Lee Friedlander is celebrated for his ability to weave disparate elements from ordinary life into uncanny images of great formal complexity and visual wit. And few things have attracted his attention—or been more unpredictable in their effect—than the humble chain link fence.
Erected to delineate space, form protective barriers and bring order to chaos, the fences in Friedlander’s pictures catch filaments of light, throw disconcerting shadows and visually interrupt scenes without fully occluding them. Sometimes the steel mesh seems as delicate as lace; at others it appears as tough as snakeskin. In this book’s 97 pictures, drawn from over four decades of work, it recurs as versatile, utilitarian and ubiquitous—not unlike the photographer himself. Lee Friedlander was born in 1934 in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1948 he began to photograph seriously and by the 1960s had become widely recognized for his all-encompassing portrayals of the American social landscape—a term he coined. Friedlander’s influential work has been the subject of many seminal exhibitions, including New Documents and Mirrors and Windows, both organized by John Szarkowski at The Museum of Modern Art, and more than 50 books, including Self Portrait (1970), The American Monument (1976), Factory Valleys (1982), Sticks and Stones (2004) and America By Car (2010).
Featured image is reproduced from 'Lee Friedlander: Chain Link.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New Yorker
Max Campbell
Friedlander leads us to question the fear, the possessiveness, and the traditions that have us dividing our world into plots for keeping some things out and letting others in.
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Question: Is it possible to make a great book of photographs shot through or around chain link fences? Answer: Yes—if you’re Lee Friedlander, and your publisher is Steidl. Whether he’s capturing a rolling billboard for a 24-hour “Hot Babes” escort service, a little girl in a trailer park, a life-sized religious diorama, two rhinos mating in the zoo, or his own shadow behind the diagonal grey grid of the world’s most ubiquitous industrial fencing material, American master Lee Friedlander yet again manages to present a true portrait of us, to us. What is inside, what is out, his work seems to ask. What is forbidden to us? Who owns, who belongs, who must be kept out? continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 11.5 x 12.25 in. / 140 pgs / 97 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $49.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $67.5 ISBN: 9783958292598 PUBLISHER: Steidl AVAILABLE: 11/21/2017 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ASIA
Lee Friedlander is celebrated for his ability to weave disparate elements from ordinary life into uncanny images of great formal complexity and visual wit. And few things have attracted his attention—or been more unpredictable in their effect—than the humble chain link fence.
Erected to delineate space, form protective barriers and bring order to chaos, the fences in Friedlander’s pictures catch filaments of light, throw disconcerting shadows and visually interrupt scenes without fully occluding them. Sometimes the steel mesh seems as delicate as lace; at others it appears as tough as snakeskin. In this book’s 97 pictures, drawn from over four decades of work, it recurs as versatile, utilitarian and ubiquitous—not unlike the photographer himself.
Lee Friedlander was born in 1934 in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1948 he began to photograph seriously and by the 1960s had become widely recognized for his all-encompassing portrayals of the American social landscape—a term he coined. Friedlander’s influential work has been the subject of many seminal exhibitions, including New Documents and Mirrors and Windows, both organized by John Szarkowski at The Museum of Modern Art, and more than 50 books, including Self Portrait (1970), The American Monument (1976), Factory Valleys (1982), Sticks and Stones (2004) and America By Car (2010).
