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Perimeter: A Contemporary Portrait of Lake Michigan
Commissioned by the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University to create an artwork reflecting on the importance of freshwater, Milwaukee-based photographer Kevin J. Miyazaki embarked on a two-week, 1,800-mile drive around Lake Michigan. He traveled its perimeter, through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, to produce what he calls "a contemporary portrait of Lake Michigan." Miyazaki set up his portable studio on beaches, in parks, on boat docks, and in backyards, photographing those he met along the way. From residents, environmental scientists, and artists to a Native American water rights advocate, surfers, and commercial fishermen, Lake Michigan holds a powerful place in the life of each. Many shared their thoughts with him on why this body of water is important to all.
Miyazaki also photographed the water as he went, creating waterscapes of the ever-changing lake affected by weather and time. Perimeter gathers these images together, creating a diverse portrait of both people and a place, encapsulating Lake Michigan's significance to those who are drawn to it.
Miyazaki also photographed the water as he went, creating waterscapes of the ever-changing lake affected by weather and time. Perimeter gathers these images together, creating a diverse portrait of both people and a place, encapsulating Lake Michigan's significance to those who are drawn to it.
- GenresPhotography
148 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2014
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 3, 2020
A friend recently brought this book to a music club Sunday matinee. As tunes grooved from the bandstand, she showed it to me. And from there it went to my to-read shelf.
Marquette’s Haggerty Art Museum, which commissioned the project, approached Kevin Miyazaki eight years ago, seeking freshwater and Great Lakes artwork. An exhibition followed. I enjoyed that. The book relives and expands what hung on the gallery walls.
Miyazaki found three hundred people living, working and enjoying the water every day. Over a hundred people made it into the book. He took two weeks driving Lake Michigan’s perimeter clockwise.
In addition to people, a dozen water images show the horizon where the sea meets the sky.
“I am magnetically drawn to that place where water meets sand,” said one subject.
“The methodical waves sing a song as they kiss the shore,” said another.
“We love the Michigan Ocean,” said a couple.
Chicago tourists frequently call the lake “the ocean’ because they cannot see the other side.
Familiar people in the book include Tom Schwark and John Ruebartsch.
My family always took driving vacations, often to LA on Route 66. But one year we drove Lake Michigan’s perimeter for a couple weeks. Mackinaw stands out. It was a fun, low-key vacation that year.
Marquette’s Haggerty Art Museum, which commissioned the project, approached Kevin Miyazaki eight years ago, seeking freshwater and Great Lakes artwork. An exhibition followed. I enjoyed that. The book relives and expands what hung on the gallery walls.
Miyazaki found three hundred people living, working and enjoying the water every day. Over a hundred people made it into the book. He took two weeks driving Lake Michigan’s perimeter clockwise.
In addition to people, a dozen water images show the horizon where the sea meets the sky.
“I am magnetically drawn to that place where water meets sand,” said one subject.
“The methodical waves sing a song as they kiss the shore,” said another.
“We love the Michigan Ocean,” said a couple.
Chicago tourists frequently call the lake “the ocean’ because they cannot see the other side.
Familiar people in the book include Tom Schwark and John Ruebartsch.
My family always took driving vacations, often to LA on Route 66. But one year we drove Lake Michigan’s perimeter for a couple weeks. Mackinaw stands out. It was a fun, low-key vacation that year.
January 18, 2024
An 1800 mile trip around Lake Michigan gave us this sampler of gorgeous portraits of the people who live, work, play and watch the great lake. The author/photographer, Kevin J. Miyazaki carried a portable black backdrop in which to photograph over 300 willing participants in his project. There were fishermen, swimmers, hikers, longshoremen and many more. I marked just a couple quotes to give an idea of their brief thoughts on the lake. And I had a favorite portrait, though they were all beautiful and I enjoyed them, it was Carlos Canario, the captain of the schooner Denis Sullivan taken in Port Washington, Wisconsin, whose portrait I liked best.
Lake Michigan is a surprising lake, there's a lot more to it than I know or can imagine. Reading this I realized that many people have it as a backyard, a playground. Its beaches touche four states, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana.
This book gives a sample of how important the lake is to the people that live and work here. Very well done.
Lake Michigan is a surprising lake, there's a lot more to it than I know or can imagine. Reading this I realized that many people have it as a backyard, a playground. Its beaches touche four states, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana.
This book gives a sample of how important the lake is to the people that live and work here. Very well done.
January 6, 2020
A lovely, albeit somewhat short, book of photos documenting the people around Lake Michigan. This was a fun read (or rather, look through?), although I found myself wanting more stories. Many of the photos don't have any information beyond who they are of and where they are, and even the ones with quotes are only a sentence or two. However, what is there is worth a look/read. I may not be drawn to going through this more than once, but I would recommend a once-through to anyone who knows the Lake!
December 27, 2022
This coffee table book provides in its portraiture assemblage an encouraging cross-section of people who work, live, learn, or play on or about Lake Michigan.
