rachelnevada's review
This book centers on Freeman Vines, a Black found materials guitar maker who lives in Pitts County, North Carolina. Vines began making guitars when he heard a specific tone from a gospel guitarist and wanted to replicate it. He found that the best tones were often from old wood and began making guitars wholly by hand as different wood spoke to him.
In 2015, he was introduced to photographer Timothy Duffy. Duffy uses an old style of photography (wet-plate collodion) and began photographing Vines work. The two were already collaborating when Duffy began working on making guitars out of wood he had been given from a local tree where a Black man had been lynched. Both Vines and Duffy, along with folklorist Zoe Van Buren, dug to find the identity of the man who had been hung and this information informed all of their respective work-- Vines' guitars, Duffy's photos, and Van Buren's transcription of interviews.
The result is a truly uniquely collaborative book. Conversations between Duffy and Vines are parsed poetically by Van Buren and then offset with Duffy's photos of Vines guitars. This triangulation allows so much about race, music, spiritualism, nature, and objects to be packed into a very, very fast read. Definitely worth an hour or two of your time!
In 2015, he was introduced to photographer Timothy Duffy. Duffy uses an old style of photography (wet-plate collodion) and began photographing Vines work. The two were already collaborating when Duffy began working on making guitars out of wood he had been given from a local tree where a Black man had been lynched. Both Vines and Duffy, along with folklorist Zoe Van Buren, dug to find the identity of the man who had been hung and this information informed all of their respective work-- Vines' guitars, Duffy's photos, and Van Buren's transcription of interviews.
The result is a truly uniquely collaborative book. Conversations between Duffy and Vines are parsed poetically by Van Buren and then offset with Duffy's photos of Vines guitars. This triangulation allows so much about race, music, spiritualism, nature, and objects to be packed into a very, very fast read. Definitely worth an hour or two of your time!
ddb883's review
5.0
Just beautiful. On the surface, it's an incredible photostudy of handmade guitars, but it's truly an examination of art, history, racism, and the things that inspire us.
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