Utopirama!: Consider the Clothesline…

Today’s Utopirama is sponsored by everyone’s favourite massive ball of incandescent gas, the Sun! And Echo Publishing, who kindly sent us today’s book for review.  When I saw the title of this gorgeous photo-filled coffee table book, it was instantly apparent to me that to pass it by would be a grave dereliction of my blogging duty.  I give you: Consider the Clothesline: Vibrant Images of Laundry and Life by Frances Andrijich and Susan Maushart.  Here is the blurb from Echo Publishing:

Photographer Frances Andrijich’s unusual fascination with the clothesline has made the world just a little brighter. Paired with Susan Maushart’s witty and illuminating text, these images are by turns whimsical, meditative and transgressive, and have all the intoxicating freshness of a basket of sun-dried sheets.

Quick Overview:

While an homage to the ever-growing washing pile might seem to be the antithesis of utopia for many people, a leisurely flick through this hefty tome, accompanied by a cup of tea, while the incessant churn of the washing machine providing background music, is certain to heighten your mood and have you revelling in the breezy, everyday joy of a chore well done.  The images in this book are absolutely beautiful and run the gamut from a string lashed between two trees to the iconic Aussie Hills Hoist and everything in between.  There are plenty of pictures taken in Australia’s various desert environments and having gazed upon the endless red dust that covers the land in these locales, it really is a wonder that anyone out that way gets anything clean at all!

The book also contains some fascinating little tidbits that absolutely boggled my stony mind.  Did you know that in some places it is illegal to hang out your washing? ILLEGAL!! Fancy denying people the right to use perfectly free wind and solar power to dry their washing and instead force them to use energy-sapping dryers!  Surely the reverse should be the default option: everyone should be required to air their dirty laundry unless they can show good cause as to why a dryer is needed. But I digress.

Although the topic might be one that doesn’t necessarily spring instantly to mind when selecting a tome to raise your mood, the mundane act of hanging out the washing, when captured in such stunning photography, really does provide a sense of serenity and good feeling.  This book should be distributed amongst the waiting rooms of counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists everywhere.

Utopian Themes:

Eco-friendly reading

The human condition

Summer breezes and seaside gusts

Mentioning your unmentionables

Protective Bubble-o-Meter:

4 out of 5 bubbles for the comforting snap of sheets in the wind

I am also submitting this tome for the Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2016, hosted by Escape with Dollycas:

You can check out my progress toward that challenge here!

Until next time,

Bruce