Models, workers and philosophers are among the people depicted in this month’s photography books as we celebrate 100 years of Vogue on one hand, and the wisdom of philosophers on the other. Contrasting worlds and contrasting views.
Vogue 100 : a century of style
“While principally a fashion magazine, Vogue has never been just that. It has assumed a central and vital role on the cultural stage, with a history that spans the most inventive decades in fashion and taste, and in the arts and society. Published to mark the magazine’s centenary, and accompanying the major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, this book celebrates the twentieth century and beyond with an authoritative and discriminating eye. Decade by decade, Vogue 100: A Century of Style celebrates the greatest moments in fashion, beauty and portrait photography.” (Adapted from publisher)
Tim Walker : pictures
“This is an alternative edition – slightly reduced in trim size but absolutely unabridged – of the 2008 classic, now out of print. This stunning new edition offers us a privileged glimpse into Walker’s artistic process. It is a comprehensive overview that features a wide array of sketches, contact sheets, Polaroids, and source materials normally hidden within the photographer’s studio. The evocative images are rich with textured nuance and intriguing details. Walker gives full reign to his playful side and intersperses collages among the photographs.” (Syndetics summary)
Beyond fashion, here is the rest of this month’s selection:
The 1960s : photographed by David Hurn
“David Hurn is one of the most important British Magnum photographers. This volume is the first anthology dedicated to Hurn during one of his most iconic periods of the 1960s. Included are photo essays from the streets of New York, anti-Vietnam protests and the London Soho scene. Also featured are portraits of some of the coolest characters of the age – like Michael Caine, Quentin Crisp and Julie Christie – and Hurn’s work within the film industry – capturing The Beatles during filming of A Hard Day’s Night and Sean Connery as Bond.” (Syndetics summary)
The Thames & Hudson dictionary of photography
“The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Photography is a landmark publication that encompasses the history, art, and science of photography in a single volume. At a time when information is instantly accessible on the Internet but is often unreliable or uncited, this ambitious project both reasserts the veracity, reliability, and accuracy of scholarly research in reference publishing and offers an immersive, usable, beautifully designed reading experience. Over 1,200 concise yet fully detailed entries describe all aspects of the subject, including photographers, images, agencies, genres, movements, exhibitions, publications, collectors, techniques, and processes.” (Syndetics summary)
Rodchenko
“For many years, gallerists Peter MacGill, Rudolf Kicken and Edwynn Houk have been collecting Aleksandr Rodchenko’s photographs. This book is a curated selection of these images, most reproduced at their original sizes. The hallmarks of Rodchenko’s inimitable Constructivist-influenced vision are here to see, regardless of whether he is photographing people, architecture or machinery–bold diagonals, abstract shapes and moving objects cutting through space.” (Syndetics summary)
Harry Callahan : Retrospektive = retrospective
“Harry Callahan (1912-1999) is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential 20th century American photographers. By amplifying the abstract tendencies of New Vision in a lyrical mode evincing great sensitivity, he was able to overcome the prevailing realist aesthetic in American photography. This retrospective presents Callahan’s multi-faceted photographic oeuvre, the product of tireless and prolific creative labours over the course of nearly sixty years. With nearly 200 works, it shows the entire spectrum of Callahan’s production.” (Syndetics summary)
Ansel Adams in the national parks : photographs from America’s wild places
“With more than two hundred photographs – many rarely seen and some never before published – this is the most comprehensive collection of Ansel Adams’ photographs of America’s national parks and wilderness areas. The legendary photographer explored more than forty national parks in his lifetime, producing some of the most indelible images of the natural world ever made.” (Syndetics summary)
Robert Capa : the definitive collection
“This book represents the most definitive selection of Capa’s work ever published – 937 photographs meticulously selected by his brother Cornell Capa (himself a noted Life photographer), and his biographer, Richard Whelan. The photographs, arranged in chronological order as stories and accompanied by brief commentaries, reveal the dramatic shifts in location and subject matter that Capa experienced from day to day – from war-torn Israel to Pablo Picasso on a sunny beach in France, and from Ernest Hemingway carousing in London to Capa’s historic images of the Allied landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy in 1944.” (Syndetics summary)
Philosophers
“Steve Pyke, a photographer whose work is a regular feature of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, is known for his stunning portraits of prominent authors, artists, actors, and intellectuals. In this riveting collection, which he has been working on for twenty-five years, Pyke presents 100 black-and-white portraits of contemporary philosophers, photographed in his distinctive style. The effect of his technique can be startling but always revealing, showing insight into personality while shedding new light on the philosophical temperament. These fascinating portraits feature virtually every major philosopher working in the West. This volume is the long-awaited sequel to Pyke’s original collection, published in 1993.” (Book jacket)