Title: The Nicknames of Citizens
Artist: John Gossage
Steidl, 2020
240 x 290 mm
144 pages
Clothbound hardback
Text in English
ISBN: 9783958295483
“The Nicknames of Citizens” continues John Gossage’s astute, critical and witty look at his native America; it is the third volume in his ongoing exploration of the country and its people, following “Should Nature Change” (2019) and the upcoming “Jack Wilson’s Waltz”. Whether in California, Indiana or New York, whether his subjects are young artists, non-descript suburbia or a dirt road, Gossage’s approach is the same. “Nicknames,” he writes, “are mostly a second naming of a person after their true character is known. When a child is born the parents choose a name, if it fits all the way though life it is a lucky guess. Picture-making (mine at least) seems to me like trying to find the correct nickname for something I’ve found existing in the world and photographed. This book and these pictures make that attempt with the country of my birth and its citizens. It will be up to the viewers to decide if the names stick. To be continued...”
- From the publisher’s website
“The Nicknames of Citizens” continues John Gossage’s astute, critical and witty look at his native America; it is the third volume in his ongoing exploration of the country and its people, following “Should Nature Change” (2019) and the upcoming “Jack Wilson’s Waltz”. Whether in California, Indiana or New York, whether his subjects are young artists, non-descript suburbia or a dirt road, Gossage’s approach is the same. “Nicknames,” he writes, “are mostly a second naming of a person after their true character is known. When a child is born the parents choose a name, if it fits all the way though life it is a lucky guess. Picture-making (mine at least) seems to me like trying to find the correct nickname for something I’ve found existing in the world and photographed. This book and these pictures make that attempt with the country of my birth and its citizens. It will be up to the viewers to decide if the names stick. To be continued...”
- From the publisher’s website
