Category: Book Review

Book Review

The Universal Becomes Personal: Hair Stories by Rohina Hoffman

Hair is so ubiquitous, it’s a common thread not unlike the weather. Seemingly everyone has a comment or observation about the subject. ‘How does my hair look?’, ‘I cried when my hair was cut,’ or ‘I’m having a ‘bad hair day’. Hair Stories is centered around the experience of women and their hair, yet the experience is still universal to some degree. Who among us … Continue reading The Universal Becomes Personal: Hair Stories by Rohina Hoffman

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment
Book Review

New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography by Grant Scott

The strength of New Ways of Seeing is in the discussion of where we are today. The discourse and investigation of photography and learning the craft of fluently speaking a visual language is at the forefront. The book feels perfectly positioned to appeal to both students and educators of visual arts, or anyone wanting to better understand the importance of applying practiced skills and knowledge … Continue reading New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography by Grant Scott

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment
Book Review

We Shared this Time by Jeffery C. Johnson

Chicago-based photographer Jeffery C. Johnson’s photography has been prominently featured on the WGN-TV News, ABC-TV’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, BBC Travel.com, CNN Travel.com, Chicago Reader, Chicagoist, Gapers Block, and at ChicagoPublicRadio.com. Johnson has worked as a dedicated photographer for the Scottish pop band Aberfeldy, captured the scene at the capitol building in Springfield, Illinois in 2007 when then Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for … Continue reading We Shared this Time by Jeffery C. Johnson

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment
Book Review

Havana Youth by Greg Kahn

In Havana Youth, Greg Kahn explores Cubans born after 1989, who have only known a time after the USSR dissolved and left the Caribbean nation with few resources and a growth-crippling, US-led economic embargo. Those kids, born during what is called “The Special Period”, are now in their twenties and developing a sense of individuality in a society that was historically focused on collectivism. This is their cultural counter-revolution, and they are redefining what it means to be Cuban. Continue reading Havana Youth by Greg Kahn

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment
Book Review, Photographer

Seeing Deeply – A Retrospective by Dawoud Bey

Dawoud Bey: Seeing Deeply offers a forty-year retrospective of the celebrated photographer’s work, from his early street photography in Harlem to his current images of Harlem gentrification. Photographs from all of Bey’s major projects are presented in chronological sequence, allowing viewers to see how the collective body of portraits and recent landscapes create an unparalleled historical representation of various communities in the United States. Prodigious is … Continue reading Seeing Deeply – A Retrospective by Dawoud Bey

Unknown's avatarCary Benbow1 Comment
Book Review, Photographer

Solargraphs by Al Brydon – A conversation with the Sun

A new book, Solargraphs by Al Brydon is available from JW Editions. Brydon’s understated approach to making engaging images is disarming. There is a beautiful serendipity that comes out of his seemingly casual method for making work. He makes it look easy, but make no mistake Brydon has been steadfast for decades in making photographic work of and about his surroundings. He is continually trying … Continue reading Solargraphs by Al Brydon – A conversation with the Sun

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment
Book Review

Julio’s House by Orestes Gonzalez

A Home Becomes a Touchstone The colorful photographs in Julio’s House show us extravagant, Liberace-inspired interior living spaces within a modest Miami house. We see scenes of a very personal setting, but devoid of people. The only people shown in the book are in vintage photographs taken of Orestes Gonzalez’s uncle Julio, his uncle’s friends and lovers, and his life as a cruise ship entertainer. Julio worked … Continue reading Julio’s House by Orestes Gonzalez

Unknown's avatarCary Benbow1 Comment
Book Review

Out of the Ordinary, Vol. 2: A Journey Through Everyday Scotland

A Personal Portrait of Everyday Scotland The second volume of Out of the Ordinary by Iain Sarjeant is a continuation of the project he has been working on for a number of years. The project, and two books thus far, has developed from the approach of Sarjeant’s spontaneous wandering, exploring, discovering, and observing. “The series explores the kind of places that most of us walk … Continue reading Out of the Ordinary, Vol. 2: A Journey Through Everyday Scotland

Unknown's avatarCary BenbowLeave a comment