josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi, Steidl, 2004, Göttingen

 

Clothbound hardcover, first edition, first printing, signed.

It's hard to believe that the first edition of Alec Soth's "Sleeping by the Mississippi" appeared only in 2004, so swiftly has the book become a classic of our time. Evolving from a series of road trips along the Mississippi River, "Sleeping by the Mississippi" captures America's iconic yet oft-neglected "third coast." Soth's richly descriptive, large format color photographs describe an eclectic mix of individuals, landscapes and interiors. Sensuous in detail and raw in subject, his book elicits a consistent mood of loneliness, longing and reverie. "In the book's 46 ruthlessly edited pictures," writes Anne Wilkes Tucker, "Soth alludes to illness, procreation, race, crime, learning, art, music, death, religion, redemption, politics, and cheap sex... The coherence of the project places Soth's book exactly within the tradition of Walker Evans' "American Photographs" and Robert Frank's "The Americans."" Like Frank's classic book, "Sleeping by the Mississippi" merges a documentary style with a poetic sensibility. The Mississippi River is less the subject of the book than its organizing structure. Not bound by a rigid concept or ideology, the series is created from a quintessentially American spirit of wanderlust.

Pages: 120
Place: Göttingen
Year: 2004
Publisher: Steidl
Size: 29 x 28 cm (approx.)


Included in "The Photobook: A History Volume II" by Parr/Badger
>> see more Vol. II picks here






 Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Front)

Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Front)

 Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Spine)

Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Spine)

 Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Back)

Alec Soth - Sleeping by the Mississippi (Back)




Sample page 1 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 1 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 2 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 2 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 3 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 3 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 4 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 4 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 5 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 5 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 6 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 6 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 7 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 7 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 8 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 8 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 9 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 9 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 10 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 10 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 11 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 11 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 12 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 12 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 13 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 13 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 14 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 14 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 15 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 15 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 16 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 16 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 17 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 17 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 18 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 18 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

Sample page 19 for book  Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi

Sample page 19 for book " Alec Soth – Sleeping by the Mississippi", josefchladek.com

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Clothbound hardcover, first edition, first printing, signed.

It's hard to believe that the first edition of Alec Soth's "Sleeping by the Mississippi" appeared only in 2004, so swiftly has the book become a classic of our time. Evolving from a series of road trips along the Mississippi River, "Sleeping by the Mississippi" captures America's iconic yet oft-neglected "third coast." Soth's richly descriptive, large format color photographs describe an eclectic mix of individuals, landscapes and interiors. Sensuous in detail and raw in subject, his book elicits a consistent mood of loneliness, longing and reverie. "In the book's 46 ruthlessly edited pictures," writes Anne Wilkes Tucker, "Soth alludes to illness, procreation, race, crime, learning, art, music, death, religion, redemption, politics, and cheap sex... The coherence of the project places Soth's book exactly within the tradition of Walker Evans' "American Photographs" and Robert Frank's "The Americans."" Like Frank's classic book, "Sleeping by the Mississippi" merges a documentary style with a poetic sensibility. The Mississippi River is less the subject of the book than its organizing structure. Not bound by a rigid concept or ideology, the series is created from a quintessentially American spirit of wanderlust.

Pages: 120
Place: Göttingen
Year: 2004
Publisher: Steidl
Size: 29 x 28 cm (approx.)


Included in "The Photobook: A History Volume II" by Parr/Badger
>> see more Vol. II picks here