Bruce Gilden: Cherry Blossom by Bruce Gilden - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 30-09-2021 - 144 pages.
Photography - Photography Monographs - Bruce Gilden first set foot in Japan in 1994. On that trip and subsequent others, he explored the meandering streets of a country that had long fascinated him. From Tokyo to Osaka, he laid Japan bare in his own inimitable photographic style. Each image is a very close and powerful encounter with a story behind it. As ever, Gilden makes his approach, talks, tells stories, takes photographs, and paints a portrait of a unique street scene. In search of personalities as strong as his own, Gilden drew on the details around him to transcribe his vision of Japan: one man’s suit, another’s hat, or a woman’s posture. All of these elements, which give strength to the images, form a captivating ensemble – on the margins, just like him.
In Cherry Blossom, Gilden tells the story of these voyages and the ties he maintains with Japan in a rare introductory text. The stories told alongside these pictures – whether an anecdote or a dialogue with their characters – render the American photographer’s vision even more contemporary than ever.
With 60 illustrations.
Colour Mania (Victoria and Albert Museum): Photographing the World in Autochrome by Catlin Langford - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 10-11-2022 - 240 pages.
Photography - History & Themes - Exquisite yet too fragile to exhibit, one of the world’s greatest collections of autochromes – a pioneering colour photography process – is presented to a wide audience for the first time.
Offering unprecedented access to the V&A’s collection of autochromes – one of the greatest collections of early colour photography in the world – Colour Mania presents this pioneering photographic process in its full, vibrant, wondrous and painterly beauty and provides a breath-taking view of the early 20th century in colour.
Autochromes are so fragile and light sensitive that they cannot be displayed in public – this book presents the only chance to see the V&A’s internationally significant collection. Invented by the Lumière brothers – also pioneers of cinema – the autochrome was the first widely available colour photography process. Upon its commercial release in 1907, it was eagerly embraced by Pictorialist photographers and advocated by its leading member Alfred Stieglitz, who predicted ‘soon the world will be color-mad’.
Photographed with great care for this book, the V&A’s abundant collection of autochromes is brought to the public for the very first time. Organized thematically and with in-depth sections focusing on the photographers who engaged with the process, Colour Mania is built upon the latest scholarship and research by Catlin Langford and includes insights into how these extraordinary photographs are being preserved for future generations.
An opportunity to travel in time and understand a tour de force in photographic technology, Colour Mania will delight anyone who desires to experience the past in colour.
Another Country: British Documentary Photography Since 1945 by Gerry Badger and the Martin Parr Foundation - Published: Thames and Hudson Ltd - 19-05-2022 - 320 pages.
Photography - History & Themes - A compelling social and cultural history of Britain since the Second World War, showing how photographers have depicted the country over the last seventy years.
Another Country offers a lively, vital rethinking of British documentary photography over the last seven decades. This collection includes a diverse range of photographers working in an exciting array of photographic and artistic modes, encompassing images from iconic reportage to photo-text pieces, from self-portraits to political photo-collages.
As Britain takes an increasingly significant place in the history of documentary photography, award-winning photography writer and critic Gerry Badger brings vital context and breadth to the conversation. Organized chronologically, each chapter spans a particular period of social and cultural history, focusing on the major photographers, figures, institutions, publications and galleries that shaped the photographic climate of their time, as well as the broader tastes of the era. Chapter-by-chapter picture sections present famous works alongside forgotten masterpieces, interspersed with focused commentaries on selected photographs by both Badger and a range of contributors. This multilayered approach provides a rich understanding of the evolution and sheer variety of British documentary photography.
With more than 165 photographers represented – including work by Bert Hardy, Lee Miller, Bill Brandt, Nigel Henderson, Don McCullin, Jane Bown, Yinka Shonibare, Maud Sulter, Nadav Kander, Tom Hunter, Chloe Dewe Matthews, Cold War Steve and many more – this book is a comprehensive overview of how photographers and photo-artists have depicted Britain and British society over the last seventy years.
