Baltimore photographer Michael Northrup (born 1948) has been making
gently humorous but decidedly jubilant color photographs of his daily
life since the early 1970s. His 2004 J&L publication Beautiful Ecstasy
depicted young families (Northrup's own and those of friends) partying
and performing for the camera, often in each other's homes, bringing a
beautifully understated formal elegance to moments of tender and chaotic
everyday living. This sequel to Beautiful Ecstasy presents a further
selection of previously unpublished photographs from the 1970s and 80s,
all permeated with Northrup's characteristic joie de vivre. Period
details in furniture and clothing vividly resurrect the textures of
these bygone moments; here, we also see young couples bringing children
into their chaotic worlds, freighting these scenes of small town America
with a powerful atmosphere of fragility and wonder.