Alec Soth

Alec Soth
Soth in his studio
Born	1969 (age 47–48) Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Photography
Website	AlecSoth.com

Alec Soth (born 1969, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States) is an American photographer, based in Minneapolis, who makes "large-scale American projects" featuring the midwestern United States.^[1] New York Times art critic Hilarie M. Sheets wrote that he has made a "photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers" and photographs "loners and dreamers".^[2] His work tends to focus on the "off-beat, hauntingly banal images of modern America" according to The Guardian art critic Hannah Booth.^[1] His work has been compared to that of Walker Evans and Stephen Shore.^[1] He is a member of Magnum Photos.

Soth has had various books of his work published by major publishers as well as self-published through his own Little Brown Mushroom.^[3] His major publications are Sleeping by the Mississippi, Niagara, Broken Manual and Songbook. He has received fellowships from the McKnight and Jerome Foundations and was the recipient of the 2003 Santa Fe Prize for Photography. His photographs are in major public and private collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Walker Art Center.^[4] His work has been exhibited widely including as part of the 2004 Whitney Biennial and a major solo exhibition at Media Space in London in 2015.

Life and work

Soth studied at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.^[2] He was reported to be "painfully shy" in his youth.^[2]

Soth liked the work of Diane Arbus.^[2] He traveled around the Mississippi River and made a self-printed book entitled Sleeping by the Mississippi which included both landscapes and portraits.^[2] Curators for the 2004 Whitney Biennial put him in their show, and one of his photographs entitled "Charles", of a man in a flight suit on his roof holding two model airplanes, was used in their poster.^[2]

When he photographs people, Soth feels nervous at times. He said: "My own awkwardness comforts people, I think. It’s part of the exchange."^[2] When he was on the road, he'd have notes describing types of pictures he wanted taped to the steering wheel of his car.^[2] One list was: "beards, birdwatchers, mushroom hunters, men’s retreats, after the rain, figures from behind, suitcases, tall people (especially skinny), targets, tents, treehouses and tree lines.^[2] With people, he'll ask their permission to photograph them, and often wait for them to get comfortable; he sometimes uses an 8x10 camera. He tries to find a "narrative arc and true storytelling" and pictures in which each picture will lead to the next one.^[2]

His first book, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published in 2004.^[2] His second book, Niagara, was published in 2006. One of his photos is of a woman in a bridal gown sitting outside what appears to be a motel; he describes having made an arrangement with a particular wedding chapel in Niagara Falls which let him take pictures of couples getting married, by photographing them after their weddings.^[5]

Soth made several more photographic books including Last Days of W, a book about a country "exhausted by George W. Bush's presidency".^[2]

Soth has photographed for The New York Times Magazine, Fortune and Newsweek.

Soth, along with writer Lester B. Morrison, created Broken Manual over four years (2006–2010) an underground instruction manual for those looking to escape their lives. Soth investigates the places in which people retreat to escape civilization, he photographs monks, survivalists, hermits and runaways.

Soth concurrently produced the photo book From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America an overview of Soth’s photography from the early 1990s to the present.

Soth founded the publishing house, Little Brown Mushroom (LBM), in 2010. Through it, he publishes his own, and that of other like-minded people, "narrative photography books that function in a similar way to children's books," in book, magazine and newspaper formats.^[6] He has collaborated on numerous books with Brad Zellar, a Minnesota writer from the Twin Cities.

In 2010, Soth flew to the United Kingdom but despite not having applied for a work visa was allowed into the country on the understanding that if he was "caught taking photographs" he could be put in prison for two years.^[1] So he handed the camera to his young daughter who took pictures in Brighton.^[1]

A 2016 photo exhibition, titled "Hypnagogia", featured 30 images from Soth's 20-year exploration of the state between wakefulness and sleep. “Described as a neurological phenomenon, one recurrently associated with creativity, a hypnagogic state is the dreamlike experience while awake that conjures vivid, sometimes realistic imagery,” Soth explained in the artist statement for the project.^[7]

In 2004, Soth became a nominee of the Magnum Photos agency and in 2008 he became a full member. He lives with his wife and children in Minneapolis.^[2]

