Master Of Photography: Alec Soth

A film about Alec Soth and how he works.

Alec Soth Biography

Alec Soth is an internationally renowned photographer, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who has gained worldwide recognition for his iconic photographs depicting American life. Born in 1969, Soth graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1992 and began shooting street photography. He soon started to develop his signature style, which consists of large-scale photographic projects that explore the human experience in creative and often unexpected ways. He has been widely praised for his ability to capture the emotions and stories of everyday people.

In 2004, his first monograph, Sleeping by the Mississippi, was released by Steidl and has since become a landmark in contemporary photography. The collection of photographs captured people, places and stories along the Mississippi River, from Minnesota to Louisiana. Since then, Soth has created several other monographs, including NIAGARA (2006), Broken Manual (2010), Songbook (2015) and I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating (2019).

In addition to his monographs, Soth has been featured in numerous exhibitions around the world and has been the recipient of many awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013. His photographs can also be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Walker Art Center, among others. Some of Soth’s most famous photographs include “Girl in Prom Dress” (2004), “The Last Days of W” (2010), “Lola and Kaye” (2013) and “The Performer” (2015).

In 2019, Soth released his first feature-length film, The Last Days of W. The film follows the lives of two families living on the Mississippi River, and examines the human relationships between them. It was praised for its intimate portrayal of life on the Mississippi, and for its use of stunning visuals to create a powerful narrative. Soth’s work has been described as “poetic and mysterious,” and continues to captivate audiences around the world.

Alec Soth’s photography continues to explore the human experience in creative and unexpected ways. His unique style and approach to his subject matter has made him one of the most influential contemporary photographers, and his work has been widely celebrated by critics, collectors and the public alike.