Joel Sternfeld: American Prospects

Description

First published in 1987, Joel Sternfeld’s American Prospects is the classic photo record of 1980s America. This definitive edition, made with new plates and including one additional photograph, offers a spectacular, funny, sad and soberly riveting portrait of America’s diverse possibilities and prospects in the Reagan era. From the famous “Wet n’ Wild Aquatic Theme Park” in Florida to “The Space Shuttle Columbia Lands at Kelly Air Force Base” in San Antonio, Texas; from melancholy images of beached whales in Oregon to beautiful views of Yellowstone National Park and Bear Lake in Utah; from post-tornado Nebraska to a previously unseen photograph from the series, “Bikini Contest, Fort Lauderdale, FL, March 1983”; the sublime contradictions and tragicomedy of this volume are without doubt one of the greatest accomplishments of color photography, all the more fully realized in this splendid new edition. An essay by Kerry Brougher, Chief Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, considers the historical context of Sternfeld’s book and the pivotal role that American Prospects has played in the evolution of contemporary filmmaking and art photography. A major exponent of color photography in America, Joel Sternfeld was born in New York City in 1944. He has received numerous awards including two Guggenheim fellowships, a Prix de Rome and the Citibank Photography Award. Sternfeld’s other books include On This Site (1997), Hart Island (1998), Stranger Passing (2001), Walking the High Line (2002), Sweet Earth (2006), When It Changed (2007), Oxbow Archive (2008) and First Pictures (2011). Review: The Work of a Great American Photographer - Like so many things in the world, synchronicity seems to be something that happens on a regular basis. Here , in the field of photography several wonderful American and Canadian photographers got the same great idea at the same time, and ran with it. The idea is that quite ordinary subjects, mostly out in the world canbe photographed just as they are, with very interesting results. Sternfeld has captured some spectacular sights while photographing in the US ,and some just ordinary views, and put them into a retrospective that turned out to be quite amazing, and will last the test of time. Here,in American Perspectives, he takes some amazing things that he was fortunate to witness,,, and some just ordinary sights ,and blends them into a book of photography that, in so many ways shows us a good deal about the American psyche. The best thing about this volume for me, was how physically big the book is. Lots of things are easier to see with how large the actual pictures are. Somebody had a great idea making the book this size, even if its a little difficult at times to find a spot to put the book. Review: desert island photography book - thank you so much for reprinting this! I wanted this book when first got interested in photography, but the prices for the out-of-print classic were too high. i love love LOVE this book. enough has been written about these images, the artist, the process, the subject, etc... so that leaves me with my experience. i will just say that my appreciation of this work has developed in concert with the depth of my understanding of visual art. there are other photographers who are more exquisite and others who are more lovely/human, but this work is the closest thing to perfection i know. this is my desert island photography book