Strange Hours: Photography, Memory, and the Lives of Artists

by Rebecca Bengal

Strange Hours: Photography, Memory, and the Lives of Artists

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2023

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Rebecca. Rebecca is a great writer, she is a great person, and she wrote the introduction for my new book, so prepare yourself for a totally biased but not untrue review. I had already read a lot of these pieces, but it was great to revisit them. Knowing I could easily devour it, I paced myself, reading it between other books I was reading, trying to make it last. Her approaches to the subjects are varied; not strange, but sometimes dead on and sometimes elliptical, but always a combination of incredibly astute and literary and wholly earnest; observational in the truest sense, seeing what she sees and describing it without pretense. I'd say this is true for her subjects the people, the artists, as well as the art itself. She understands that a picture is an arrest of time, but fluid in the way it can be understood outside of that instant, and that the moment isn't a moment when it's fluid, a drop in a river, static but also ongoing; inter-dimensional, in fact. She's a candid interviewer, sometimes inviting and sometimes opaque, a chameleon that is always at home rather than hiding. I feel like this is a seminal collection of photographers and writing and thinking about photographs now that will only gain in renown as it is an ongoing capture of these moment.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of critical essays, photographer interviews, and one short story. The short story was the most distinctive and all-encompassing work—it felt like a collaboration between Bengal and Justine Kurland. Bengal’s writing overall is strong, but the lack of thread between the essays slowed the collection for me. I don’t like the phrase “lacking in urgency” but maybe an adjacent sensation. The ideas and content within the essays is mostly timely and fascinating, but there is no cartilage between them and I came to wish there was. Ultimately a worthwhile read for writers, photographers, and enthusiasts alike.

[Suzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a little over half of this collection of mostly previously published essays by art writer Rebecca Bengal. May come back to the rest of it at some point. Bengal is a clear and easily approachable writer, who also brings academic and conceptual rigor to her subjects. Her essays made me want to look up the artists whose work I hadn't seen before and even with those I was familiar with, she always seemed to have some new tidbit or quote or opinion that made it worthwhile.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

came for the photography writing but found the short story at the end (written to accompany justine kurland's girl pictures) the most intriguing. it was almost more revealing of the work, in a way—it's one thing to say directly "these photos capture a world of X Y and Z" and another to immerse yourself in that imagined world. fascinating.

[manasa k · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've had a crush on the girl in the cover eggleston photo ever since i saw it i wish i knew who she was and also i will be getting her haircut. so much in here on photography as a medium of time. the second essay- about how words and image intersect - probably some of my favorite art writing recently. reading it right after seeing an ed rauscha show felt very fitting.

[Jack Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fire

[Elle Scheffel · Rating 4 out of 5]

such an expensive book :( I just read it in the store. If I were a parasite who had to live behind the eyes of one singular person for all of my life, I would choose Nan Goldin.

[Jeffrey Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

man that dawoud bey essay was just beautiful 🥲 the section about lucia berlin and terminal illnesses - teardrops all over the page

[Malorie Kerouac · Rating 4 out of 5]

*notes for me to remember, not a critical review* this book is a compilation of journalist Rebecca Bengal’s pieces on various photographer or artists. Since the format is a series of articles it can be a little hit or miss as to whether a particular chapter captivates you or bores you, and it depends so much on the mood you’re in on a given day and how creatively inspired you are. This book took me a while to get through as most non-fiction do, not giving four stars because it’s a page turner, but rather because there are so many wonderful nuggets in here and I’d recommend for creatives to enjoy. referred by anastasia