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The Past is Never Dead is a trilogy of books by Mark Peterson examining the American political landscape over the past ten years as the country's experiment with democracy has evolved into a cold civil war. The first book "Political Theatre" documents the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election and traces the rise of Donald Trump as a leader of the new right. The second volume "White Noise" began as a means to understand the divisive mood of the country following the election and captures the white nationalism and autocracy which evolved during Trump's time in office. Peterson explores the rhetoric of the White House on immigration and Muslim bans, and how this echoes and intersects with nationalism, Western chauvinism, neo-Nazis, and all those calling for an ethnostate in America. Finally, in "The Fourth Wall," we see the voters leave their chairs in the audience and take to the stage, becoming their own political figures-subjects include "Stop the Steal" protesters and the 6 January 2021 attack on the United States Capitol. The Past is Never Dead tackles America's schisms head-on, portraying a country on edge. With his trademark flash and high-contrast approach, Peterson's dramatic images are X-rays of America's complex political culture: "Democracy is a messy form of government," he declares, "and I try and capture it in all its chaos."
List of contents
Vol. 1 Political Theatre Text by John Heilemann
112 pages, 107 black-and-white photographs
Vol. 2 White Noise Text by Claudia Rankine
128 pages, 67 black-and-white and 29 color photographs
Vol. 3 The Fourth Wall Text by Claudia Rankine
136 pages, 120 black-and-white photographs
About the author
Mark Peterson’s photographs have been published in the New York Times Magazine, New York, The New Yorker, Fortune, Time and Geo, among many others. His awards include the 2018 W. Eugene Smith Fund Grant for his work on white supremacy in the United States, and his photographs have been featured in numerous exhibitions including “Museums are Worlds” at the Louvre in 2012. Steidl published Peterson’s Political Theatre in 2016, one of Time’s Best Photobooks of 2016 and winner for traditional book at the 2017 Lucie Photo Book Prize. In 2017 Photo District News named him Photographer of the Year for Political Theatre and his campaign work. Peterson’s images of the storming of the United States Capitol are held in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
