I discovered Deanna Dikeman’s Leaving and Waving at the LA Art Book Fair last month. I was looking over publisher Chose Common’s booth when I saw Leaving and Waving. The book is a collection of photographs over a 27-year period documenting Dikeman saying goodbye to her parents in Sioux City, Iowa. The images have a vernacular quality and look as if anyone could have made them. They are simple, snapshots of Dikeman’s parents as they waved goodbye to her after visits home. Some are photographed through car windshields, seeming like a last second remembrance to document the goodbye. The first photograph in the series is from July 1991 and the last image is from October 2017 when there is no one at the house to wave goodbye anymore. For most images both parents are waving goodbye, we seem them age over the years, then in 2010 we only see Dikeman’s mom after her father died. Her mom is last seen at home in March 2017, in May we see her mom in a care facility, then in October her mom passed away. It didn’t take me long to decide to add the book to my library.
When I got home, I looked into Dikeman’s work. I was not surprised to find that Aline Smithson had already authored a Lenscratch article about the book two years ago, as soon as Leaving and Waving was released. Aline’s article is a perfect review of the book and Dikeman’s approach to the project, please follow the previous link to read her review.
Chose Commune described themselves as this in the 2023 LAABF directory: “Founded in 2014, Chose Commune is a French independent publishing house primarily focusing on photography. Chose Commune curates, edits, and produces book-objects, with a strong interest in unpublished material.”
As simple as this book is, it is also so powerful. I read reviews of the book saying it documented “the sadness of saying goodbye”, and I completely understand that, especially for Dikeman that lived so far away from her Parents’s home. For me I get the feeling these images are Dikeman’s attempt to hold on to the present because it is about to become the past. Why do I feel this, it’s because that is how I am with most all the subjects I photograph. A few years ago, I found myself photographing my parents almost every time I left their house. I realized then what I was doing, I was trying to hold on to time. I knew that each visit realistically could be the last time I saw my mom or dad and I wanted to hang on to them. I even live relatively close to my parents’ house too and saw them often. My father died in early 2020 and my mom is now 97, I’m more than blessed to have had them in my life for such a long time. I still take photographs of my mom on occasion just in case. I think retaining memories is a big part of why I am a photographer, probably the biggest reason for anyone who takes a photo..
Other people must have also been moved by this book because it is in its third printing of the first edition. The book is well crafted and designed. The printing quality is good, and the dimensions of the book are appropriate for the subject. Leaving and Waving would be a good addition to any photography book collection.
