Foreword by James Pickens Jr. Introduction by Ivan McClellan.
Freshly expanded and resequenced, McClellan’s beloved photobook chronicling Black American cowboy culture returns to print
Ivan McClellan’s Eight Seconds is the result of more than a decade spent living inside Black cowboy culture. What began as an introduction to the Black rodeo in 2015 has become a sustained artistic collaboration built on trust and curiosity. Moving across the United States with his camera, McClellan makes intimate portraits of a community where individualism, place, style and athleticism converge, and where a new generation is reshaping the image of the American West in real time. The title refers to how bull riding is scored, but here it speaks to an interval in time where life and death are at stake. Like the cowboys he photographs, McClellan works in a space that demands total presence, where the connections to animals and land meet to create moments of universal appeal. These photographs move beyond the rodeo arena to foreground a culture that demands individuality and self-expression. The result is a contemporary language that builds a new myth out of the old West. First published to great acclaim in 2024, the second edition of Eight Seconds is newly sequenced and includes 91 previously unpublished images as well as a new introduction and foreword. Ivan McClellan (born 1982) is a photojournalist based in Portland, Oregon. His work has been featured in Andscape and Fast Company. As a designer, he has led projects for Nike, Adidas, Disney and the US National Soccer Team.
Kamal Miller, California, 2024. From 'Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion,' published by Damiani.
Monday, October 12, at 6 PM, Rizzoli Bookstore presents a conversation with photographer Ivan McClellan to celebrate his new book, Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion, a stunning monograph documenting African-American cowboy culture, published by Damiani. He will be in conversation with Maria Soccor, followed by a signing.
PLEASE NOTE: RSVPs are encouraged but not required. Seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Doors open at 5:30 PM.
“Casico & Caslynn, Oklahoma” (2025) is from Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion, the new, revised and expanded edition of photographer Ivan McClellan’s acclaimed photobook documenting Black cowboy culture. It is newly sequenced with more than 90 previously unpublished images. “In the world of rodeo, eight seconds is the time a cowboy must stay on a bareback bronc, saddle bronc or bull for the ride to count,” James Pickens Jr. writes. “Just eight seconds. That’s all. Eight seconds that can mean the difference between walking out of the arena with a smile on your face and money in your pocket—or brushing dust off your jeans, already thinking about the next rodeo. A rodeo cowboy’s life is measured in time.… It’s in the miles driven day and night to reach the next performance. It’s in the diesel fuel, the entry fees and the cost of maintaining horses. It’s in the meals, the vet bills, the breakdowns and the time spent away from family. It’s in the survival jobs between rodeos. It’s all determined by time—by those eight seconds. All of this—and so much more—is captured in the powerful and heartfelt photographs of Ivan McClellan. Through his lens, he invites us into a world seldom seen and even less understood: the Black rodeo.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 11.25 x 9 in. / 112 pgs / 91 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $70 ISBN: 9788862088602 PUBLISHER: Damiani AVAILABLE: 10/6/2026 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA
Eight Seconds: Legacy in Motion Photographs by Ivan McClellan
Published by Damiani. Foreword by James Pickens Jr. Introduction by Ivan McClellan.
Freshly expanded and resequenced, McClellan’s beloved photobook chronicling Black American cowboy culture returns to print
Ivan McClellan’s Eight Seconds is the result of more than a decade spent living inside Black cowboy culture. What began as an introduction to the Black rodeo in 2015 has become a sustained artistic collaboration built on trust and curiosity. Moving across the United States with his camera, McClellan makes intimate portraits of a community where individualism, place, style and athleticism converge, and where a new generation is reshaping the image of the American West in real time. The title refers to how bull riding is scored, but here it speaks to an interval in time where life and death are at stake. Like the cowboys he photographs, McClellan works in a space that demands total presence, where the connections to animals and land meet to create moments of universal appeal. These photographs move beyond the rodeo arena to foreground a culture that demands individuality and self-expression. The result is a contemporary language that builds a new myth out of the old West. First published to great acclaim in 2024, the second edition of Eight Seconds is newly sequenced and includes 91 previously unpublished images as well as a new introduction and foreword.
Ivan McClellan (born 1982) is a photojournalist based in Portland, Oregon. His work has been featured in Andscape and Fast Company. As a designer, he has led projects for Nike, Adidas, Disney and the US National Soccer Team.
