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Moonshine. By Bertien Van Manen.
MACK, 2014.
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"The first time I encountered a book by Bertien Van Manen was disorienting. I felt fairly certain that I was looking at a book of found photographs. It wasn't until I'd flipped halfway through the book that I was forced to examine the text more closely — What is this?! — and I realized the photos had all been made by one person.
That was Let's Sit Down Before We Go. Van Manen's latest book Moonshine picks up where that one left off. The subject shifts from Eastern Europe to Appalachia but Van Manen's casual command of the snapshot aesthetic is just as masterful. Her photos balance on the perfect edge of precision and chaos. Upping the ante, Moonshine throws black and white photos into the mix. They blend seamlessly with the color shots. And, oh yeah, it also lovingly documents thirty years of rural family history. A perfect book in almost every way."—Blake Andrews
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| Moonshine. By Bertien Van Manen. MACK, 2014. |
Blake Andrews is a photographer (penonome.tumblr.com) based in Eugene, OR. He has imagined winning several awards and fellowships, including the Deutsche Borsche Prize in 2010 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1997. He has also fantasized about shows internationally, in 17 countries including Antarctica. (Ed. note: Blake Andrews also writes reviews for photo-eye Blog. Read them here.)