Book Review: Peter Fetterman’s The Power of Photography
Paul Fusco- Untitled, from the RFK portfolio, 1968 / page 212 © Paul Fusco / Courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery
Written by, Nikkala Kovacevic
Copy edited by Erin Pedigo
Peter Fetterman’s The Power of Photography is a true love letter to the photographic language. Fetterman himself states in his introduction that there is no distinct genre, style or message to his book; this is not meant to be historical or biographical. Instead, he makes it clear that this book is the translation of one man’s love of photography, and the images that inspired this love as well as carried it through his entire life.
The only theme Fetterman followed in assembling this collection of pieces was the strength of emotional evocation the photograph inspired in him. This includes photographs taken by old friends, the subjects of the pieces secondary to the relationship between Fetterman and the artist; the memory that now clouds the piece. Many of the photographs included also predate Fetterman or bear no connection to him physically, but have evoked in him such emotion or love that they now hold a permanent place in his life. The Power of Photography asks the reader to not only view the images from Fetterman’s perspective, with his added stories and anecdotes providing an insight into the context of each piece’s selection, but also to connect with it on their own.
Alice Mann- Dr Van Der Ross drummies, 2017 / page 177 © Alice Mann / Courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery
Fetterman began the process of selecting and writing about these images during the early days of the pandemic, posting them to his blog more for the purpose of his own sanity during lockdown than for public consumption. Instead, he found a wide audience of followers who too were looking for solace in an unsure time. It was through this practice that Fetterman began to understand the importance of sharing the experience of connecting with a photograph, the “power” of the photograph to both invoke a specific memory or emotion in him and serve an entirely different purpose for another.
Neil Leifer- Muhamad Ali vs Sonny Liston, 1965 / page 78 © Neil Leifer. / Courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery
Mostly portraits, each photograph provides a striking glimpse into aspects of the human experience. From Roman Vishniac’s Sara, the only flowers of her youth (1939), a chilling portrait of a young girl during the destruction of Warsaw by Nazis, all the way to Neil Leifer’s Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, (1965), an electric capturing of the great boxer’s famous victory. Despite a seemingly lack of connection between the content of the images, Fetterman manages to create a spectrum of pain, joy, pride, heartbreak and connection through the flipping of every page.
The Power of Photography reads more like a memoir than an anthology, and through the photos he has decided to share, Fetterman lets the reader into his mind and his past, walking us through the moments and photos that shaped him. That being said, Fetterman doesn’t express an explicit interest in sharing his stories for the sake of popularizing them. Instead, he hopes to simply prolong the lifespan of these photographs which he believes to be important for varying reasons, maintaining or exposing them to the lexicon of photography and its potent connection to the human experience. “I feel so fortunate to have been a temporary custodian of these images and now is the time to let them fly away and bestow their power on new recipients.”
