"IN SEARCH OF NORMAN ROCKWELL'S AMERICA" by Kevin Rivoli, Howard Books, 128 pages, $24.99
Photographer Kevin Rivoli has an eye for the ordinary.
It's a topic most would see as boring, but not Rivoli. It's the ordinary, simple things in life that mean the most, he says. And it's the jumping-off point for his latest project, "In Search of Norman Rockwell's America."
As a freelance photojournalist for The Associated Press and New York Times, Rivoli does "all the stuff that every newspaper does," he said. "And not all of that stuff is happy news and not always the best news of our day."
Like Rockwell, Rivoli has chosen to focus on the more positive aspects of America, the universal moments people celebrate — birthdays, first dates, holidays, kids in funny predicaments.
"In Search of Norman Rockwell's America" pairs Rivoli's spontaneous photographs side by side with Rockwell's famous paintings in book form, which hits bookstores on Tuesday, and in the form of an exhibition that will travel the United States for two years beginning in summer 2009.
"The whole premise of the book is to have spontaneous moments that prove that Rockwell's America is alive and well today," Rivoli said in a phone interview from New York. "The pictures could be anywhere USA. We decided to keep them as generic as Rockwell's so that the images connected to the Rockwell artwork."
Rivoli started developing the concept for his Rockwell project with his wife, Michele, in the early 1990s. The couple visited a Norman Rockwell museum, and it was there that they learned how unkind critics had been to Rockwell.
"They didn't think the America that he painted was idyllic and didn't really exist — conjured up in his mind," Rivoli said. "I looked at my wife and said this isn't true. I've got a lot of these images on film already."
Over the years Rivoli started collecting images on the side, putting them away in hopes of one day publishing a book. He initially planned on using one Rockwell image as kind of a touchstone for his own images "because they themselves had a Rockwellesque feel to them."
But about two years ago, as his wife began to do research online, the couple found that many of Rivoli's photographs paired well with Rockwell's artwork. From there "it kind of grew into this search of Norman Rockwell's America over the years," Rivoli said.
After tireless research cataloging Rockwell's work, the Rivolis settled on 68 pairings that focus on the small moments that often go ignored. "These are the quiet moments that a lot of time we tend to, due to the craziness of our lives, not pay attention to," he said. "And these simple moments actually end up being the most significant moments in our lives."
In addition to the pairings, "Norman Rockwell's America" also features quotes collected by the Rivolis about the iconic artist from his family, models who worked with him and fans from all walks of life. "The whole premise of the project was to show that regardless of your age or background that Rockwell connects to everyone," Michele Rivoli said.
The Rivolis hope to introduce a newer younger generation of people to Rockwell's work through this book.
"Rockwell, whether we realize it or not, helps us in how we see ourselves, how we photograph ourselves," Kevin Rivoli said. "His work is ingrained in our society whether you know it or not. There are a lot of people we come into contact with who don't know who Norman Rockwell is, but if you show them one of his works, or if they walked into a store and saw one on the wall, they would recognize it, because it's so ingrained in our society and who we are."
From Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech," accompanied by a Brian Williams essay to "The Problem We All Live With" featuring comments by recording artist Andy Williams, Rivoli's book is more than just a coffee table book. It is a convincing definition of Americana. The juxtaposition of "modern" photographs next to iconic illustrations flawlessly connects multiple generations.
"It's really about embracing the simple things in life and focusing on all that's good and right in the world," Michele Rivoli said. "It's going to be a book and a national show that everybody regardless of age can go to. There's nothing you have to shield your children from or nothing that would be considered inappropriate. There are few opportunities for the American family to experience something like that."
E-mail: jharrison@desnews.com