20.05.12

To most people, the photographs in a just-published book, “10,000 Years of Shoes,” might be just that, but photographer Brian Lanker preferred to call them “portraits.”

With his unfailingly artistic eye and exquisite execution, Lanker, who died March 13 at age 63 shortly after being diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer, presents a 5-inch, fire-engine red stiletto heel as a piece of sculpture, a pair of well-worn penny loafers as a nostalgia trip and a row of U.S. Army combat boots from World War I through Operation Iraqi Freedom as an impromptu history lesson that instantly conjures the spirits of the millions of men who have worn them.

In fact, the 99-page book was the last major project for Lanker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who made Eugene his home after arriving here in 1974 to work at The Register-Guard until 1982, when he left to pursue work internationally as a freelancer. The project was carried out in collaboration with the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The museum will unveil “10,000 Years of Shoes” at a book-signing event Tuesday; after that, the book will be available at the UO Duck Store at 895 East 13th Ave.

Source: The Register-Guard