BOOK

I'M STILL HERE: The Alzheimer's Journey is a collaboration between Laura Crosby, photographer, and Anne Simpson, poet, designed to allay some of the fears of dementia while acknowledging the reality. Published in 2008 by PhotoBook Press, the book consists of 20 photographs and 20 poems. The purpose of the book is to show that persons whose minds are diseased are still present, body and soul. They are real people who deserve love and respect. Statistics about dementia to educate the public about the disease are also provided.

DOCUMENTARY FILM

America the Beautiful, by Darryl Roberts. Several of Laura Crosby's photographs from her "Beauty Myth" series are shown in this 2008 socially probing documentary film that explores the question: Is America obsessed with beauty? The film centers around the burgeoning culture of beauty in America, it's influence on world culture, the dangers it presents to young women and it's influence on society at large. The film has been shown in six countries and 50 cities, named best documentary at several film festivals in the US and hailed by critics as "funny, shocking and engaging," and "one of the most important documentary films of this decade."

For more information on the film, go to www.americathebeautifuldoc.com.

TIMETAKE

TimeTake is a 2002 collaboration between photographer Laura Crosby, composer Libby Larsen and writer Marisha Chamberlain. TimeTake offers a meditation on time’s passage that suggests it is possible to live for a century with style and dignity and to wear your wrinkles with unself-conscious pride. It is a collage across time that shows how time moved through women, how women look and speak and sound.
    Based on the demographics of Minnesota, TimeTake consists of 25 photographs hung in rows of five, each row representing a 20-year age span from newborn to 100 years of age. The women photographed are women whose looks are conventional rather than extraordinary. Crosby did not want anything sensationalistic but rather a balance between what is real and what is a vision. The beauty industry is not real. Crosby was fascinated with the natural beauty that comes forth from women who have lived full lives where their wisdom and acceptance start to show.