America at Home: Don't worry, office readers. You're in America, too.
Rick Smolan and Against All Odds Productions has an ambitious new photojournalism project that will try to combine the excitement of Flickr with the fun of a coffee table book. Funded by Google, HP, and IKEA, the group is launching MyAmericaAtHome, a Web site for amateur digital photographers to upload pictures of "what 'Home' means to them."
If the words "amateur" and "photos" leave you wondering just how many obscene images the group will have to sort through, then have no fear; Smolan also recruited 100 professional photojournalists to bring their own home-themed photos to the mix. After a week of getting photos, from Sept. 17 through 23, the group will compile these pictures into a 224-page coffee table book that will hit stores in March.
I'm a bit skeptical of just how many "amateur" photos will end up in this book, considering the 100 professional photojournalists submitting their work for a 224-page book. Of course, the entire "coffee table book aspect" leaves me a bit cold, too. Hopefully this entire America at Home project will involve the release of these myriad photos onto the Web instead of simply letting them collect dust in an oversized book like the group's previous projects, 24 Hours in Cyberspace, One Digital Day, and A Day in the Life of America: America 24/7. They are all 224-page coffee table books printed between 1995 and 1997, and they all share pretty much the same themes as this project.
Still, Smolan should be lauded for his creativity. Amateurs posting their photos online is such a novel idea.
"The 503 photos were selected from almost 2 million pictures taken by 273 photographers, famous and unknown, in 68 countries, and offer a striking snapshot of the human experience which lingers on birth, love, and joy, but also touches war, privation, illness and death. His intention was to prove visually the universality of human experience and photography's role in its documentation.
The exhibit was turned into a book of the same name, containing an introduction by Carl Sandburg who was Steichen's brother-in-law. The book was reproduced in a variety of formats (most popularly a pocket-sized volume) in the 1950s, and reprinted in large format for its 40th anniversary. It has sold more than 4 million copies.
The exhibition later travelled in several versions to 38 countries. More than 9 million people viewed the exhibit. The only surviving edition was presented to Luxembourg, the country of Steichen's birth, and is on permanent display in Clervaux."
Yes, Rick Smolan, the author of this next in a long series of "24 hour" books, is standing in the big shoes of Edward Steichen, the creator of ?Family of Man?. Yet Rick has more than established his ability to bring forward, with great editorial skill, an international excitement to the layman's appreciation and practice of turning the mundane aspects of life into vivid collections of visual majesty. Hoe else would he produce such an impressive assembly of prestigious sponsors?
We are now in the midst of the most astounding visual renaissance ever, brought about by the conjunction of the digital camera plugged into the internet showcase, with participants in the hundreds of millions. When I browse through internet as an experienced photographer, I am blown away by the ?amateur? eye profusely exhibited therein!
Crave, retain a photo critic who sees (I hereby volunteer for the interim.), and Will, my second recommendation to you is to read my forthcoming book, ?Real Views? a manual on systematically practicing the art of seeing the common. Please don?t review it, however!
Thank you.
Douglas Hopkins