September 08, 2010

richard misrach's destroy this memory

Tyler Green on Richard Misrach's new book of post-Katrina photos of New Orleans, Destroy This Memory: "Consider Misrach’s book an affirmation that artists can bring strikingly different, equally valuable points-of-view to the same subject and that their contributions to story-telling and creating our collective memory are every bit as valuable as journalism or oral history."

I had a chance to look through the book this past weekend, and it's an incredible piece of work. Shot with a 4MP point and shoot, Misrach deftly sidesteps the temptation of turning the flood destruction into beautiful images; instead, each photo features graffiti left by survivors. Every photo has its own story, but taken together they all say one thing: Fuck You, Katrina.