Documentary-collections Books

At once a splendid coffee table book and an impressive work of original scholarship, "Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary," by John T. Hill, has much to please nearly everyone. The duotone black and white reproductions are sumptuous, among the finest I have seen. They illustrate Evans' seminal production during the years 1935-36, photographing for the US Government's Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression. Their selection, presented in chronological order, is a fine mix of the familiar - many of Evans' greatest images - with lesser known works and variants. Of particular interest to me is a plate comprised of two consecutive exposures that the author has joined together into a powerful panorama (pp. 158-59), a risky move that he manages in bravura fashion.

John T. Hill has written, co-written, or edited, to my count, at least nine books and catalogs on Walker Evans, including "Walker Evans First and Last," "Walker Evans At Work," "Walker Evans The Hungry Eye," "Walker Evans Simple Secrets," and "Walker Evans: Havana 1933." As Evans' friend and colleague for ten years at Yale University, and then as executor of Evans' estate for twenty years, John Hill is uniquely qualified to discuss the photographer and his work. And as a printer of Evans' photographs for nearly forty years, Mr. Hill possesses a thorough understanding of this photographer's oeuvre and intentions.

John Hill's two essays - one on an unpublished lecture Evans gave at Yale, illustrating what the photographer called his "aesthetic autobiography," and the other a short history of Evans' book publications within the context of their times - are important additions to Evans scholarship. Additionally, Alan Trachtenberg has provided an illustrated essay comparing the image selection and sequencing of the two major editions (1941 and 1960) of Evans' and James Agee's "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."

Of the countless books and articles that have been written about Evans in the thirty-plus years since his death, "Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary" is among the best. It is one of a few that I would classify as an essential Walker Evans book.

Rodger Kingston
Kingston is the author of "Walker Evans In Print: An Illustrated Bibliography."

Walker Evans' famous gift as a photographer is said to be his ability to erase himself as the creator of the images he captured, but he was there, of course, and made the necessary artistic judgments that distinguish his work. John T. Hill's masterful book, "Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary" is, in every way, an apt tribute to Evans' artistry.

Giving us a comprehensive presentation of the best work from Evans' most creative period is valuable enough. Yet Hill has provided something equally wonderful and useful, by illustrating what Evans called his "aesthetic autobiography." Using an unpublished lecture at Yale, in which Evans identified works of art, architecture and science he viewed as inspirations for his work, Hill furnishes compelling examples from these artists as visual annotations to Evans' work.

The result is exactly what one would hope for--not a laborious reinterpretation or egotistical "appreciation" of these great photographs, but a vivid presentation of the images themselves in a fashion that invites interest in the background material as an additional reward for the viewer. "Walker Evans: Lyric Documentary" is John T. Hill's fifth book on Evans and provides new insights into the work of the legendary photographer, considered by many to be the greatest artist of our time. This book is a great achievement by Hill, although fittingly, the reader will scarcely notice the skilled editorial hand shaping and ordering these powerful photographs that need little adornment.

Randall Roden

This is the only book I know of that contains Evans' own account of his aesthetic genesis with illustrations of his visual sources. Excellent essay by John T. Hill, who was a colleague of Evans at Yale University. Particularly noteworthy are the very finely reproduced plates of the seminal work of Evans during the years 1935-36. These are easily the best reproductions of Evans photographs that I've seen. A scholarly work and an important research tool.

I am a sucker for/fan of those old vintage '30s, '40s, and '50s NYC photos and movies where the men wore hats, ties, and suits and the women dressed up. This book has all of that: a definite must have for the aficionados of the way we used to look, act, and dress, as well as those who love photographic crime story images. This is NYC from Weegee's camera and it is a NYC that, although I am too young to have lived in that era, projects a thousand words with each riveting image. This book sits on my coffee table. I will purchase similar books to lay around my apt. and provide guests with items that guests will have a hard time resisting.

With 335 photos, this large size paperback is one of the better books you'll find of Weegee's work. Divided into eighteen photographic chapters (with one image per page) it really is an impressive selection, especially as it covers his output from 1935 to 1960.

The chapter on crime has the largest selection (thirty-one) with the predictable dead and bloodied bodies surrounded by police and public. Weegee claimed he (and several Speed Graphic cameras) covered hundreds of murders for the New York tabloids, he knew that that the only thing that mattered to the 'tabs' were the headlines and photos, the story could fill any space that was left. The other chapters cover ordinary New Yorkers in mostly nighttime settings.

