Lou Reed: Emotion in Action

“Like everything else I do my photos are about emotion. I'm interested in causing and recording emotion through action and interactive sequence, the sequence meant to tell a story of sorts, a dream. I am a lyricist and my feeling for rhythm and song dictates that these photos not be titled or in any other way impinged by the written word. The visuals speak for themselves in their relationships and theme and I have no interest in the where and when of it all. These dreams exist through the viewfinder of the camera and express a reality seen only through a lens but experienced by us all in every moment of puzzlement in waking life. --Lou Reed
Lou Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and is a founding member of the legendary Velvet Underground. He began experimenting with photography in the 1990s and first exhibited his work in the 1997 group show Extended Play: Between Rock and an Art Space at the Boston University's Photographic Resource Center and later in Paris. His work has only briefly been seen since. Emotions is thus that rare book that displays virtually unknown work by a famous, familiar artist--it is very much Reed's first photo book. His work in other art fields has been well recognized, however: Reed has acted in and composed music for film and is the recipient of the Chevalier Commander of Arts and Letters from the French government. The author of Pass thru Fire and the play The Raven, Lou Reed lives in New York City.