Edited by Peter Kayafas. Text by Matthew Specktor. Conversation with Stephen Hilger, James Welling.
A subversive portrait of Beverly Hills in a gorgeous leporello format
This leporello publication presents Brooklyn-based photographer Stephen Hilger’s (born 1975) color photographs of service alleys and the backside of houses separating the public from the private in the affluent suburb of Beverly Hills, California—a more anomalous view of the place by depicting the physical and symbolic spaces behind the homes of the area’s wealthy residents. Eva Díaz has written that Hilger’s emphasis suggests that “Beverly Hills is actually two cities, a ‘front’ city of impeccably maintained homes and a ‘back’ city that covertly services the front illusion. Hilger photographed their graffiti, security signage, crammed garbage cans, unaesthetic car parks and overgrown vegetation; the maintenance staff who work nearby; and the alleys’ most indelible feature, narrow, high walls that denote a claustrophobic refusal of inspection.” In the Alley features 22 panoramic photographs in a leporello-folded format so the reader can leaf through the photographs or expand the book-object for display. An essay by novelist Matthew Specktor maps out the significance of Hilger’s alley views in the context of personal histories and Hollywood stories. In a conversation, Hilger and photographer James Welling discuss their respective practices.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Los Angeles Review of Books
Matthew Specktor
Hilger, I suspect, isn’t striving for reconciliation, but rather for clarity, accuracy, ambiguity, and complexity. We find all of these and more in his images, which reveal still more the longer you linger over them.
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Friday, November 17, at 7 PM, Book Soup presents photographer Stephen Hilger in conversation with novelist Matthew Specktor and LACMA photography curator Rebecca Morse for the west coast launch and signing of Hilger's new monograph, In the Alley, published by Purple Martin Press. continue to blog
Saturday, October 21, from 1–3 PM, International Center of Photography presents photographer Stephen Hilger and Purple Martin Press publisher Peter Kayafas for the launch and signing of Hilger's new monograph, In the Alley. Please join us in the ICP Store for a brief conversation about Hilger’s photography in Los Angeles; the influence of Hollywood and film on Hilger’s work and other photographers' work; ideas around the perception of public and private spaces; social facades and the reality behind them; and the photo book as an object, followed by a book signing. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 10 x 7 in. / 66 pgs / 22 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $77 GBP £47.00 ISBN: 9780979776854 PUBLISHER: Purple Martin Press AVAILABLE: 9/5/2023 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by Purple Martin Press. Edited by Peter Kayafas. Text by Matthew Specktor. Conversation with Stephen Hilger, James Welling.
A subversive portrait of Beverly Hills in a gorgeous leporello format
This leporello publication presents Brooklyn-based photographer Stephen Hilger’s (born 1975) color photographs of service alleys and the backside of houses separating the public from the private in the affluent suburb of Beverly Hills, California—a more anomalous view of the place by depicting the physical and symbolic spaces behind the homes of the area’s wealthy residents. Eva Díaz has written that Hilger’s emphasis suggests that “Beverly Hills is actually two cities, a ‘front’ city of impeccably maintained homes and a ‘back’ city that covertly services the front illusion. Hilger photographed their graffiti, security signage, crammed garbage cans, unaesthetic car parks and overgrown vegetation; the maintenance staff who work nearby; and the alleys’ most indelible feature, narrow, high walls that denote a claustrophobic refusal of inspection.”
In the Alley features 22 panoramic photographs in a leporello-folded format so the reader can leaf through the photographs or expand the book-object for display. An essay by novelist Matthew Specktor maps out the significance of Hilger’s alley views in the context of personal histories and Hollywood stories. In a conversation, Hilger and photographer James Welling discuss their respective practices.
