A long, friendly conversation between the American artist Alec Soth and the Italian curator and critic Francesco Zanot. Analyzing his most famous photographs as well as others that have nev - er been published or are virtually unknown, Soth reflects upon his career as a photographer. Each picture gives rise to a chapter of its own, an original thought or reflection. Soth's images are shuffled together here to form new sequences: tracing the threads of memories, addressing cul - tural issues and references, and thus creating unforeseen and unforesee - able connections. Storytelling, use of colour and black and white, staged and candid approaches and personal issues are just some of the topics discussed in the book, resulting in a combination of images and words that constitutes a deep analysis of Soth's work as well as a manual on the reading of photography itself.
Author Biography
Alec Soth is one of the most prominent artist of this time. A full member of Magnum in 2008. He is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alec Soth's work is rooted in the distinctly American tradition of 'on-the-road photography' developed by Walker Evans, Robert Frank and Stephen Shore. From Huckleberry Finn to Easy Rider there seems to be a uniquely American desire to travel and chronicle the adventures that consequently ensue. He has received fellowships from the McKnight, Bush, and Jerome Foundations and was the recipient of the 2003 Santa Fe Prize for Photography. His photographs are represented in major public and private collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Walker Art Center. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney Biennial and a career survey at the Jeu de Paume in 2008.
His first monograph, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published by Steidl in 2004 to critical acclaim. Since then Soth has published NIAGARA (Steidl, 2006), Fashion Magazine (Magnum, 2007), and Dog Days, Bogota (Steidl, 2007). He is represented by the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York and the Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis.
Photography critic and curator, Francesco Zanot has been working for exhibitions and books with some among the most renowned Italian and international photographers.
Director of the Master in Photography and Visual Design organized by Forma, Fondazione per la Fotografia, in collaboration with NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, he is also lecturer of History of Photography at IULM University, Milan. He participated to conferences and seminars on the theory and the history of photography in different universities and schools, such as Columbia University in New York, Politecnico in Milan, Universita degli Studi in Milan and American Academy in Rome. He is associate editor of Fantom, photographic quarterly based in Milan and New York.
