Larry Kanfer

This is arguably Kanfer’s best book. The photography is interesting, but the feature that elevates this book above his other works is the narrative interpretations that accompany many of the images.

Normally, I find the narratives that accompany photos to be superfluous or distracting, but Kanfer’s choice of details to provide is spot-on. The brief descriptions provide information about the history of the barn and its contemporary status and use. He provides an appealing mixture of factual detail (e.g., year of construction, changes of ownership, claim to fame) and interpretation (e.g., barns hold social, emotional, cultural, and historic significance; barns remain a link to our history and a new place for commerce, community, and cultural events).… (more)

“On Firm Ground” continues Kanfer’s photographic documentation of the prairie begun in the eponymously titled first entry in this series, “The Prairie.” For the most part, the photos are technically sound and aesthetically pleasing. Most of the perspectives that can be represented in a documentary work on this topic are represented in this work. However, the selection focuses heavily on natural settings and gives less attention to constructed environments. For example, there are numerous photos depicting fields devoted to farming, but only one photo focused on the industrial infrastructure required to process and ship the product of those fields.… (more)

“On Second Glance” continues Kanfer’s study of Prairie landscapes begun in “Prairiescapes.” I first “read” this book in 1995 and found it equally enjoyable “on [this] second glance.”

Aside from a two page forward and single page introduction the book consists of 79 full page prints. All are titled but appear without accompanying interpretation. The photos were taken almost exclusively in northern Illinois and Indiana.

Kanfer’s interpretation of the “prairie” is broad, including both the natural landscape as well as the man-made structures that exist on the prairie. These human creations are observable in almost all types of landscapes, so in that respect most of the photographs are not narrowly focused on the prairie. In fact, the focal point in almost all of Kanfer’s strongest images is a human-made artifact. Only a few images of the images I selected as favorites focus strongly on the natural land and human intervention is present even in those.

"On Second Glance" is well worth your "reading" so long as you do not expect to find a narrow focus on the prairie.… (more)

A late spring road trip through the Great Plains (Illinois, North and South Dakota, and eastern and central Montana) and the rolling farmlands of Wisconsin is always a pleasure. The fields are a lush green and the magnificent scenery seems to stretch on forever. I was so enthralled this spring that I resolved to pull out my copies of Larry Kanfer's "Prairiescapes" and "On Second Glance" as soon as I returned home.

I first read "Prairiescapes" in 1989 and repeated it again in 1990, but since that time it has remained on my shelf unopened. Reacquainting myself with the volume was a pleasure.

"Prairiescapes" consists of a two-page forward and two-page introduction followed by 99 full page reproductions of Kanfer photographs. Readers who prefer a lot of exposition may be disappointed but those who prefer to focus on the photography will appreciate Kanfer's restraint. Personally, I would rather look at the photos and focus on my own aesthetic and cognitive reactions.

My practice in perusing a book of photographs is to note the photographs that are most aesthetically and cognitively appealing to me in the front of the book. In reviewing "Prairiescapes" after an absence of some 30 years I found my good stability but some change in my reactions to the photos. Earlier I singled out 14 photographs as favorites and 12 were still among those I most appreciated. However, I found 10 additional photographs that now made my list of favorites and two more that I listed with a question mark. Part of that is due to my own ambivalence as I argue (with myself) that it is essential to make distinctions among good photographs to sharpen my critical faculties.

The photos were taken through the year so the four seasons are represented. Many focus on buildings, often standing in isolation on the prairie. Fields of crops close to harvest, barren fields in winter, and landscapes that illustrate the prairie's range of beauty and mystery are included. Some scenes are rendered in sharp focus that documents the prairie landscape while others are in soft focus that challenge viewers to create their own interpretation.

"Prairiescapes" is not limited to the verdant beauty of the prairie in spring. Instead, readers will come to know the beauty of the prairie in its many guises.… (more)