Daylight Books has released "Susan Ressler Photographs," a comprehensive retrospective showcasing the work of acclaimed photographer Susan Ressler. The publication features photographs that serve as important documentation of global changes over the past fifty years, creating what Mark Rice describes as "archives of the now."
More than half a century ago, as a university student in the 1960s, photographer Susan Ressler began documenting and questioning the world around her through her camera lens. Her latest work, "Susan Ressler Photographs: 50 Years, No End in Sight," presents a retrospective featuring 238 images from her dynamic and prolific career as a visual storyteller. The collection highlights her artistic range, spanning from street photography to ethnographic image-making that explores social and political issues on an international scale.
The book opens with a thoughtful introduction by Ressler herself, providing insight into her approach and reflections on the influence of the countercultural movement and the spirit of protest that was present nationally when she began photography in the 1960s. She began her exploration using the camera as a tool for expression and activism. "Perhaps because of their pervasive unrest and idealism, the 1960s made me aware of social injustice and gave me the conviction that we can all, together, change things," Ressler writes. "Can images achieve this? I still don't know, but that doesn't stop me from trying."
The publication is organized into sections grouping images from six major bodies of work, including "Executive Order: Images of 1970s Corporate America," "From Analog to Digital," and "American Stories: Finding My Way Home." These sections highlight the depth of curatorial reflection in the work itself, as well as the book's overall flow and organization.
Susan Ressler is a renowned artist, author, and educator who has been creating social documentary photography for more than fifty years. Her works are exhibited at prestigious institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Library and Archives Canada, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and numerous other important collections. As a recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) fellowships, Ressler is exhibited and published internationally.
She has previously published two monographs with Daylight Books: "Executive Order" in 2018 and "Dreaming California" in 2023. The new retrospective "Susan Ressler Photographs" is published as a hardcover edition containing 284 pages with 238 photographs, measuring 28.5 x 26.7 cm. The book is available for $60 US with ISBN-13: 9781954119369 and can be obtained through www.daylightbooks.org.
