reading finity
An excerpt from David Vestal’s finity / 24:
“A recent issue of Science News told of attempts to restore parts of western prairies that used to be called “the Great American Dessert” to their condition as first seen by Europeans. It can’t be done: the buffalo aren’t there to graze, and alien trees and grasses have irremovably invaded. We also can’t remove another insignificant but carefully-not-mentioned invading species - ourselves: humans who came uninvited from other continents. The ghost dance religion tried to solve this problem in 1890, but the magic shirts weren’t bulletproof.”
His presence is close to invisible online (it took almost 10 minutes to find a gallery with his photographs), but David Vestal has left a deep imprint in photography circles as a venerable photographer (his work is at the MoMA, the Met, and Whitney, to name and few), critic and teacher (at the New School, SVA, and Pratt).
About once a month, our mailbox is graced with an envelope containing his thoughts, critiques and quietly-moving black and white pictures.
finity, 10 issues for $30: David Vestal, PO Box 309, Bethlehem, CT 06751-0309
I’d never heard of David Vestal. That’s an interesting quote. I love his photos. The 60s and 70s were interesting times for black and white photography.