Photographer's Paradise
Turbulent America 1960-1990
Will be published approx. on 8. September 2014
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-0-9913419-0-0 (ISBN)
Description
Photographer's Paradise is a career retrospective of Jean-Pierre Laffont, one of the most celebrated photojournalists working today and a fresh look at the history of the United States during the pivotal era of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
The photographs that make up this first book by renowned photojournalist Jean-Pierre Laffont serve as a powerful and provocative examination of the American dream. For nearly three decades, Laffont travelled the breadth of the United States, a true embodiment of American freedom. Documenting the country in all of its facets - from national crises and unsightly social injustices to heartfelt protest and solidarity, the photographer took full advantage of the access granted to him by the world's greatest democracy. He travelled all fifty of the United States to document a broad swath of the country's fabric, capturing America through some of its most turbulent eras. From the electric chair at Sing Sing to Women's Jello Wrestling, the Watkins Glen rock festival to the Kent State shooting protest in Washington DC, Laffont was front and centre to history as it unfolded.
Never working on assignment, Laffont chased stories of his own volition with a lens that was at once compassionate, humanistic, and unflinching. Taken together, these pages tell the story of the chaotic, often painful, birth of twenty-first-century America - a place where a black president, gay marriage, and women executives have become the new norm. Photographer's Paradise reminds us of the power of the freedom of speech, as Laffont speaks truth to power through his camera lens.
The photographs that make up this first book by renowned photojournalist Jean-Pierre Laffont serve as a powerful and provocative examination of the American dream. For nearly three decades, Laffont travelled the breadth of the United States, a true embodiment of American freedom. Documenting the country in all of its facets - from national crises and unsightly social injustices to heartfelt protest and solidarity, the photographer took full advantage of the access granted to him by the world's greatest democracy. He travelled all fifty of the United States to document a broad swath of the country's fabric, capturing America through some of its most turbulent eras. From the electric chair at Sing Sing to Women's Jello Wrestling, the Watkins Glen rock festival to the Kent State shooting protest in Washington DC, Laffont was front and centre to history as it unfolded.
Never working on assignment, Laffont chased stories of his own volition with a lens that was at once compassionate, humanistic, and unflinching. Taken together, these pages tell the story of the chaotic, often painful, birth of twenty-first-century America - a place where a black president, gay marriage, and women executives have become the new norm. Photographer's Paradise reminds us of the power of the freedom of speech, as Laffont speaks truth to power through his camera lens.
Reviews / Votes
Lovingly designed and meticulously edited, [these books] are a rare treat. Time Magazine, September 8, 2014 Some of Laffont's best work is now showcased in a new book titled Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990 published by Glitterati Incorporated. Daily Mail (UK), September 14, 2014 Sixties America was far from a paradise but, says Laffont, it was a dream place to be a photographer. -- Horatia Harrod Telegraph, September 11, 2014 These photo books, lovingly designed and meticulously edited, are a rare treat in a time when photography is all-too-often relegated to selfies and snapshots, and offer an opportunity to truly indulge in the unfettered beauty of a well-made book. Time Magazine, September 8, 2014 Through Laffont's lens we see the emergence of a brave new world, one that allows the youth to follow their dreams, for better or for worse. The result is a remarkable monograph that is a work of significant art history, revealing an astonishing breadth, detail, and scope as profound and compelling as the man who took the photographs himself. -- Miss Rosen Crave Online, June 4, 2015 Among the most anticipated is this year's video presentation of the new book Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990, by award winning veteran photojournalist Jean Pierre Laffont. August 29, 2014 You can see in this book Laffont's particular taste for a kind of photo that is very much of the moment today: a field of edge-to-edge pattern, with a small device that repeats throughout the frame. -- Christopher Bonanos New York Magazine, September 4, 2014 It was unlike anywhere else he had photographed. -- James Estrin New York Times, September 2, 2014 Viewed