Our Work: Modern Jobs – Ancient Origins

by Jack Green (Editor), Emily Teeter (Editor)

Our Modern Jobs – Ancient Origins is the catalog for a photo-based exhibit that reveals that many modern professions originated in the ancient Middle East. Artifacts from the Oriental Institute Museum were paired with a baker, farmer, manicurist, brewer, poet, boat builder, judge and other professionals to show the antiquity of these jobs. The portraits are accompanied by commentary on the contributions of the ancient Middle East to life today and new insights into how members of the public view their relationship to the past. This volume will be of interest to educators, historians, and those interested in fine-arts photography.

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 2013

Reviews

[Austin Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos and interesting interview snippets from a variety of workers and craftspeople. I liked the format of photo-interview-history-artifact, even if it felt a little lean sometimes. I suppose this was made to be more of a supplement to an exhibition than a standalone book though.

[Frederic · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful project, well executed. Objects were selected from the collections of the Oriental Institute that have linkages to contemporary occupations, and photographed with people who have those occupations today. Those main photos were shot as modern tintypes -- on aluminum plates -- and printed here re-reversed (so they appear right-way-around) -- really neat. These are accompanied by smaller, full-color photos of the objects. The text, after the introductory parts, consists of quotes from the modern workers reflecting variously on the objects, their careers, and the work reflected by the objects; a topical text about each object and/or the work it represents; and cataloguing entries.