Eva Koleva Timothy – Lost in Learning

What I often find when a book combines a large amount of text in conjunction with photographs, it seems that either the text or the photographs seems to dominate. In some cases there is delicate balance between the two, which I now have come to understand is much harder than it might first appear. With Eva Koleva Timothy’s self-published book, Lost in Learning, it appears to me that the beautiful black and white photographs support the written narrative.

The book was developed as a wife and husband partnership, with the photographs of Eva Koleva Timothy as the cornerstone of their narrative. The subject of the book is discovery and learning, drawing on inspiration from past creative giants; the composer Handel, the painter Michelangelo, the adventurer Christopher Columbus, the astronomer Galileo and the mathematician Isaac Newton. She draws inspiration of past explorers of the unknown frontier in an attempt to provide inspiration to future generations

Eva’s photographs play off, complement and enhance the text about the processes of learning and discovery. The photographs are very creatively composed, with seamless created collages, combining elements that create an interesting sub-plot. The photographs are conceptually well conceived and executed, creating interesting metaphors that complement the written narrative.

Timothy combines older text or devices associated with a person or period of discover in conjunction with a light focusing device; prism, glasses, magnifying glass. The devices isolate, refocus or illuminate one aspect of a document to bring forward a key aspect to complement the matching written narrative.

The use of various lens is an interesting motif in many of her photographs, that by means of a lens we built telescopes to explore far-away space that reaches out into the heavens, and microscopes to discover nearly invisible inner space to delve into the fabric of our lives. A glass prism is a type of lens that diffracts light into its many elemental hues. Similarly, a lens is also a basic element of a camera lens, which today is very complex and composed of many shapes and sizes to construct a single camera lens

For me, it is the layout and the use of various type, especially the larger and silver overlay fonts commands my attention, thus the photographs, however clever and creative, take on a lesser role.

The foreword is by Ralph Windle, with an Introduction by Eva Timothy, and essays by Adam Timothy. The book design editor is Elizabeth Avedon.

This book has a cloth hardcover with Dust Jacket, and the black and white photographs are Duotone printing.