Saturday, July 23, 2016

"The Ongoing Moment" by Geoff Dyer

ISBN: 978-1-4000-3168-9 Vintage

I tend to love books that dwell on a subject matter and ramble on afterwards.  Geoff Dyer's subject matter is photography and photographers.  Here he captures various moments by either European or more likely, American photographers at work.   The book really focuses on the works of Alred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Walker Evens, André Kertész, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Diane Arbus, and my personal fave, William Eggleston.  A lot of these photographers have focused on the same subject matter or weird visions of Americana as it was found or happened.   Personally I have never come upon a photo of a landscape or a park that doesn't make me feel sad.  In a sense, it's the passing of time or even death in certain situations.  What we have here is actually a very focused view on the photograph and its artists.   The one's I listed above, I think you can get a clear picture (no pun intended) of what this book is about.  Very enjoyable read, by a really good writer, on a subject matter that is sometimes hard to write about.  

- Tosh Berman

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