Rough Beauty

Rough Beauty

"This book's title, Rough Beauty , conveys Anderson's conviction that the hard scrabble lives of most of the residents of Vidor, Texas, are worthy of our attention, but it also conveys that he does not seek to beautify their lives by removing the crude edges." -- Anne Wilkes Tucker A powerful photographic documentation of the people and places a poor and isolated town in rural southeast Texas, most known for its long history as a KKK town. Begun in fall 2003 and completed in early 2006 (after fifty trips), Rough Beauty explores the character and burden -- and the resilience and off-kilter beauty -- of a community branded by its history. Vidor is reviled for its history of Klan activities, but behind this stereotype lingers a town filled with people who have not been able to lift themselves up and a crushing poverty sometimes reminiscent of the Great Depression. Anderson's images show a hidden beauty that lies dormant even in the roughest places. Winner of the Santa Fe Center for Photography 2005 Project Competition. Exhibition tour begins fall 2006 and continues throughout 2007. In the interview concluding this book, Anderson suggests that the historic photographer he most admires is Dorothea Lange, especially for her images of poor, rural Americans. His pictures taken in little Vidor, Texas, attest the affinity. The people Anderson shows, like those in Lange's famous pictures, are poor and white. Most of the adults have no or too little work; Anderson says they typify the people his economic historian father says have lived for generations as tenuously as many more did only during the Depression. Whereas Lange photographed the poor to call attention and relief to their plight, Anderson aims to disclose the beauty in their lives that arises from their persistent enjoyment of life despite continual hardship. He finds it in the things they create because they can't buy them: a deer-hunter's stand, old boots transformed into planters, a barrel rigged with ropes for children to "bronco"-ride. He finds it in candor of expression, tenderness for pets and infants, and children's play. But it's a rough beauty, all right, especially among the adults. Ray Olson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Prior to becoming a full-time professional photographer, Anderson worked for Bill Clinton at the White House and then as a full-time producer at MTV. Dave's project "Rough Beauty" was the winner of the Santa Fe Center for Photography's 2005 Project Competition. He was also named a rising star by Photo District News. Founder and curator of photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Curated over two-dozen exhibitions, including retrospectives for Robert Frank, Richard Misrach and Brassaï, and published many articles and lectures around the world. Awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Arts, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Getty Research Institute. New Mint Condition Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon Guaranteed packaging No quibbles returns