Publications

Publications by Soth

• Sleeping by the Mississippi. With essays by Patricia Hampl and Anne Wilkes Tucker and "Selected Notes to the Photographs".
  • Göttingen: Steidl, 2004. ISBN 9783865210074.
  • Göttingen: Steidl, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86521-753-0.
  • Expanded edition with 2 additional photographs. London: Mack. ISBN 978-1-910614-89-1.
• Niagara. Göttingen: Steidl, 2006. ISBN 978-3865212337. Photographs by Alec Soth, essays by Richard Ford and Philip Brookman.
• Fashion Magazine. Paris: Magnum, 2007. ISBN 978-2-9524102-1-2.
• Dog Days Bogota. Göttingen: Steidl, 2007. ISBN 978-3-865214-51-5.
• Last Days of W. St. Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2008.
• Sheep. TBW Subscription Series #2. Oakland, CA: TBW, 2009. Edition of 800 copies. The other volumes are by Todd Hido, Abner Nolan and Marianne Mueller.
• Broken Manual. Göttingen: Steidl, 2010. ISBN 978-3-869301-99-0. With Lester B. Morrison.
• From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America. Minneapolis, MN: Walker Art Center, 2010. ISBN 978-0-935640-96-0. Catalogue of a retrospective exhibition curated by Siri Engberg. Foreword by Olga Viso; texts by Geoff Dyer, "Riverrun"; Britt Salvesen, "American History"; Barry Schwabsky, "A Wandering Art"; a poem by August Kleinzahler, "Sleeping it off in Rapid City"; and Soth in conversation with Bartholomew Ryan, "Dismantling My Career". Includes separate book The Loneliest Man in Missouri by Soth, inserted into back cover.
• Ash Wednesday, New Orleans. Kamakura, Japan: Super Labo, 2010.
• One Mississippi. Nazraeli Press, 2010.
• Lonely Boy Mag. No. A-1: Alec Soth’s Midwestern Exotica. St. Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2011. Edition of 1000 copies. Photographs and text by Soth.
• La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Edizioni Punctum, 2011. Edition of 500 copies.
  • Italian-language edition. Text in Italian. 175 copies of the 500 total edition.
• Looking for Love. Berlin: Kominek Bücher, 2012.
• Ohio. LBM Dispatch #1. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2012. ASIN B008ESQB4Y. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Upstate. LBM Dispatch #2. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2012. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Michigan. LBM Dispatch #3. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2012. ASIN B00BT1KY14. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Three Valleys. LBM Dispatch #4. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2013. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Colorado. LBM Dispatch #5. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2013. Text by Brad Zellar Edition of 2000 copies.
• Texas. LBM Dispatch #6. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2013. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Georgia. LBM Dispatch #7. Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2014. Text by Brad Zellar. Edition of 2000 copies.
• Ping Pong Conversations: Alec Soth with Francesco Zanot. Rome: Contrasto, 2013. ISBN 978-8869654091. Transcripts compiled from conversations between Soth and Zanot, with new and previously published photographs by Soth. Zanot contributes an introduction, "Alec Soth: the Recycling of Photography".
• Bogota Funsaver. One Picture Book 88. Portland, OR: Nazraeli Press, 2014. ISBN 9781590054178. Edition of 500 copies.
• Songbook. Göttingen: Steidl, 2015. ISBN 978-1910164020.
• Gathered Leaves. London: Mack, 2015. ISBN 9781910164365. 29 large format postcards and mini facsimile versions of Sleeping by the Mississippi, Niagara, Broken Manual, and Songbook. With an introduction by Kate Bush and an essay by Aaron Schuman.

Publications with others

• The Image To Come: How Cinema Inspires Photographers. Göttingen: Steidl, 2007.
• Suburban World: The Norling Photos. Saint Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society; Borealis, 2008. ISBN 9780873516099. Brad Zellar, Irwin D. Norling, Soth.
• One Day: 10 Photographers. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2011. ISBN 978-3-86828-173-6. A boxed set of ten books of photographs taken on 21 June 2010. Edited by Harvey Benge, each book by one of Soth, Jessica Backhaus, Gerry Badger, Benge, John Gossage, Todd Hido, Rob Hornstra, Rinko Kawauchi, Eva Maria Ocherbauer and Martin Parr.
• The Auckland Project. Santa Fe, NM: Radius, 2011. ISBN 978-1-934435-26-7. Photographs by Soth and John Gossage. Two volume hardbound in slipcase.
• Alec Soth's Lonely Boy Mag 2: Boys and Their Cars. St. Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2011. Text and photographs by Todd Hido, Soth, Chad States and erotic dioramas by Peter Davidson. Edition of 1000 copies.
• The 1968 Project: A Nation Coming of Age. Saint Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2011. ISBN 9780873518420. Brad Zellar, Alec Soth.
• Rodarte. Photographs by Soth and Catherine Opie. JRP|Ringier, 2011.
• Postcards From America. Photographs by Soth, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Paolo Pellegrin, Mikhael Subotzky, and Ginger Strand. Magnum, 2011.
• House of Coates. Photographs by Alec Soth and Lester B. Morrison, text by Brad Zellar.
  • Saint Paul, MN: Little Brown Mushroom, 2012. ISBN 9781199591036.
  • Coffee House, 2014. ISBN 978-1566893701.
• About Face. San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2014. ISBN 978-0-9839917-2-4. Edition of 1000 copies. Exhibition catalog.
• Rochester 585/716: A Postcard from America Project. New York: Aperture; San Francisco: Pier 24 Photography, 2015. ISBN 978-1-59711-340-3. Edition of 1000 copies.^[8][9]

