I just spotted these via the lovely Mary T. on Shelterrific, and couldn't resist sharing them here.
Years ago, Seattle artist Chris Crites found an old book of black-and-white crime scene photographs, and became fascinated with the mugshots the book contained. In an effort to understand and preserve the discarded images of criminals whose misdeeds had long since been lost to the winds of time, Crites began painting on brown paper bags the faces -- so full of anger, defiance, pain, and even a sort of weary pride -- captured on these vintage 1890s-1950s mugshots.
As Crites writes, "The images are haunting and evocative, each face unknown -- their story unknowable, yet begging to be told. The bright, saturated colors convey a sense of the ironic, with what must have been a very drab future ... "
Each 8-by-10-inch giclee print is part of a limited edition of 10 being offered on Petaline, a great new e-shop focusing on affordable work from emerging artists and designers in the Pacific Northwest. Check out Crites' rogues gallery on Petaline right here -- and browse the site's other offerings here.
Click here to see more of Crites' work (such as Breaking and Entering, above, and Stole Shoes and Polygamy, below).
