Untitled #2 (St. Louis)

Untitled #2 (St. Louis) is one of a series of photographs Catherine Opie shot in St. Louis: it presents an urban landscape, with an array of buildings from different time periods and a mixture of architectural styles. While in St. Louis, Opie found herself drawn to the historic development of the city at the time of the 1904 World's Fair. Her photographs, shot in and around downtown and Forest Park, capture the present conditions of the city through the visual language of the past by using the panoramic format that was frequently employed to document the American landscape at the turn of the 20th century. While St. Louis may appear less majestic now than it did a century ago, Opie's imagery nonetheless highlights the beauty she sees in urban development and the potential for the preservation, restoration, and rejuvenation of the city. She has described her process as "wander[ing] around with my camera to describe my relationship to the world and where I live."