Petrochemical America by Richard Misrach and Kate Orff

Here, the photo works in concert with Orff's atlas and the book's images of bridges, antebellum relics, Texaco stations, decrepit lots, and the like, creating a kind of systems novel of the poisoned American South. The atmosphere is suffocating, to be sure, and Misrach asks us to breathe it in as deeply as we can.--The Editors "Bookforum " In 2010, Richard Misrach returned to photograph the strench of Louisiana known as Cancer Alley, a 150-mile section of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which he had also explored in 1998. The area is home to petrochemical plants that have polluted the river and spoiled the enviroment for years. Misrach's Petrochemical America is more than a disherting photographic essay on the evils of Dow Chemical... Misrach's view is mainly detached, favoring an objective-ish style free of "decisive moments."--David O'Neill "Bookforum "