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Western Consumption

The College of Liberal Arts is proud to announce that Assistant Professor of Photography J. Jason Lazarus has been prominently featured in the latest issue of Aeonian Magazine. A global platform celebrating experimental photography, Aeonian Magazine showcases a variety of works utilizing alternative photographic techniques such as cyanotypes, tintypes, chemigrams and more.

Lazarus' featured series, Western Consumption, is an ongoing body of work that examines the environmental degradation of the American West through the mordançage process. This 19th-century technique physically alters photographic prints by chemically bleaching and softening the emulsion, allowing it to be lifted and manipulated into intricate, fluid distortions. The resulting images appear decayed and fragile, evoking a sense of impermanence that mirrors the destruction of the landscape itself. “[Aeonian Magazine] is one of a few photography magazines out there that really embrace alternative photographic processes,” said Lazarus. “Most traditional digital- or film-focused magazines don't know what to make of it, generally.”

A Conceptual and Technical Exploration

�����������ܲ�’ Western Consumption series critically examines how resource extraction, unchecked economic aspirations, and climate change have shaped and scarred the American West. “Progress,” as he explains, “has left the American West a dump site for yesterday’s best intentions.” He describes the landscape as marred by urban sprawl, abandoned industrial sites, and environmental catastrophes that threaten its very existence.

His process is as meticulous as it is symbolic. Each photograph is shot on infrared film using a Mamiya 7 medium format camera and an R72 filter, producing surreal, high-contrast landscapes. Shooting in infrared provides a haunting and unnatural rendering of these already damaged landscapes, emphasizing their otherworldly transformation. Once the image is developed and printed in the darkroom on fiber paper, the print undergoes the mordançage process. This technique, which Lazarus describes as a delicate balance of destruction and preservation, alters the darkest areas of the image by creating veils, blisters, and cyst-like formations on the paper.

“The mordançage process bleaches the print and lifts the emulsion in the darkest areas, creating veils, blisters, and cyst-like formations on the paper. These can be manipulated, either gently nurtured to keep through the entire process or destroyed to drastically disrupt the print surface.”

This technique is particularly resonant with the project’s theme. “The mordançage process brings those seemingly intangible fears and makes them real for the viewer—you can’t ignore how the torn veils and exploded skies are literally tearing apart the landscape.” The physical manipulation of the emulsion—sometimes left to curl and fray, other times completely dissolved—creates a haunting visual metaphor for the way human intervention is scarring and permanently altering the Western landscape.

An Artistic Call to Awareness

Lazarus does not position his work as an overtly political statement but instead as a series of critical questions about land stewardship. “I’m not necessarily opposed to resource extraction, yet to assume that we can not do it without additional safeguards in place is purely focusing on profit and not our responsibility to act as stewards to nature,” he states. His work asks viewers to consider the long-term consequences of industrialization and urban expansion: “Is this truly the best we can do for our home?”

Inspired by artists like Mark Klett and the stark contrasts found in historical images of the West, �����������ܲ�’ work challenges nostalgia for a past that never truly existed. He draws unexpected inspiration from the 1980s film The NeverEnding Story, likening the forces of urban sprawl and environmental degradation to the film’s infamous “Nothing” consuming everything in its path.

����ӰƬ the UAF Department of Art

The UAF Department of Art fosters a dynamic creative community, providing ����ӰƬ with hands-on experience in a variety of traditional and experimental mediums. Faculty members like J. Jason Lazarus bring expertise and innovation to the program, guiding ����ӰƬ in exploring unique artistic processes. With a curriculum that spans digital photography, alternative processes, painting, sculpture, and more, the department continues to cultivate the next generation of artists and visual storytellers.