People's Lives��a Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit

Author/Photographer: Bill Wright Publisher: University of Texas Press (Austin, TX) [c] 2001, 142 pages, US$ 29.95

Bill Wright is both a successful businessman and a distinguished photographer. He has had numerous exhibitions, and his books include "Portraits from the Desert" and "The Tiguas Pueblo Indians of Texas." He is represented in the permanent collections of the British Library, the Museum of American Art, and the Museum of New Mexico.

This book is derived from "People's Lives"--an exhibition that traveled through the United States in 1999, representing the human condition, especially in the undeveloped countries. The photographs are in black and white, and their sensitivity to texture, tone and character remind us that black and white may still be the classic medium for great photography.

The images vary from the spare, such as a picture of a Chinese youth sitting on his bed in a very bare room, to the complex--a Texan cowboy sitting on an elaborately decorated couch in a room filled with a wild assortment of objects: lariats, paintings, lamps, coffee cups and bric-a-brac. But regardless of the setting, the essential humanity of the characters is what is most striking.

For example, the photograph entitled "Lovers" presents a scene in an Argentina cafe. As the lovers in the center kiss (with a painting of lovers on the wall behind them), the other patrons chat, read the papers, and carry on with their own lives. The photo nicely captures the conflicting, but complementary ideas of solitude and community.

The whole volume, with a lively introduction and comments by Sam Abell of the "National Geographic Magazine" is, to quote the subtitle, an apt "Photographic Celebration of the Human Spirit."

COPYRIGHT 2002 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group