"When politicians and pundits talk about the heartland, or the heart of the country, they’re generally not pandering to places like Roger Richardson’s Middletown, which is located in Orange County, in New York’s Hudson Valley. Yet the people and places in Let Me Sow Love exist right smack in the middle of myriad 21st-century American realities. Refreshingly, though, there’s not so much as a whiff of polemic in Richardson’s photographs. As the title suggests, this is a book full of what feel like genuine and compassionate interactions and engagements, as opposed to the now-expected confrontations. You sense right away that Richardson knows this place intimately, and these are his people. As a result, Let Me Sow Love presents with remarkable clarity a compelling portrait of an utterly realistic human community at a unique and radically insecure moment in the country’s history.
The late Philip Levine, arguably the greatest working-class poet of the late 20th century, once said that his goal was to write poems so transparent that “no words are noticed. You look through them into a vision of the people, the place.” Time and again, Richardson realizes Levine’s vision through his photographs, and it’s a vision that will be achingly familiar to anyone who grew up in or has spent time in strikingly similar working-class cities and towns all over the United States."
Great post Melissa! Larry Cohen's work is amazing! I met him last August at a DCSPC event in Mt. Pleasant at Lost Origins Gallery. We should all meet up in Baltimore sometime.
I've been a fan of Larry Fink's for decades and met him through Tina Schelhorn when she curated a festival on Contemporary American Photography in 2006 in Germany in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. https://www.shutterbug.com/content/contemporary-american-photography-germany-7th-international-photo-days-mannheimludwigshafen The list of about 100 American photographers there was an amazing who's who led by Larry Fink and Alex Webb, and included Maggie Taylor, Jeff Mermelstein, and Lilli Almog among others.
And the stories about Issac Wright / driftershoots! OMG!
The articles on Isaac Wright...what a story. Thank goodness common sense prevailed and the right judgements were made in the end. What a positive outcome...his images are amazing!
Not sure if this fits what you're looking for with the Fink work, but I love the book Let Me Sow Love by Roger Richardson: https://deadbeatclubpress.com/en-nl/products/roger-richardson-let-me-sow-love
"When politicians and pundits talk about the heartland, or the heart of the country, they’re generally not pandering to places like Roger Richardson’s Middletown, which is located in Orange County, in New York’s Hudson Valley. Yet the people and places in Let Me Sow Love exist right smack in the middle of myriad 21st-century American realities. Refreshingly, though, there’s not so much as a whiff of polemic in Richardson’s photographs. As the title suggests, this is a book full of what feel like genuine and compassionate interactions and engagements, as opposed to the now-expected confrontations. You sense right away that Richardson knows this place intimately, and these are his people. As a result, Let Me Sow Love presents with remarkable clarity a compelling portrait of an utterly realistic human community at a unique and radically insecure moment in the country’s history.
The late Philip Levine, arguably the greatest working-class poet of the late 20th century, once said that his goal was to write poems so transparent that “no words are noticed. You look through them into a vision of the people, the place.” Time and again, Richardson realizes Levine’s vision through his photographs, and it’s a vision that will be achingly familiar to anyone who grew up in or has spent time in strikingly similar working-class cities and towns all over the United States."
Great post Melissa! Larry Cohen's work is amazing! I met him last August at a DCSPC event in Mt. Pleasant at Lost Origins Gallery. We should all meet up in Baltimore sometime.
I've been a fan of Larry Fink's for decades and met him through Tina Schelhorn when she curated a festival on Contemporary American Photography in 2006 in Germany in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. https://www.shutterbug.com/content/contemporary-american-photography-germany-7th-international-photo-days-mannheimludwigshafen The list of about 100 American photographers there was an amazing who's who led by Larry Fink and Alex Webb, and included Maggie Taylor, Jeff Mermelstein, and Lilli Almog among others.
And the stories about Issac Wright / driftershoots! OMG!
Isaac Wright … my new hero. How did I not know about his story. Thank you (yet again), M!
We had rewatched the doc Man on Wire recently. Also remarkable.
The articles on Isaac Wright...what a story. Thank goodness common sense prevailed and the right judgements were made in the end. What a positive outcome...his images are amazing!
Well shit, maybe I'll do an update on the actual post, because the twists and turns are unreal. I just saw Donna Ferrato post this about Wright's gallery opening last night. https://www.instagram.com/p/DJuM2WdRe_w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Wrights story is incredible - I found this link about the outcome of Thursday nights arrest. I read the police let him go the next day but it seems to me someone doesn't like the fact he's making something out of himself?! https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/arts/design/16cul-isaac-wright-arrest.html#:~:text=The%20police%20were%20pursuing%20Mr,ending%20years%20of%20legal%20turmoil.