Photobook: Larry Sultan’s ‘Pictures From Home’

Research and deconstruct photobook used as inspiration. Comment on different design element such as: feel of the book, paper, binding, format, size, cover, title, design, narrative (if appropriate), editing, sequencing, image and text.

Pictures from home was published in 1992, around the time that Ronal Reagan was president, and wanting to reinforce the traditional family values in America. This photo book is a visual memoir made up of snapshots form home movies, his own images, and his own writings. Sultan said that he “wanted to puncture this mythology of the family and to show what happens when we are driven by images of success. And I was willing to use my family to prove a point.” because “the institution of the family was being used as an inspirational symbol by resurgent conservatives.” However, the book did move from this original motivation, to a more personal and self-questioning piece of work. It resulted in leaving him confused about its true meaning, but he came to the conclusion that it was because he wanted to stop time. “I want my parents to live for ever.” he stated. He took the images over a decade when visiting his parents who were living in Palm Spring, and in the final chapters of their lives. They seemed to live the idealised American Dream, making compositions interesting, vibrant and have an overall wealthy motif.

The book is a hardcover, making it strong, and the title is letter pressed. This almost adds to the idea that he is photographing the wealthy, because hardcovers make a book feel more expensive; and they are. The cover is a deep green, which links to the vivid greens in his images throughout the book. The inside page is a vibrant red which connects to the opening image of him as a child, with a red hula hoop. It adds a childish note to the book, possibly suggesting how he has tension with his father. In the Guardian article it states ‘Throughout, Sultan’s often painful reflections – on his upbringing, his parents, his photography, and the wisdom of this project – are undercut with his father’s more macho, matter-of-fact monologues on the same. The tension between the two is the classic generational tension between father and son; the one seeking affirmation of his work, the other baffled by it.’

The book varies from still from home movies, to his recent images, to his writing. Each page is different, however he makes it link throughout by using similar layouts for each of these subjects. For example, he tends to place an archived image next to his writing, his new images landscape at the top of a page, and his stills from movies in a collage.

Examples:

He tends to use darker backgrounds for old images, possibly adding to the reflection that these memories are in the past.

Image analysis

My Inspiration

Sultan’s photobook has inspired me to vary my usage of archived and text, adding in notes from my grandmother’s memories of my grandfather. I also have been inspired by his simple layout for his new images. I am going to create some collages similar to his as well.