American Puzzle
« Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders. » William Faulkner, Light in August 1998: It is the end of my studies in Photography. I have never been to the United States, but I conceive a thesis for my diploma called “The American Voyage.” Inside I gather, region by region, the photographs taken in the US that left a lasting impression on me. They are signed Evans, Arbus, Frank, Friedlander, Winogrand, Avedon, Callahan, Baltz, Eggleston, De Carava…and also Plossu and Depardon…These images constructed my own view. On two accounts. My view of America as well as my view of photography itself. The text that accompanies this selection of photos ends thus: “One day, I will go to the US. Surely. Inevitably. But it will not be a trip like any other. It will not be discovery but rediscovery, search, quest, pursuit. On the traces of my imagination. The American territory is signposted. Terribly. That is where the trip will be, place by place, myth by myth. All you have to do is follow the tracks. Geographical journey, photographical journey, towards places, towards images. Towards places that exist only because they are images. In the disarray of knowledge and memory…”
Photos (153)