April 7, 2016
In Perimeter: A Contemporary Portrait of Lake Michigan Kevin J. Miyazaki offers a unique look at Lake Michigan by focusing on the variety of people who use the lake for work, sport and play. The book is almost entirely composed of portraits with two page spreads of the water and sky separating them.
These portraits were taken at the lake but within a small mobile studio he constructed to serve as a consistent plain backdrop. This black background allowed the viewer to look at Lake Michigan through the people rather than the more common view of the people within the backdrop of the larger lake. What this encourages, even forces, the viewer to do is find how the lake is represented through each individual person. As I went through the book the first time (I confess to being one of those who want to see all the photographs as soon as possible to just bathe in the visuals, then I go back and look with more care) I found I was compelled to spend more time than I expected on each photograph than I expected for a first look. These were not simply nature pictures with people in them, which is certainly the norm for most books about a place, even a place as large as Lake Michigan. These portraits allowed the people to remain individuals who bring to light various aspects of Lake Michigan and how it affects the people who live, work or visit her shores.
If you are looking for a book that makes you comment on the beauty of the lake or that gives you the opportunity to say "I've been there" this may not be the book for you. Locations are represented by people. But if you like to remember places you have visited or lived around the lake through the people you met or knew there, then you will recognize these people as being like many you may have encountered. Or perhaps that you hope to encounter at some point. Though their stories are not told in great detail through words, which are few, those few words along with each portrait provide many stories. Part of the fun is noticing details in the portraits and relating it to the short description.
For readers who have not seen much more of the lake than from Milwaukee or Chicago, or any other single spot, this lets you place your relationship with Lake Michigan within the larger panorama of experiences. While my experiences with the lake are from several locations, I was largely a visitor, never living very close for more than a couple years. Yet these portraits brought to mind people I knew from other shorelines, from New England and the Mid-Atlantic region to California. That is, I think, one of the advantages of Miyazaki's approach; the people are specific to Lake Michigan while also being representative of many types of people who are drawn to large bodies of water. This universality of the types of people who frequent shorelines make this a fun book for those who have little or no connection to Lake Michigan.
Reviewed from a copy made available through LibraryThing's Member Giveaways.
These portraits were taken at the lake but within a small mobile studio he constructed to serve as a consistent plain backdrop. This black background allowed the viewer to look at Lake Michigan through the people rather than the more common view of the people within the backdrop of the larger lake. What this encourages, even forces, the viewer to do is find how the lake is represented through each individual person. As I went through the book the first time (I confess to being one of those who want to see all the photographs as soon as possible to just bathe in the visuals, then I go back and look with more care) I found I was compelled to spend more time than I expected on each photograph than I expected for a first look. These were not simply nature pictures with people in them, which is certainly the norm for most books about a place, even a place as large as Lake Michigan. These portraits allowed the people to remain individuals who bring to light various aspects of Lake Michigan and how it affects the people who live, work or visit her shores.
If you are looking for a book that makes you comment on the beauty of the lake or that gives you the opportunity to say "I've been there" this may not be the book for you. Locations are represented by people. But if you like to remember places you have visited or lived around the lake through the people you met or knew there, then you will recognize these people as being like many you may have encountered. Or perhaps that you hope to encounter at some point. Though their stories are not told in great detail through words, which are few, those few words along with each portrait provide many stories. Part of the fun is noticing details in the portraits and relating it to the short description.
For readers who have not seen much more of the lake than from Milwaukee or Chicago, or any other single spot, this lets you place your relationship with Lake Michigan within the larger panorama of experiences. While my experiences with the lake are from several locations, I was largely a visitor, never living very close for more than a couple years. Yet these portraits brought to mind people I knew from other shorelines, from New England and the Mid-Atlantic region to California. That is, I think, one of the advantages of Miyazaki's approach; the people are specific to Lake Michigan while also being representative of many types of people who are drawn to large bodies of water. This universality of the types of people who frequent shorelines make this a fun book for those who have little or no connection to Lake Michigan.
Reviewed from a copy made available through LibraryThing's Member Giveaways.
May 1, 2016
Beautiful photos of the Lake's neighbors. We come in many shapes, sizes, colors and have a wide variety of jobs, hobbies, interests, and concerns. Pictured here are hikers, fishermen and women, birders, boaters, surfers, actors, Coast Guard, steelworkers, vacationers, swimmers, police officers, professors and wildlife conservationists. In the faces are pride, joy, trust, self-assurance, friendliness, and amusement. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Biology professor pictured here (now retired but looking younger than ever - he is a local fixture on the shore!) as well as one of the directors of the nature preserve that is within sight of my house and where I spend much time hiking and photographing all year round.
While the focus of the book is on the people here, not the Lake itself, and what we are concerned with when it comes to our awesome body of water, not every person photographed gets to express their opinion and those who do only get two or three sentences under their pic. Each person, however, is identified by name and either where they're from, where they were visiting when photographed and their situation (job, retired, student, etc).
