New photo book captures life in American malls in the 1990s with revealing (and hilarious) results

 

 

The early 1990s weren't exactly a memorable time for fashion, and American malls certainly weren't bastions of culture, but a new photo book attempts to capture both with doses of art, nostalgia, and humor. The book, called "Malls Across America," goes on sale next month, but the project began as a Kickstarter last year from photographer and musician Michael Kalinsky.

Galinsky's artfully artless documentary photos were captured "with a cheap Nikon FG-20 and an even cheaper lens" in malls from Long Island to Seattle, beginning in 1989. He shot 30 rolls of slide film during his journey, documenting big-haired, stone-washed mall-goers; garish store displays; and other bleak ephemera of mall life in America in the '90s. But the images are also funny, in a "dazed and confused," sort of way. The 144-page book is being published by Steidl - Miles.

While it's not on sale yet, this Amazon page will let you sign up for an alert when "Malls Across America" becomes available. Check out some of Galinksy's images below. They'll either make you laugh or cry, or likely both at the same time.