Man Ray‘s photograph, ‘Le Violon d’Ingres’ sold this month for a record $12.4 million far surpassing the previous record set by Rhein II by Andreas Gursky, which sold at auction in 2011 for $4.3 million (CNN).
A new record for a photograph
Documentary in Dispute
Berenice Abbott knew my idol Eugène Atget in Paris (See: Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott) and was instrumental in saving his work after his death and making it known more broadly . Atget spent considerable time photographing a Paris, which was rapidly disappearing. On her return to New York Abbott wanted to do the same for New York. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned.
The publisher’s summary describes the book as follows:
The recreation of a landmark in 1930s documentary photography.
The 1939 book Changing New York by Berenice Abbott, with text by Elizabeth McCausland, is a landmark of American documentary photography and the career-defining publication by one of modernism’s most prominent photographers. Yet no one has ever seen the book that Abbott and McCausland actually planned and wrote. In this book, art historian Sarah M. Miller recreates Abbott and McCausland’s original manuscript for Changing New York by sequencing Abbott’s one hundred photographs with McCausland’s astonishing caption texts. This reconstruction is accompanied by a selection of archival documents that illuminate how the project was developed, and how the original publisher drastically altered it.
Miller analyzes the manuscript and its revisions to unearth Abbott and McCausland’s critical engagement with New York City’s built environment and their unique theory of documentary photography. The battle over Changing New York, she argues, stemmed from disputes over how Abbott’s photographs—and photography more broadly—should shape urban experience on the eve of the futuristic 1939 World’s Fair. Ultimately it became a contest over the definition of documentary itself. Gary Van Zante and Julia Van Haaften contribute an essay on Abbott’s archive and the partnership with McCausland that shaped their creative collaboration.
In my opinion this is a very accurate summary of the book. Will be of interest to anyone interested in the work of great photographers. The machinations (on the part of the publisher and others), which prevented this book being published in its original form are a real eye opener. Wonderful book! I really enjoyed reading it.
A couple of new photobooks: Michael Kenna
From time to time I browse the internet looking for photographers whose work I might be interested in. On this particular occasion I came across Michael Kenna. I’d come across his work before, but had never looked closely at it. This time I did and found that I liked it. It was about time for me to get one of his photobooks to add to my collection. I ended up getting two and I love them both, but for different reasons.
Michael Kenna (born 1953) is an English photographer best known for his unusual black and white landscapes featuring ethereal light achieved by photographing at dawn or at night with exposures of up to 10 hours. His photos concentrate on the interaction between ephemeral atmospheric condition of the natural landscape, and human-made structures and sculptural mass.
Many books have been published of his work, the subjects of which range from The Rouge, in Dearborn Michigan, to the snow-covered island of Hokkaido, Japan. Kenna’s work is also held in permanent collections at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The first of the books I acquired was: “Le Nôtre‘s Gardens”. Most photobooks are quite expensive, but this one had a very reasonable price so my expectations were low. Imagine my surprise when the book arrived and I found it was close to my ideal photobook. The photos are wonderful and remind me of those of my photographic hero: Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget (who I know also inspired Kenna). There’s an interesting introductory essay. With 60 plates, it’s not too big, but not too small either. Thankfully it’s quite light too (I also have a copy of Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis, which has wonderful photographs but it’s so large and heavy that I find it difficult to even pick it up).
It also came with an inscription. I have my doubt’s about it’s authenticity though.
If the first book was inspired by Atget, this one was definitely influenced by the photography of Bill Brandt, an English photographer of German birth. I particularly liked this book because Kenna and myself are almost exact contemporaries. We grew up only about 30 miles apart in the North of England. The book depicts Northern England between 1983 and 1986. I’ve been to some of the places shown and even those I haven’t visited seem quite familiar. The Introduction is written by Kenna’s nephew, Dr. Ian B. Glover, himself also a photographer, writer and educator. His introduction ends with the following words:
These images show a Northern England that doesn’t exist any more, and they remind me of the proverb, time and tide wait for no man. Time has certainly not waited for Northern England. Please enjoy this collection and remember that no matter where my Uncle Michael happens to be living or working, he is and will always be, a Northern English lad.
I left the UK in 1974 and have not lived there since, but I suppose the same could be said of me.
Happy Birthday Eugene
Today would have been the 165th birthday of possibly my favorite photographers: Jean-Eugène-Auguste Atget, born 12 February 1857. Above a photograph of Atget shortly before he died by Berenice Abbott, herself a famous photographer and champion of Atget’s work. Below: Atget’s photograph: “Au Tambour” taken in 1908.
Congratulations to Sally Mann
Congratulations to one of my favorite photographers, Sally Mann on winning this years Prix Pictet award for her project exploring the devastating wildfires at the Great Dismal Swamp in south-eastern Virginia.