Lee Kindle salvages a pickup truck destroyed by an F4 tornado in a region that had to be evacuated due to toxic mining waste near Treece, Kansas. 2/19/2009 – 2:04 PM

Philip Heying, Lee Kindle salvages a pickup truck destroyed by an F4 tornado in a region that had to be evacuated due to toxic mining waste near Treece, Kansas. 2/19/2009 – 2:04 PM

Philip Heying, artist

born 1959

Lee Kindle salvages a pickup truck destroyed by an F4 tornado in a region that had to be evacuated due to toxic mining waste near Treece, Kansas. 2/19/2009 – 2:04 PM, 2009

Portfolio/Series title: A Visual Archaeology of the Anthropocene

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: inkjet print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 40.8 x 61 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 16 1/16 x 24 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 61 x 81.5 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 24 x 32 1/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 30 x 36 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Elmer F. Pierson Fund

Accession number: 2018.0182

Not on display

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This photograph by Philip Heying captures the aftermath of a deadly F4 tornado that devastated towns along the Kansas–Oklahoma border on May 10, 2008. The region is notable for its location near the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tar Creek Superfund site, which had a long history of mining lead and zinc until around 1970. The leftover lead dust that blows around the region, as well as the lead and zinc that seeped into groundwater, ponds, and lakes, has led to elevated levels of lead in the bodies of local children. This has resulted in increased rates of children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. Heying noted that the owner of the truck depicted in Lee Kindle salvages had recently received chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer at the time this photograph was taken, and his daughter had a severe speech impediment. Heying was in awe of their determination and attachment to such a hostile, toxic place.