Prairiescapes: PHOTOGRAPHS

by Larry Kanfer

A former student of architecture at the University of Illinois, Kanfer has developed a kinship with the rural regions of the Prairie State. He draws upon a rich background in art, design, and travel to focus on the unique qualities of the midwesten landscape, exhibiting an unusual sensitivity to composition, color, texture, and light. Kanfer isolates singular images--a solitary barn, a rural mailbox atop a roadside post, a red stop sign caught in the nighttime glare of a car's headlight, cornflower blossoms springing from a ditch--as well as broader prairie scenes.
 

Genres: Photography, Art

120 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1987

Reviews

[J.D. Steens · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is filled with photos of farmland country in Illinois. The photographer sees the beauty and the interesting in what is typically seen as a “nothing special” landscape. As the introduction says, “Larry Kanfer is partial to what may be described as ‘singularities’: the house or barn standing alone.” The introduction also adds that “there is a notable absence of monumental or hierarchical structures on the prairie, and Kanfer purposely omits the two types that ordinarily gather and punctuate the distance – the grain elevator and the country church. He mostly leaves people out of the frame, too.”

I suppose my fondness for these photographs is because I grew up on a Michigan farm. This is my landscape. And this raises an interesting question: Are these photos good, objectively speaking, or are they good because of their association with what I know and love?

The book’s cover photo of a horse and buggy on a country road struck me as wrong. From what I know, that scene atypical these days, and it was the only picture of that type in this collection.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larry Kanfer’s photographs capture the essence of the Midwest prairie with a quality that rivals fine art paintings. The photographs glow with beauty in every season.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty pictures! Good to have on hand when faced with people from the coasts who don't believe that the Midwest can possibly have any good features.

[Stephen Blakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am exploring the vision of mid-westerners. I am in my second year of living in Kansas, and trying to establish a photographic business. As I opened this book to begin exploring Kanfer's vision for the prairie lands, I found that most of the images seemed very ordinary and shy of inspiring. I admit that maybe I'm just not in tune as a immigrant Californian who cut his visual teeth on the likes of Adams, Weston, and Weston. Even so, there is enough in the text and images that I thnk will give me valuable insights that I hope to integrate with the western vision; I am still west of the Mississippi after all.

[IWB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some fantastic images, some of which were so beautiful they put me in a state of sublime calmness; was very much impressed with the composition of these pieces, even for those pics whose subject matter was not necessarily my favorite. Some great stuff here for painters--lots to learn.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes me homesick. beautiful photos.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evocative photography of Melina's home region.