About The Book
For her third monograph, Midwest Materials, Julie Blackmon has created a new body of work that sparkles with the wit, dark humor, and irony for which the artist has gained such renown. Finding insight and inspiration in the seeming monotony of her “generic American hometown,” Blackmon constructs a captivating, fictitious world that is both playful and menacing.
“I think of myself as a visual artist working in the medium of photography,” Blackmon notes, “and my assignment is to chart the fever dreams of American life.” Midwest Materials follows on the sold out titles Domestic Vacations (Radius Books, 2008) and Homegrown (Radius Books, 2014). Publisher’s Info
Spreads from the book Midwest Materials © Julie Blackmon by courtesy of Radius Books
-> Further information: https://www.radiusbooks.org/all-books/p/julie-blackmon-midwest-materials
About The Artist
Contemporary American photographer Julie Blackmon draws inspiration from the raucous tavern scenes of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters, creating photographs based around the people and places in her small community.
Blackmon was born in 1966 in Springfield, Missouri, where she currently lives and works. She studied art at Missouri State University, where she became interested in photographers Sally Mann and Diane Arbus. Both comical and serene, Blackmon’s photographs focus on scenes often involving children, family, and friends, saturated with pathos and a fascination with the everyday.
Video: Photographer Spotlight: Julie Blackmon by LA Review of Books (Youtube)
