Folks Unlike You and Me
April 6th, 2005
By Archived Story
Our lives are much like a motion picture; thousands of single shots together that make a greater whole. Imagine being able to pull a single image from someone else’s life and see it only for what it is, a fleeting moment that may be gone in an instant.
Minneapolis photographer Alec Soth accomplishes this, and you can see the evidence at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Soth’s images capture a moment, but even more impressive, the moment is one of extraordinary interest. Soth has the patience to wait for his subject to materialize into something sublime. He does not fail to snap the shutter when the moment has matured.
The result is an image that invites creativity for the viewer in the form of a narrative. If there is a common theme to Soth’s show, it’s that: every image tells a specific story. He gives the task of writing that narrative to the viewer, making the art highly interactive.
Soth’s subjects are people in the rawest sense, and stir up emotions that comfort and upset. You feel the peanut butter under you fingernails as “Josh” makes a sandwich. You stare awkwardly at “Jim Harrison” as he sits in a room with two mounted elk, not quite sure just whom you should be addressing. You breathe the misty, peaceful air with “Stacy,” as she pans the horizon among her sheep, finally resting her distant gaze on you.
The show makes viewers relieved not to be one of Soth’s subjects, but raises the question: What is the difference between them and me?
Soth used an 8-by-10 inch view camera to capture these portraits, which allows subjects and surroundings to appear in vivid detail.
Soth works as a freelance photojournalist for Life, The New York Times and other publications. He is also a nominee member for the prestigious Magnum photo agency. Many of the photos are from series, including “From Here to There” and “Sleeping by the Mississippi.”
The exhibit is on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts until May 8. On Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m., the museum will host Alec Soth in an artist-guided tour. Finally, on Sunday, April 17 at 3 p.m., critics Glenn Gordon and Michael Fallon will discuss Soth’s work with the public. The exhibit and all events are free and open to the public. See www.artsmia.org/exhibitions for more information.
