In Rural Landscapes

In a new monolith, “Bare Handed,” published by L’Artiere Edizioni, a young Italian publishing house, Western Massachusetts-based photographer Holly Lynton explores the passionate, sun-dappled, sun-burnt and sweat-coated skin of American rural communities. Her evocative, visceral snapshots illuminate the kind of literary drama of farm life that has sparked the imaginations of authors for centuries — from Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” and “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” to the distinctly American rust of John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” and more recently, Barbara Kingsolver’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winner, “Demon Copperhead.”

Lynton’s portraits echo the traditional of agricultural labor and the struggle of the fading American farm, which fights to survive in an increasingly complicated landscape of the rural working class. Have the lives dedicated to the labor of the earth ever felt more invisible or devalued?

“Over the past twelve years, I have focused on photographing people committed to working the land or spending time at sea in a way that reflects their direct connection with nature,” Lynton wrote of her book for Southern Cultures. “Often, the tenuousness of their activities urges me to photograph them immediately. It is uncertain how long they will persevere, given the rising fuel costs and low profitability of many of their endeavors. “

Lynton will discuss her book at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Thursday, Aug. 31.

‘Gravely Haystack, Dusk’ by Holly Lynton Courtesy the artist

‘Wolf’ by Holly Lynton Courtesy the artist

  

‘Gravely Haystack, Dusk’ by Holly Lynton Courtesy the artist