Customer Reviews

Finding Grace: The Face of America's Homeless

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Photographer Lynn Blodgett went to a dozen American cities to photograph the faces of the homeless. This coffee-table style book is the result. Unlike most books of its size and genre, it is not full of attractive pictures. It is sobering, real, and somehow inspiring as well. These homeless people -- men, women, and children -- are human beings. "My purpose is to see and capture one moment in the life of the person before me," Blodgett writes. He neither lauds nor condemns his subjects. He merely gives them the significance that they deserve and so seldom receive.

Lynn Blodgett traveled the US photographing homeless Americans in 12 cities. In stark minimalist photos, his subjects come across sometimes shy, sometimes proud, but always vulnerable. Their eyes tell the stories the book lacks, stories of lives taking a wrong turn, American Dreams unfulfilled and the toil of a daily existence scavenging for food and shelter.

The talent and creativity behind the camera are as undeniable as the visceral effect of the faces, but the overwhelming reaction to this book by most people will be "Why?". Why create such a beautiful book about such an ugly subject, a stunning coffee-table centerpiece that will no doubt bring down the mood of any gathering?

The author does little to answer that question. In fact, he provides almost no commentary or perspectve; he mainly speaks of his book's journey and provides some advice to those moved to help the homeless, but an overarching homelessness dissertation is lacking.

Those looking for evidence of poor choices, lack of opportunities or an unsympathetic government as the cause of homelessness won't find them in the limited descriptions attached to each picture. The book is without a political agenda, a refreshing change in this ever-polarized world where opportunistic pundits spin any issue into fodder for their causes. I'm sure Blodgett has feelings on how much responsibility the individuals, society and the government deserve for the homelessness epidemic in this country, but thankfully, his book lacks that lecture. Instead, he strips away everything except his subject, as he trusts their existence to impact his readers more than the most convincing debate.

But if that's the book's biggest strength, it's also the greatest weakness. Critics will say the book is nothing more than a collection of similar photos, and for every person who comes away from the book motivated to get involved with this cause, many more will only become depressed by it.

Stunning in its authenticity and layout!

Lynn Blodgett's masterful photo-journey is a requirement of study for any photographer with substance. The cover jacket alone will stop you dead in your tracks. Blodgett portrays, through his gift with a camera, the very essence of beauty and uniqueness of human spirit. The drama depicted does not die as one turns the pages; nor does that drama end with the last photograph. The pictures stay with you, etched in detail. The subject matter is hauntingly delicate, hauntingly disturbing, hauntingly symbolic of human nature, human drive, human survival on the streets. One can assume Blodgett learned to appreciate the soulful spirit of all humans he viewed through the lens as his talent grew.
Comprehending GRACE is altogether worthy of volumes, but these pictures made public for all humanity simplify the concept, corralling the spirit if not spirituality of all God's creatures. In following the theme, Blodgett's donation of the proceeds of this book is merciful and obviously, deeply personal.

The book was shipped out and arrived right on time and the book itself is marvelous. Its all pictures, but the photographer seems to have captured these peoples struggles without any words. Its as if he had asked them to tell him their stories through their eyes.

I promise you that Finding Grace will be the most popular coffee table book you have ever owned and you will never tire of it becasue it is timeless. The photography is so superb - you feel as if you are right there less than two feet away. Halfway through my first read I wanted to go find some of these intriguing and beautiful people and cast them in a movie part.

They're homeless yet you know their life stories are captivating and their experiences so starkly real that you life may seem blase'.

Even before you finish it the genious of thi work by Blodgett will profoundly affect your feelings for the homeless in a way you will not forget. Giving to the less fortunate "until it feels good" is now much easier.

This book gives us a very intimate look at the homeless persons in our towns and cities. First of all, the many portraits are very intimate and the camera starky give us all the head-on facial and clothing of the subject. Each subject is photographed against a white background so that the eye absorbs only the subject At first one wonders if this isn't a bit too intimate and bordering on exploitation, since I believe each subject was paid a small amount for posing. However, after I went through the book, page by page, I felt that the ensemble of pictures was very respectful and achieves its goals of giving us a look at persons that we often choose to ignore and forces us to confront their "...pain, dignity, innocence and sadness." This view is punctuated in the elequent forward contributed by Danny Glover.

The book clearly succeeds as a work of art and celebrates the art of portraiture. The subjects are posed mostly in the same manner and one is forced to recognize the infinite variety of expressions that are reflected in the human face. As heavy as this subject matter would seem, I believe the author has left some room for humor, beauty, and dignity to shine through the specter of homelessness. It is difficult not to place yourself into the pictures.

This book is excellent. I found over half of the pictures to be overwhelming and gripping. Not because of the subject matter but because it is filled was EXCELLENT dramatic B&W images. Not just ones people tried to make black and white just to spice things up but powerful images....and with a powerful story line that makes you want to cry!

I guess what you WON'T find in this book is that Lynn Blodgett is the CEO of one of the US' top outsourcing company. Blodgett and executives have actively sought cheaper labor costs globally, all at the expense of the employed in the US. He was even inducted into International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' Hall of Fame. While this multi-millionaire gave a whole $10 to each of these people, for a picture of their face...he is an integral instrument in continued lay offs to American citizens. How do I know all of this? Because after 12 years of employment...I was given no notice and released from my job. Thank you, Lynn. Should I be expecting my $10 in the mail?

This book is beautiful on many levels-not only for its stark, photojournalistic quality-but also for its purpose. Yes, Mr. Blodgett is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company which is all the more reason to applaud this not-for-profit effort. The reviewer who criticized Mr. Blodgett's work is horribly misguided. I don't understand why anyone (especially someone claiming to preach the word of God) would criticize another for attempting to improve the plight of others. My wife and I enjoyed the book and made a larger than usual contribution to help the homeless. Buy the book, you won't be disappointed.

I stumbled upon this book while browsing the photography section at the mega-bookstore Strand in NYC. After the first page, I was completely enthralled by the authors backstory, and simply could not put the book down. This book was so much more than an opportunistic effort to make art (or rather, anything but). The author worked to translate the statistics of homelessness into individual faces and voices within her own heart. The stories were moving, heart breaking, and human.

Often I feel like we Americans write off the statistics as simple numbers. Little do we realize that every person living on the street was born as someone's son or daughter.

The portraits are breathtaking, honest and anything-but-silent. I hope those who view this book, upon finishing it,
put it down changed and motivated to lend a ear and a hand. Humanity is slowly choking itself with technology and material things, while what we really need to sustain us are more human-to-human relationships.