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Author Archive: Michael Ernest Sweet
Book Review: Advice For Young Artists By Alec Soth
Alec Soth’s new book, Advice for Young Artists, presents an intriguing paradox. While one might anticipate a collection rich with practical guidance and inspiration, it ultimately offers a rather different experience. As someone who appreciates certain aspects of Soth’s photography, I find myself both intrigued and a bit disappointed by this particular volume. There are
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Location: Online Type: Book Review
Book Review: Distant Journeys By David Katzenstein
David Katzenstein’s Distant Journeys is a book that offers both promise and disappointment. While it showcases a number of outstanding photographs, it is ultimately hampered by issues of editing and presentation. The collection is unified by its monochrome palette, which serves as a consistent thread throughout the work. Katzenstein presents this book as an overview
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Location: Online Type: Black and White, Book Review
Book Review: Daily Self-Portraits 1972-1973 by Melissa Shook
I have spent a considerable amount of time with Melissa Shook’s newly published, though posthumous, Daily Self-Portraits 1972-1973. Initially, I found myself at a loss for words, uncertain of how to engage with this collection. In an era where ego often eclipses artistic intent in photography, Shook’s self-portraits present a challenge. Though they hail from
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Location: Online Type: Black and White, Book Review, Portraits
Book Review: A Photographer and a Writer: A Review of Allan Sekula’s Art Isn’t Fair
Photography lacks a tradition of serious writing. This is most evident in contemporary photography, where we have a mountain of photographs and virtually nothing serious written about them. What writing we can find most often is nonsense written by people with little to zero knowledge of art history, theory, or criticism. That is, what we
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Location: Online Type: Book Review
Book Review: Punk, Post Punk, New Wave by Michael Grecco
Michael Grecco grew up in the Boston area during the era of punk and new wave music. In fact, Boston was a center, if not the epicenter, of these movements. But in the 70s and 80s, when Grecco was shooting most of these images, a lot of the people featured in his book were from
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Location: Online Type: Black and White, Book Review
Book Review: Night Calls by Rebecca Norris Webb
Night Calls, Rebecca Norris Webb’s third full-length monograph, is a bit more complex than a simple collection of photography. The book is photography, family history, and Webb’s own personal story all wrapped up into one. In essence, it is her journey back to her home, Rush County, Indiana, to reunite with both the people and
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Location: New York, Online, United States Type: Book Review
Book Review: Linda Simpson’s The Drag Explosion
As famed drag queen Lady Bunny says in her foreword, “It was an era that took place entirely after dark.” These days our drag queens are very much out in the light of day. They star in prime-time television shows, where they find their way into even the most modest of American homes. Without minimizing
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Location: Online Type: Book Review, Portraits
Book Review: New Yorkers by Sally Davies
New Yorkers, is the first monograph from Sally Davies, despite her multi-decade career in the arts. A painter for many years, it was not until somewhat more recently that Davies took to the camera in a serious way. Thankfully, she did, as her photography is brilliantly unique. For much of her photography career, Davies has
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Location: Online Type: Book Review, Portraits
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