D E L T A W E S T
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'The Land and People of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ' +
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Reviewed by A.D. Coleman
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'From book Light Readings, Oxford Press, 1979 ' +
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'Even today, photography books make the American Institute ' +
'of Graphic Arts\' list of "Fifty Best Books of the Year" ' +
'infrequently enough that any such award is noteworthy. When ' +
'such a volume is not only a superbly designed, bound, printed, ' +
'and reproduced object, but also a profoundly expressive ' +
'creative work and a significant socio-historical document, ' +
'such production-oriented encomiums can only hint at the ' +
'book\'s real value.
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Delta West by Roger Minick and Dave Bohn, published ' +
'in 1969 by Scrimshaw Press in an edition of 3000 copies, ' +
'has recently been so honored by the AIGA, and deserves it ' +
'tenfold. It is a beautifully made book, an obvious labor ' +
'of love for all involved in its preparation. More than that, ' +
'though, it is a major addition to the mainstream of photographic ' +
'literature, a piece of work so forceful that not even slipshod ' +
'production could have dimmed its luster.
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'The subject of
Delta West is, in the words of the ' +
'subtitle, "the land and people of the Sacramento-San ' +
'Joaquin Delta." This is a rural, agrarian region, relatively ' +
'isolated from urban culture, with a fascinating history ' +
'which stretches back to the Spanish conquistadores and beyond.' +
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'The story of the Delta, and the people who inhabit it, has ' +
'much in common with the effects of the Depression on the ' +
'South and Midwest: battling against the elements (floods, ' +
'rather than droughts, being the enemy in this instance); ' +
'the arrival and departure of various racial and ethnic groups; ' +
'migrant labor–familiar themes out of
An American ' +
'Exodus and
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.
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Delta West is virtually a continuation of those two ' +
'books, and is yet another indication that the documentary ' +
'tradition in photography, as defined by the FSA photographers ' +
'back in the thirties and forties, is a durable and timeless ' +
'form. It\'s longevity and continued usefulness can be attributed ' +
'principally to the fact that it is not so much a stylistic ' +
'tradition as a procedural and attitudinal one. The juxtaposition ' +
'of historical overview, notes from the field, transcriptions ' +
'of conversations with the subjects, and photographs is a ' +
'simple and highly effective method of recording an area ' +
'and its population. It is also an easy one to botch, for ' +
'its effectiveness is strictly dependent on the insight and ' +
'sensitivity of the recorders; Minick and Bohn have mixed ' +
'subjectivity and objectivity in just the right proportions, ' +
'avoiding both pedantry and sentimentality.
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'The book begins with a lengthy essay by Bohn (himself a ' +
'photographer) which digs deeply into the Delta\'s past and ' +
'its slow evolution. Bohn\'s spare, lithe prose—which ' +
'suggests the influence of Paul Metcalf in its interweaving ' +
'of source material and descriptive/emotive text—establishes ' +
'a mood which is ideal for Roger Minick\'s sixty-three images ' +
'and the selections from interviews which accompany them. ' +
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'Minick\'s photographs call to mind the work of a handful ' +
'of other photographers: Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, ' +
'of course, as well as Weston and Strand. The similarities ' +
'are not stylistic—except insofar as the absence of ' +
'mannerisms is in itself a style. Minick\'s approach may echo ' +
'theirs (through the use of classic compositional symmetry, ' +
'subjects frequently posed against the weathered boards of ' +
'their homes, and so forth), but his vision is so intense ' +
'that his images are his own. He has the patience, the blend ' +
'of selflessness and ego, which is the hallmark of the documentary ' +
'school at its best, and his pictures sing a slow, mournful, ' +
'loving song to the Delta\'s rhythm.
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'The comments he gathered from the residents are entirely ' +
'in key with his photographs, and the combinations which ' +
'result can be extraordinarily revelatory. Next to one image, ' +
'a battered armchair in a field of corn [asparagus] with ' +
'a path receding into the distance, appears the following: ' +
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I speak about where you get on certain things ' +
' in life and things confuse you. And when you get confused, ' +
' you don\'t know which way to go—and you take the ' +
' wrong road in life, the space is narrowed to the coffin. ' +
' It\'s definitely narrowed to the coffin. You just revert ' +
' to this. You revert to the wandering shadows of shadows ' +
' and the space is definitely narrowed to the coffin. And ' +
' when the space gets narrowed to the coffin, well, you ' +
' know and I know, there\'s not more space left for us. It\'s ' +
' all over right there. Now that\'s definitely right!
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'This book, the result of a three-year project, is a strong, ' +
'subtle, and complex document by an unusually talented photographer. ' +
'That it received such painstaking craftsmanlike treatment ' +
'by the publisher is an added bonus; would that all publishers ' +
'did such justice to photography.