przykladowe zdjecia z ksiazki
A spread from the very comprehensive essay by Britt Salvesen.
The New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape was one of those rare exhibitions that permanently alters how an art form is perceived. Held at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York, in January 1975, it was curated by William Jenkins, who brought together ten contemporary photographers: Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Joe Deal, Frank Gohlke, Nicholas Nixon, John Schott, Stephen Shore and Henry Wessel, Jr. Signaling the emergence of a new approach to landscape, the show effectively gave a name to a movement or style, although even today, the term "New Topographics"--more a conceptual gist than a precise adjective--is used to characterize the work of artists not yet born when the exhibition was held. Although the exhibit's ambitions were hardly so grand, New Topographics has since come to be understood as marking a paradigm shift, for the show occurred just as photography ceased to be an isolated, self-defined practice and took its place within the contemporary art world. Arguably the last traditionally photographic style, New Topographics was also the first Photoconceptual style. In different ways, the artists thoughtfully engaged with their medium and its history, while simultaneously absorbing such issues as environmentalism, capitalism and national identity. In this vital reassessment of the genre, essays by Britt Salvesen and Alison Nordstrom accompany illustrations of selected works from the 1975 exhibition, with installation views and contextual comparisons, to demonstrate both the historical significance of New Topographics and its continued relevance today. The book also includes an illustrated checklist of the 1975 exhibition and an extensive bibliography.
I think Steidl are to congratulated on publishing a beautiful overview of the ground-breaking 1975 New Topographics photo show and the book complements the current touring exhibition (from June 2009 to January 2012). The 304 pages are basically in three sections: two essays; portfolio from the ten photographers and finally a review of the original New Topographics catalog. Of the two essays Britt Salvesen's is remarkably comprehensive (fifty-nine illustrated pages, including nine of notes) and she places the photos in the context of the times and then Alison Nordstrom writes about the Topographic genre from 1975 to now. Included in her essay are a couple of photos of the original exhibit and I was intrigued to see that the framed photos weren't that big, actually not much larger than this book. Incidentally some of the actual prints from the original show are being used in the current tour. The portfolio section presents a selection of images from the ten photographers: Adams 15; Baltz 18; the Becher's 5; Deal 14; Gohlke 13; Nixon 15; Schott 15; Shore 7 (the only ones in color) and Wessel 13. Each photo is centered on the page with a caption below and printed in a 175 screen with spot varnish and they do look a treat. The cityscape work of Nicholas Nixon I thought especially stunning. John Schott's selection is from his `Route 66 Motels' work and it seems his camera style must have influenced plenty of contemporary photographers who specialize in freeway America. The last fifty-eight pages is fascinating because the original forty-eight page exhibition catalog is reproduced (with two, just readable, spreads to a page) followed by a checklist of the 169 photos in the show with captions. Some of these photos are shown large in the portfolio section but I was rather disappointed that they weren't printed bigger than thumbnails; there is plenty of page space after all.
Published Steidl 2010, can’t remember where and how much I bought it. Just remember I had to order it twice…
As a big fan of Robert Adams, I couldn’t help but buy this one and go further
1975’s show view
(c) Lewis Baltz, 1974
(c) Joe Deal, 1974
(c) Frank Gohlke, 1974
(c) John Schott, 1973
Reproduction of the 1975 catalgue (Stephen Shore & Henry Wessel, Jr)
