Originally published in 1987, Joel Sternfeld's now-classic view of America is here remastered, redesigned and reprinted at a larger, brighter, truer scale. Finally, photography and offset printing techniques have caught up with Sternfeld's eye, and this new edition of American Prospects succeeds in presenting Sternfeld's most seminal work as it has always meant to be shown. A specially-commissioned essay by Kerry Brougher, Chief Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, considers the historical context in which Sternfeld was working and the pivotal role that American Prospects has played in the course of contemporary filmmaking and art photography. In American Prospects, a fireman shops for a pumpkin while a house burns in the background; a group of motorcyclists stop at the side of the road to take in a stunning, placid view of Bear Lake, Utah; the high-tech world headquarters of the Manville Corporation sits in picturesque Colorado, obscured by a defiant boulder; a lone basketball net stands in the desert near Lake Powell in Arizona; and a cookie-cutter suburban housing settlement rests squarely amongst rolling hills in Pendleton, Oregon. Sternfeld's photographic tour of America is a search for the truth of a country not just as it exists in a particular era but as it is in its ever-evolving essence. It is a sad poem, but also a funny and generous one, recognizing endurance, poignant beauty, and determination within its sometimes tense, often ironic juxtapositions of man and nature, technology and ruin.
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Editorial Reviews
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Searching for the pulse of our country, Joel Sternfeld’s photos echo our American prospects. -- Vanity Fair
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Dalton
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The title of this review suggests that I am exaggerating, but I promise that I am not. This book of photography blew me away the first time I opened it. How had I gone for so long without hearing of Joel Sternfeld?
This book is full of large, beautifully printed color photographs of a quality I couldn't have expected. Each image is beautifully thought out and perfectly executed. The photographs are sometimes humorous, sometimes somber, and always carry a visual impact. Stephen Shore is an obvious point of reference; both photographers were working with similar materials right around the same time, both traveling the country capturing their view of America. I find Sternfeld's photographs to be placed on a somewhat grander scale, while Shore's photos suggest a more offhand manner. Both have a permanent place on my bookshelf.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, I suggest that anyone interested in serious photography buy it right away.
This book is full of large, beautifully printed color photographs of a quality I couldn't have expected. Each image is beautifully thought out and perfectly executed. The photographs are sometimes humorous, sometimes somber, and always carry a visual impact. Stephen Shore is an obvious point of reference; both photographers were working with similar materials right around the same time, both traveling the country capturing their view of America. I find Sternfeld's photographs to be placed on a somewhat grander scale, while Shore's photos suggest a more offhand manner. Both have a permanent place on my bookshelf.
I can't recommend this book highly enough, I suggest that anyone interested in serious photography buy it right away.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By jack kerr
Format:Hardcover
if you want to know where the comtemporary obsession with large format color "street" work came from, this is it. newer books, by artists like alec soth and other color documentary artists, are excellent, important books, but it must at least be noted that the true groundbreakers were working a generation ago, putting out these kinds of books before it was the accepted trend. and simply put, this work along with shore's 'uncommon places' and eggleston's 'guide', are still, in my opinion, unsurpassed.
on top of that, the size and reproduction quality of this book are mind-blowing. i can't imagine any photography fan not loving this book, or any serious student not wanting it (for a decent price, of course, which this actually is with the discount.)
on top of that, the size and reproduction quality of this book are mind-blowing. i can't imagine any photography fan not loving this book, or any serious student not wanting it (for a decent price, of course, which this actually is with the discount.)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a refreshing twist on the usual coffee table photography book. Sternfeld's photographs of the natural and manmade environment are so interesting. They almost have an old-fashioned hand-colored postcard-feel to them, but the images are often startlingly futuristic. Great contrasts of the ugly and rusting and vacant with beautiful natural landscapes. The publishers did a wonderful job of cleanly presenting the photos to speak for themselves and putting all the verbiage up front.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Over-rated, why the fuss?
I have known this work since the first edition book came out. This is a modern (2003) reprinted version with a few tweaks and added images. Read more
Published 22 months ago by nerose
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Color
This is an essential volume for those looking at color photography of the United States. This fits within the tradition of Eggleston and Shore and is presented in a large,... Read more
Published on August 15, 2009 by W. Rosen
4.0 out of 5 stars
good item, not delivery.
Every thing it's all rigth, but
Not to send to me never more with DHL, it is a true disaster.
I order 3 items the same day. Read more
Not to send to me never more with DHL, it is a true disaster.
I order 3 items the same day. Read more
Published on January 14, 2008 by Scarabello Gastone
5.0 out of 5 stars
Joel Sternfeld book American Prospects
JOEL IS A GOOD NAME AND THIS IS A FABOULOS WORK.This man is travelling a lot!!!I want only says that J. Read more
Published on January 17, 2007 by Pier Francesco Gnot
5.0 out of 5 stars
American prospects
This a great photography book, but the parcel in which it was sent was not strong enough, and the book arrived a little bit damaged.
Published on September 23, 2005 by Istria Antoine Philippe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential American Art
He was there first -in color. If you didn't know that, you should, and "American Prospects" will show you where "there" is. Read more
Published on November 15, 2004 by Edward Post
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