"This project glistens with innovation, both from the perspective of the subject matter, which is presented in a novel fashion, as well as from the manner of presentation of the entire project. By getting closer to the people depicted, Sothern has managed to paint a more realistic and comprehensive picture of street dynamics. This photobook can serve as a model for presenting a more authentic and holistic approach to a place and its significance through a greater degree of personal involvement. This approach makes things all the more understandable and enjoyable for the viewers and readers. Highly recommended."
--
Gerhard Clausing. PhotoBook Journal
"In Scot Sothern's latest book, "Look at Me", he again pushes into territory few photographers will go. He drifts Hollywood Boulevard, stopping to sit for stretches with people living on the streets while taking flash-lit photographs of passersby with a disposable camera. "Look at Me" combines these photographs with short texts about his encounters. Together they reveal our aggression and camaraderie with strangers, our disdain and compassion for them. Sothern gets kicked down the Hollywood strip again and again over the course of the book, showing our deep discomfort with confronting this image of who we've become to each other, as well as the importance of doing so."
--Tom Griggs - A Creature Obeys a Creature That Wants
"Scot Sothern's Look at Me is a masterpiece of composition; innovative and daring. His use of colour is breathtaking and timeless. And he is a hell of a writer."
-Miron Zownir
"In Look at Me Scot Sothern takes us on a journey through the heart of Hollywood to reveal in image and text a Los Angeles that is unruly, abrasive and tender. Scot uses a performative approach to his documentary work, blurring the distinction between subject and observer to reveal images and text that are faithful to his interactions. In the process, we gain a deeper sensitivity to marginal life at the edges of humanity
-Stacy Kranitz
"Scot Sothern is one of the great originals of photography, a maverick who has always been on his own unique path. His book Streetwalkers was a big influence on me and helped to give me the confidence to explore right at the edges of society, something Scot had been doing for decades. His new book once again is a fresh idea and stands out high above the generic and clichéd images that make up the majority of street photography these days."
-John Bolloten
An orange plastic bucket, flipped over for a makeshift seat, becomes both a prop and a metaphor for the raw realities of life on the streets. Sothern navigates the streets of Hollywood, immersing himself in a visceral performance that transcends the boundaries of conventional artistic expression. Sothern positions himself as a modern-day vagabond, echoing the profiles of those he encounters on his odyssey. In this performative and conceptual endeavor, Sothern shoots with plastic disposable film cameras, it's flash adding a layer of spontaneity and authenticity to each frame.
Scot yells at passersby, LOOK AT ME! and photographs their reactions. The resultant images are a riveting documentation of the human response to the unexpected, where compassion and sometimes animosity collide. More than a collection of photographs, a series of short stories throughout Look at Me recount his experiences on the streets.
Look at Me is a departure from the prevailing narrative of homelessness in America. Sothern's work challenges the overexposed, exploitative, and redundant portrayals. Rather than focusing on the lives of the homeless, he turns his attention to the public reactions towards those living on the streets It is a searing commentary on the societal gaze, urging viewers to confront and question the norms that shape our collective consciousness.
"Homelessness is omnipresent in America. While there are many talented photographers documenting the homeless with good intention, it has become overexposed, exploitative, and redundant. Street people, desperate and often addicted, don't want their hard-luck lives recorded. Rather than photograph the homeless I set out to record the public reaction to the unhoused people living on the streets.
"Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high. Violence, xenophobia, white supremacy, and gender bashing have all elbowed into the main. I am documenting attitudes and behavior in times of an undeclared American Civil War."
- Scot Sothern
Scot Sothern is a renowned photographer and author whose work has garnered acclaim for its unapologetic exploration of societal margins. With a career spanning decades, Sothern's distinctive approach challenges preconceptions and offers a visceral commentary on contemporary issues. Sothern is a published columnist, novelist, memoirist, and author of five books of photography. Look at Me is his latest endeavor, promising to be a thought-provoking addition to his already provocative body of work.
Other drkrm books by Scot Sothern
LITTLE MISS
A NEW LOW
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