Appalachia USA Photographs 19682009 Author:Builder Levy Despite the promise of alternative energy, coal still powers most of our power plants and steel mills. The story of its extraction, and of the people who live, work, suffer, and endure in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, has been a source of fascination bordering on obsession for the photographer Builder Levy. For four decades, he has ... more »been witness to an industry that has changed from miners working underground with picks and shovels to draglines, mechanical earth movers that can tear apart mountain summits to expose veins of coal in massive, and massively destructive, quantities. He has witnessed strikes and picket lines, desperation and rage, hope and dignity, and the predictable natural disasters (and disasters waiting to happen) that are part of the territory.
Inspired by the great photographers working in the humanist tradition Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, Walker Evans, to name a few Builder Levy is a part of and a contributor to that continuum. Intertwining the traditions of fine art, social documentary, and street photography, Appalachia USA is an aesthetically and socially significant book that celebrates the human spirit; it is this human spirit that shines through the coal dust in the blackened faces of miners, in mothers struggling to feed their children, and in ravaged but resilient communities. Levy s photographs and accompanying captions capture the tension, the dignity, and the enduring humanity of this troubled corner of America.« less