Scot Sothern – LOOK AT ME – PhotoBook Journal

Review by Gerhard Clausing •

Scot Sothern is a very innovative photographer. For this project he decided to mingle with the Hollywood Boulevard people, assuming the guise and behavior of a street person. As people passed by, he yelled “Hey, look at me!” and snapped their pictures with a disposable film camera with flash. A kind of study of people’s reactions to those living on the street was the result. Not only that, he lived to tell about it in his inimitable prose, as well as to present us with a book that manages to bridge the normal distance that street photographers usually have created between themselves and the subjects they depict, often conditioned by their demeanor and/or their appearance. In image 1 below, you can see Scot Sothern as he appeared on the street.

The result is an unprecedented compendium of street stories, visual and verbal, with a very distinct Hollywood Boulevard background. The photographs convey an extraordinary feeling of immediacy and directness. We see acceptance and rejection and everything in between in people’s various expressions, sometimes even several attitudes within the same photograph. The cultural preoccupations of tourists serve as the general setting, along with the parallel world of those who hang around the streets trying to make a few bucks from tourists and other bypassers.

What makes this photobook even more outstanding is the very informal and colloquial style of the stories that Scot Sothern provides along with the pictures. These stories present interesting personal glimpses and have us participate in the difficulties of authentic moments of encounter. I myself have been challenged on the street by people that were afraid to be visually recorded, even as part of a larger crowd. How else would one represent reality in words and images, except to record moments as accurately and as comprehensively as possible, and from a position of general acceptance?

The interesting thing about Sothern’s accounts is that he engages in a dialogue with the people he photographs, and if there are objections, he does not use their images. This approach is quite different from those that snap pictures on the street without getting involved and then just take off with them, in a manner that seems exploitative. Sothern displays a significant amount of respect of the people photographed, and does not seek to misrepresent. We get to find out what makes both sides of the street tick.

As you can see in the images I have selected, there is an interesting contrasting of age groups, people of different backgrounds and cultural areas, from the perspective of someone who is an observant bystander sitting on a bucket. As expected, most of them are taken from a low angle, resulting in a very specific type of environmental portrait. The personal anecdotes are interspersed and the layout of the images and stories is varied and makes viewing and reading a pleasure.

This project glistens with innovation, both from the perspective of the subject matter, which is presented in a novel fashion, as well as from the manner of presentation of the entire project. By getting closer to the people depicted, Sothern has managed to paint a more realistic and comprehensive picture of street dynamics. This photobook can serve as a model for presenting a more authentic and holistic approach to a place and its significance through a greater degree of personal involvement. This approach makes things all the more understandable and enjoyable for the viewers and readers. Highly recommended.

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The PhotoBook Journal previously featured the following books by Scot Sothern: Family Tree and Little Miss.

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Gerhard (Gerry) Clausing, Editor of the PhotoBook Journal, is an author and photographer from Southern California.

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Scot Sothern – LOOK AT ME

Photographer: Scot Sothern (born in Pittsburg, Kansas; lives in Los Angeles, California)

Texts: Scot Sothern

Language: English

Perfect-bound softcover; 180 pages, unpaginated; 11.75 x 8.3″ (30 x 21.3 cm); first edition of 50; ISBN 978-1-7361070-2-7

Designer: John Matkowski

Text Editor: Amy Tipton

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Articles and photographs published in the PhotoBook Journal may not be reproduced without the permission of the PhotoBook Journal staff and the photographer(s). All images, texts, and designs are under copyright by the authors and publishers.