{"product_id":"amani-willett-a-parallel-road-second-edition-hardcover","title":"Amani Willett: A Parallel Road (Second Edition Hardcover)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis multi-layered work explores the Black experience of driving in America over the past 85 years. By picturing how it has too often been marked by fear, violence and death, \u003cem\u003eA Parallel Road\u003c\/em\u003e challenges representations of the American ideal of the road trip that have long dominated our view through artistic and literary media. Referencing the historical \u003cem\u003eNegro Motorist Green Book\u003c\/em\u003e, and layering archival and new images, it examines the question of how long the road will continue to be a site of violence and oppression for Black people in American society.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA romantic concept of ‘The Road’ has been embraced in American popular culture since the mid-20th century.\u003c\/strong\u003e Writers, artists and photographers, many inspired by revelations surrounding the Beat Generation’s legendary road trips, have long portrayed the idea of the road as a metaphorical symbol of freedom, independence and self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eStrikingly absent from this cumulative portrait is the Black American experience of the road which is often associated with fear, violence and death rather than freedom. This stark contrast is in conflict with the promise of familial fun times that the road trip afforded to white Americans.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1936, in response to the grave dangers faced by African American travelers, New York postman Victor Green created the \u003cem\u003eNegro Motorist Green Book\u003c\/em\u003e, a practical and necessary survival guide listing safe places where Black people could eat, sleep and find services along their journey without a dreadful fear for losing their lives. The guidebook was published annually for thirty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMixing recent portraits and landscapes, digital screenshots and archival material—including pictures from Willett’s own family archive—\u003cem\u003eA Parallel Road\u003c\/em\u003e pays homage to Victor Green’s book, 84 years after it was first published, and sheds light on an experience of the road that has long been overlooked. It is produced in the same size as the original Green Book.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThis nuanced and multi-layered work explores themes of history, racism, violence and Black identity in the United States, reflecting on the nation’s past and present while encouraging inclusivity and dialogue surrounding a complex and integral American story. While 54 years have passed since Green’s book ceased publication, it remains profoundly relevant in a time when the mere act of being on the road still threatens to be lethal for Black Americans.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBased in Boston, \u003cstrong\u003eAmani Willett\u003c\/strong\u003e‘s photography is driven by conceptual ideas surrounding family, history, memory, and the social environment. His most recent book \u003cem\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.overlapse.com\/catalog\/disappearance-joseph-plummer\/\"\u003eThe Disappearance of Joseph Plummer\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e, published by Overlapse, is widely treasured and acclaimed as a ‘best photobook’ released in 2017. His first monograph, \u003cem\u003eDisquiet\u003c\/em\u003e, (Damiani, 2013) – a meditation on starting a family in a time of social unrest and uncertainty in America – was selected as one of the best books of the year by PDN, Photo Eye (Todd Hido) and Conscientious (Joerg Colberg). Amani’s photographs are also featured in the books \u003cem\u003eBystander: A History of Street Photography\u003c\/em\u003e (2017 edition, Laurence King Publishing), \u003cem\u003eStreet Photography Now\u003c\/em\u003e (Thames and Hudson), \u003cem\u003eNew York: In Color\u003c\/em\u003e (Abrams), and have been published widely in media including \u003cem\u003eAmerican Photography\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eHarper’s\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Huffington Post\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe New York Times Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e. His work is held in collections such as The Museum of Fine Arts Boston, The Sir Elton John Photography Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Oxford University, and Harvard University. Amani completed an MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts, NY in 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003csmall\u003eSECOND EDITION HARDCOVER\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003csmall\u003e\u003cbr\u003e12.5 x 17 cm portrait (Approx 5x7in), 120 pages\u003cbr\u003eSection-sewn binding with printed paper hardcover and cloth-covered spine (foiled)\u003cbr\u003e92 photographs, archival images and digital screenshots\u003cbr\u003e(Second edition includes 7 new images and 8 further pages)\u003cbr\u003ePublished December 2021 | ISBN: 9781999446871\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Overlapse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50555494989881,"sku":"210000001211","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0782\/0872\/9145\/files\/parallel.png?v=1790278825","url":"https:\/\/shop.icp.org\/products\/amani-willett-a-parallel-road-second-edition-hardcover","provider":"International Center of Photography","version":"1.0","type":"link"}