The perfect complement to this book is Miles Barth's 'Weegee's World' (ISBN 0821226495) which admittedly does have many of the same photos but also has three long essays about this unique photographer. I have another book about Weegee, a very poor reproduction of his 1945 title 'Naked City' (ISBN 0306812045) and again most of the photos are in the New York book.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This book is amazing piece of amercian history. New York history. Frozen moments of ordinary people and their enviroment. Really must have one...

This small photo book is very cute and sweet. Any cat lover would like it. I think it is better that "What Cats Are." Don't get me wrong, that one is very nice, but if you can only get one I would pick "Kittens."

This book contains black and white pictures of kittens, each with a single adjective to describe it. "Portable" is a picture of a kitten tucked away in its owner's pocket. A "voracious" kitty sees a goldish and tries to bite him right through the bowl. There's also the "noisy" kitten, caught in mid-yowl. Children especially would like this book.

This book consists of black-and-white photos of kittens, each with an adjective to describe the cats. "Portable" shows a kitten traveling in its owner's pocket. A "voracious" cat tries to bite a goldfish right through the bowl. A "noisy" kitten is caught mid-yowl. Children especially should like this book.

This is a wonderful documentation of the photography by some of the great women who have worked for National Geographic. Besides the inspiring photos, the essays are well written. Great coffee table book and a must for any woman photographer.

The pictures are great -- a collection of the best pictures from the portfolios of some the world's best photographers.

But photographers need to buy this book for the sake of reading the wonderful essays by Cathy Newman.

Newman talks about the dilemma particular to professional women of all kinds -- trying to balance your work with your private life. She opens with a description of a group picture of NGS photogs back in the 20's. Every one in the picture was a man. Then she profiles a few of the first women to work for the Society. She showcases the experiences of five women who've worked extensively for the Geographic.

I enjoyed this book. I hope that it gets put into some curriculums at journalism school. I had never considered how photojournalism might mix with a home life. The short answer is, not very well. The long answer is that the problematic issues become very central to planning a career and a marriage. This book focuses on that very question. It would have been very prescient back in school.

This book succeeds on several levels. As a book of photographs it follows the National Geographic tradition of high quality photographs printed in the best possible way. As a book on what it takes to be a National Geographic photographer it presents many stories behind the pictures shown. But above all that it presents to young women thinking about this as a career choice, the facts about what these women face day-to-day. It pulls no punches as it discusses how some have faced the choices of how to have a family and this as a career or to leave behind one or the other. I will certainly recommend this to the girls I work with as an up front view of this remarkable group of photographers.

I buy this WPP books in every year! I'd like to offer you the exhibition too. Those are more live!

As with earlier volumes of this series, World Press Photo 2001 shows us the year we all, luckily, passed through. It's evocative, moving, and at times very sad. The power of the images range from subtle to in-your-face--and each single shot speaks volumes.

The World Press Photo annuals are always a good showcase for the best photojournalism from the rest of the world (and an excellent companion to the NPPA's Best of Photojournalism series), and this year is no exception. There's plenty of spectacular documentary work in here that for whatever reason, just never seems to be published in the America, outside of these volumes: illegal immigration in South Africa; acid attacks in Bangladesh; the roadkill problem in Australia, etc.

What's also nice is that although there apparently wasn't enough space to print the multi-image winners in their entirety, the back of the book has thumbnails of all winning entries, so you can still see the story in its entire presentation.

The World Press Photo series is much more than just a simple chronicle of the winners, or a summary of the year in pictures...it's a window into some of the best work being done anywhere today.

Subtle, beautiful, honest glimpse of the most massive public energy project ever undertaken. Linda Butler captures the life and death of the people, commnunities, and cities that were sacrificed for this energy project.

If America is "addicted to oil" then China is addicted to electricity. In the past 3 years China has approved and is building more new coal fired power plants than the entire United States fleet. You would think that this massive hydroelectric project at Three Gorges Dam would appease China's hunger for new energy, but the reality is it's just a drop in the bucket.

This book does a wonderful job reflecting on what we loose when society progresses.

As a person with a long-standing involvement in both photography and the professional evaluation of major energy projects in many countries (including hydro) I really appreciated the true value of this wonderful book.

To begin with, many not involved in this kind of work may not appreciate how politically sensitive it is. It took a great deal of courage and savvy for Ms. Butler to create the relationships and the entrees needed to make and exit the country with all those wonderful photographs and interview materials. This is no small feat in its own right. It speaks highly of her and also says alot about the growing openness of China.

