Alec Soth

Alec Soth (born 1969, Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American photographer. His photography has a cinematic feel with elements of folklore that hint at a story behind the image.

Soth's camera is a breadbox-sized R.H. Phillips and Sons 8x10 Compact camera from the late 1980s that make diamond-edged, pictures that are almost like paintings. He uses a large-format camera, a device that must be reconstructed anew on each use from a variety of parts, and that uses large and expensive negatives that slide into the back. Further, the camera’s lens is particularly sensitive to variations in light and has a shallow field of focus that causes fussiness. Soth says he is lucky if he manages to make one or two exposures on a given day of shooting. [http://www.mnartists.org/article.do?rid=66443]

He has received fellowships from the McKnight and Jerome Foundations and was the recipient of the 2003 Santa Fe Prize for Photography. His photographs are in major public and private collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Walker Art Center. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the 2004 Whitney Biennial.

His first book, "Sleeping by the Mississippi", was published in 2004. His second book, "Niagara", was published in 2006. Soth has photographed for The New York Times Magazine, "Fortune" and "Newsweek".

In 2004, Soth became a nominee of the Magnum Photos agency and in 2008 he became a full member.

Gallery Exhibitions

* [http://weinstein-gallery.com/niagara/ Weinstein Gallery (Minneapolis, MN, USA), "Alec Soth: Niagara"] (April 7 - June 10, 2006)
* [http://www.wohnmaschine.de/alecsoth.0.html?&L=1 Wohnmaschine (Berlin, Germany), "Alec Soth - Niagara"] (March 24 - April 29, 2006)
* [http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/24th-street-2006-01-alec-soth/ Gagosian Gallery (New York, New York, USA), "Alec Soth 'Niagara'"] (January 21 - February 25, 2006)
* [http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/24th-street-2005-06-roger-ballen-alec-soth-and-ve/ Gagosian Gallery (New York, New York, USA), "Roger Ballen, Alec Soth and Vera Lutter"] (June 4 - July 29, 2005)
* [http://www.wirtzgallery.com/exhibitions/2004/2004_06/soth/soth_2004_frame.html Stephen Wirtz Gallery (San Francisco, CA, USA), "Alec Soth 'Sleeping by the Mississippi'"] (June 2 - July 24, 2004)
* [http://www.yossimilogallery.com/exhibitions/2004_03-alec_soth/ Yossi Milo Gallery (New York, New York, USA), "Alec Soth 'Sleeping by the Mississippi'"] (March 12 - April 24, 2004)

Collections

* Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago
* Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
* San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
* Whitney Museum of American Art
* Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, NY
* Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
* Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
* Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
* LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
* Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, FL
* Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN

External links

* [http://www.alecsoth.com/ Alec Soth's Official Website]
* [http://www.alecsoth.com/blog/ Alec Soth's Blog]
* [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/02/13/060213gore_GOAT_recordings1 New Yorker Review of Niagara Exhibit]
* [http://mocp.org/exhibitions/2003/10/midwest_photogr_7.php Museum of Contemporary Photography Exhibit]
* [http://www1.villagevoice.com/art/0416,aletti,52783,13.html Village Voice Review]
* [http://images.google.com/images?q=alec+soth&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images Photographs by Alec Soth]
* [http://articles.citypages.com/2008-01-23/feature/freeze-frame/ Citypages Feature Article about Alec Soth]