Eye Dreaming: Photographs by Anthony Barboza is one of the most interesting photography books I have ever seen. Excellent essays and an interview plus beautiful photographs.

Admittedly I am not a photography or art expert, I am simply someone who enjoys both, so I was not as familiar with Barboza's work as others may be. A few portraits and album covers were the extent of my knowledge. This volume puts the breadth of his work on display as well as contextualizing it within his personal life and the civil rights movement.

As you might expect my primary interest in books like this are the illustrations, anything else is an extra for me. Not only are the photographs very well presented but they speak to the viewer in multiple ways. The humanity of the subjects, whether celebrity or not, comes through. While with the celebrities it serves to remind us that they are human, with the others it reminds us that some of our country's ills don't affect numbers, they affect individuals. These pictures powerfully drive that point home.

The essays and interview really add to the enjoyment of the photographs. Very helpful biographical information, insight into Barboza's processes (technical as well as mental), and an essay situating his life and work within the frame of the civil rights movement helps the less-informed reader, like myself, understand all of it better.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys wonderful photography, those who simply want an attractive coffee table book, and those interested in the Black Arts Movement and Kamoinge (as well as other groups in NYC).

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )