This collection of previously unpublished photographs by Mark Steinmetz, made some 35 years ago during an extended stay in the South of France, provides welcome insight into his earliest years as a working artist.
“In 1987, there were no cell phones or digital cameras. To meet up with someone you had to set a time and a place and each of you had to stick to the plan. The seasons seemed to linger around more, and in general, everyone seemed to have more time. The parks, museums, and subways were less crowded. The rhythm of daily life was more relaxed. People were worried in 1987, but not as worried as we are now.” – From the Introduction by Mark Steinmetz
Mark Steinmetz has spent his career, beginning in the mid-1980s, relying on chance events to capture his photographs. Working in series, his intimate black and white photographs cover such subjects as children and teenagers. As well as small southeastern American towns, street scenes in Paris, and various Italian cities.
With this chance-driven approach, Steinmetz is committed to presenting the viewer with images that are open to multiple interpretations. As opposed to creating specific narratives or singular emotional effects. In series such as South Central, for which Steinmetz photographed in and around Knoxville, Tennessee. We see solitary, mostly youthful, figures in a suburban environment, often lost in contemplation. A similar atmosphere is conjured in the later, related, series, Greater Atlanta. Here Steinmetz catalogues car culture, fast food, convenience stores, and suburban sprawl. These understated yet richly atmospheric images invite a slow form of looking, through which numerous readings may arise.
France 1987 comprises over 60 photographs beautifully printed in duotone on Japanese Kasadaka art paper, and bound in Burgundy linen. Limited to only 1,000 casebound copies.
Mark Steinmetz : France 1987
Hardcover, cloth, 10.5 x 12 inches, 80 pages, 63 plates.
ISBN: 978-1-59005-596-0
$75.00
Nazraeli Press
https://www.nazraeli.com/complete-catalogue/mark-steinmetz-france-1987
Setanta Books Ltd
https://www.setantabooks.com/en-us/collections/mark-steinmetz-signed-books-photography-photobooks/products/france-1987
