Finding Grace: The Face of America's Homeless by Lynn Blodgett, Danny Glover (Foreword by), Laurie Kratochvil

A touching portrait of humanity
Rachael, A mother, 03/12/2008

I was very disheartened to read the previous review written on this site. I watched a CBS documentary on Lynn Blodgett and was overcome with admiration for him. I and my family are a simple middle class family, no where near the wealth of this man. However, instead of spending his time at country clubs or flying a private jet around the world, he has chosen to use his talents to bring awareness to The Homeless. His efforts have raised millions of dollars for the cause. The book is beautiful and to the the average person, a work of art. I would hope more people would follow this man's lead.

A reviewer
Mr. Winter, A reviewer, 02/17/2008

There is no doubt that Lynn Blodgett is able to take a good picture: but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he takes great photographs. Artistry in photography is not defined by the intent or purpose of the photographer, but by an intrinsic quality – as is in all art -- that excites, transforms and touches the viewer. Excellence in photography may just be when the intent is executed. Although compared to Richard Avedon, Blodgett has not in any sense produced images as remarkable, or original. He may have copied Avedon’s technique with the use of the white backdrop, but that’s as close as he could be said to capturing that unique vision. Unlike Avedon’s art, the lack of context in Blodgett’s images requires the need for an explanation of the content to the viewer. This ruins the point of the image. Consider Avedon’s classic ‘The Family (a work in progress)’, published in 1976 in Rolling Stone. The images stand alone, in his signature stark contrast, and the viewer needs no words to explain them. The point is that photography is a visual medium and words are irrelevant. There is no indication that these pictures in any way give the impression that they are homeless first. More powerful and moving – indeed artistic - portraits that illustrate this are works produced by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lang and offer a far better – and photographic – expression of transcendent grace. Mr. Blodgett claims to have taken two to three thousand pictures of people. Certainly, with quantity there will always be some quality. And practice and education will produce technically flawless pictures. But there is something intrinsically wrong with a man that shows up on the street with designer clothes, a 30K Hasselblad and a fist full of ten-dollar bills to take pictures of homeless people. A much more interesting photograph that would illustrate the plight of the homeless would have been one showing this man with his dollars, clothes, camera, and the line of people with hands extended waiting for their share. This image would have needed no explanation. A cynical mind could observe that a privileged Blodgett approaches photography with the same laissez faire with which he pursues falconry.

Also recommended: Josef Sudek Poet of Prague