Taking Liberties - Hardcover

One of America’s most important contemporary photographers shares his latest installment of documents in Taking Liberties, a collection of 65 beautifully produced full-color photographs with an introduction by the prominent American architect Robert Venturi. Graham’s myriad subjects include 3,000 miles of full-color roadside attractions, and a world of general oddities.

Taking his inspiration from the United States Constitution, David Graham has tirelessly traveled the entire continental United States seeking out those Americans who are serious about their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—from the California dentist who sculpts mammoth Amazon warriors to the Dallas hamburger stand that features a life size statue of Lenin. The book is a jubilant and highly amusing celebration of the freedom of expression that is truly American, and it will appeal to photography and architecture lovers as well as fans of American kitsch.

David Graham is a noted photographer whose other books include Only in America (Alfred A. Knopf, 1991) and American Beauty"?(Aperture, 1987). Taking Liberties is the third book of this trilogy. Graham teaches at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and works regularly for such magazines as Time, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Fortune, and Forbes. His photographs are included in the collections of the New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Robert Venturi is a renowned American architect whose influence extends throughout the world. A respected theorist and artist, he is also the author of Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (Museum of Modern Art) and Learning from Las Vegas (MIT Press) with Denise Scott Brown. Among his best known projects are the Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery in London and the Seattle Art Museum.