I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things.
Dan Tullis, crabbing in Slidell, on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit southeast New Orleans, leaving the city in ruin and turmoil, causing catastrophic damages, from extensive flooding to the death of 1,464 people. As New Orleans will celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2018, we wanted to pay tribute to the southern state and its people through the work of America's most intriguing award-winning American photographer Alec Soth.
Ricky Lee, a seafood vender, at Westwego Shrimp Lot, in Westwego, Louisiana.
At the time, Minneapolis-based photographer Alec Soth decided not to join the community of artists come to document the disastrous effects of the tornado. He chose to wait in order to capture the « City of Water » ten years later.
A decade after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Alec Soth, 46, shares with us a vision of pain and promise. Through his lens, Soth prefers to display the image of a state still struggling to rebuild but recovering from one of the most devastating storms ever to hit U.S. soil.
Considered one of America’s greatest photographers today, Soth explained in an interview with Aaron Schuman in 2004: « I fell in love with the process of taking pictures, with wandering around finding things. To me it feels like a kind of performance. The picture is a document of that performance. » He added: « Years ago I was working for a small town newspaper as a photographer. There was this annual contest where all of the small newspapers would submit their best photos for a national award. Although I was mostly photographing ribbon cuttings and parades, I worked so hard to get good pictures. I never won an award. One year, our crusty old sports writer came upon an accident where an automobile ended up in a tree. Using a disposable camera, he snapped a picture and won the big award. The lesson I learned is that great pictures are all about luck. »
Described as the modern heir to a tradition of documentary photography, inspired by Walker Evans, Alec Soth’s images go back to the depression-era images of photojournalist Dorothea Lange, able to humanize the consequences of the Great Depression. American documentary Alec Soth’s work can be found in museums and collections around the world.
Members of the Brooks family, at Lake Pontchartrain, most of whom were evacuated from the city. It was six months before they could return to rebuild their house.
Sophie Borazanian and her dog, Joni, at Algiers Point, in the Fifteenth Ward.
Rashad Jarrell and Shandra Thornton swimming in Lake Pontchartrain.
The Country Club, in Bywater. Many of the African-American residents of the neighborhood were displaced by Katrina, and, during the past decade, young white artists and professionals have moved in.
Photograph by Alec Soth / Magnum for The New Yorker.
Discover more of Alec Soth's work on his website.
