Appalachian Lives
As in Appalachian Portraits (1993) and Appalachian Legacy (1998)), here photographer Adams works more as a collaborator than a documentarian in rendering the "intense family environments"-isolated microcosms of farm, factory and self-employed kin-of eastern Kentucky. He employs careful, unsettling poses not unlike those of Sally Mann, but his subjects register an uncanny combination of bemusement and desire to articulate something deadly serious rather than Mann's difficult sexuality. In text that winds through 80 lushly printed b&w; portraits, Adams draws on his own upbringing in the area, and details his long-term relationships with his subjects; often a visit to "Hylo's Place" results in warm exchanges but no pictures. Rather than interfering with photos, the texts add layers of meaning. A shirtless blond boy clutching a rooster was the only one among many on a hot day who could control the bird without getting scratched; his worried stare contains the anxieties of the shoot along with less defined emotions. In "Driving Straight to Hell," a photo featured in the New Yorker, Adams shoots Dan Slone in the cab of his 1979 Ford F-150 at night after days of drinking, illuminated by a lurid strobe. Beginning with portraits of children and ending with several open-casket funerals, the results throughout are disturbing enough that Vicki Goldberg (The Power of Photography: How Photographs Changed Our Lives) is forced to note in her introduction that "evidence of Adams's care and respect shines through." They do, and Adams's subjects, particularly in the group shots, transform his visits into nuanced symphonies of life and light.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.