suburbia|title=Eerie Photos Of Abandoned Shopping Malls Show The Changing Face Of Suburbia|work=Fast Company|date=April 21, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Walsh|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/creepy-photos-abandoned-shopping-malls-highlight-reveal-hard-times-article-1.1773948 |title=Creepy photos of abandoned shopping malls highlight crumbling communities of the Rust Belt|work=Daily News|location=New York|date=April 30, 2014|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}

In March 2016, his photographs of Disney's River Country, an abandoned section of Disney World, were published in various media outlets, and he claimed to have been banned from entering Disney World after photographing and sharing his images to the press.{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35863563/the-dead-water-parks-at-the-heart-of-disney-world-florida|work= BBC Newsbeat|title= The dead water parks at the heart of Disney World Florida|date=March 22, 2016|accessdate=November 28, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Morona|first1=Joey|title=Seph Lawless: Q&A with photographer behind those viral images of abandoned places|url=http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/05/seph_lawless_abandoned_building.html|accessdate=December 13, 2016|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 11, 2016}} In March 2016 Lawless also took photos in Picher, Oklahoma, a toxic abandoned town which the Environmental Protection Agency had mandated to be evacuated in 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/03/photos-of-americas-most-toxic-city-are-an-ominous-warning/|title=Photos Of America's Most Toxic City Are An Ominous Warning|website= Gizmodo|date= March 5, 2016|accessdate= March 10, 2017|first=Alissa |last=Walker}}{{cite news|first=Jesse |last=Ferreras|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/03/03/picher-oklahoma-most-toxic-seph-lawless_n_9379500.html|title= Picher, Oklahoma Is America's 'Most Toxic City.' Seph Lawless' Photos Show Us Why.|work= HuffPost|date= March 3, 2016|accessdate= March 10, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/10/01/a-look-inside-americas-most-toxic-city/21484170/|title=A look inside America's most toxic city|website= AOL|date= October 1, 2016|accessdate= March 10, 2017|first=Sam|last=Koukoulas}}

In 2017, he photographed houses in the Beachwood neighborhood of High River, Alberta, Canada that had been abandoned due to a floodplain relocation program after the 2013 Alberta floods.{{cite news|last1=Ferreras|first1=Jesse|title=How an Alberta neighbourhood of $1M homes became the ‘creepiest in the world’|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3448924/beachwood-estates-seph-lawless/|accessdate=December 1, 2017|work=Global News|date=May 16, 2017}}{{cite news|title=Post-apocalypse photographer captures abandoned High River homes|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/seph-lawless-high-river-photograph-creepiest-neighbourhood-1.4121316|accessdate=December 1, 2017|publisher=CBC News|date=May 18, 2017}} Lawless's Huffington Post article and photographs were criticized in local media by the High River mayor, who said, "When you do things like this and you enter homes, you stage it with teddy bears, you move lamp posts around and you do all of these things to try and sensationalize stuff, it hurts people."{{cite news|last1=Nicodemus|first1=Kelci|title=Beachwood trespassing falls into loophole |url=http://www.highrivertimes.com/2017/05/31/beachwood-trespassing-falls-into-loophole|accessdate=December 19, 2017|work=High River Times|date=June 1, 2017}}

=Themes=

As an urban explorer photographer, Lawless has recorded abandoned shopping malls and other developments, with the stated intention of informing people of the depth and failures of capitalism, consumption, globalization, and national economic policies.{{cite journal|last1=Stones|first1=Samantha|title=The value of heritage: urban exploration and the historic environment|journal=The Historic Environment: Policy & Practice|year=2016|volume=7|issue=4|pages=301–320|doi=10.1080/17567505.2016.1252490|quote=Similarly, North American explorers access and record vast abandoned shopping complexes to inform people of the depth and failures of capitalism and consumption. This work is exemplified by Seph Lawless’ photographic documentation of abandoned shopping malls. He explained in a newspaper article that he 'wanted Americans to see what was happening to their country from the comfort of their suburban homes and smartphones ... I knew if I portrayed these images creatively enough, they would have a very deep impact on the viewer'.}}{{cite news|last1=Killalea|first1=Debra|title=Donald Trump's America: Abandoned shopping mall photos tell a story|url=http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/donald-trumps-america-abandoned-shopping-mall-photos-tell-a-story/news-story/379ea2b7780ffffbe805c2e4b7418825|accessdate=November 28, 2017|work=News.com.au|date=November 20, 2016}} In 2014 he stated that he wanted to show Americans "what was happening to their country from the comfort of their suburban homes and smartphones."{{cite web|last1=Horaczek|first1=Stan|title=Interview: Seph Lawless' 'Black Friday'|url=https://www.americanphotomag.com/interview-seph-lawless-black-friday|website=American Photo|accessdate=November 28, 2017|date=April 29, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Cade|first1=DL|title=Black Friday: Haunting Documentary Photo Series Captures Abandoned Malls in the US|url=https://petapixel.com/2014/04/28/black-friday-haunting-documentary-photo-series-captures-abandoned-malls-us/|accessdate=December 1, 2017|work=PetaPixel|date=April 28, 2014}} A large proportion of the abandoned malls, buildings, and amusement parks he photographs are in the Rust Belt, which has been heavily affected by the various economic changes of recent decades.{{cite news|title=Can Post-Apocalyptic Art Be a Force for Social Change?|url=https://psmag.com/news/can-post-apocalyptic-art-be-a-force-for-social-change|accessdate=December 1, 2017|work=Pacific Standard|date=December 16, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Aaron|title=Ghostly images of a dead mall tell an American story|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/16/news/dead-mall-photos-seph-lawless/index.html|accessdate=November 28, 2017|work=CNNMoney|date=November 16, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Malik|first1=Renaud|title=L'artiste Seph Lawless immortalise les centres commerciaux désaffectés|url=https://www.rts.ch/info/culture/arts-visuels/8625416-l-artiste-seph-lawless-immortalise-les-centres-commerciaux-desaffectes.html|accessdate=November 28, 2017|work=RTS|date=May 17, 2017|language=French}}

Publications

Autopsy of America: The Journal Entries of Seph Lawless. Self-published, 2014. {{ISBN|9780615875781}}.
Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall. Self-published, 2014. {{OCLC|889105593}}.
13: An American Horror Story. Self-published, 2014.
The Last Lap: North Wilkesboro Speedway Is Losing a Race Against Time. Self-published, 2015.
The Trolley Tragedy of 1957. Self-published, 2015.
The Variety Theater: The Night Motörhead Brought Down the House. Self-published, 2015.
Hauntingly Beautiful (13th Series). Self-published, 2015.
Pet Cemetery...In Loving Memory. USA: Self-published, 2015.
Bizarro: The World's Most Hauntingly Beautiful Abandoned Theme Parks. Self-published, 2015.
The Prelude: The Deadliest City in America. Self-published, 2016.
Black Friday: Seasons in the Size of Days. Self-published, 2016.
Autopsy of America: Death of a Nation. UK: Carpet Bombing Culture, 2017. {{ISBN|9781908211491}}.
Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks. New York City: Skyhorse, 2017. {{ISBN|9781510723351}}.

Exhibitions

The Autopsy of America, foyer, Amerika Haus, Munich, Germany, 2014"[http://new.amerikahaus.de/ausstellungen/detail/the-autopsy-of-america/ The Autopsy of America: Photography by Seph Lawless]", Amerika Haus. Retrieved December 2, 2017