In between every handful of people photos is a photo of the Lake, all relatively calm days and, due to the very short timeframe, all warm weather photos. It was a bit disappointing to me that the project didn't extend into winter because the Lake is equally beautiful then, it's still relevant to our lives then, and there are still surprising activities in, on, and around it then. And, even though it's not a "Lake" book but a "people of the Lake" book, there needed to be a photo of the full moon over the Lake and images of the cars lined up on the shoreline on a beautiful summer night just to take in the breathtaking view.
(As a side note, the man who is identified as Frank Ettawageshik, "a Native American leader" who "sang me the Native American water song" is more specifically from the Waganakising Odawak tribe which is part of the Little Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. The song was likely from his people, rather than a song that all indigenous peoples sing.)
While the focus of the book is on the people here, not the Lake itself, and what we are concerned with when it comes to our awesome body of water, not every person photographed gets to express their opinion and those who do only get two or three sentences under their pic. Each person, however, is identified by name and either where they're from, where they were visiting when photographed and their situation (job, retired, student, etc).
In between every handful of people photos is a photo of the Lake, all relatively calm days and, due to the very short timeframe, all warm weather photos. It was a bit disappointing to me that the project didn't extend into winter because the Lake is equally beautiful then, it's still relevant to our lives then, and there are still surprising activities in, on, and around it then. And, even though it's not a "Lake" book but a "people of the Lake" book, there needed to be a photo of the full moon over the Lake and images of the cars lined up on the shoreline on a beautiful summer night just to take in the breathtaking view.
(As a side note, the man who is identified as Frank Ettawageshik, "a Native American leader" who "sang me the Native American water song" is more specifically from the Waganakising Odawak tribe which is part of the Little Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. The song was likely from his people, rather than a song that all indigenous peoples sing.)
September 30, 2014
I have often vacationed along the shores of Lake Michigan so I was drawn to “Perimeter” and am glad that I followed. Author/photographer Kevin J. Miyazaki circumnavigated the Lake taking pictures. The organization is four pages of with pictures of people found along the lakeshore or three pages of pictures with one page containing quotes from the object of the photo on the opposite page. After those four you get a double page lakescape.
The photos focus on the people who are presented before a black background. These are the people who work and play, and live and love alongside this great inland sea. They are a diverse lot, an elderly woman with her daughters, the policeman and park ranger, the longshoremen and tattooed skateboarder, the ferry captain and fisherman, the swimmer and the lifeguard, the painting and sailing students, the re-enactors and the tourists, well you get the idea. These are the people bring the Lake to life and draw their life spirit from it. As I studied the portraits I kept thinking, “Have I seen him?’ or “I know where she lives, works or plays”.
These are the faces of the people of the Lake. There are the faces of the Lake itself. In the lakescapes the colors change from brown to green to blue, the sunlight sparkles and the fog covers, storms threaten and whitecaps play, and the skies are blue and cloudy and reflect the setting (or rising) sun.
This book has few words, but much reading. We read the faces and outfits, tools and toys but mostly we read the Lake: The Lake that is beautiful and powerful, living and life giving. “Perimeter” is a book to peruse and ponder. Keep it where you can find it when you need something to lift your spirits. Don’t be selfish. Leave it where your guests can find it and share this treasure.
I did receive a free copy of this book for review.
The photos focus on the people who are presented before a black background. These are the people who work and play, and live and love alongside this great inland sea. They are a diverse lot, an elderly woman with her daughters, the policeman and park ranger, the longshoremen and tattooed skateboarder, the ferry captain and fisherman, the swimmer and the lifeguard, the painting and sailing students, the re-enactors and the tourists, well you get the idea. These are the people bring the Lake to life and draw their life spirit from it. As I studied the portraits I kept thinking, “Have I seen him?’ or “I know where she lives, works or plays”.
These are the faces of the people of the Lake. There are the faces of the Lake itself. In the lakescapes the colors change from brown to green to blue, the sunlight sparkles and the fog covers, storms threaten and whitecaps play, and the skies are blue and cloudy and reflect the setting (or rising) sun.
This book has few words, but much reading. We read the faces and outfits, tools and toys but mostly we read the Lake: The Lake that is beautiful and powerful, living and life giving. “Perimeter” is a book to peruse and ponder. Keep it where you can find it when you need something to lift your spirits. Don’t be selfish. Leave it where your guests can find it and share this treasure.
I did receive a free copy of this book for review.
November 22, 2016
Picture book with interesting concept. A 2 week, 1800 mile trip around Lake Michigan, with photos of the people met along the Lake shore, and the view of the Lake at the time. Insight into the diversity of all of us who love, enjoy and use the Lake for such a variety of vocations and avocations.
July 13, 2015
The only thing I wished for was more story to accompany the photos. A beautiful book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews