New book showcases Hurricane Andrew

That ominous anniversary is coming up - August 24 will be the 25 year anniversary of Hurricane Andrew. 

On August 24, 1992, the most damaging hurricane to hit the US in nearly a century slammed into Miami-Dade County. Photographer and Grovite Barry Fellman has a new book out called, "Hurricane," which shows the drama and devastation wreaked by the Category 5 storm through spectacular bold images, most of which have never been seen before. The book focuses on the effect of the storm’s extreme forces at the Kendall-Tamiami airport, just blocks away from Country Walk, the residential community that was completely decimated at this pivotal moment in Florida history.

Barry's color photographs pack a punch that hits you with the intensity of a once in a lifetime event. These pictures transport you to an unreal world where the photographer transforms chaos into art.

"I put them away for a couple of decades in a box that stayed closed - they were too much to deal with at the time. I started thinking about the photos more and more and after a (long) while decided I was good to get them out and look. Last year I thought with 25 coming up that seemed to be a good target date to get them out," says Barry.

Hurricane features essays by New York Times photography critic Vicki Goldberg, and then WTVJ-NBC chief meteorologist and hero Bryan Norcross, "the man who talked South Florida through" the Great Hurricane of 1992.

The book will be available starting August 24, exactly twenty five years to the day after Andrew hit. 

Both a limited edition Artist’s Book with a handcrafted embossed metallic cover, and a soft cover edition will be available. Each edition features painstakingly reproduced color-accurate full page images, individually printed to give the impact of the photographer's original large format color transparencies.

Miami based Exile books is publishing an Artist's Book with a handcrafted metallic cover evoking the twisted airplanes in the book's images. There is also a soft cover edition. An exhibition of the photos will be up at Books and Books in Coral Gables during the month of September. The book will also be featured during a weekend presentation at the Miami Book Fair. There will be a presentation by the author and publisher on September 13, 8:00 pm at Books and Books Coral Gables store at 265 Aragon Avenue.

Barry Fellman’s photographs have been exhibited at museums, galleries and public venues in South Florida and nationally. Barry, a native Miamian, has contributed to the cultural landscape as an artist, educator and curator. He currently serves as director of Center for Visual Communication, a South Florida based non-profit organization that provides visual arts resources and programming to government, schools and cultural institutions. He is a Silver Knight awardee and is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner grant for visual arts.