How Larry Sultan Made His Father a Metaphor for Dashed American Dreams

  • 📰 NewYorker
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 50 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 23%
  • Publisher: 67%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

For all of his allegorical intent, the photographer Larry Sultan was unable to escape what he called the “deeper impulses” drawing him to photograph his parents. There is “the wish,” he said, “to stop time. I want my parents to live forever.”

Photographs by Larry Sultan / Courtesy the Estate of Larry Sultan, Yancey Richardson, Casemore Kirkeby, and Galerie Thomas ZanderThere’s a bend on California Highway 62 as it rolls off the high desert plains and down into the Coachella Valley where you suddenly see the parched earth cough up what appears to be a vast mirage. Spread out below, like some plush green shag carpet, is the artificial paradise of greater Palm Springs.

Photographing my father became a way of confronting my confusion about what it was to be a man in this culture. . . . These were the Reagan years, when the image and the institution of the family were being used as an inspirational symbol by resurgent conservatives. I wanted to puncture this mythology of the family and to show what happens when we are driven by images of success.Over his father’s protestations , the book paints a picture of a kind of fallen Horatio Alger type.

For all of his allegorical intent, Sultan was nevertheless unable to escape what he called the “deeper impulses” drawing him to make this work. It is by now a hackneyed observation that photography provokes distance: it yanks us out of the present moment, it conceals the real behind a smudge of images. But at its best the act of photographing can do the opposite: through an act of crystalline attention, we can pull the world and the people in it closer to us, and demonstrate our devotion.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 90. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink trolled with mobile billboard mocking recent ESG comments: 'They are on notice'Consumers' Research launched a mobile billboard campaign calling attention to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's recent comments about polarizing environment, social and governance (ESG).
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »

Larry Householder: Former Ohio House speaker to be sentenced ThursdayFormer Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday following his conviction this year.In March, a jury agreed with prosecutors th
Source: wsyx6 - 🏆 444. / 53 Read more »

Larry Magid: Buying a large appliance online vs. local storeFor larger items, buyers really need to see the product in person
Source: mercnews - 🏆 88. / 68 Read more »

Former GOP Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder to be sentenced todayThe politician was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, which calls for up to 20 years in prison. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Source: clevelanddotcom - 🏆 301. / 63 Read more »

Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder sentenced to 20 years for role in bribery schemeLarry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, were both convicted of a single racketeering charge each, after a six-week trial.
Source: ChicagoBreaking - 🏆 521. / 51 Read more »

LARRY KUDLOW: I just yearn for a merit-based, colorblind societyFOX Business host Larry Kudlow reacts to the Supreme Court stopping affirmative action in college programs on Thursday's 'Kudlow.'
Source: FoxBusiness - 🏆 458. / 53 Read more »