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Joel Sternfeld's 'Stranger Passing', a collection of
sixty photographic portraits, is an art book worth
having. This is high praise since I generally find
art books to be nearly useless. Bought with the best
of intentions, they usually wind up unopened and
coated with a layer of dust. Besides, they're
oversized and don't fit on any of my bookshelves. You
need to have an Architectural Digest type living room
with an attractive smoked glass coffee table to really
pull off the art book thing. It's not that I might
not like, say, a Van Gogh art book, but I can get a
print and have it on my wall where it can truly be
appreciated. Or I can buy a calendar and each month
marvel at a different masterpiece.