Los Angeles photographer Autumn de Wilde is well known in certain music circles for her riveting work, and she has created quite a prolific portfolio through subjects such as Beck, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pavement, Spoon, Fiona Apple, Tegan and Sara, Built to Spill, Death Cab for Cutie, The White Stripes, etc. But it is with her portraits of the late Elliot Smith that Autumn's work broke through to new heights. She worked with Smith often, creating the images and look of "Figure 8" album, and directing the "Son of Sam" video. Four years after Smith's passing, Autumn put together this tribute to her dear friend, which is an intimate visual portrait that speaks eloquently to Smith's music and his life. Part photo essay with 200 pictures and part written interviews, this 224 page book captures various aspects of Smith's disposition and accurately reflects the deep pathos that is palpable in his music. Many of the photos are from the album shoots, but some are of documents written in Smith's own hand - things like lyrics scrawled on papers, or receipts and post-it notes. Not quite a scrapbook, the few items included are not mementos but rather interesting glimpses into Smith's mysterious life. For example, at the back of the book there is an image of a letter from Sallie Mae sent to Smith, congratulating him that his student loans were finally paid off. This is the type of thing that makes Smith a real figure apart from his mythologized persona, and one wishes there were more of these included. However, there are plenty of interviews included with people who have worked with both Autumn and Smith, and were closely connected to the artist's personal world; it is these interviews that serve the purpose of shedding light on otherwise murky territory. The foreward is a discussion between Beck and Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) about Autumn de Wilde's connection to the artists she photographs and their feelings on the act of being photographed. Then we get discussions between Autumn and various people that figured relevant in Smith's life: Matthew Caws (Nada Surf, tour mate), Neil Gust (college friend and Heatmiser band mate), Joanna Bolme (girlfriend), Dorien Garry (former roomate), Sean Coghan (former roomate), Alyssa Siegel (asst. to Smith's manager), Larry Crane (owner of Jackpot! Studio), Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmiser band mate), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Ashley Welch (Smith's sister), Dale Smith (Graphic Designer for "Figure 8"), Mark Flanagan (owner of Club Largo), Jon Brion (singer/producer), Rob Schnapf (engineer), and Margaret Mittleman (manager). Smith comes back to life like a strong spirit through both the images and words, and it is indeed haunting to read through the book, especially while listening to the CD that is included with the book. It is called "Live at Largo", which is a club in LA that Smith would frequent. The CD has five live tracks from 1997 that are previously unreleased:
01. Angeles
02. Between the Bars
03. Clementine
04. Clouds
05. All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down
ah.. elliot smith. so tragic.
Posted by: books | February 25, 2010 at 05:51 AM