Jacob Holdt’s America: Faith, Hope and Love

Danish photographer Jacob Holdt is internationally revered for his vision of America, as portrayed in classic volumes like American Pictures and United States 1970-1975. It is a vision which has inspired many, both in its extremity (the director Lars von Trier is reputedly a fan) and in its tenacity. Holdt arrived in the U.S. in the early 70s with almost no money, and hitchhiked all over the U.S., earning a living by selling blood, and proceeded to build an amazing portrait of the margins of America over the course of his 100,000-mile journey. This monograph continues Holdt’s fascination with American society, with a portfolio of photographs from the 70s to the present. Holdt’s photographs document the social realities of the people he travels with, spanning the demographic from poor families to millionaires, junkies and even members of the Ku Klux Klan.