The Dance Class Book Club - no. 2

Hello! Good news, it's time for the triumphant return of the DCBC (which is what everyone is calling it, ask any teen).

If you don’t know what I’m talking about you can go here and then this will all make sense.

I just finished reading Photography After Frank by Philip Gefter. Most of the essays originally appeared in The New York Times and Aperture, with a few new ones added. They all focus on photography (or are at least photography-adjacent).

My favorite essays were the obituaries of significant photographers. I was familiar with most of them, but there were a few I knew little (nothing) about, making those essays a great jumping-off point for learning. Actually, I often judge how much I enjoy non-fiction by the number of related topics it sparks my curiosity about. Based on that metric, this book was a success. Here’s my search history while reading Photography After Frank:

• William Christenberry Alabama

• Richard Misrach photos Diving Board Salton Sea

• Paul Shambroom

• Atget Ancien Régime?

• Julie Saul Gallery location?

• NY Times fish taco recipe

• Bernd and Hilla son Max

• Jinx Allen

• JoAnne Verburg Jim Moore

• How Many Eps Severance Season 2

• Chang W Lee

• Let Us Begin: JFK

• How Long Recovery dislocated finger?

• Penelope Tree

• Katy Grannan

• Arbus Box of 10 Photographs

Pretty interesting, right? A few of those were not related to the book but I wanted you to get the complete picture. Learning is fun.

Now, the bad news. The second half of the book contains quite a few essays on the art photography market, which I found less engaging, especially since they feel pretty outdated now. It’s kind of interesting to read about how much Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico sold for... but only once.

The second disappointment: the book was almost certainly stolen from the Boston Public Library before being resold (to me), and unfortunately, some pages from the photo section in the middle are missing. A bit annoying, but since I was already looking up a lot of stuff online, it wasn’t a huge loss. Also you are not allowed to complain about free books. I, however, paid money for this book, so I will be complaining to anyone who will listen.

This is where the missing photos should be. Lame

OK, so if anyone wants me to mail them this book, let me know! You can comment below, or DM me, or email me, or write in our Signal group chat about war plans, whatever works for you.

Like last time, my daughter will decide who gets it, though she just said “who asked first?” so, you know. Also, if you don’t live in the USA, you’ll have to Venmo me for shipping, and I also might ask you about your country’s immigration policies, because it sucks here right now.

Next up, I’ll be reading How I Take Photographs by Daido Moriyama. I suspect I’ll be giving that one away soon, since it has far less text than I expected.

That’s all.

Thanks, Travis

While writing this I was listening to: