3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Work with dignity, January 21, 2009
This is the third reprint by Fotofolio of Bill Owens work. The original was subtitled: `I do it for the money' and published in 1977. I have the earlier edition and the photos were presented in a picture book format rather than the more formal photo book style in this new book. I think this edition looks so much better with the photos more or less the same size on each page, generous margins and the captions centered below each image.
The content, though, varies in each edition, the first had about 128 photos this one has 116 (including seventeen in color) so it is not a straight reprint. The theme is the same though: a large number of workers in a wide range of occupations with very few just desk jobs. Owns says he used Yellow Pages to find everyone from accountants to vets. Mostly taken in the seventies and initially for a local paper he worked for in the San Francisco area he expanded his coverage to include the rest of the Nation.
Owens reportage style works really well I thought. These photos tell a story with most of the subjects looking at the camera and showing an easy confidence in their work. What I think lifts this photo book above some others are the comments below each image. Lee Friedlander's beautiful 'At work', published in 2002, covers the same photographic idea but with very little detail about what is going on the photos. The comments in Working give an added punch to what you see and despite some of the occupations seeming mundane most of these folk had a positive work ethic and enjoyed doing their best, even down to a couple of guys on strike: 'We like being on strike. The union pays us to be here'.
The original book was printed with a 150 screen on a rather thin gloss paper which unfortunately meant that detail was lost in dark areas of some photos but this edition uses a 200 screen on matt art paper making everything much clearer. Overall an excellent addition to
Suburbia and
Leisure in Owns survey of American life in recent decades.
***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
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