Publications edited or with contributions by Soth

• Georgian Spring: A Magnum Journal = ქართულიგაზაფხული მაგნუმი ს დღიურები. London: Chris Boot, New York: Magnum, 2009. ISBN 978-1905712151. Introduction by Wendell Steavenson, photographs by Soth, Antoine D'Agata, Jonas Bendiksen, Thomas Dworzak, Martine Franck, Alex Majoli, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Martin Parr, Paolo Pellegrin, and Mark Power.
• Brighton Picture Hunt. Brighton: Photoworks, 2010. ISBN 978-1903796429. Photographs by Carmen Soth, edited by Soth.
• The Open Road: Photography & the American Road Trip. Edited and with text by David Campany, photographs by Robert Frank, Ed Ruscha, Inge Morath, Garry Winogrand, William Egglestone, Lee Friedlander, Joel Meyerowitz, Jacob Holdt, Stephen Shore, Soth, Bernard Plossu, Victor Burgin, Joel Sternfeld, Shin'ya Fujiwara, Todd Hido, Ryan McGinley, Justine Kurland, and Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs.
  • New York: Aperture, 2014. ISBN 978-1-59711-240-6.
  • Road Trips: Voyages photographiques à travers l’Amérique. Paris: Textuel, 2014. ISBN 9782845975002. French-language version.
  • En la Carretera: Viajes fotográficos a través de Norteamérica. Madrid: La Fábrica, 2014. ISBN 9788415691822. Spanish-language version.
• ABC Photography. Berlin: Tarzipan, 2017. Photographs by Soth, Nan Goldin, Sarah Illenberger, Peter Lindbergh, Christoph Niemann, Martin Parr, Bene Ochs, Sebastião Salgado, Wolfgang Tillmans, and others. Text by Monte Packham.

Exhibitions

Solo

• 2004: Alec Soth 'Sleeping by the Mississippi', Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, NY.^[10]
• 2004: Alec Soth 'Sleeping by the Mississippi', Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, CA.^[11]
• 2005: Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY.^[12]
• 2006: Alec Soth 'Niagara', Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY.^[13]
• 2006: Alec Soth – Niagara, Wohnmaschine, Berlin.^[14]
• 2006: Alec Soth: Niagara, Weinstein Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.^[15]
• 2009: The Last Days of W., Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY.^[16]
• 2009/2010: Niagara, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA.^[17]
• 2010/2011: Alec Soth: Black line of woods, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA.^[18]
• 2010: Mississippi Niagara, Triennale di Milano, Milan.^[19]
• 2010/2011: Alec Soth: From here to there, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN.^[20]
• 2011: Alec Soth: Broken Moments, Galerie Friedrich Loock, Berlin.^[21]
• 2012: Alec Soth: La Belle Dame sans Merci, Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow, Central Exhibition Hall Moscow Manege, Moscow.^[22]
• 2012: Broken Manual, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, NY.^[23]
• 2015/2016: Gathered Leaves, Media Space, Science Museum, London, 7 October 2015 – 28 March 2016.^[24][25][26]

Group

• 2005: Roger Ballen, Alec Soth and Vera Lutter, Gagosian Gallery, New York, NY.

Collections

Soth's work is held in the following public and private collections:

Awards

• 1999: McKnight Foundation Photography Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN.
• 2001: Jerome Travel and Study Grant.
• 2001: Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) / Jerome Foundation Fellowships for Emerging Artists.
• 2001: Minnesota State Arts Board.
• 2003: Santa Fe Prize for Photography.
• 2004: McKnight Foundation Photography Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN.
• 2005: CEPA Artist Residency, CEPA (Contemporary Photography & Visual Arts Center), Buffalo, NY.
• 2006: Finalist, Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.
• 2006: Golden Light Book Award.
• 2008: Bush Fellowship, Bush Foundation, Saint Paul, MN.
• 2008: PhotoVision Award.
• 2011: Infinity Award from International Center of Photography, Publication category, for From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America.^[29]
• 2013: John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.^[30]

References