Review by Gerhard Clausing • For many of us the circus is a special experience full of magic. Some of us have at times felt a longing to be part of such a group of itinerant individuals that create illusions and bring special feats into what for most of us was the rather humdrum existence... Continue Reading →
Pryor Dodge – YLLA: The Birth of Modern Animal Photography
Review by Gerhard Clausing • All you have to do is watch “Gorilla Videos” on Facebook to recognize that some animals are very similar to us. And that is not really a case of anthropomorphism, which can be defined as attributing human characteristics to other creatures. But assigning animals to a lower class and denying... Continue Reading →
Michael Rababy – Casinoland: Tired of Winning
Review by Melanie Chapman • If Toulouse-Lautrec and Martin Parr had a baby, its name would be Casinoland: Tired of Winning. A dynamic collection of new color photographs by Michael Rababy, this publication from Kehrer Verlag focuses our gaze on the denizens of casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and other illustrious locales, and offers such... Continue Reading →
Huw Lewis-Jones – Why We Photograph Animals
Review by Gerhard Clausing • The documentation of animal life all around us has long been a favorite area of photography. This very important volume illuminates animal photography of all sorts from a vast number of angles, featuring a number of photographers who concentrate on documenting animal life, as well as essays dealing with animal... Continue Reading →
Kevin Bubriski – The Uyghurs: Kashgar before the Catastrophe
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Some 25 years ago, the group of people known as the Uyghurs, a large ethnic minority in China, primarily of the Islamic faith, were still relatively unencumbered by much outside control. Since then the Chinese government has imposed many procedures on these people that have received international criticism. In 1998,... Continue Reading →
MAGNUM MAGNUM
Review by Melanie Chapman · At a certain age in life, admitting what you want to be when you grow up may feel like standing on the shore watching all boats, large and small, setting off to sea. You find yourself waving as the vessels grow more distant on the horizon and ever closer to adventures... Continue Reading →
Johannes Groht – Due Occhi
Review by Steve Harp · Due Occhi, the title of Johannes Groht’s new monograph, can be translated from Italian as “two eyes.” Before considering some of the associations triggered (to use Groht’s term from the artist’s insert included in the review copy), we might first pause to consider the “newness” of the book. Published in 2020, the book (again... Continue Reading →
Ukraine: A War Crime
Review by Melanie Chapman • What a piece of work is man, how ignoble in reason. Consider this quote: “Children and civilians need not die in war. And parents should not have to hold the hands of their dead children, killed by criminals.” If you have a pulse and have been near any form of... Continue Reading →
Thomas Hoepker – ITALIA
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Sometimes it is refreshing to see a top photographer's first photographic project that has not previously been published. Recently I reviewed Roger Ballen’s reissue of his first documentary project, boyhood, and noted that it showed many instances of the promise that was later expanded and realized in many different ways.... Continue Reading →
Charles Fréger – Aam Aastha: Indian Devotions
Review by Gerhard Clausing • I know from my experience with students acting out various drama roles on the stage, in a foreign language even, that the most effective performances take place when the role is totally internalized and performed not just from the mind but also from the heart. It is at that moment... Continue Reading →