Pictures From Home

I didn’t initially connect with Larry Sultan’s work, but I was quite drawn to his series, Pictures From Home, which depict the photographer’s parents in everyday situations. Each is accompanied by a very simple, one line description and a date. I love the banality of the situations that are depicted, such as “Mom In Doorway” or “Fixing The Vaccume.” There is a very casual, relaxed feel to the images, and the moments captured feel very natural, even though they might be posed. They feel like snapshots taken from the lives of these people, depicting the insignificant moments that make up everyday life.

“I realize that beyond the rolls of film and the few good pictures, the demands of my project and my confusion about its meaning, is the wish to take photography literally.  To stop time.  I want my parents to live forever.” (Sultan, 1992.)

(1) Sultan, S 1992, Pictures From Home, photographic series, viewed 28 May 2020, <http://larrysultan.com/gallery/pictures-from-home/>