Places of Power: The Aesthetics of Technology

by John Sexton, Rob Pike, Walter Cronkite (Foreword)

Places of Power, John Sexton's third book, transports the viewer to places few have experienced firsthand. Sexton's images explore the haunting mystery of ancient Anasazi cliff dwellings, the monumental scale of Hoover Dam, the massive energy of steam turbine power plants, and the intricacies of the Space Shuttle - the single most complex system ever assembled in human history. The eighty-three photographs in Places of Power bring the viewer into intimate contact with these amazing technological achievements. Seen through Sexton's eyes, these structures and machines built for utilitarian purposes are transformed into miraculous sculptures.
The book includes a foreword by journalist Walter Cronkite, as well as an essay by computer scientist, Rob Pike. John Sexton shares his experiences and challenges in the making of these photographs in his own essays.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Chris Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

After recently completing "American Power" by Mitch Epstein, this book by Sexton on a similar theme becomes exposed as very highly technical, beautifully rendered propaganda. Where Epstein focused on both the grandeur and the impact of power on communities, Sexton focuses exclusively on the grandeur. He even belittles sculptors and other artists for failing to create pragmatic beauty on a large scale (give an artist a billion dollars and I am sure they can).

Sexton represents the kind of photographer that makes people hate photographers. In love with the process, he even goes so far as to discuss the kind of film, developing, retouching, and cameras he employs. It's all very impressive in a corporate manner, and there is no doubt that many of his images are stunning. In the end, though, he will be forgotten because he doesn't move the needle in any direction that hasn't been pre-paid for by the powers he depicts. The book is also bogged down by too much filler-- images that are repetitive or better suited for an advertising brochure as product photography.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning perfection. John Sexton, one of Ansel Adam's former assistants, may have surpassed his master in the art of darkroom wizardry. A level above other photo books, I'd love to see actual prints someday.