The Great Mirror

April 11, 2004 10:55 AM

The Great Mirror."A collection of about five thousand photographs taken over the last 30 years by Bret Wallach, a geography professor at the University of Oklahoma.  With few exceptions, the photos show cultural rather than physical landscapes and are intended to illuminate the people who have shaped these landscapes and are reflected in it." [Via wood s lot.]
posted by homunculus (3 comments total)

h, I don't get it how these particular collections illuminate anything. The short comment for each photo and collection don't do anything to help.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:07 AM on April 11, 2004

I guess Wallach thinks the photographs speak for themselves. More description would be nice, but he does have many great.
posted by homunculus at 1:58 PM on April 11, 2004

My initial reaction was the same as billsaysthis. Most of the European photos are little more than "what I did on my holidays". The London photos are chiefly the obvious tourist attractions (Nelson's Column, Piccadilly Circus, the British Museum) with disappointingly little commentary.

Then I turned to the American section and was much more impressed. The Oklahama photos are particularly interesting: he has a good eye for architectural oddities, follies and monstrosities. The section entitled Pioneer Oil Fields of the San Joaquin Valley is also worth a glance if you like images of post-industrial decay.

Oh yes, and the photos of Israeli settlements on the West Bank are also well worth looking at.
posted by verstegan at 3:07 PM on April 11, 2004