Rough Beauty.

Photographs by Dave Anderson. Introduction and interview by Anne Wilkes Tucker.

Dewi Lewis Publishing, Stockport, 2006. 120 pp., 76 duotone illustrations, 10x10".

Rough Beauty is a powerful photographic documentation of the people and places of Vidor, Texas, a poor and isolated town in rural southeastern Texas, most known for its long history as a Ku Klux Klan town.

Anderson's images explore the character and burden - and the resilience and off-kilter beauty - of a community branded by its history. While Vidor is reviled for its history of Klan activities, behind this stereotype lingers a town filled with people who have not been able to lift themselves up and a crushing poverty sometimes reminiscent of the Great Depression. His images show a hidden beauty that lies dormant even in the roughest places.

About the Limited Edition:

By arrangement with the publisher, a special Deluxe Edition of Dave Anderson's Rough Beauty is being offered to coincide with the October 2006 release of the book. This highly original collectors item features a gorgeous hand-made rubber and glass clamshell casing that houses a first edition of Rough Beauty and an original signed and matted gelatin silver print. This edition is strictly limited to 50 sets and 5 artist proofs.

The Deluxe Edition of Rough Beauty was created as a collaboration between Dave Anderson, designer Shelli Winter and master bookmaker Craig Jensen of BookLab II. The nitrile rubber clamshell box features an inset kiln-distressed glass window and a grey and black linen interior of interlocking trays with titling silk-screened to the glass window and exterior spine. The book and matted print lay perfectly in the interior tray. The use of rubber and imperfect glass in this edition reference the constant use and visual presence of recycled materials in a place like Vidor, where resources - both financial and structural - can be scare.

Each Deluxe Edition comes with a choice of one of four signed and matted original gelatin silver prints, which may be viewed below. All prints are made by the artist from the original negatives and archivally printed on fiber base paper and selenium toned. Each print is 7 x 7 and hung in a 10 x 10 4-ply archival matte. The prints are stamped and signed on the verso.

View Prints:
1. "Boots" 2004, Vidor, TX
2. "Cruiser" 2003, Vidor, TX
3. "Cutie Pie" 2004, Vidor, TX
4. "Ray in the Doorway" 2003, Vidor, TX

Ordering Information

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ZC925-LTD Limited Edition is no longer available.

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