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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2018)
Sin & Salvation in Baptist Town by Matt Eich. Sturm & Drang, $59. Sin & Salvation takes place in Greenwood, Mississippi in a neighborhood called Baptist Town. What started out as an assignment for AARP (about rural health care in the Missis- sippi Delta) turned into a heartfelt and lasting connection to a community. After several months making pictures for this project, an 18-year-old man he had previously photo- graphed, named Demtrius “Butta” Anderson, was murdered. So Matt Eich felt compelled to return for the wake and funeral. He continued to document the people of Baptist Town and facilitated a Polaroid booklet project for the students of Delta Streets Academy. In Eich’s statement on the work, he takes to task how problematic and limiting photography can be. Regardless of good intentions, he knows the medium can reinforce stereotypes. “At best, I can only show a small portion of this incredibly beautiful and complicated place and disconnected fragments of my own personal experiences. They stem from my desire to better understand and counteract the deepening racial and socioeconomic rift in America. If images are capable of anything, I hope they help plant seeds of empathy.” Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings by Sally Mann. Abrams Close by Martin Schoeller. Steidl, $85. Close is a collection of Martin Schoeller’s signature larger-than-life head shots. He levels the playing field by presenting politicians, athletes, religious leaders, musicians, innovators, the houseless, actors and a race car driver within the same composition and lighting. The neutral glance, tight crop and shallow depth of field allow the viewer to digest the complexities and textures of each subjects’ face without the distraction of backgrounds, flashy wardrobe or expression. The contrast of certain pairings freeze you on the spread, like Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick, Kanye West and Elon Musk, or Lil Wayne and Henry Kissinger. My lady also wants to add that this would be a great book for popsicle-stick masks for a Halloween party. Expensive, sure. But sometimes you gotta throw down for a good costume. I kid, Martin. She would never do that. But my daughter would. Books, $55. A Thousand Crossings encompasses decades of work from one of the greatest living American photographers. An opening quote from John Glenday really sets the tone for the readers: “You see it's neither pride, nor gravity but love that pulls us back down to the world. ... The soul makes a thousand crossings, the heart, just one.” That love for family, the land and exploration is really what Sally Mann’s work is all about. She shows us intimate moments of innocence and frailty within her own family. She illuminates the beauty of haunted Southern lands and never tries to sidestep its sordid and brutal history. Rather, she employs 19th-century processes that really bring out the ghosts. We are looking at her world from the lens of some spiritual plane we can't access on our own. Mark Seliger: Photographs by Mark Seliger. Abrams Books, $75. Mark Seliger is a chameleon. With more than 30 years of work under his belt, he’s mastered the art of transforming into whatever the situation allows. When to push, when to give. In Photographs, you see Seliger easily move from high-concept scenes (Kurt Cobain with severed doll heads or Jerry Seinfeld as the Tin Man) to straightfoward, timeless captures (the best damn portrait you will ever see of Tom Petty). Along with his well-known works from Rolling Stone, GQ and Vanity Fair, the book also features some of his landscapes and personal work, including documentary photography from Cuba, Holocaust survivor portraits and the trans community of Christopher Street. Seliger also offers insights to these projects and behind the scenes dirt from select shoots in an included interview conducted by director/comedian Judd Apatow. Mo re o n eugeneweekl y .co m ( L E F T ) ‘A N T O I N E P E R RY, 2 0 17 ’ F RO M C L O S E © M A RT I N S C H O E L L E R , P U B L I S H E D B Y S T E I D L • ( R I G H T ) ‘ B A R AC K O B A M A , WA S H I N GT O N, D C , 2 0 1 0 ’ F RO M M A R K S E L I G E R : P H OT O G R A P H S © M A R K S E L I G E R eugeneweekly.com • December 14, 2017 19
