Skip to main content

Jason Eskenazi: The Americans List

From Photoeye: "While working as a guard at the MET museum in New York, Eskenazi began to ask photographers he knew visiting the Looking In exhibition about Robert Franks The Americans, their favorite image and why. In the 2 years since he quit, as he himself got back out on the road again to shoot, he complied 276 photographers answers in the unique book destined to be a classic in photography education.

"Includes contributions from Mary Ellen Mark, Joel Meyerowitz, Jeffrey Ladd, Robert Frank, Martin Parr, Philip Perkis, David Alan Harvey, Bill Burke, Josef Koudelka, John Gossage, Juliana Beasley, Sara Terry, Mark Steinmetz, Vanessa Winship, Alec Soth and many more."


Blake Andrews mines the data here.  The one I'd probably have picked is at number six, Plate 35 (Car accident, U.S. 66 - Arizona).  I saw it at one of the first big group shows at Tate Modern over a decade ago. It was a small, faded vintage print and didn't demand much attention in a show that was largely room after room of big art photography. It wasn't the first time I'd seen it but it was the one that 'really meant something', and is the only one I can remember from that day.