Kansas 24/7

Rating:
Summary: The Library Journal, October 2004
Review: Book Briefs section: The series abounds with unique imagery and some surprising choices. The bottom line is that [the state books] will likely be as popular [as America 24/7], if not more so. Large public libraries should order the entire set.

Rating:
Summary: From the Witchita Eagle
Review: Picture perfect?

The new coffee- table book 'Kansas 24/7' reinforces rural nostalgic stereotypes while trying to appeal to the heart

BY BOB CURTRIGHT
The Wichita Eagle



David Elliot Cohen admits that the photographic imagery in the attractive new coffee-table book "Kansas 24/7" may not be quite fair or representative. There aren't any views of modern skylines or unique monuments or fine arts, for example, to balance all the snapshots of rural life, small-town folks and sunsets/rainbows over wide-open spaces.

"I wouldn't argue with you that we missed things in Kansas. That's probably the failing of the book," said the San Francisco-based Cohen, who created the 144-page oversize picture book with his partner, Rick Smolan."But we let the photographs sent in by Kansas photographers drive the book. It appeals to the heart."

Cohen and Smolan last fall published "America 24/7," compiled from hundreds of thousands of photos taken by more than 25,000 shutterbugs during one week in May 2003. Three weeks ago, they followed up with 50 "24/7" books, one for each state.

"When my partner worked for magazines like National Geographic and Newsweek, they would give him a shot list of what they needed for their story," Cohen said, "That's not what we do. We gave a basic idea -- to take pictures of home, family, faith, pets, et cetera -- to show what typical Kansas is like at one point in time. After that, it was up to the photographers what they wanted to send."

The result, he said, is an "exuberant democracy of images."

"I love pictures that show behind the scenes of life. I like the extraordinary image of an ordinary moment. It's much, much harder to take than you might think," he said.

"There's a picture in your book of a mother trying to convince her son to go the bathroom before a trip. The look on his face is remarkable."

Cohen said he and Smolan purposely wanted their "24/7" books to be different from the usual images in newspapers and news magazines.

"If someone suddenly landed in Kansas for the first time and looked at a newspaper, he'd come to the conclusion that Kansas is all fires, politics, crime, child abuse, et cetera," he said, "That's not an accurate portrait of Kansas. This is."

Or, at least, closer.

"America 24/7" is an update of Cohen and Smolan's acclaimed "A Day in the Life of America" project from 1986.

"Because of digital photography, we have become a more visual culture," Cohen said. "We decided to do an all-digital project because 2003 was the year digital camera sales overtook film camera sales."

Cohen and Smolan hired coordinators in all 50 states and passed out digital cameras to people around the country. Images were then uploaded onto a Web site where teams of editors chose about 6,000 photos for "America 24/7" and the 50 state books.

"You can imagine what a huge project it was. A lot of work was done by a lot of people in a very short time -- 17 months from start to finish," he said. "Kansas 24/7" contains 613 photos from about 150 photographers.

All the state books were published on the same day -- Sept. 27 -- with an initial run of 800,000 copies. About 12,000 of those are the Kansas book, which is available in local bookstores (DK Publishing, $24.95).

"It will be fun to see which states sell best compared to population," Cohen said.

Cohen said "Kansas 24/7" is his second favorite of the state series. "California is my favorite, obviously, because it's home and because we knew the photographers personally. But there's something about Kansas. It's just so photogenic," Cohen said.

Among his favorite photos in the Kansas book are the Headrick sextuplets from Rago (taken by Eagle photographer Jaime Oppenheimer), a brother and sister splashing in a tub in Leawood, an elderly doctor examining a young girl, and a little boy having a field day among the animal displays at Cabela's in Kansas City.

"We didn't go in with a preconceived notion," Cohen said. "But it was important to let some of them be cliches. There's nothing wrong with cliches; they are comfortable."

Is that why the cover of the Kansas book shows 17-year-old Kristen Hall of Liberal dressed in blue gingham as Dorothy with her Tin Man pal from "The Wizard of Oz"?

"That was probably the most controversial cover of all we did," Cohen said. "The cover must have a much larger constituency than any of the photos in the book. It has to appeal to more people, which means that everybody gets involved in choosing it, from the editorial staff to sales staff."

Cohen said publishers were mindful of the ongoing tug-of-war among Kansans over which image they want to promote to the rest of the world: fairy tale Oz or Old Wild West or modern business. In the end, Cohen said, the choice came down to a gut reaction.

"It was just such a charming picture. How could we not use it?"

Customize your copy of "Kansas 24/7" with personal dust jacket

"Kansas 24/7" from DK Publishing is available in bookstores for $24.95 with a cover that shows a Liberal teen costumed as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz." But if you want a photo important to you to appear on a glossy dust jacket around the book, you can order one for about $11 ($7.95 plus $2.95 shipping and handling).

Here's what to do:

Take a digital photo or scan in your favorite photo of family, friends, kids, pets -- anything you want to immortalize.

Upload your photo to www.america24-7.com/customcover, then scale and crop your image to see what the final cover will look like.

They will then turn the image and your caption into a glossy book jacket in the identical format of the original jacket.

Within two to three weeks, the custom cover will arrive to wrap around and personalize your copy of "Kansas 24/7."