Local photographer uses his black–and–white pictures to build context

Fine art photographer Mark Steinmetz thinks of his books as literary, because his photographs have a hint of visual narrative and he believes his pictures are full of subtle detail meant to be read, not just looked at.
“My books are like modernist literature” he mused. “They present fragments rather than document.”
Steinmetz’s five books of photographs are themselves works of art.  Published by Nazraeli Press of Portland, Ore., in limited editions, they are exquisitely printed in duotone on matte art paper. His most recent book, “Greater Atlanta,” completes a trilogy that includes “South” and “South Central.”
“I photograph the everyday,” he said, over breakfast at Big City Bread one balmy winter morning.  “My portraits and landscapes develop subthemes, such as oil, automobiles, the telephone, fast food, convenience stores and suburban sprawl, while they question the notion of progress,” he continued. He acknowledged the influences of both Walker Evans and Robert Frank.

 

To read more about Mark Steinmetz, make sure to pick up a copy of Athens Magazine now on sale at Kroger, Golden Pantry, or Barnes and Noble.

Category: Buzz