through the prism of history, these rediscovered gems offer new perspectives on the visual narrative. -- Shawn O'Sullivan Black and White Magazine, December 2014 Paging through Photographer's Paradise is like watching a nation grow and crumble under its own weight. His images record the vast diversity of communities, societies, and often people on the fringes of those groups. Laffont's photojournalism becomes a historical record of the times. -- Christopher Harrity The Advocate, November 7, 2014 Jean-Pierre Laffont's extensive photo archive seems almost mythological: How could one photographer cover so many seminal events with such a unique vision? -- David Rosenberg Slate, December 19, 2014 This collection of images serves as a powerful and provocative examination of the American Dream. Laffont traveled to all 50 states to document a broad swath of the country's fabric, capturing America through some of its most turbulent eras. Photo District News The first book by photojournalist Jean-Pierre Laffont, this collection of images serves as a powerful and provocative estimation of the American Dream. Photo District News Man Ray once said, 'A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective'" which is what photojournalist Pierre Laffont's pictures are all about... -- Yvette de las Nueces Cause + Yvette Jean-Pierre Laffont, completely unobtrusive behind his camera, belongs to the race of true masters of the image. He is pleased that the Maison europeenne de la photographie, along with the republication of an already cult book, Le Paradis d'un Photographe, Tumulteuse Amerique, finally puts a spotlight on the rich production of a photographer who had remained for far too long in the shadow of thousands of his images. Full of modesty and humility, Jean-Pierre Laffont is a colossus among the great, persistent figures in a brotherhood of 'long-distance reporters. -- Alain Mingam L'Oeil de la Photographie, October 8, 2015 Photographer's Paradise: Turbulent America 1960-1990 is a big heavy book whose weight is metaphorically reflected in the images it contains. It is a gift to view this collection of what one photographer bore witness to during a period of immense change in the US, narrated through images, captions, and extended vignettes. -- Margaret Mitchell Shutter Hub, November 3, 2015More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Picture book
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
359 colour
Dimensions
Height: 350 mm
Width: 258 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
3076 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-9913419-0-0 (9780991341900)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jean Pierre Laffont (born January 29, 1935, in Algeria) first arrived in the United States in 1965 as staff photographer for Status Magazine and U.S. Correspondent for the French-based agency, Reporters Associes. In 1969, Laffont became the first Foreign Correspondent for the Gamma Agency and founded the U.S. bureau of Gamma with his wife, Eliane. In 1973, the Laffonts co-founded Sygma Photo News. His work has appeared in all major publications worldwide including Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Paris Match, Figaro Magazine, Stern, Bunte, Epoca, and The Sunday Times Magazine, among others. Laffont was awarded The Madeleine Ross Award and the World Press Award for the work he did documenting child labour in the 1970s. In 1996, Laffont was awarded the French National order "Chevalier des Arts & Lettres." Sir Harold Matthew Evans (born 28 June 1928) is a British-born journalist and writer who was editor of The Sunday Times.He has held leading positions in journalism with US News and World Report, The Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Daily News. In 1986 he founded Conde Nast Traveler. He has written various books on history and journalism, including The American Century (1998). Since 2001, Evans has served as editor-at-large of The Week Magazine and since 2005, he has been a contributor to The Guardian and BBC Radio 4. In 2011 Sir Harold Evans was appointed editor-at-large of the Reuters news agency.
Content
Contents: Foreword by Sir Harold Evans; Introduction: America As I Lived It; The 1960s / Expanded History: 1960s: 42nd Street; The Savage Skulls; Transvestites; Electric Chair, Sing Sing; Arkansas Prison Cummins Farm; The Krishnas; Rock Festival at Watkins Glen, 1973; The Funeral of Robert Kennedy; An Accident at Chappaquiddick. The 1970s / Expanded History: 1970s: Guam; Bombs; Protest in Washington DC against the Kent State Shooting; Boxing: Ali vs Frasier; The KKK at Home; KKK Secret Army; Carter County, Georgia; Explo 72; The Sorcerers of Brooklyn; Energy Crisis of 1973; Printing Dollars. The 1980s / Expanded History: 1980s: Women's Jello Wrestling; Children and Guns; The Rajneesh American Farmers in the 1980s.