by Imani Perry
First published 2023
Imani Perry examines the American South through the lens of photography, spanning 175 years from 1845 to the present day. This collection features over two hundred photographs that document the region's people, landscapes, and cultural evolution. Perry argues that Southern photography serves as a mirror for broader American concerns including racism, poverty, slavery's aftermath, environmental catastrophe, immigration, and economic transformation. The book showcases work from more than one hundred photographers including Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Gordon Parks, William Eggleston, Sally Mann, Carrie Mae Weems, Dawoud Bey, Alec Soth, and An-My Lê. Essays by Perry, Sarah Kennel, Makeda Best, and Rahim Fortune provide analysis of how visual documentation of the South intersects with both photography's development as an art form and America's national identity. Perry demonstrates that understanding Southern visual culture illuminates the American experience as a whole.
Genres: history, 20th-century, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, photography, art-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: documentary, historical-nonfiction
Setting: American South
Period: 1845, Present Day
352 pages · Hardcover · Aperture
Content warnings: racism, slavery