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August 2, 2004
Alec Soth
The photographs in Alec Soth's beautiful book, "Sleeping by the Mississippi," disturb me and fascinate me in a way that Diane Arbus' work may have done to many people in the 1970's. The sense of uncomfortable voyeurism, or the freak-show nature of the subject matter, creates real tension with the sublime technical transcription of these characters and their everyday surroundings.
The fact that I continue to think about them, and that I can envision the pictures without having them in front of me, attests to their haunting quality.
I'm interested to know how other people respond to this work.
As a native Louisianian and a resident of New Orleans for most of my adult life, I appreciate these pictures fully but can't help but wonder what they mean to people who aren't familiar with the environment. On the other hand, `the Mississippi` has been done to death, and some of these pictures are actually trite, so maybe that establishes a universality of some sort. If it sounds as though I don't like Mr. Soth's work, not so; I like most of the pictures, particularly the black and whites. The textures, light, shadows, and reflections were captured with great sensitivity, reminding one of what photography is really all about: the manipulation of light.
Having never been to any of the places represented in `Sleeping by the Mississippi` I take them at face value... beautiful and measured images from a photographer who has a consistent vision and ability to capture mood and character. Personally I don't find the pictures to be voyeuristic - nor the subjects freak-show material. The people Soth selects to photograph collaborate to create enduring images of interest. Even when they are not in the picture you can feel their presence. Soth points the lens at what interests himself and so sensitively renders his impressions that they become of interest others as well.