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Carabanchel – a video peek inside the photobook 2
Take a look inside the Carabanchel photobook and hear the story behind its creation. In October 2008 I photographed the interior of the former Carabanchel prison in Madrid, one of the most infamous architectural landmarks from Spain’s decades of dictatorship.
Read More‘Naturally Occurring Patterns’ at All We Art Studio in Georgetown
Naturally Occurring Patterns at All We Art Studio
Featuring Donna Cameron, Mariana Copello, Mark Parascandola
March 27, 2015 – April 12, 2015
The Last Days of Carabanchel
New York Times, July 21, 1977 Even after the death of Francisco Franco, the Carabanchel prison in Madrid remained in operation and continued to hold some political prisoners. During the transition to democracy in Spain, the prison became a focus for protests and calls for amnesty for political prisoners, gaining international media attention. More than two decades passed before the prison was finally closed on September 11, 1998. Read more in the Carabanchel book available here
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DCist Interview
Photographer and art writer Pat Padua recently reviewed my Carabanchel book for DCist. The article includes an interview about the book and my dual life as a photographer/epidemiologist. Padua writes: “Parascandola’s new book documents this decay and the colorful tags, which suggest a change in the pattern of human behavior from one in which freedoms are taken away, to one in which freedom becomes an institution’s destruction.” Read the full article here.
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Carabanchel Book Available Now
My first photography book, Carabanchel, is now available for purchase. The book can be ordered from me directly for $45 plus shipping (email mark@parascandola.com) or via Blurb online. Carabanchel Photographs and text by Mark Parascandola Released June 2014 56 pages, 28 color photographs The book documents the defunct Carabanchel prison, its history, and the nearby community through photographs and accompanying text. I took the photographs when I visited the site in October 2008, as a fierce debate over the future of the prison grew. At the time, neither I nor the community knew that the site was to be demolished […]
Read MoreCarabanchel Photography Book Release
Artist Mark Parascandola releases his first photography book Carabanchel on Wednesday, June 4, 6:30 – 8:30 PM, at Studio 1469, 1469 Harvard St NW – REAR (Columbia Heights Metro). Carabanchel spotlights Parascandola’s photography of the defunct prison that once jailed Spain’s most notorious political prisoners for the greater part of the 20th Century. The event is free and open to the public. https://www.parascandola.com/bookrelease1469/
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Carabanchel Photography Book Release Reception and Artist Talk 2
Artist Mark Parascandola releases his first photography book Carabanchel on Wednesday, June 4 at Studio 1469. Carabanchel spotlights Parascandola’s photography of the defunct prison that once jailed Spain’s most notorious political prisoners for the greater part of the 20th Century. The event is free and open to the public.
Read MoreCarabanchel
In October 2008 I photographed the interior of the former Carabanchel prison in Madrid, one of the most infamous architectural landmarks from Spain’s decades of dictatorship. General Francisco Franco ordered construction of the complex in the 1940s to house the regime’s many political prisoners. After the prison was finally closed in 1998, the building became a haven for squatters, graffiti artists, and curious visitors. A month after my visit the entire structure was demolished to make way for a new urban development.
Read MoreMirror to the World: Notes on Locations
Each photographer in the Mirror to the World show provided a brief statement to accompany their images. Below is the text from mine, which includes notes on the locations represented. The show remains up at Photoworks at Glen Echo Park through April 17. More info and gallery hours here. Mark Parascandola My first experiences with photography were associated with abandoned architecture. When I was about 12, I received a small German camera with a 110 film cartridge as a gift from a family friend. At the time, a department store was being demolished in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, where we lived. […]
Read MoreSpanish Ghosts: Notes on the Locations
I provided some information at the Spanish Ghosts exhibition about the locations where the photographs were taken. These buildings and spaces have many intriguing stories behind them that add to their significance. Here are the descriptions: Cortijo del Fraile: Federico Garcia Lorca’s Bodas de Sangre was inspired by a true story that appeared in a Spanish newspaper in 1928. A bride-to-be ran off with another man (her cousin) the night before the wedding, but the groom’s brother discovered the couple and shot and killed the lover. The bride-to-be lived on a farm called El Fraile. Over 75 years later, the […]
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