William E. Jones, American, born 1962; Still from Killed, 2009; Sequence of black-and-white digital files, silent; duration: 1 min. 44 sec., looped; Edition of 4, 1 AP; Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, CA © William E. Jones

To create this 2009 video, Killed, Los-Angeles based artist William E. Jones selected approximately one hundred photographs from the archives of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), the New Deal agency founded to aid American farmers during the Great Depression. The video's arresting title originates from a practice used by Roy E. Stryker, the government official who led and managed this documentary project for the FSA. When Stryker found a shot that did not measure up to his exacting standards, he punched a hole in the negative, destroying the photograph and classifying the image as "killed."

Curated by Tricia Y. Paik, assistant curator of modern and contemporary art, Killed will be on view in Gallery 301 from February 8 through April 28, 2013.