American Psyche: The Unlit Cave

Book Details: Paper over board ISBN-13: 9781942084839 116 pages; 4 drawings / 9 B&W Photographs / 67 Color Photographs 10 x 9 inches $45 US; $58.99 CAN "Elsasser had been long affected by Carl Jung’s concepts of synchronicity and the unconscious. His story points towards inner journeys, clarity and healing." - The Guardian, July 8, 2020 "It is clear that, considering the saturation and contrasts of the selection of images, this is a much more complex work." -  F-Stop Magazine Also featured in: We Heart, Art Daily, and Abstract Magazine. Photographs by George Elsasser Essay by Deborah McLeod Afterword by George Elsasser American Psyche: The Unlit Cave is a conceptual arrangement of photographs made in the United States from 2005 to 2019. The story begins with four of George Elsasser's drawings made in 1999. The photographs are visual metaphors mirroring the artist's reactions to America's colonialism, the current moment and our inability to live up to American ideals. Long affected by Carl Jung's concepts of synchronicity and the unconscious, Elsasser's story ultimately points towards inner journeys, clarity and healing. George Elsasser, who had been drawing since childhood, discovered photography at twenty-one and found that, unmoored from traditional uses, it was perfect for his artistic intuitions. He's been included in shows at the Chrysler Museum of Art and New York University (NYU). In 1997 he received a 20-year Retrospective at the Hermitage Museum, Norfolk, VA. Elsasser received his degree in art in 1984, has taught various photography classes at The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). He has done both advertising and institutional photography in addition to 12 years of journalistic style weddings. Deborah McLeod is a longtime curator and the owner of Chroma Projects Art Laboratory in Charlottesville, VA.