Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Oxford, Iowa Project: ppl 20 yrs ago vs. Today

I think the best Photography is the kind where the photographer shares a little insight and personality into the images. A little story of the scene! Which is why I just love this project by Peter Feldstein

From Sub-Studio Design Blog:

In 1984 Peter Feldstein photographed 670 of the 676 residents of Oxford, Iowa. Twenty-one years later, he returned to re-photograph the 670 original participants, bringing Stephen G. Bloom to interview each person. Though some people had died and some had moved away, Peter was able to photograph and interview large number of the original participants. The result is a beautiful portrait of a small American town.

From the artist's website:
Some chose to talk about religion. Others spoke about relationships gone bad. More than a few talked about spouses' infidelities. Several broke down in tears. A few waxed about first girlfriends and boyfriends.

Some of their words came out slowly, others came out in jags and torrents. The language of more than several was pure poetry. Stephen and Peter came to realize that the project had a purpose. They had become confessors to an undiscovered America.
A book of 100 of these portraits and oral histories can be found on Amazon here: "The Oxford Project"

1 comment:

  1. OMG I totally saw this on CNN.com I think? It's so cool. There's an interesting one with a girl who was 4 at the time, whose parents left her on a doorstep. Now she's 24 and working in the same town or something.

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