Turning to the content, the quality of the photographs - in purely photographic terms - is superb. Lest we forget the power of black and white and the time-tested virtues of powerful composition, lighting and choice of subject matter, this is the place to recall them. Most of these pictures are not merely records - they are good photographs.

The captions and the text are very well done. This book is not a one-sided tirade against dam development. Rather, it is a sensitive, obviously well-informed and balanced perspective on the costs and benefits of these undertakings - both at an individual and more aggregate societal level. It is very clear from this book that there are winners and losers, progress and losses, and the actual long-term net result remains to play-out. This is reality.

There are important lessons of experience to be learned from this text. Let us not forget the scale of this enterprise. China committed something like six billions dollars to resettlement alone for over one million affected people. That a certain percentage of this money got misdirected through corruption and poor implementation is not surprising, and to the Chinese themselves - not acceptable - people are going to jail for their misdeeds. Ms. Butler faces these issues head-on and in a balanced manner. It becomes clear from reading this text that no matter how well-designed a project may be, the quality of the implementation arrangements and the structures in place for assuring their proper functioning are truly critical.

Finally, returning to the book as a production in its own right, the quality of the layout and printing are superb. Very highly recommended.

This amazing book by Linda Butler is a beautiful and heartbreaking look at the Three Gorges Dam project in China and the changing landscape because of it. The images are incredible and the text is haunting. The photographs are wonderfully reproduced and she has a great eye for capturing the subtle silence and the small nuances of the people and the landscape. Her vivid images document a changing China in a very intimate way. This text is a true photographic and historical treat!

An unusual, beautiful little book for the shelves of Francis Bacon fans. The photographs are beautiful, exhaustively document this legendary, but little known space, and have a haunting quality that complements other Bacon monographs. One senses the vibrancy of the artist's life, and only then the realization that, but for the fact he is deceased, the reader would not be holding this book and having this "privileged" view. Very strange!

Views of the studio at 7 Reece Mews in South Kensington, London, where Francis Bacon spent the last thirty years of his life from 1961 - 1992, inform us of many aspects of Bacon's life and art. The studio is notorious among artists' studios in that it is nearly non-navigable, so strew are the walls and floors and easels with the memorabilia and photos, drawings and articles that ultimately resulted in some of the most exciting art created in the 20th Century.

This very fine book represents a catalogue of the project to move Bacon's studio intact to Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where the curators have seized on documenting every tube, brush, tossed away sketch, collaged photos, small reproductions of famous artists' works (such as the Velasquez popes), bits of cloth and canvas, and photos of his models, his lovers, and his associates - a daunting task but one so important that it takes this book to define.

Richly photographed by Perry Ogden who manages to capture the atmosphere of claustrophobia that pervades the studio, this book is indispensable to the scholars who find Bacon's visual influences as important as his paintings. The writing that accompanies this photographic essay is highly informative and immensely readable: Gallery Director Barbara Dawson offers a probing insightful examination of Bacon's personal and artistic history in 'Francis Bacon's Studio: A Stimulating Solitude' and the Curator of the Francis Bacon Collection essays 'Finding order in chaos: Francis Bacon's Studio contents'.

Though the book is small (61 pages) it is of utmost importance to those fascinated with the expressionist art of Bacon. An added bonus is a brief but thorough Timeline of Bacon's life. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06

If you or I decided to go to New York City to create a book of photographs, the result would most likely be banal in terms of both photos and design. In contrast, this book by Daido Moriyama shows what a great artist can do with photography. Furthermore, the book design is remarkable.

About 23x15x5 cm and 1.4 kg, '71-NY (not "1971/NY" as Amazon would have it) arrives in a corrugated brown cardboard slipcase. A black dust jacket has one small elliptical hole revealing blue underneath and one small circular hole revealing white underneath. The soft cover of the book has horizontal blue and white stripes. It's over 400 pages in length (not "150" as Amazon would have it).

All the text in Japanese is translated into English and vice versa; the English versions are printed in landscape orientation in a typewriter-like font. The first three pages contain a letter from Moriyama to publisher and co-designer Andrew Roth. Eighteen pages toward the end contain an excerpt from "Another Country" by James Baldwin, an interview with Moriyama, and an essay by Neville Wakefield.

Almost all the black-and-white photos shot in 1971 bleed to the edges of the pages. Most occupy entire two-page spreads, but some are only one page in size, and a few take up 1/2 or 1/3 of a page. All the photos are grainy, and many are blurry and/or not level.

