Carleton Watkins, an iconic photographer of the 19th Century American West, is best known for his images of Yosemite that were used as testimony in the formation of the National Park system. This paper explores his previously understudied photographs of Alcatraz, taken over approximately three decades beginning in 1861. Through close readings of the changing island and surrounding ecosystems, I use Alcatraz to theorize how the carceral landscape took shape in California during and after the Civil War, and the role photography played in the project. The landscape is being constantly reconfigured, often by prison labor, as San Francisco becomes a nexus of global capitalism. I theorize his photographs as they relate large-scale resource extraction, surveillance and the eventual emergence of the prison industrial complex in California.

Martabel Wasserman is an artist, curator and scholar. Currently a Research Associate at the Center for Creative Ecologies, she is working on a manuscript Picturing the Rock: Alcatraz, Photography and the Making of California. She has exhibited at venues such as Human Resources in Los Angeles and the Museum of Art and Culture Santa Cruz. Curated exhibitions include Coastal/Border for the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time LA/LA and Reclaim Pride with the One Archives at University of Southern California.

Featured image: Carleton Watkins, Alcatraz and Black Point from Russian Hill, albumen silver print from glass negative, negative c. 1873–80, print c. 1879–85.

Fall 2025 COLLOQUIUM SERIES

THE CENTER FOR CULTURAL STUDIES hosts a weekly Wednesday colloquium featuring work-in-progress by faculty & visitors. We are pleased to announce our Fall 2025 Series. Sessions begin promptly at 12:15 PM and end at 1:30 PM (PST) in Humanities Building 1, Room 210.

Staff assistance is provided by The Humanities Institute.