It takes a whole lot of courage to work on a long term project. That’s been the truth for a very, very long time. And Adrienne Salinger: Teenagers in Their Bedrooms is a book that shows us how a long-term commitment to yourself can blossom into something truly beautiful when you’re kind to those actively involved in your project. This book should be an inspiring life goal for every photographer out there who thinks that they can only make it if they’re shooting images for social media and content creation. Most importantly, it’s a strong reminder that not everything is content.
The book will remind many of us of the stories that you’d see on the Humans of New York blog. But instead, it focuses on teenagers in their bedrooms from the 1980s to the 1990s. With it comes some very humanizing stories that I only wish those around them knew. As you page through the book, I strongly recommend cozying up to a large window with natural light and angling the book slightly upward on a slant. This way, the sun’s rays will shower the images and the text with the spotlight they deserve.
The book is pretty big, but does a lot of justice to Adrienne’s work. The images are on one page, while the text is on the other and centered left. I wish that the text were center justified to make it easier to read. But it’s good that the book keeps me active in interacting with it.
In many ways, this is a documentary project done right. During my recent vacation over the holidays, I remember going to the Strand bookstore here in NYC and hearing a man tell his girlfriend that one isn’t supposed to really read a coffee table book. I wanted to scream at him so badly, but I didn’t allow him to rob me of my peace.
Adrienne Salinger: Teenagers in Their Bedrooms is a special coffee table book that really should be read because you’d otherwise be missing a major part of the story. In fact, this doesn’t just make it a photo project — it makes her work a true documentary and dive into America’s past.
If you purchase this book, absorb it, and don’t feel something, then you should probably go through it again. For $30, you’ll get a major part of American history that textbooks won’t tell you about. All I can think of is some of the biggest moments of the 90s like the blame of Marilyn Manson and influencing teenagers to do things like the Columbine shooting. If only adults listened to the youth without judgement, we’d all be much different.