Baltimore Lives

"A visual immensity in black and white that renders the stoic grandeur of half a century of everyday Baltimore. Capacious and gifted as a photographer and meticulous as a printmaker, Mayden harvests the soulful, complex interiors of his subjects and refines the gray shades that bind human experience."

"In these rich and penetrating photographs, John Clark Mayden captures the beauty and complexity of Baltimore. These works are both intimate and immense; they reveal individual stories and broader histories in ways that obliterate tired media narratives about the city. This is a remarkable collection and should not be missed."

"John Clark Mayden's moving photographs capture a slice of urban life over a forty-year period in a complex city represented by symbols of both joy and pain."

"By taking photographs of the people and places he encounters on the streets, John Clark Mayden frames the complexity of black life in Baltimore by illuminating a sense of belonging that he is tied to culturally and artistically. Mayden provides insight into a life of looking and the exchange of the gaze. The moments in this book are both quiet and lively; we see the exchange from a windowsill, stoops, and benches. The result is a fascinating series of portraits that shows us how he approaches life in his home city."

"John Clark Mayden photographically captures, in portraits and street scenes, a different urban reality, one that is rarely seen or acknowledged but is in need of serious consideration."

"From where I stand, there are two ways to visit Baltimore: hop off the train, bus, plane, or car and conduct your own damn walking tour, or look at John Clark Mayden's book, Baltimore Lives. That he has been at this—making significant, penetrating, and honest photographs of his hometown for more than forty years—comes as no surprise. Mayden is curious, driven, and accomplished. The pictures strike a sense of sincerity and clear vision right into the mind and heart of the viewer. People have taken pictures of their neighborhoods since photography was invented in 1839. Mayden approaches this task as if he is the neighborhood."

"From portraits to street photography, the connecting line is the richness of the city and its people, and Mayden presents an urban landscape in stunning black and white that any painter might themselves be tempted to capture."