Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-14)

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Legends

of photography

A

merica,asweknow

it today,is morethan

a country.Whenthe

firstwhitesettlers

‘discovered’thelandandsetup

camponitsshores,a processof

ideologyandphilosophybegan

totakeroot.Thisseemingly

ferallandbecamea symbol

ofthepioneerspiritandwhat

wouldeventuallybecome

knownasmanifestdestiny,

thebeliefthatthesettlerswere

ordainedbyGodtoconquer

thelandandanythingand

anyone they found within.

Mitch

Epstein

Furtherdowntheline,

America(ormorespecifically,

theUnitedStates)becamea

prisonfortheimmeasurable

numberofpeoplesnatched

fromAfricaandsoldinto

humanchattelenslavement.

ForMexicanmigrants,it later

becamea landofhope,a place

wheretheycouldeitherstart

a newlifeorworktirelessly

tosendmoneybacktotheir

families.Thefactis,thereis no

onetrueAmerica– it can

atoncebea placeof dreams

and nightmares.

accustomedtointheprevious

yearsofdocumentarywork.

Actually,thatterm–

‘documentarywork’– doesn’t

entirelydoEpstein’swork

justice.Whethercoveringthe

whitesupremacymovement,

surveillanceafter9/11orthe

resultsofRonaldReagan’s

economicideologyduringthe

1980s,Epstein’sworkcarries

theweightofmuchmorethan

detacheddocumentation.Each

imageis laser-focusedand

directinitsabilitytoengageus

onanartisticlevel.The

presenceofnarrativeand

vibrantcoloursuggestsomeone

concernedwithcreatingimages

thatbelongongallerywalls.

Epstein,inphotographssuchas

theoneabove,forcesusto

confronttherealityofour

world.Throughhisimages,we

findthatthereis nooneclear

pathtothefuture.Therewill

alwaysbewinnersand

therewillalwaysbelosers.

SunshineHotelbyMitchEpsteinis

publishedbySteidlandpricedat €69.

ISBN 978-3-95829-609-1

Epstein’sworkshowshimasoneof

thegreatdocumentariansofpost-war

America, saysOliver Atwell

MitchEpstein,bornin

Massachusettsin1952,

recognisesalltoowellthat

Americais botha placeandan

idea,andhasspentthebest

partoffivedecadesattempting

torectifythesetwonotions.

SunshineHotel, publishedby

Steidl,bringstogether 175 of

Epstein’simages(taken

between 1969 and2015)and

actsasperhapsthebestsurvey,

notjustofEpstein’swork,but

ofAmerica’smostdefining

years.Inthe1970s,Epstein

becamea studentofthe

photographerGarry

Winogrand.Youcanseethat

clearinfluenceofWinogrand

inEpstein’salmost

anthropologicalstudiesofthe

culturalandpoliticalevents

thatshookuppost-war

America.It washisearly

adoptionofcolourthatmade

hisimagesstandoutbackthen.

Hetooktothemediumeagerly,

recognisingitspotentialto

drawtheviewerinandshow

thema worldtheyrecognised,

ratherthantheromanticised

version they had become so

© MITCH EPSTEIN / COURTESY OF STEIDL

© PATRICK MCMULL AN / GETT Y IMAGES

SouthBeach

dredgingsite,

FortPierce,

Florida, 2005