Thinking About Chauncey Hare

Hi Everyone. I checked out from the library today "Interior America"

by Chauncey Hare. I checked it out for the first time last year and

thought I'd revisit it to see if my reaction to it has changed. I

haven't had time to re-read the rather depressing introduction or to

really look at the photographs yet but after leafing through it while

waiting in the check out line I find these images just as powerful as

before.

So what do the rest of you think of Hare? I find his work in this

book to be darker then Bill Ownens "Suburbia" which I think shares

some common ground. I like some of the re-occuring elements like the

many times "The Last Supper" appears on walls in Hares photographs.

Kind of like Frank and his jukeboxes.

So what is Hare up to these days? He seems not to be very well known,

at least when compared to the likes of Arbus, Winogrand ect. Why do

you suppose this is so? I wouldn't have heard of him either if he had

not been mentioned in another book (I think it was "Diana and Nikon").

I find this odd since I think "Interior America" is a very compelling

and powerful book and it's right up there with "The Americans" as an

important book of documemtary photography. Thoughts? Comments?

Cheers,

Marc

Oh yeah and another thing I forgot to mention. I cannot recall ever seeing Hares work in any of the galleries or museums here in LA. Just about every other photographer has work in the permanent collections of the big museums and the smaller galleries rotate collections around often but I don't think I've seen Hares work in person. Any museums around that house his work?

Given tthat the only two books available on amazon UK by Chauncey Hare are listed at 181 GB pounds and 413 GB pounds (!) I think he will remain a total mystery to me. There are none of his photographs on the web (except some little thumbnails which are password protected).

 

Please can you provide some more information? I like Martin Parr and Richard Billingham and from the little I have read today I think I would enjoy his work.

 

And no, I am not a relative! (And yes, this is my real name, not made up for this thread.)

Well, Trevor, if you're willing to forego the photography, Chauncey Hare's book "Work Abuse: How to Recognize and Survive It" (written with co-author Judith Wyatt sells for just over $20 (US) and seems readily available. And yes, it is the <a href=http://home.netcom.com/~workfam1/>same Chauncey Hare</a>, who now works as a therapist in San Francisco and evidently conducts trainings and seminars on this subject.<p><p>

 

Thanks, Marc, for the heads-up. I'll be curious to see whether his photography is available locally.

Hi Guys. The book I have from the Beverly Hills Library (no, I don't live in BH but I wish I did!) shows Aperture Inc as the publisher and the copyright date as 1978.

So Hare lives in San Francisco? Last I heard Bill Owen was living up there in the Bay Area as well. I guess Hare isn't into photography much anymore these days which might explain why he's not a familiar name even among photographers. This book may be long out of print. Maybe if some of us ask Aperture they may consider doing another run. Otherwise there's always Amazon.com and your local used and out of print bookstores to try.

Regards,

Marc

One of the retailers from abebooks.com has a copy of "Interior America" for 75.00USD, looks like a good deal.

Thanks for the recommendation. I know of Bill Owens a little, but had not heard of Hare. It sounds a very interesting book, and I shall try to find a library copy.

As a follow up to "Interior America," the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston,

Massachusetts exhibited and published Hare's "This Was Corporate America" in 1984. Long

out of print, the exhibition catalog truly is stunning because of the frankness embodied in

Hare's essay. (That word, "stunning," is a frequent adjective associated with blurbs about

photography but, in the case of Hare's essay, it truly is an appropriate adjective.) Over the

years I've had one catalogue stolen from my little library, replaced it with a xerox of the essay

courtesy of the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, and replaced that with another catalogue via

ABEBooks. Chauncey Hare is my hero, a role model for a plainspoken man who worked hard

at his art and who rejected temporal power.

I?ve been trying to find some of Hare?s imagens but here in Brazil it is really impossible!

 

Hi i?ve found this at the website

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/452_hare.html

 

The use of photographs by Chauncey Hare is restricted.

 

Access: Permitted; subject to P&P policy on serving originals.

 

Reproduction (photocopying, hand-held camera copying, photoduplication and other forms of copying allowed by "fair use"): Restricted. Mr. Hare has stipulated that his images may not be copied by researchers in any way or for any purpose.

 

Publication and other forms of distribution:Restricted. Mr. Hare has stipulated that his photographs may not be copied by researchers in any way or for any purpose. The complete collection of Chauncey Hare's photographs may be viewed at the Bancroft Library of the University of California, in Berkeley, California.

 

For more information, please read: Copyright and Other Restrictions: ... Sources for Information

I was a good friend of Chauncey at Chevron Research in Richmond California when he was an Engineer in the early 70's.

He was my supervisor and the best boss I have ever had and the nicest person I have ever met.. I also am fortunate to have a copy of Interior America he personally gave me. He also took a picture of me and my former wife in my art gallery in Oakland. I treasure all of his works. His book "This Was Corporate America" is out of print but I was able to get a soft cover copy for $200 at Amazon.com. I also got his book on Work Abuse for $35 at Amazon and trying to get his latest book "Protest Photographs" which is yet to be published. All his works are in black and white because he is trying to capture the essence of his subject matter without the distraction of color which masks the message of the subject he is photographing. All of his works are in incrdibly sharp detail. Anyone who has survived working in a large oil corporation will appreciate his message. Oil giants are more powerful than any country in the world and are comparable to a totalitarian government as are the military/industrial complex. When I first started working for Chevron Reseach in 1970 on trying to resolve their pollution problems i was a very naive young man and thought they really wanted to have their pollution problems solved. I soon found out it was all about black gold, politics and cover-ups. I haven't seen Chauncy in almost 30 years and hope he is still alive and well. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the abuse imposed on employees and towns by a large corporation. For anyone who does not understand I suggest you watch 'Silkwood" and "Erin Brockovich".

Alive and still kicking,

Mike Scheurich

<p>I happened on <em>Interior America</em> quite by chance this week in the stacks of a local library and am amazed at the virtuosity of the pictures as well as the introduction. Why is no one showing or publishing these?</p>