LBM Dispatch #1: Ohio
Alec Soth and Brad Zellar
Little Brown Mushroom
English
Softcover, unbound pages
48 pages
290 × 380 mm
2012
One of Soth’s favourite subjects is community life. Thus, he assumed the dying role of ‘Community Newspaper Reporter’. Hence, Ohio. A collaboration between Soth and American author and journalist Brad Zellar. Over the course of a week, in May 2012, they visited Midwestern communities in Ohio looking for their voices. As a result, the book shows the connections that Soth and Zellar established along the trip. So, the outcome is a remarkable record of these communities. We’re invited to see their roads, churches, cemeteries and soup kitchens. In conclusion, this is a beautiful documentation of the Midwest. It feels like a road trip and a field trip. Besides, the newspaper format helps us enter these communities and join their trip.
(Source: https://www.setantabooks.com/collections/alec-soth-books/products/ohio-alec-soth)
About the Artist
Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has published over thirty books including Sleeping by the Mississippi (2004), NIAGARA (2006), Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015), I Know How Furiously Your Heart is Beating (2019), A Pound of Pictures (2022), and Advice for Young Artists (2024). Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris (2008), the Walker Art Center in Minnesota (2010), Media Space in London (2015), and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (2024). Soth has been the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (2013). In 2008, Soth created Little Brown Mushroom, a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Hammons Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, Loock Galerie in Berlin, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
https://alecsoth.com/photography
(Source: https://alecsoth.com/photography/about)
Brad Zellar (born November 16, 1961) is an American author, journalist, and cultural historian whose work often explores overlooked stories, people, and landscapes of the American Midwest. He is the author of several books, including Suburban World: The Norling Photos (2008), The 1968 Project: A Nation Coming of Age (2011), and Till the Wheels Fall Off (2022). Zellar has also collaborated extensively with photographers on image–text projects that extend his documentary approach to American life.
https://yourmanforfuninrapidan.blogspot.com/
(Source: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/04/25/a-marvelous-crutch-an-interview-with-brad-zellar/)
About the Publisher
Established in 2008 by Alec Soth, Little Brown Mushroom (LBM) is is committed to experimenting with visual storytelling. Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, LBM has worked with artists, photographers, writers and designers from around the world on publishing and educational projects.
https://littlebrownmushroom.com/
(Source: https://littlebrownmushroom.com/about)
