In a time fresh with a regained sense of patriotism in the United States, William Allard's "Portraits of America," a compilation of photographs spanning four decades of his career, provides us with breathtaking insight into our own country. Allard's collection displays the diversity of people that make up the demographic known simply as Americans.
Allard, a native of Afton, Va., has spent his career as a photographer for National Geographic, traveling to various countries but focusing a large portion of his work here on American soil. The photographs in this collection display a clear affinity for environments that lack the gloss of suburbia or the big cities, focusing instead on scenes from places like rodeos, Amish country and minor league baseball.
Allard himself acknowledges a "love affair with Montana in particular and the American West in general" in the introduction of the book, a fact evident in the pages to follow. Probably not coincidentally, the segment about the Hutterites, an Anabaptist colony in Montana, and the portion of the book entitled "Out West," are among the strongest.
The most intriguing point about this book, however, is how little the actual setting of the picture seems to matter. Although photographed with the utmost elegance, what's striking about the photographs is the humanity in the images presented, even in many of those that don't actually have a human being physically present.
For instance, one fascinating picture, "Road warning sign near Winifred," depicts a dilapidated "dangerous intersection" highway sign, framed by an endless stretch of farmland and an imposing sky. Though no person is pictured, the photo succeeds in conveying a man vs. nature duality and fully capturing the reader's attention.
"Remnants of it all" works on a similar theme. The focal point is a tiny house surrounded by a vast expanse of sky and flatland. As in the case of the road sign, Allard is able to make a seemingly simple image into a highly perceptive statement.
For every photo that displays nature and man in opposition, there is a complementary picture of the two elements in tandem that is just as poignant. "The Stoltzfus girl with kitten" is a powerful image of an Amish girl lying in the grass with a kitten, the kitten's paws grasped around her hands. The components of the photo are basic: a girl, her cat and a backdrop of grass.
"Susanna Hofer with duckling" works along the same lines, with a Hutterite girl cupping a tiny duckling in her hands. As is the case in most of Allard's photos, however, many symbolic, complicated interpretations may be made of what seems like such a straightforward composition, which is naturally what makes them so intriguing.
The theme that unites the entire collection, however, is American society in general and the juxtapositions within it. A remarkable contrast lies in "Faulkner Country," a set of photos of Mississippi that reflect both the era of William Faulkner and the late 1980s, when the photos were shot.
A portrait of a young woman who Allard compares to the protagonist of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" sits in sharp contrast to a photograph taken at a fraternity party at the University of Mississippi, the former reflecting quiet antiquity and the latter a brash introduction to modern Southern culture.
Without argument, "Portraits of America" is a provocative look at all that constitutes being an American today and a formidable compilation in itself. Any given reader who calls himself an American will see his reflection in the stunning compositions that Allard provides and will never look at the world quite the same.
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