Book Description
In Sticks & Stones, Lee Friedlander offers his view of America as seen through its architecture. In 192 square-format pictures shot over the past 15 years, Friedlander has framed the familiar through his own unique way of seeing the world. Whether he's representing modest vernacular buildings or monumental skyscrapers, Friedlander liberates them from our preconceived notions and gives us a new way of looking at our surrounding environment. Shot during the course of countless trips to urban and rural areas across the country, many of them made by car (the driver's window sometimes providing Friedlander with an extra frame), these pictures capture an America as unblemished by romanticized notions of human nature as it is full of quirky human touches. Nevertheless, man's presence is not at stake here; streets, roads, façades, and buildings offer their own visual intrigue, without reference to their makers. And in the end, it is not even the grand buildings themselves that prick our interest, but rather the forgettable architectural elements--the poles, posts, sidewalks, fences, phone booths, alleys, parked cars--that through photographic juxtaposition with all kinds of buildings help us to discover the spirit of an Architectural America. No living artist is more in touch with the look and feel of American towns and cities than Lee Friedlander. --James Enyeart Essays by James Enyeart. Clothbound, 11.75 x 12.75 in. / 216 pgs / 192 duotones.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In Sticks & Stones, Lee Friedlander offers his view of America as seen through its architecture. In 196 square-format pictures shot over the past 15 years, Friedlander has framed the familiar through his own unique way of seeing the world. Whether he's representing modest vernacular buildings or monumental skyscrapers, Friedlander liberates them from our preconceived notions and gives us a new way of looking at our surrounding environment. Shot during the course of countless trips to urban and rural areas across the country, many of them made by car (the driver's window sometimes providing Friedlander with an extra frame), these pictures capture an America as unblemished by romanticized notions of human nature as it is full of quirky human touches.

SYNOPSIS

Published by the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Calif., in association with Distributed Art Publishers, this handsome, oversized volume (12.25x13") presents 196 square format b&w photos by Friedlander in full-page plates. The photos, which rarely include people, capture distinctly American urban and small town settings, unaccompanied by any caption or text (a list is included indicating the location of each). A brief essay on Friedlander's work is included, by James Enyeart (photography, College of Sante Fe, NM). Not indexed. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

ACCREDITATION

Lee Friedlander was born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1934 and was introduced to photography at the age of 14. He shot portraits of jazz musicians in New York and New Orleans for album covers in the late 1950s and has made his livelihood as a freelance commercial photographer and as a teacher at UCLA, the University of Minnesota, and Rice University. His first important one-man show was mounted at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York, in 1963; four years later he exhibited with Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus in the critical New Documents at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Friedlander was responsible for the discovery of the work of E. J. Bellocq in 1968, publishing his prints of Bellocq's negatives of New Orleans prostitutes two years later. Since then, Friedlander's career has been nothing but distinguished. Among his many awards are a MacArthur Foundation Award, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and three Guggenheim Fellowships. He has published nearly two dozen books, including Self-Portrait, American Musicians, Letters From the People, The Desert Seen, At Work, and, most recently, Stems. He lives in New York State.