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.
Read Magnum Photos’ interview with Photographer Bruce Gilden here
About the Author:
Bruce Gilden joined Magnum Photos in 1998. His work has been exhibited widely around the world and is part of many permanent collections such as MoMA, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
This book contains ninety-eight black and white shots that retrace the most important and tragic events of the previous century, from the Spanish Civil War to the Second World War, to the birth of the State of Israel. They also include a series of portraits of Capa’s friends, famous artists such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
Brassai (1899–1984) was the first and is still the most famous photographer to chronicle Paris after dark. Born in Hungary, he came to the French capital in 1924, working first as a journalist and then embracing photography, but it was the Paris of the 1930s that forms the bedrock of his body of work.
Walking the city’s streets at night, Brassai captured a previously unseen world on camera. He shows us every face and every facet, from tough guys and showgirls to prostitutes and pleasure-seekers, from the bustling cafés and dance halls to the stillness of deserted streets and mist-shrouded monuments. Through his eyes, Paris becomes a world of shadows, in which light, the prerequisite for any photograph, is reduced to dimly lit windows, streetlamps in the fog, or reflections on a rain-soaked pavement.
This book brings together some of the best-known images from Brassai’s classic Paris After Dark and The Secret Paris of the 30’s, showcasing them alongside previously unpublished photos and archive material. It places his work in its historical and artistic context, analyzing the unique nature of his photographic vision: part reportage, part social document, part poetic exploration. 296 illustrations, 214 in duotone
Signed Edition: Cherry Blossom by Bruce Gilden
€68.00
Description
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.
Tokyo, Japan. 1996. Bruce Gilden ©
Read Magnum Photos’ interview with Photographer Bruce Gilden here
About the Author:
Bruce Gilden joined Magnum Photos in 1998. His work has been exhibited widely around the world and is part of many permanent collections such as MoMA, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
Format: Hardback without Jacket
Size: 27.5 x 19.0 cm
Extent: 144 pp
Publication date: 30 September 2021
ISBN: 9780500545553
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