Alec Soth recently published A Pound of Pictures, a compilation of photos taken between 2018-2021 while traveling around the US. At first intended to follow Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train route, Soth found himself following another path altogether and embarking on something more personal instead. According to Soth, his photographs in A Pound of Pictures reflect more on their process of creation than on their shimmering surfaces alone.
Your most recent project, A Pound of Pictures, began by following Abe Lincoln’s funeral train route but somehow took an unexpected detour. What occurred?
Donald Trump’s America was becoming increasingly disconcerting to me and I needed an outlet for these feelings. Thinking back on the Civil War as a period of division and Lincoln’s assassination bringing people together unexpectedly was one such catalyst; reflecting further, I read Walt Whitman who always makes me feel hopeful for America thanks to his optimism; this made me come up with this concept of following his funeral train through town.
As is usually the case when I come up with an idea, it becomes problematic quickly. And this one was no exception: its rules required shooting at certain times of day or elevations; thus making me feel like homework. Even so, I was determined to continue but wasn’t feeling as passionate about continuing it anymore so simply went on another trip – eventually leading me down this new project path.
So I had to abandon that structure and begin again; the project is about itself in many ways; getting back to the basics and rediscovering photography are its focal points; what it lacks, however, is an engaging narrative thread.
My first project, From Here to There, explored wandering from one picture to the next – starting here and going all over. With my second project titled Wanderlust – an inversion of From Here to There – each image leads into another and wanders endlessly from place to place. As part of its name sake and for added impact I chose the Mississippi River as its focus point – although really its all about wandering.