BOOK FORMAT Hardcover, 9.75 x 14.5 in. / 120 pgs / 59 color.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 4/30/2011 Out of print
DISTRIBUTION D.A.P. Exclusive Catalog: SPRING 2011 p. 93
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9783775727846TRADE List Price: $60.00 CAD $70.00
AVAILABILITY Not available
TERRITORY NA LA
I have tried to convey in these pictures the beauty and terror of early twenty-first century America, as it clings to past comforts and gropes for a more sensible future. Mitch Epstein
Text by Christoph Schreier, Giesela Parak, Stephan Berg.
Mitch Epstein (born 1952) is among America's finest contemporary photographers. Two of the most powerful series upon which his reputation rests are Recreation (1973-1988) and American Power (2003), sequences that attempt to make fundamental statements about the U.S. by scrutinizing how its citizens spend their leisure and how its energy industry operates. This publication examines the development of Epstein's work through the example of these two very different series. Recreation exemplifies traditional American street photography in its sometimes ironized depiction of everyday circumstances, where American Power critiques the energy industry and its interventions in nature in much bolder gestures--cooling towers and oil refineries dominate the picture frame, riding roughshod over all rules of proportion and dwarfing anything in their vicinity. Here, in 80 color images selected from these series, Epstein's development is traced, from major protagonist of the American color photography boom to leading commentator on the state of the nation.
In Hatje Cantz's stunning new oversized exhibition catalog, State of the Union, American photographer Mitch Epstein says, "My work is characterized by surprise. My pictures absorb what I experience and my surprises become part of the photograph and part of the viewer's experience. I believe the power of art relies on a combination of technical skill, formal structure, content, and, more mysteriously, a kinetic energy that moves from the artist to the work and back out to the viewer." Featured image, reproduced from the book, is "Chester Lowrey with Tesla Coil, Hawaii 2008."
"Mitch Epstein draws from the 'social landscape' documentary tradition of the sixties and seventies, as well as the 'new Topographics' Adams and Baltz movement and combines and continues them both in his own manner. He examines the influence of the man-made landscape on the world's ecological balance; he employs methods of traditional landscape photography, and he reflects on the American nation and its myths. In his photography, the political saturation of everyday life is revealed. The everyday and the political cannot be separated from one another: 'When I photograph, I do not consciously think about politics. But it was inevitable that the grim reality of American power… would find its way into my work. I could not ignore the security excesses, corporate avarice, and environmental indifference I encountered. I have tried to convey in these pictures the beauty and terror of early twenty-first century America, as it clings to past comforts and gropes for a more sensible future.'"
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.75 x 14.5 in. / 120 pgs / 59 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $60.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $70 ISBN: 9783775727846 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 4/30/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Hatje Cantz. Text by Christoph Schreier, Giesela Parak, Stephan Berg.
Mitch Epstein (born 1952) is among America's finest contemporary photographers. Two of the most powerful series upon which his reputation rests are Recreation (1973-1988) and American Power (2003), sequences that attempt to make fundamental statements about the U.S. by scrutinizing how its citizens spend their leisure and how its energy industry operates. This publication examines the development of Epstein's work through the example of these two very different series. Recreation exemplifies traditional American street photography in its sometimes ironized depiction of everyday circumstances, where American Power critiques the energy industry and its interventions in nature in much bolder gestures--cooling towers and oil refineries dominate the picture frame, riding roughshod over all rules of proportion and dwarfing anything in their vicinity. Here, in 80 color images selected from these series, Epstein's development is traced, from major protagonist of the American color photography boom to leading commentator on the state of the nation.
