TORN: The Problem of Human Behavior is an ongoing exploration into storytelling using the combined languages of words and images, beginning with found book pages and utilizing a variety of mark making and erasure techniques. 

In Margaret’s own words . . .

"I began making these pieces in 2019, not long after the redacted Mueller report was released. I found myself both fascinated and frustrated by the idea of multiple truths and meanings both hidden and found. An experiment in redacting (or erasure) has since become an exploration into storytelling, a personal investigation into how taking pieces of a story out of the context of a larger story can create new meaning and sometimes becomes a revelation of how we see, find, and create our own stories, which is, essentially, how we create ourselves.

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live,” writes Joan Didion. But stories can also tell us. They can tell us how to remember or how to forget, how to hold on to experiences or how to purge ourselves of them. And stories provide a way of reaching for answers where answers are rarely found—in the realm of human behavior. Most importantly, they can get us from one side of something to the other, from the before to what comes after: meaning." 

These signed and numbered limited edition archival fine art prints are masterfully printed by photographer Alex Harris in collaboration with Margaret. The extraordinary reproduction fidelity gives the illusion that these are the three dimensional originals. Each limited edition fine art print is signed and numbered by Sartor, and features a custom embossed stamp. Editions are strictly limited to 10 or 25 prints on fine art paper (there are two sizes for this series), and the price increases by $125 when the midway point of the edition has been reached.

Margaret has two suggested framing options for these works which we can execute (beginning at $250 per piece). Details, and images of these square stock (black, white wash, or natural maple) frames can be shared if interested. Additionally our Broad Street neighbors Craven Allen Gallery/House of Frames (the best frame shop in these parts), extends a ten percent discount on all works purchased from our galleries.

Margaret Sartor is a writer, curator, and visual artist who lives in Durham. Her books include Where We Find Ourselves: The Photographs of Hugh Mangum 1897–1922 (with Alex Harris), What Was True: The Photographs and Notebooks of William Gedney (with Geoff Dyer), and the New York Times best-selling memoir Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets, and Growing Up in the 1970s. Sartor’s photographs and essays have appeared in numerous books and publications, including The Paris Review, Aperture, The New Yorker, Black: A Celebration of a Culture by Deborah Willis, and most recently, Visible Spectrum: Portraits from the World of Autism by Mary Berridge. Her photographs reside in permanent collections including: the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the North Carolina Museum of Art. As a curator, Sartor has worked with the Nasher Museum of Art, the International Center for Photography in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Scroll down for series info and purchase links.