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America's Idea of a Good Time
 
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America's Idea of a Good Time (Paperback)

by Kate Schermerhorn (Author), Simon Winchester (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 96 pages
  • Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing (13 Mar 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1899235485
  • ISBN-13: 978-1899235483
  • Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 20.5 x 1.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 759,350 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Review

"'A quirky, funny, affectionate take on Americans at play.' - Nick Hall, The Independent Magazine; 'Schermerhorn works within the tradition of great American photography to show the surreal underbelly of the USA.' - Nick Waplington; 'Americans do a lot of things in the name of fun. We shoot each other with paint, we bungee jump and we pretend to bungee jump. We play bingo and we bowl, we fish, we hit golf balls through clown heads and miniature churches. We even stack Oreo Cookies. It seems that life is not about expanding our minds or learning life's lessons - it's about bumper stickers.' - Kate Schermerhorn"


Product Description

Americans do a lot of things in the name of fun. They shoot each other with paint, bungee jump and pretend to bungee jump. This book presents an affectionate take on Americans at play to expose the surreal underbelly of the United States.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating photographs of Americans having fun, 13 Sep 2001
By A Customer
Over the past two years, in a personal examination of America's resolute pursuance of the happiness to which it feels constitutionally entitled, Kate Schermerhorn has photographed nearly a hundred parades and pageants across the breadth of the continental USA. Her camera however never quite gets around to recording glory of the spectacle, choosing instead to reach beyond the razzmatazz and settle into the dust of the surrounding minutiae which inform the structure of the whole. Intangibles such as concentration form a fundamental part of the events: in Pasadena for example we find a perfectly made up, high heeled, suspender and stocking clad gentleman applying the final adjustments to his face paint before taking part in a parade. Lace seems significant to a Hollywood Halloween party while a poodle in a pet pouch across its owner's chest seems glued to a Washington tricycle race. Taking the whole thing seriously is very much an issue here: there is a commitment in the participants which is appreciated by the spectators. In Phoenix Arizona for example spectators have brought living room furniture out into their driveway and comfortably settled in to watch a parade: a notion of communal spirit, both national and local flows throughout the book. The High School Band rehearses in the back yard, while in Beaux Bridge Louisiana a uniformly striped couple step seriously out for the annual crawfish festival. The book opens with an image of Mount Rushmore, avoiding the splendour and simply allowing the head of George Washington to break the bottom of the frame. Whether he is to be viewed as sinking; or perhaps resurfacing to once more regard the nation he fathered is a decision left to the viewer. Quietly, behind it's humorous, light hearted, and gently superficial veil, America's Idea of a Good Time asks some very subtle questions. And as her Amish farmer rollerblades filmicly off into the sunset I'm left with the conviction that Kate Schermerhorn's is a journey that's only just begun. I look forward to her next book
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