Alec Soth
Like Siah Armajani and Matthew Buckingham, Alec Soth is interested in the legacy of liberalism in Madison. Specifically, Soth explored the life and people of one of Madison’s 23 housing cooperatives in the city. Structured to share costs and resources, and to provide a collegial forum for social and political activities, these housing units are a living vestige of the radical thinking of the 1960s.
For his photographs, Soth focused on the Lothlorien cooperative which occupies a Tudor-style house on the southern shore of Lake Mendota. Soth’s photographs, taken with a
8 x 10 format camera, often take a long time to capture. The subjects are required to sit or stand in front of the camera for long periods of time while the artist makes endless adjustments. Consequently, the individuals, seem to be more comfortable and more at ease than in other large-scale photographs. The individuals from this project, such as Stephen, Anna, and Glyphia, seem to want to share their lives, beliefs, and intimate moments with us–a rare opportunity even in art.
Not all of the photographs are of people. Four of the images focus on the lush passageway from the house to Lake Mendota. Because of the importance of this glacial lake to the city of Madison, Soth’s photographs are lush and sensual reminders of our responsibility to care for and nurture the lakes and their environmental health.