Joel Sternfeld’s classic view of America, a fireman shops for a pumpkin while a house burns in the background; a group of motorcyclists stop at the side of the road to take in a stunning, placid view of Bear Lake, Utah; the hi-tech world headquarters of the Manville Corporation sits in picturesque Colorado, obscured by a defiant boulder; a lone basketball net stands in the desert near Lake Powell in Arizona; and a cookie-cutter suburban housing settlement rests squarely amongst rolling hills in Pendleton, Oregon. Originally published in 1987, Sternfeld’s American Prospects is a search for the truth of a country not just as it exists in a particular era but as it is in its every-evolving essence. It is a sad poem, yes, but also a funny and generous one, one that recognizes endurance, poignant beauty and determination within its sometimes tense, often ironic juxtapositions of man and nature, technology and ruin.
There is a bazar element in his works. Something unusual or surreal can always been found. This is one of the books that I viewed before my photography studies. I always find something new every time I look again. The more I research the more social landscape works I found interesting. I plan to list up most of the inspiring ones.
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