Yet perhaps the real giveaway of his national pedigree is not so much the patriotic flag trappings, but rather that he emerges from the sun roof of a car. Indeed, so too does Frederick Douglas, waving from a car sun roof in another parade. Even Rumsfeld and Cheney and the entire Bush II team smile from a car’s flank mural. We’re Americans, after all, who --with the possible exception of those inhabiting insular islands like Manhattan—know a lot about how cars help you get around.
Indeed, street photographer Stephen Marc, whose 250 works comprise this collection, shares in the book’s interview that road trips (and train rides) were a part of his coming up in the world--- and it shows, especially in the emotive photo collages that ricochet in your brain like the many scenes you might spy from the passenger seat of window gazing on a long, long ride through varied town and country American terrain.
AMERICAN/TRUE COLORS Paints a Picture of America Circa Now
Marc seems to be following not so much in the footsteps but rather in the covering-a-lot-of-ground tire treads of both foreign born Cartier- Bresson’s outsider snapshots of America, and Walker Evans insider lens. Straddling this insider-outsider point-of-view may be Marc’s birthright, as a man of color old enough to carry a Medicare card. Like Cartier-Bresson and De Tocqueville’s pen of another time, Marc’s keen eye for detail zooms in on our so American tattoos, city murals, penchant for dogs, historical re-enactments of Revolutionary and Civil Wars, enduring love for bright-colored fashions, and other Americana circa now that you can find foreign tourists marveling at. Like Walker Evans, his lens guides us into other Americas in our midst. But Marc’s other Americas of today are places where gender, orientation, and complexions multiply. We’re not on one dance floor, but on several different ones, though everybody is grooving for sure. We’re not at one wedding, but rather see what it means to put on our Sunday best for nuptials of many ethnic flavors.
Nominated for Picture This Post BEST OF 2021