Frezno

“I love this book. It’s all in here and the heart of it is Tony’s big true eye. He got it . . . the oddness, meanness, beauty and soul of this sad hilarious fractured place. Viva Fresno.”—Terry AllenThe central California teenage wasteland is the bane of its inhabitants and the butt of a thousand late night TV jokes. It comes in next to dead last in surveys of cities with a high quality of life.Though it’s one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the country, with a large population of Basques, Hispanics, African Americans, Vietnamese, and Armenians, Fresno is also a killing capitol, home to low-riding cholos, empty buildings, and dope drops. It is also the birthplace of the lauded young photographer Tony Stamolis, whose fascination with his strange hometown provides a disturbing, hilarious, and poignant insider’s view of post-suburban American badlands and its inhabitants.Tony Stamolis exhibits in New York; Los Angeles; Marfa, Texas; and overseas. His work also appears in The New York Times, RollingStone, Maxim, Urb, Nerve, Giant, Mass Appeal, Flaunt, and Black Book.