Kaisas' Book Reviews

Review of: South East by Mark Steinmetz

Mark Steinmetz book is the story of the south east states of America. It is following in the steps that Robert Frank took across America, but Steinmetz has taken the different regions and published them in separate books of the series. He differs from Frank his work is less about the American culture but on the relationships between people, and people and the camera. The book is roughly 10x11inches and vertical. The photographs, however vary in sizes, while most are 6x5inches, others are a bit bigger. The book is white with a close-up of one of the images in the series, is black and white, and has an introduction by Peter Galassi.

The outside appearance of the book emphasizes the photographs message as a whole. There is a somber and curious mood throughout the books. Steinmetz touches on the poverty, the simplicity, and the heartache of the southeast portion of America. The portraits, are juxtaposed to random landscapes, sad landscapes. Photographs like that of an old abandoned car overrun and hidden by old vines and grass and covered with early morning mist and fog in the background are included to showcase how the subjects and these landscape and objects connect. It is up to the reader to make the full connection. The images are haunting and subtly direct. The subjects are looking away from the camera as if caught daydreaming, while others show their shyness to camera. The looks and the act of hiding from the camera that the subjects show are at the core of the message behind Steinmetz’s work.

The way the subjects look or don’t look at the camera, the way the light hits the subjects, illuminating their features, highlighting them and their expression is what this book is about. From these elements, we know that we are looking at encounters the photographer had. There is a sense that these are not staged, or not exactly pre-arranged, events but true emotions, looks, people of the southeast. The book lets us, if only for a few minutes, get in touch and get to know these subjects, perhaps as the photographer did.

Review: The Park by Kohei Yoshiyuki

I have never seen any of Yoshiyuki’s work before seeing his 2007 book The Park. The book was published following his solo exhibition at the Yossi Milo Gallery in New York City. The book is all black and about 9x12 inches and is horizontally orientated. I was really struck by the way that the book was edited. The font, when included, was very small. The introduction by Yossi Milo is included at the end after all of Yoshiyuki’s work. Also, an essay written by Vince Aletti entitled “Night Vision” follows the introduction. In addition, a Yoshiyuki interview done by another photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki is also included. All of these texts work together to paint us a picture of what it was like for Yoshiyuki to take these naughty, voyeuristic photographs, and help to paint us another picture of what the artist is like.

I found this book and his work were really shocking. It was difficult for me to really discern what was going on the first time I looked at the book. I am still very unsure as to what these photographs mean in a larger social and cultural aspect, but I believe he definitely is pointing at a social phenomena: “coupling and tripling” (Yossi Milo Introduction) in the three most famous parks in Japan. The book is also broken up into parts, the first part consisting of heterosexual couples while the second held images of homosexual couples.

The sequencing of the images tell a story, but also include smaller narratives. There are smaller stories of specific groups and specific characters; Then the sequence of that one story breaks to another story, and sometimes back to the first group. Bleeding pages, images with borders, some blank pages, and by images being put across from each other on a page, also punctuate how the book includes small narratives within the bigger, overall message.

These images were very disturbing because rape could not be definitely concluded but was definitely suggested. There is a focus on the voyeurs watching the couples interacting; much of the time there is participation (bidden or unbidden we are not sure). There are images of couples by themselves, without voyeurs (besides us and the photographer, who we are acutely made aware of). However, I do not understand, nor is it ever explicit, if these images are documenting prostitution. Some of the images too, are almost violent or at least the reader cannot tell if there is or if there isn’t any. Some of these questionably violent ones have blurs from motion, the woman’s face is usually hidden with very little detail, covered by several men, and purposefully by her own hand as well. They raise the question of Japanese sexual culture, especially the park culture exhibited here.

Even more disturbing, the other images that consist of solo couples evoke innocence, and a sweetness that counteracts the danger and violence of the others. The book covered an array of emotions and different views on sexuality, especially by dividing the book between heterosexual couples and homosexual couples.

The book read like an experiment- I was made well aware in some of the photographs that the photographer was a voyeur too, but different because his viewing was to just document the happenings--and then to show us. The photographer was simply showing us what happens in the parks of Japan at night. He is just the messenger and we are the sole receivers of this dirty and interesting cultural secret.

Third Review Information:
Garry Winogrand
The Animals
The Museum of Modern Art
QL77.5.W5
43 Pages