Customer Reviews

Coal Hollow: Photographs and Oral Histories (Series in Contemporary Photography, Vol. 4)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It doesn't get much better than this, which I guess you should expect from the Professor of Photojournalism at Berkeley! In classic style, Ken Light has captured,with stunning photography, a clear slice of life in the backwaters of the US. Wife Melanie Light has added excellent context with a series of oral histories. Some of it is shocking, some of it is amusing. It is all a riveting read and a must have book for collectors and the curious.

I attended a talk Ken Light gave at the Photo SF show this past summer in San Francisco. He discussed this book at length, and shared stories from his career. I also met his wife, Melanie, who conducted the interviews and wrote the text of the book. They are both wonderfully committed to social justice and the use of photography and oral history as a mechanism for communication. I purchased the book later and found the photographs to be both beautiful and informative. Ken remains committed to film and uses medium format cameras. The quality of the images shows that it really works for him. The quality of writing is superb and adds tremendously to the enjoyment of the images. This is a model for anyone interested in documentary story telling and could be used as a complementary text for a course in this subject. I'm glad that Black and White images, along with stories from the "visits" Melanie and Ken had with the families still can find a publisher.

I was so surprised by these photos and oral histories. The photos are a good as you'd expect from Ken Light, one of the best black and white photographers in the County. This is one of the poorest parts of the county with grinding economic conditions and yet these people are treated honestly and with great dignity. The moutain culture is largely unknown but is a greatly interesting part of our culture. This is a deeply touching book, a view of a often hidden people. I would highly recommend this to anyone interest in this part of the county, interested in the Appplachian culture or interested in great photography.

I am a native of McDowell County where many of these photographs were taken, and I cannot recall ever seeing people living in such squalor as was depicted in this book. I am surprised that the Lights were able to come up with so many photographs that represent the southern part of West Virginia in such a bad light. West Virginia does suffer from a depressed economy, but locations with the appalling conditions shown in these photos are not typical of the area. This must be a work of fiction. I hope people won't judge my beautiful state by this book.

Having lived in southern West Virginia for nearly 50 years, I find this work to be insulting to the people of southern West Virginia. The Lights must have looked long and hard to find places with the appalling conditions that have been depicted in this book. Granted, the economy of West Virginia is not stellar, but the majority of its citizens and its communities are not represented in this book. Yes, this state has been shaped by its coal heritage, but it has not been destroyed by it. Southern West Virginia still struggles, but not to the extent implied in these photographs. Those seeking a more accurate portrayal of life in coal communities should look elsewhere, or, better yet, visit and see for themselves.

While Light's pictures are moving and brilliantly taken, he uses his talent to make a second rate piece of agitprop.

This book would have been an accurate representation of coal mining in Appalachia in the 1920's, but it is grossly misrepresenting of this way of life as it exists today and it plays off some of the worst stereotypes of Appalachia including toothless hillbillies and Klansmen. Contemporary coal mining is dangerous work, and always will be, but mineworkers are well paid highly trained individuals who take pride in their ability to survive lean times.

Anyone interested in Appalachia should forego this piece of garbage, get in a car and go see it for themselves.