1. Research a photo-book and describe the story it is communicating  with reference to subject-matter, genre and approach to image-making.

This photobook shows the story of working-class African American families in the Ex – steel mining town of Braddock. This is mainly shown through images of the photographer herself and her family, as well as images of the town itself. Frazier presents the story of her family, through herself, her mother, and her Grandmother as well as other family members. This work also documents the decline of the town’s only hospital, reinforcing the idea that the history of a place is frequently written on the body as well as the landscape. Frazier knowingly acknowledges and expands upon the traditions of classic black-and-white documentary photography, enlisting the participation of her family. This photo book explores “the legacy of racism and economic decline in small towns.” and creates a personal and insightful project that draws both on social context and family history.

2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, reviews, awards, legacy etc.)

Latoya Ruby Frazier was born in 1982 in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Her artistic practice spans a range of media, including photography, video, performance, installation and books, and centres on the nexus of social justice, cultural change, and commentary on the American experience. Her work is held in numerous public collections, including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Centre George Pompidou, Paris, and the Library of Congress, Washington DC. Frazier is the recipient of many honours and awards including an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Edinboro University, and an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Pratt Institute, and a fellowship from the TED fellows, among others.

3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book and apply theory above when considering:

Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.

The book feels rough and heavy.

Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.

Images in this book are B and W, all printed on the same paper.

Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.

A4, square. 158 Pages, with some unlabelled.

Binding, soft/hard cover. image wrap/dust jacket. saddle stitch/swiss binding/ Japanese stab-binding/ leperello

Hardcover.

Cover: linen/ card. graphic/ printed image. embossed/ debossed. letterpress/ silkscreen/hot-stamping.

The cover is linen, with a pattern embossed into the cover. The title is also embossed, in silver lettering.

Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.

The title “The Notion of Family” is quite poetic to me as it hints at the subject matter, but does not give it away fully. It suggests that the book discusses the nature of family and its’ meaning, making it also intriguing.

Narrative: what is the story/subject matter. How is it told?

This photobook shows the story of working-class African American families in the Ex – steel mining town of Braddock. This is mainly shown through images of the photographer herself and her family, as well as images of the town itself. Frazier presents the story of her family, through herself, her mother, and her Grandmother as well as other family members. This work also documents the decline of the town’s only hospital, reinforcing the idea that the history of a place is frequently written on the body as well as the landscape. All photos are black and white – taken using a film camera. There are landscape images of the town, in between mostly portraits of Frazier and her family members, with some object images also. This book and its’ story is presented by a female – this is important as it shows a perspective in photography that is often silenced or underrepresented. Through this book, Frazier is creating social change.

Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.

The inclusion of both portraits and images of the town in a varying sequence is important to the narrative. It helps to highlight the subjects’ connectivity to the town and creates a context for the images: this town has influenced the subjects’ lives through the closure of nearby steel mines: and the loss of their livelihood. Using sequencing in this way helps the two parts of the book to link coherently.

Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold-outs/ inserts.

Editing and sequencing: selecting images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.

Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others.  Use of captions (if any.)