Mark Steinmetz, South Central, 2020

Renowned for his modest yet powerful photographs that capture the sense of displacement and isolation felt by many young Americans, Mark Steinmetz photographed in and around Knoxville, Tennessee to create the work that makes up South Central. The title of the book is derived from the South Central Bell telephone company that serves Knoxville, and their public pay phones are a recurring theme in this work; an iconic reminder of the area’s socio-economic condition. The artist possesses an uncanny ability to pull folly, aggression and tenderness through his lens simultaneously, and delivers with this book a powerful and touching visual novel of the human condition. Mark Steinmetz is a Guggenheim Fellow. His work is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.