Joe’s pictures address something more personal than their foreign settings. His images of distant locations blend easily with pictures from the streets of New York, or his beloved New York State Fair. The heart of the work is that no matter how far afield Joe travels, he always brings back little pieces of himself. The pictures reveal much more about Joe and his travels than the stamps in his passport, or the stories he may tell later over drinks.”
- Carl Gunhouse in the afterword of Lawton’s book Plain Sight.
Being and There is a photographic travel journal featuring black and white photography from India, China, Indonesia, Russia, France, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.
The photographs have a transparent formal ease that makes his subjects appear accessible to anyone willing to get up and go for a long walk. The work shows the world colored with a sense of romance that stirs a yearning to get out of the country. It is a travel resume that has provided a string of adventures and anecdotes that should certainly satisfy the curiosity of a boy from Upstate.
Joe’s pictures address something more personal than their foreign settings. His images of distant locations blend easily with pictures from the streets of New York, or his beloved New York State Fair. The heart of the work is that no matter how far afield Joe travels, he always brings back little pieces of himself. The pictures reveal much more about Joe and his travels than the stamps in his passport, or the stories he may tell later over drinks.”
- Carl Gunhouse in the afterword of Lawton’s book Plain Sight.
