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November 26, 2008
Alec Soth's The Last Days of W is a self-published artist book printed on newsprint. W, of course, refers to President Bush. It is an assemblage of photographs made over the last eight years the time that George W. Bush has occupied the White House.
I guess its kind of a book but not really as it is also kind of a newspaper --cheap and run down. But Soth still represents an old-fashioned kind of image-making who works in a tradition of the road photographer who goes out and documents real people and places and lets the decay of the world show.
Alec Soth, Detroit, Michigan, from The Last Days of W, 2008
The 36 images are of America that is feeling the pinch land looking a bit worn out and exhausted. Soth is interested in the way 30 pictures relate to each other. Most are not going to be great pictures but they have a weight to them as a group.
He's a full time photographer with a studio manager and assistants who has the time and energy to breathe new life into the Magnum blog.
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A blog about photography books