This article is part of the Fine Arts & Exhibits special section on the art world stretching boundaries with new artists, new audiences and new technology.

In May 2003, the photographer Tom Kiefer was living in Ajo, Ariz., an artist’s enclave not far from the U.S.-Mexico border, looking for a job. He had come to Ajo in 2001 from Los Angeles, where he worked for many years in advertising as a graphic designer and photographer and, after that, as the owner of an antiques store.

Kiefer sold his business and purchased a house in Ajo (pronounced AH-ho), intending to devote himself full time to photography. After two years of living off his savings, however, he needed to work again.

He found a part-time janitorial job at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station nine miles south of Ajo. During his time there, Kiefer watched as items deemed nonessential or potentially lethal were confiscated from apprehended migrants, including rosary beads, pocket Bibles, birth control pills, shoelaces and food — so much food.

In his fourth year there, Kiefer asked if he could salvage packaged food from the garbage bins and donate it to a local food bank. “My supervisor’s exact words were ‘bless you,’ ” he recalled in a phone interview.