Sometimes, especially when I'm feeling cash-strapped, buying a photography book seems like a luxury I can't really either justify or afford. But then, again, the handful of photography books I've bought over the last few years have almost all proved to be (and this is obviously just my subjective opinion) among the best purchases I've ever made. This newest one I just bought ranks up among the best photo books I've ever acquired. It's called "Lee Friedlander: Framed" - and it's a collection of Mr. Friedlander's iconic photos curated and selected by the filmmaker Joel Coen. The book grew out of a friendship between the two men which apparently developed over the last few years; it seems that they spent so much time talking, and enjoying one another's company, and mutually appreciating each other's ways of seeing - and, literally, 'framing' the worlds around them (which, of course, are also their own interior worlds) - that somehow the notion of Joel Coen creating a collection of his favorite Lee Friedlander photographs just sort of evolved naturally.
It's a solid, large, handsome looking book --
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And it's filled with a number of, well, remarkable (that's the first adjective that springs to mind) photographs--
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It also features a very cool (and relatively short) personal essay, at the end of the book, by Joel Coen's wife, the remarkable actor and producer, Frances McDormand.
The book was published by the Fraenkel Gallery, the long-term photographic representatives of Mr. Friedlander. Apparently the initial publishing run has now sold out (I was among the lucky early purchasers and received my copy about a week ago) and now is backordered, pending a 2nd printing. The list price is $65 USD (plus shipping costs, which bumps the total up a bit) - but I have to say, for those who appreciate wonderful photography books, it almost seems a bargain at that price. If you're a fan of Friedlander's work, or of the Coen brothers' unique vibe, I can't recommend it highly enough.