Hutterites of Montana [Hardcover]

Ms. Laura Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0300083394 | ISBN-13: 978-0300083392 | Edition: First Edition

Isolated on the prairies of Montana far from mainstream America, the Hutterites live on large farms and ranches. They shun the modern world. Less assimilated than the Amish and the Mennonites, they practice communal living through shared ownership of all property and income. Although the Hutterites use modern agricultural equipment, they carefully protect their spiritual life by avoiding worldly temptations -- no televisions, radios, cars, or dancing. The Hutterites represent an overlooked story in the modern American West and are a part of our nation's religious history.

This stunning book is a unique document of the Hutterites of Montana, comprising Laura Wilson's photographs and interviews with them over a fourteen-year period. Wilson explains how she met the Hutterites and received unprecedented access to photograph them in their day-to-day life. Then, often using the words of members of the community, she reveals fascinating details about their history, their leadership structure, their religious beliefs, the place of women in their society, the education of their young, and the strength of their communal tradition. Wilson's text and photographs bring to life a remarkable people whose close family ties, spiritual activities, and sure sense of place contrast dramatically with the values and preoccupations of our own rootless society.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While working with Richard Avedon, photographer Laura Wilson (Watt Matthews of Lambshead) discovered the Hutterites of Montana, a religious community of 40,000 people living throughout the American West, . Like Avedon's, Wilson's b&w photographs are stark and tactile. In her new bookAa unique product, because the Hutterites generally shun photographyAshe compassionately and artistically captures Hutterite men, women and children, whose lifestyle is even further removed from mainstream America than that of the Amish; yet as both she and they observe, the modern world is encroaching upon them. Wilson captures the distinctiveness the Hutterites maintain while still being conscious of the larger world, such as in her photo of Hutterite schoolchildrenAthe boys in somber black suits and the girls in brightly patterned skirtsAas they pledge allegiance to the American flag. (Yale Univ., $39.95 160p ISBN 0-300-08339-4)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Situated in Montana, the Hutterites are one of the last communal religious groups in America. They believe in the collective ownership of property, eat their meals together, and maintain a distinctive dress and simple lifestyle. This collection of excellent full-page, black-and-white photos is especially interesting because the Hutterites usually do not allow themselves to be photographed. Photographer and author Wilson's (In the American West) repeated visits over a period of 14 years gradually won the confidence of the community. The short text accompanying the pictures provides a basic introduction to Hutterite history and beliefs, as do the assorted interviews with various community members. Though prosperous now and even growing, the community is already changing and modernizing. "The world is leaking in," says one member. It is good that Wilson has recorded their uniqueness before it disappears. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DC. Robert Nixon, MLS, Lafayette, IN
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (September 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300083394
• ISBN-13: 978-0300083392
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 9.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #862,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Artfully Told, December 30, 2005

By 

The Cashmere Bookworm "Cashmere and books --w... (California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hutterites of Montana (Hardcover)

Once in awhile, you find a book that outstrips others and stands on its' own. This isn't the glam photography of Annie Liebowitz, the sexually overt Herb Ritts, nor is it the intentionally odd portraiture of Diane Arbus. This is an artist in the same league as Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Galen Rowell, and Phil Borges. Simply put, Laura Wilson is a thoughtful artist, whose vision and understanding are the product of a level of artistic and a respect for history that few others show. If there is one word that stands above all it is this: craft.

This book is the result of years of visiting and slowly getting to know the Hutterites, not an easy task. A friend of Richard Avedon, Laura Wilson's greatness and strength show up in her photos which depict the people as they are. If you can, buy them all! Her work is an education in the type of commitment it takes to make and pursue fine art.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sere Perfection On A Black-White Plane, November 19, 2005

By 

Doc Giere (Teton County, MT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hutterites of Montana (Hardcover)

This is not a coffee table book. Nor is it a book to be wasted on a library shelf. The photographs and brief accompanying text are meant to be consumed slowly, revisted, again revisted, appreciated like two fingers of old sour mash sipped during the bleak. It is irrelevant that a few of the photographs appear slightly grainy. What the artist brilliantly captures are facets of modesty and humility among a gracious people who, by choice, live a somewhat remote, sometimes trying life.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stunning photographs suffer from poor presentation, August 19, 2001

By 

Jack Becker (Concord, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hutterites of Montana (Hardcover)

Laura Wilson's photographs are truly extraordinary. I first was introduced to them by a recent essay on the PBS News Hour. The few photograps that were shown left me mesmerized and eager to see more. The presentation of the photographs in the book, however, is extremely disappointing. Rather than helping the photographs, the layout gets in the way. Several of the best photos are split between two pages ( e.g., the photo of the women on the haystacks is split 75%/25%). Also, many of the photos are blown up so large that graininess becomes a significant problem.

Laura Wilson's photographs deserve a far better presentation than they are given in this volume.