Legends of photography

South Beach dredging site, Fort Pierce, Florida, 2005

Mitch Epstein

Epstein’s work shows him as one of the great documentarians of post-war America, says Oliver Atwell

America, as we know it today, is more than a country. When the first white settlers ‘discovered’ the land and set up camp on its shores, a process of ideology and philosophy began to take root. This seemingly feral land became a symbol of the pioneer spirit and what would eventually become known as manifest destiny, the belief that the settlers were ordained by God to conquer the land and anything and anyone they found within. Further down the line, America (or more specifically, the United States) became a prison for the immeasurable number of people snatched from Africa and sold into human chattel enslavement. For Mexican migrants, it later became a land of hope, a place where they could either start a new life or work tirelessly to send money back to their families. The fact is, there is no one true America –it can at once be a place of dreams and nightmares.

66 Mitch Epstein, born in Massachusetts in 1952, recognises all too well that America is both a place and an idea, and has spent the best part of five decades attempting to rectify these two notions. Sunshine Hotel, published by Steidl, brings together 175 of Epstein’s images (taken between 1969 and 2015) and acts as perhaps the best survey, not just of Epstein’s work, but of America’s most defining years. In the 1970s, Epstein became a student of the photographer Garry Winogrand. You can see that clear influence of Winogrand in Epstein’s almost anthropological studies of the cultural and political events that shook up post-war America. It was his early adoption of colour that made his images stand out back then. He took to the medium eagerly, recognising its potential to draw the viewer in and show them a world they recognised, rather than the romanticised version they had become so accustomed to in the previous years of documentary work. Actually, that term –‘documentary work’ –doesn’t entirely do Epstein’s work justice. Whether covering the white supremacy movement, surveillance after 9/11 or the results of Ronald Reagan’s economic ideology during the 1980s, Epstein’s work carries the weight of much more than detached documentation. Each image is laser-focused and direct in its ability to engage us on an artistic level. The presence of narrative and vibrant colour suggest someone concerned with creating images that belong on gallery walls. Epstein, in photographs such as the one above, forces us to confront the reality of our world. Through his images, we find that there is no one clear path to the future. There will always be winners and there will always be losers.

www.parkcameras.com/CANON-LENS-REWARDS

THE LENS YOU WANT, FOR THE CAMERA YOU OWN

SAVE UP TO £880 REDEEM A CASH REWARD WHEN PURCHASING A CANON LENS FOR YOUR FULL-FRAME BODY!

EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM

SAVE £220 EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

SAVE £220 EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

SAVE £220

£1,429 .00*

*Price shown after £220 reward. You pay £1,649.00 and claim £220 from Canon UK.

RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM

SAVE £220

£1,257 .00*

*Price shown after £220 reward. You pay £1,477.00 and claim £220 from Canon UK.

£1,529 .00*

*Price shown after £220 reward. You pay £1,749.00 and claim £220 from Canon UK.

RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM

SAVE £220 RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

SAVE £255

£2,079 .00*

£2,079 .00*

*Price shown after £220 reward. You pay £2,299.00 and claim £220 from Canon UK. *Price shown after £220 reward. You pay £2,299.00 and claim £220 from Canon UK.

£2,344 .00*

*Price shown after £255 reward. You pay £2,599 and claim £255 from Canon UK.

EF LENSES EF 400mm f/2.8L IS III USM EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM

£790 £700 £880 £110 £130 £120 £220 £880 RF LENSES RF 35mm f/1.8 MACRO IS STM RF 50mm f/1.2L USM RF 85mm f/1.2L USM RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM RF 24-105mm f/4 7.1 IS STM RF 24-240mm f/4 6.3 IS USM RF 28-70mm f/2L USM £60 £220 £260 £260 £180 £60 £130 £290

Offer applies to lenses purchased at Park Cameras, within 90 days of purchasing the following full-frame bodies: • EOS RP • EOS R • EOS 6D Mark II • EOS 5D Mark IV • EOS-1D X Mark II • EOS-1D X Mark III

For even more Canon cameras & lenses, visit us in store or online!

LONDON 53-54 Rathbone Place, LONDON, W1T 1JR

SUSSEX York Road, BURGESS HILL, West Sussex, RH15 9TT

VERSATILITY MEETS AGILITY

From fast-moving action to rich 4K HDR video, the new Nikon D780 helps your vision take fl ight. Its unique combination of autofocus systems off ers the best of both worlds. Optical viewfi nder shooting gives you fast and accurate AF with fl agship tracking capabilities. Whilst live view shooting brings all the advantages of focal-plane phase-detection AF technology, including eye-detection AF and 273 focus points. Combined with shutter speeds from 1/8000 to 900 seconds, and advanced video and time-lapse features, the D780 embodies true versatility.