A powerful record of post-communist Russia by a recent Magnum photographer.The first book by French photographer-artist Lise Sarfati, one of Magnum's newest recruits Weaves images of Russia during the 1990s into a visual drama of dysfunction and deterioration, change and beauty Documents the human and architectural ruins of post-communist Russia: a world of decaying buildings and neglected factories peopled with lost characters With a thought-provoking introduction by the Russian-born art historian Olga Medvedkova Acta Est is the first book by the French photographer-artist Lise Sarfati. Composed of images made during extended visits to Russia in the 1990s, Acta Est is neither travelogue nor photo-journalistic essay. Rather, Sarfati weaves daring detailed descriptions of the Russian environments that fascinate her to create a visual drama of dysfunction and deterioration, change and beauty. The title - from the Latin phrase Acta Est Fabula, meaning 'the play is over' - signals her insistence that the work not be read as journalism but as a work of theatrical imagination. Sarfati builds a disturbing world of decaying buildings and neglected factories, which she brings to an eerie life with lost characters: young transsexuals and teenage runaways interned in 're-education' camps. What results is a body of beautiful, engaging and disturbing photographs that are both a powerful historical record of Russia at the end of an era and examples of the unique poetry of a powerful new visual artist conjuring her own world. The forty-six featured photographs sequenced by Sarfati are accompanied by a thought-provoking introduction by the Russian-born art historian Olga Medvedkova.
"All knowledge, the totality of all questions and answers, is contained in the dog." Kafka. You don't need TASCHEN to tell you how wonderful dogs are - you know that already. In celebration of the world's favorite animal, we bring you over 500 photographs of or about dogs, many of which have rarely been seen. Intellectually and visually stimulating, this book is much more than just a bunch of dog pictures. This exceptional book features the work of numerous famous photographers and artists (from Picasso to Man Ray, Ralph Gibson to Eric Fischl, Wolfgang Tillmans to David Salle, and of course Elliott Erwitt and William Wegman), as well as captivating essays on the presence of dogs in the history of photography and their relations with man. Spanning over 150 years, this book chronicles the life and times of man and dog. It is presented in five chapters: 'Catching the Sun: Seeing the Light' (1839 to 1890), 'Embracing Uncertain Verities' (1890 to 1930), 'Weathering the Storms' (1930 to 1950), 'Looking Within' (1950 to 1980), and 'Completing the Circle' (1980 to the present).
Fernando Savater, Nacho Vidal, Gabriele Basilico, Yoshiko Murakami, Lorenzo Silva, Jon Juaristi, Man Ray, Roger Ballen, Francisco Boix, Manabu Yamanaka, Adam Broomberg ·and· Olivier Chanarin y Carlos Mustiennes, Nacho Fernandez...
Chinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom, fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country''s rapid transition from Communism to consumerism, and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization, globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that, from Confucius to Mao, has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good. Avatars and Antiheroes reflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun, whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei, whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years. Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini, who personally interviewed many of the artists featured.
