Dawoud Bey’s Unwavering Candor

The Chicago-Based Photographer’s Portraits Chronicle the American Experience

To understand how the past 40 years have revolutionized the way we see cities, look at the first and last chapters of a new book on the long and distinguished career of photographer Dawoud Bey. The first set of 35 mm, black-and-white photos, “Harlem, U.S.A.,” show the streets and storefronts of the eponymous neighborhood, offering astonishingly rich portraits of black Americans going about their daily lives in the 1970s. The second set, “Harlem Redux,” photographed in large format and in color, are stunningly framed depictions of the streets of Harlem …

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The Fictional Maps That Fill Us With Wonder

From Kerouac to Brontë, Writers Have Imagined Intricate Geographies

“Maps are like good books,” writes historian of exploration Huw Lewis-Jones. They “are transporting: filled with wonder, possibility, adventure. … They allow us to escape to another place whenever we …

High Above Texas, the Vast State’s Borders Become Meditations on Diversity

Jay B. Sauceda Flew 3,822 Miles Around the Perimeter of Texas Over Five Days

With borders and divides—both physical and ideological—making headlines daily, it’s refreshing to experience them though art. Photographer, entrepreneur, and author Jay B. Sauceda flew 3,822 miles around the perimeter of …

How the U.S. Designed Overseas Cemeteries to Win the Cold War

From France to the Philippines, Stunning Landscapes of Infinite Graves Displayed American Sacrifice and Power

Americans commemorate our fallen soldiers differently than other countries do. You can see the difference most clearly overseas. While innumerable war cemeteries in Europe and the Philippines account for the …

Have You Ever Stared Into an Alpaca’s Soul?

Photographer Traer Scott Views Livestock as Individuals Rather Than Numbers

Have you ever felt the direct, penetrating gaze of an alpaca? Or admired the symmetry of a sheep’s fuzzy nose? Or rued the fact that you had never stroked a …

In Louisiana’s Fishing Villages, Food and Faith Are Found in the Water

Photographer J. T. Blatty Captures a Vanishing Way of Life in the Bayou

For generations, water has provided everything to the people of southeastern Louisiana’s fishing communities. Their meals. Their livelihoods. Their recreation. Their birthright. Even their faith, as one photograph by J. …