A poetic artist’s book of found photographs from the early to mid-20th century, sequenced thematically
Photographer and bookseller Melissa Catanese has been editing the vast photography collection of Peter J. Cohen, a celebrated trove of more than 20,000 vernacular and found anonymous photographs from the early to mid-twentieth century. Gathered from flea markets, dealers and Ebay, these prints have been acquired, exhibited and included in a range of major museum publications. In organizing the archive into a series of thematic catalogues, she has pursued an alternate reading of the collection, drifting away from simple typology into something more personal, intuitive and openly poetic. Her magical new artist’s book, Dive Dark Dream Slow, is rooted in the mystery and delight of the “found” image and the “snapshot” aesthetic, but pushes beyond the nostalgic surface of these pictures and reimagines them as luminous transmissions of anxious sensuality. Through a series of abandoned visual clues, from the sepia-infused shadow of a little girl running along a beach to silhouettes of a group of distant figures pausing upon a steep and snowy hill, a dreamlike journey is evoked. Like an album of pop songs about a girl (or a civilization) hovering on the verge of transformation, the book cycles through overlapping themes and counter-themes--moon and ocean; violence and tenderness; innocence and experience; masks and nakedness--that sparkle with deep psychic longing and apocalyptic comedy.
Featured image is reproduced from Dive Dark Dream Slow.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The Photobook Review
While journeying through the strange world of found imagery is an increasingly prevalent mode of photobook-making, Catanese has created a magical experience through deft image selection and sequencing. Poetic and cohesive, the book leads the viewer effortlessly through shifts in themes, which include innocence and experience as well as masks and revelation. The book is at once funny and moving, individual and universal.
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Featured image is reproduced from The Ice Plant's new release, Dive Dark Dream Slow, shortlisted for the prestigious 2012 Paris-Photo—Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Award. Put together by photographer and bookseller Melissa Catanese, who has been editing Peter J. Cohen's vast collection of more than 20,000 vernacular and found anonymous photographs from the early to mid-twentieth century, this enigmatic and magical volume is rooted in the mystery and delight of the “found” image and the “snapshot” aesthetic, but pushes beyond the nostalgic surface of these pictures and reimagines them as luminous transmissions of anxious sensuality. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 7.5 x 9.25 in. / 88 pgs / 4 color / 55 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $29.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $39.95 GBP £27.00 ISBN: 9780982365373 PUBLISHER: The Ice Plant AVAILABLE: 11/30/2012 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA UK EUR ASIA AFR ME
Published by The Ice Plant. Edited by Melissa Catanese.
A poetic artist’s book of found photographs from the early to mid-20th century, sequenced thematically
Photographer and bookseller Melissa Catanese has been editing the vast photography collection of Peter J. Cohen, a celebrated trove of more than 20,000 vernacular and found anonymous photographs from the early to mid-twentieth century. Gathered from flea markets, dealers and Ebay, these prints have been acquired, exhibited and included in a range of major museum publications. In organizing the archive into a series of thematic catalogues, she has pursued an alternate reading of the collection, drifting away from simple typology into something more personal, intuitive and openly poetic. Her magical new artist’s book, Dive Dark Dream Slow, is rooted in the mystery and delight of the “found” image and the “snapshot” aesthetic, but pushes beyond the nostalgic surface of these pictures and reimagines them as luminous transmissions of anxious sensuality. Through a series of abandoned visual clues, from the sepia-infused shadow of a little girl running along a beach to silhouettes of a group of distant figures pausing upon a steep and snowy hill, a dreamlike journey is evoked. Like an album of pop songs about a girl (or a civilization) hovering on the verge of transformation, the book cycles through overlapping themes and counter-themes--moon and ocean; violence and tenderness; innocence and experience; masks and nakedness--that sparkle with deep psychic longing and apocalyptic comedy.
