Alec Soth makes large-scale projects that are as much about dreams and heartache as they are about charting the landscape of Middle America.

Why you should listen

Alec Soth is a photographer born and based in Minnesota. He has published several books, including Sleeping by the MississippiNiagara and Broken Manual. The New York Times once wrote that Soth has made a "photographic career out of finding chemistry with strangers." His editorial work routinely appears in The New York Times Magazine, he is a member of the Magnum photo agency, and his work was featured in the Whitney Biennial in 2004.

In 2008, Soth started his own experimental publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom, that explores the possibilities of combining images and text. After publishing seven issues of his own newspaper, Soth compiled this work into his latest monograph, Songbook.

Alec Soth’s TED Talk

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