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photo-eye Book Reviews: Guardians

"How much of a guard's authority is invested in his or her uniform?  When I was a crossing guard in sixth grade, I wore a white halter belt with a stop sign fixed on its back, a helmet, and I carried a whistle for emergencies. Drivers knew I was there to do a job. I suspect the Praetorian Guard protecting the Roman Caesars wore more forbidding uniforms that let citizens know they meant business and could effectively protect the emperor (except at those times they mutinied themselves). On the other hand, if I were the Queen of England I would hate to think that those men in the silly hats and tight red jackets were my first line of defense against an angry mob.

All this is a long way around to the subject matter of Andy Freeberg's Guardians, his portraits of the often-elderly women chosen to protect the artistic heritage of Russia in St. Petersburg and Moscow museums. What does it mean that they go without uniforms and wear their comfortable street clothes and simply a nametag, often as not obscured by their shawls, jackets, or relaxed posture?"
          ---  from Charles Dee Mitchell's review of Guardians by Andy Freeberg in photo-eye Magazine

          Read the full review here.