Joel Sternfeld - American Prospects

Joel Sterfeld is a fine art colour photographer who is most famous for his book “American Prospects”. In this he explores parts of the United States that would usually be ignored in documentation of the United States; it’s the interest Sterfeld takes in documenting these places that attracted me to his work. The book consists of images showing us a less desirable side to the US. 

Sternfeld's work seems to me to be a search for truth, by documenting a wide range of environments as well as ordinary people, he builds up a series of images which aim to represent the United States. The first image that impacted me in the book was "The Bronx, New York" shown to the left. There is a considerable contrast with this image and the images usually publicised in the media from New York it would hardly be believed they were in the same city from this. The grey stone wall of the flats in particular contrasts with the huge luxury apartments associated with well off business men working in the city. The barren ground is also a main part of this image, as well as the emptiness of the street, making it feel slightly eerie however the reds, yellows and whites stand out against the stone building making the image look more inhabited. 

The second image I have chosen is called "The Happy Land Social Club" again in "The Bronx, New York". I chose this because of the brightness of the building, the red really stands out against the black. The graffiti is also powerful in this shot because it demonstrates the sense of ordinary. The fact that this is as much an environment as any other, it is beautiful in its own right. The cross and flowers are also powerful as they demonstrate loss and mourning but at the same time love.