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University of Texas at Austin

Alec Soth:

An Inventory of His Photography Collection at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Soth, Alec, 1969-
Title: Alec Soth Photography Collection
Dates: 2011-2013
Extent: 45 items
Abstract: The collection consists of 45 photographs by Alec Soth (American, born 1969), all but one of which were created for a pop-up exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center (December 7, 2013). Many of the photographs were later published in Soth's and writer Brad Zellar's (American, born 1961) Texas Triangle.
Call Number: Photography Collection PH-02588
Language: English
Access: Open for research. Special permission from the Curator of Photography, plus advance notice, is required to view 2012:0004:0001. To make an appointment, please email Reading and Viewing Room staff. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies: Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use: Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Centers' Open Access and Use Policies.

Administrative Information


Preferred Citation Alec Soth Photography Collection (Photography Collection PH-02588). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin.
Acquisition: Purchases, 2012-2013 (12-02-008-P, 13-12-014-P)
Processed by: Elizabeth E. Preston, 2019
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Biographical Sketch


American photographer Alec Soth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1969. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York in 1992, and returned to Minneapolis. Soth's first book of photographs, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was published in 2004 and garnered critical acclaim. The 2004 Whitney Biennial included his work, and one of his photographs was featured in their poster. Soth has continued to publish photography books, been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and Newsweek, and his works are included in several permanent museum collections. In 2008 Soth founded Little Brown Mushroom, an arts institution where photographers, writers and designers, collaborate to create and distribute visual stories in book, magazine, and newspaper formats. Soth has collaborated with writer Brad Zellar (American, born 1961) on several projects published by Little Brown Mushroom, including the LBM Dispatch, a series of individually titled and irregularly published newspapers.

Sources:


"Alec Soth," Artnet, accessed September 10, 2019, http://www.artnet.com/artists/alec-soth/biography.
"Alec Soth," Magnum Photos Inc., accessed September 10, 2019, https://www.magnumphotos.com/photographer/alec-soth/.
Little Brown Mushroom, accessed September 26, 2019, http://www.littlebrownmushroom.com/about/.

Scope and Contents


The collection consists of 45 photographs by Alec Soth resulting for two different projects, Postcards from America (2011) and Texas Triangle (2013). The prints are arranged by project and then by accession number.
Only one photograph, a color inkjet print (2012:0004:0001), represents the first project that was a collaborative project undertaken by Magnum photographers Paolo Pellegrin, Jim Goldberg, Susan Meiselas, Mikhael Subotzky and Soth, and writer Ginger Strand. It began with a two-week road trip from Austin, Texas, to Oakland, California, in May 2011, and resulted in part with the limited edition portfolio Postcards from America.
The rest of the photographs (2013:0011:0001-0044) were made during the Texas Triangle project. They are, or are comprised of, black and white inkjet prints. Soth took the photographs in November and December 2013 during a two-week exploration of the Texas Triangle, an area of central Texas bounded by the metro areas of San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston-Galveston. During the trip, Soth travelled with writer Brad Zellar, and together they explored the people and places of the most populous areas of the region. The prints were made for a pop-up exhibition at the Ransom Center on December 7, 2013, but twelve (2013:0011:0033-0044) were not ultimately displayed. One of the photographs is a 2x2 tetraptych (2013:0011:0032a-0032d). All of the prints were later published with accompanying text by Zellar in Texas Triangle, the sixth issue of LBM Dispatch. LBM Dispatch, described by the artists as "an irregularly published newspaper of the North American ramblings of photographer Alec Soth and writer Brad Zellar," is published by Little Brown Mushroom, the arts institution Soth founded in 2008.

Related Material


The Harry Ransom Center holds additional works by Alec Soth in the following portfolios and collections: Magnum Photos, Inc., Photography Collection (PH-02276), Postcards from America (PH-02553), Postcards from America Photography Collection (PH-02395), Six by Six (PH-PH-02775), and Texas Triangle (PH-02950).

Index Terms


People
Soth, Alec, 1969- .
Zellar, Brad.

Subjects
Documentary photography.
Photography, Artistic.
Portrait photography.
Texas--Pictorial works.
Texas--Social life and customs--Pictorial works.

Places
Austin (Tex.).
College Station (Tex.).
Dallas (Tex.).
Galveston (Tex.).
Houston (Tex.).
San Antonio (Tex.).

Document Types
Inkjet prints.

Container List