Chromogenic color print
1994-1995
Miles Coolidge (CANADIAN, 1963)
Telephone Switching Building, Toys-R-Us/Kids-R-Us
Full margins
Sheet dimensions: 30 x 38 in. (76 x 91.5 cm.)
Contact department for full condition report
A comparable print was sold at Phillips de Pury & Company, New York for $3,800

At first glance, the eerie feeling of the photograph seems to emanate from the emptiness of no human presence. However, upon closer inspection, the disconcerting flatness causes the viewer to realize that this is not an image of an actual “Kids R Us”, but instead a miniature built to scale. Coolidge’s "Storyville" series is a miniature town built to a one third scale of Sacramento, California, designed to teach children about pedestrian safety. Coolidge is interested in documenting banal spaces as portraits of contemporary alienation, as well as examples of American consumerism. In "Kids R Us" the familiar corporate logo serves as the sole marker of identification.

Executed in 1994-95, the photograph is in overall good condition, measuring 30 x 38 inches.

Miles Coolidge (CANADIAN, 1963)

Miles Coolridge received his bachelors from Harvard University in in 1986 and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 1992. Coolidge is primarily known for his photography and is interested in the blurred lines between architecture and landscape. Coolidge also uses scale as a primary focus. He currently teaches at the University of California Irvine. His works have been exhibited in numerous exams such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim.