Synopses & Reviews
Clambering down slippery rocks to a swimming hole. Ducking the plume of smoke from a barbecue grill. Wishing for a breeze in a too-small dome tent. Scanning the sky for rain from a postage-stamp backyard. It is in these small moments of actionand#8212;and inactionand#8212;that Justin Kimball captures our everyday attempts to relax. Indeed, one might argue that the events depicted
are everyday life.and#160;
Kimballand#8217;s compelling photographs depict ordinary peopleand#8212;parents and teens, grandparents and kidsand#8212;in landscapes of leisure. These are not the exclusive resorts and white sand beaches of the affluent; rather, they are the parks, campgrounds, and fishing piers where most Americans vacation. They are natural landscapesand#8212;inviting, green, and sometimes beautifuland#8212;but at the same time they are imperfectand#8212;muddy, crowded, and partially paved. There is nothing idyllic about these vacation spots; indeed, Kimballand#8217;s photographs make clear that daily life can never be fully left behind. The people in his pictures, though momentarily transformed by cascading water or the shade of towering trees, remain enmeshed in ties of family and obligation, shadowed by thoughts of home.and#160;
It is Kimballand#8217;s particular genius to isolate these moments between duty and pleasure. Where We Find Ourselves enables viewers to identify withand#8212;and participate inand#8212;this bittersweet aspect of American leisure and the ambiguous contemporary relationship between people and nature.
Review
"It takes a while to realize just how good this book is. . . . Keep on looking, though, and you'll see that whatever moment is the magic moment or the decisive moment or simply
the moment that distills a scene into its essence, Justin Kimball finds it. . . . In most of the plates there is a felt psychological weight, and yet that which is being weighed is hard to specify. Perhaps that is what gives
Where We Find Ourselves its considerable power. . . . Kimball has no interest in making statements about nature, nor does he appear eager to document how humans ruin nature. He is interested in the people occupying the spaces he happens on, and he is content to leave interpretations to those fortunate enough to peruse a copy of
Where We Find Ourselves."
Review
"
Where We Find Ourselves represents uncomplicated and unadulterated bliss. . . . The fact that these vacation spots are so accessible and so simple make the photos seem even more spectacular. . . .
Where We Find Ourselves keeps memories like a family photo album, but with absolutely stunning pictures."
About the Author
Justin Kimball teaches photography at Amherst College. He is the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography, and his photographs are in the permanent collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Library of Congress, and the Mead Museum of Art, among others.
Table of Contents
Prologueand#160;Introduction by Richard B. Woodwardand#160;The Platesand#160;List of Platesand#160;Acknowledgmentsand#160;About the Author and the Essayist