This Land: An American Portrait

by Jack Spencer

Jarred by the 9/11 attacks, photographer Jack Spencer set out in 2003 “in hopes of making a few ‘sketches’ of America in order to gain some clarity on what it meant to be living in this nation at this moment in time.” Across thirteen years, forty-eight states, and eighty thousand miles of driving, Spencer created a vast, encompassing portrait of the American landscape that is both contemporary and timeless. This Land presents some one hundred and forty photographs that span the nation, from Key West to Death Valley and Texas to Montana. From the monochromatic and distressed black-and-white images that began the series to the oversaturated color of more recent years, these photographs present a startlingly fresh perspective on America. The breadth of imagery in This Land brings to mind the works of such American masters as Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Mark Rothko, and Albert Bierstadt, while also evoking the sense of the open roads traveled by Woody Guthrie and Jack Kerouac. Spencer’s pictorialist vision embraces the sweeping variety of American landscapes—coasts, deltas, forests, deserts, mountain ranges, and prairies—and iconic places such as Mount Rushmore and Wounded Knee. Jon Meacham writes in the foreword that Spencer’s “most surprising images are of a country that I suspect many of us believed had disappeared. The fading churches, the roaming bison, the running Spencer has found a mythical world, except it is real, and it is now, and it is ours.”

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art, Travel

284 pages, Hardcover

Published March 7, 2017

Reviews

[Karima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!
Mr. Spencer traveled 80,000 miles in 13 years (2003-2016) and took Lord knows how many photos of the continental United States. Here he presents 140 images, wanting to "expose some of the bones rattling around in what I'd begun to consider America's closet."

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this collection of photographs spanning 2003 to 2016 highlighting the beauty, wildness, desolation and hipocracy of this land we live in and the way we live in it.

[Mary Anne]

Stunning photos of American places from coast to coast. Some are reminiscent of another time. Roads, trees, bodies of water, mountains and rock formations, some I recognize and some I don't.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of fine art prints of America. There are no portraits, but lots of images of barns, plains, lakes, rivers, mountains. The images are heavily post-processed, some resemble old photos of the late 1800s, and some are vignetted or colorized in a way that makes them look soft and idealized.

The author's foreword contains a dire message about preserving American's heritage. While I acknowledge the importance of what he's saying, I want to look at the pictures, not worry about lost rural lands. There is no technical information provided which is frustrating. I would have like to have known if he used film or digital, what post-processing was involved and what cameras were used. Some artists refuse to provide such information, claiming it takes away from the images. Perhaps Spencer is such an artist.

Many of the images are absolutely breathtaking but some are so post-processed you can't get past it and are actually a distraction.

So, three stars. Many beautiful images but more technical data and less lecturing would have been appreciated.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one hauntingly beautiful book of photographs of the American Midwest and South. The photos are manipulated, some to look old, others to give them a painterly quality. There are few human figures, but horses seem to fascinate the photographer, mostly against a blurry, vast landscape. There is a lonely quality to these photos. Small towns seem to have been photographed early in the morning before stores opened or people appeared, so there is an appearance of abandonment throughout the landscapes as well as true dereliction of long abandoned structures.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

These amazing photographs were taken by Jack Spencer as he crossed through all the lower 48 states of the U.S. in 2003. Many of these are landscapes, but there are also buildings, old barns, homes, factories, and an interesting shot of a collapsing former college. Some appear to be impressionistic paintings, and my favorites were taken on Cumberland Island, Georgia, making it appear magical and mysterious.

[Bill Glose · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a collection of contemplative art, This Land is an apt title since the only people appearing in this luscious coffee-table book are shown in shadow or seen at a distance. Instead, we are treated to storm clouds split with by rays of light, lone silos in fields of wheat, and herds of horses trotting through fog-shrouded desert. This is America without its citizenry, 140 full-page photographs focusing on rich landscapes, nostalgic buildings and majestic creatures.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful 'coffee table' book... Jack Spencer has the right idea about country and taking the time to find beauty all across the land... ok.. so a little disappointed with not one picture of Indiana but other areas of the nation do provide much more interesting places .... the intro by John Meacham and the intro by the author add to the wonder of this book.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are spectacular, but, for me, they are strangely uninvolving. partly, I think, because they don't really convey a sense of place since many of them share the same subject -a lor horizon line with contrasts above and below.

I'd enjoy seeing them in a gallery where the differences might be more apparent.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal photography of landscapes, some with people in them, from across the United States. Truly portraits of elements of the US.

The author's introduction lets us inside his head and explains much about both his style of photography and his subjects. It's well worth reading before gazing at the photographs, though people significantly right of center politically will not be happy with it.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

The American landscape is grand enough to capture raw. These photographs, while occasionally beautiful, are highly stylized and produced. I was left flat, not inspired, whether from said overdone-ness or from the selection of subject matters. Even worse is the prose, which is full of smugness, though mercifully there is not much of it.

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

fine pictures, some using old camera techniques, others close to abstract expressionism/modern paintings in style. beautiful pictures of montana and dakota landscapes and wild animals. I would have liked more analysis of Jack Spencer’s practice.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting pictures with lots of neat effects. My daughter got excited when she saw Woodstock pictured until she realized it was the one in New York and not the one in Virginia. Oh well.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very attractive large format book with fine art photography and a surprising conscientious introduction that applauds the Amish.

[Elliot Stoller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and unique nature and landscape photographs.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefer brighter colors

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful coffee table book.The photographer did a great job.

[Theresa Lange]

WOW!!! Love it! Some of these photos are like a painting!! Extraordinary!!!

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent photography, nice filters, great perspectives

[Yi · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many pages are almost blank but a title, a year, and a state. What a waste of paper! Automatic fail.

[Diana Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographs in this coffee table book are thought provoking for sure but what really caught me was the foreword. I was so impressed with what the author had to say about America that I have bought the book to give as gifts

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like should be reading this with a cold beer in my hand while wearing cowboy boots.