Product Details
Hardcover
144 pages
Harry N Abrams-Penguin/ Putnam
Published 2004
From Publishers Weekly&mewline;
For a country so identified with the color green, it seems odd to photograph Ireland in black and white. Freedman’s approach, however, brings out the spirit of the Irish people and landscape in less familiar ways. The stone cliffs and walls of The Burren in County Clare spread solidly over two pages, and a robust man sets off rowing under a darkened sky in Dingle. In her prefatory note, Freedman says she tries to get away from "the ugly, noisy modern world" when she visits Ireland, and instead seeks out people living as they have for ages. To this end, she photographs scenes such as an elderly man journeying with his mule and dogs in County Leitrim, a man giving his pony a sip of Guinness and a small boy leading cows up a road in County Kerry. Earlier in her life Freedman was a musician, and she clearly still loves music makers: the book includes several striking pictures of old men playing their pipes in solitude and many more of fiddlers and accordionists. Other standbys of Irish life—pubs, the Catholic Church, hunting—are present, but in an unobtrusive, unconventional way. A few photos (a trio of mud wrestlers; a group of college lads with their pants around their ankles) briefly take the book away from Freedman’s romantic rural vision, but for the most part, she succeeds in presenting a photo-journal that lovingly captures the enduring aspects of Irish tradition. 90 duotone photos.
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About the Author
Jill Freedman is a highly respected documentary photographer whose award-winning work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Bibliothèque Nationale. She lives in East Hampton, New York.
Product Description:
In describing his beloved land, the late Irish short story writer Sean O'Faolain wrote: "There is some alchemy of climate in Ireland that bedews the countryside with an unmistakable personality: it is in the softness of color, the mobility of the light, the gentleness with which sound caresses the ear." In this heartwarming photographic portrait, award-winning photographer Jill Freedman captures that softness, mobility, and gentleness in the Irish landscape and in the character of its people.
With texts by best-selling Irish American authors Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes) and Malachy McCourt (A Monk Swimming), Ireland Ever commemorates the traditional life of Ireland in bygone days, just as the modern world began to creep up on it. Freedman celebrates the beauty of the land, the warmth of her people, the simplicity of the old ways, the humor and conviviality, the sharp wit and black moods, and the kindness of the "old country." Beautifully designed and produced, this elegant gift book is a love poem to that wild and passionate beauty that is Ireland ever. AUTHOR BIO: Jill Freedman is a highly respected documentary photographer whose award-winning work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Bibliothèque Nationale. She lives in East Hampton, New York. |
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