Flipping through the book is like taking a wild ride through the big city. We see buildings, people on the street, indoor self-portraits, television screen shots, etc. I especially like the sequences of different shots of the same subject. For example, there are four two-page spreads taken from the same vantage point showing the twin towers of the World Trade Center (still not yet fully occupied as of 1971) in the background. Two half-page images and a two-page spread explore the same scene full of movie marquees with their bright lights. Based on markings on the 14 sample pages of contact prints at the end, Moriyama chose carefully among his many negatives.

In the U.S., Moriyama is known through books that take his photos out of context, such as "Black Sun: the Eyes of Four: Roots and Innovation in Japanese Photography" by Holborn (1986), "Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog" by Phillips (1999), and "Daido Moriyama" by Nishii (2001, Phaidon 55 series). Since most of his other great books such as "Bye, Bye, Photography, Dear" (Shashin Yo Sayonara) and "Japan: A Photo Theater" (Nippon Gejiko Shashincho) are out of print and quite expensive on the used market, this book provides an affordable opportunity to own a complete work by Moriyama. Don't wait until the limited edition of 3000 copies is sold out - buy '71-NY today from Amazon.com!

BTW, as further evidence of its quality, this book is discussed in both "The Photobook: A History, Volume I" by Parr & Badger (2004) and "Open Book" of the Hasselblad Center and Arctic Paper (2004).

This is one of the most extraordinary photography books in print, and certainly the most important book of Moriyama's available in the US. I cannot recommend it too highly. It's the result of Moriyama's trip to New York in 1971 and the photographs he took with his Olympus Pen W half frame camera (he shot over a hundred rolls). A document like this is the best way to experience Moriyama's photography because, as you'll see in this book, he doesn't so much shoot individual photographs as he does a series of photographs that together make up a work. This is an entirely different vision of photography from the dominant Euro-American approach to creating disparate images (think the decisive moment), and yet it's nothing like our usual sense of the photographic essay or series, either. Moriyama creates a new understanding of what's photographable, in my opinion. A book that's likely to become expensive and scarce quickly, so add it to your working library while you can.

This is now one of my favorite male-nude photography books. It's right up there on my Top10 list. This may be because I'm of Swedish heritage, but I know that's not the real reason. The real reason is that this is an absolutely breathtaking photo album of erotic young-looking men photographed outdoors in the stunning landscape that is Sweden. These photographs take advantage of the natural soft light, course landscape, and bright sunlight that is part of the changing seasons in Sweden. It's amazing how well the models managed to stay relaxed, sensual & erotic looking during this cold & snowy winter photo shoot. It's very unusual to take images of nude male models under such harsh conditions and have the models still look erotic, sensual and happy at the same time. The sensuality, erotic mood, and sex appeal of each model does come across on each page of these black & white and color photographs. I think this photo album is as great as it is because of Benno Thoma and all of his handsome young models who made it possible through their positive interaction together. The scenic landscape & natural lighting were an added bonus.

Benno Thoma has worked in fashion and advertising photography for many years, and now is also well-known for his male nude photography. He has several male nude photography books to his credit including: "Young Companions" (1995), "Edition Euros #3", and "Somos Cubanos" (1998). These other photo books are awesome and true to his very creative and different style of photography, but I believe "Absolute Sweden" is my still my favorite. This is definitely a collector's item for your library, so make sure you get it before it's too late. I look forward to his next collection. Highly Recommended!

This book is another example of Benno Thoma's excellent control of his technique. He uses only natural light, and his subjects tend not to be over-pumped models rather the younger 20ish (just) type of guy who is still shy and unsure, yet yearning to be outgoing.

Thoma collects all that and more from his subjects in the truly wonderful book. The appealing youthfulness, the searching eyes, the inspired poses. You will love this book, especially if you like monochrome pictures.

Further details of the photographer are available from his website, where it's possible to order limited edition prints if you can afford it.

I can heartily recommend this addition to your collection.

I find this book to be inspiring and creatively useful on top of it just being gorgeous! If you have any interest in photography, film or narrative image making you need to get this book.

ACTING THE PART: PHOTOGRAPHY AS THEATRE could also have been featured in our 'Film and Stage' section, but is reviewed here for its fine history of staged photography as a genre. A sampling of such works range from the 1840s to modern times and pairs film stills and artwork with essays by Lori Pauli and others on the use of painting as inspiration, Surrealism and plays, narrative strategies and photographic effects, and more. As the first major history of staged photography, it deserves a spot in an authoritative art library collection as well as many a film library holding.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch