Product Details
Hardcover
164 pages
Yale University Press
Published 2002
From Library Journal
German photographer Thomas Struth's star is on the rise in this country, with this impressive and comprehensive exhibition of almost 100 photographs now touring several museums. His command of his medium is evident from the first plate of this eponymous catalog, where a derelict Manhattan cityscape from early in his career displays the complicated minimalism that marks much of his work. The numerous later large-scale landscape views encourage the viewer to feel uncannily present before vistas both close-range and distant. The shrewd omission of captions (a list of plates is at the back) removes any distracting contexts from such strongly contrasting spaces as an emphatically vertical close-up of a Japanese forest reserve and an artificial Las Vegas palm oasis. Struth's ambitious photographic project is also evident in his compellingly intense portraits of large families, where the sitters are seen frontally and in situ in their living rooms or gardens. As in his photos of apparently ordinary buildings, superficial impassivity masks a deeper mystery verging on the sublime. As the most complete survey of Struth's work now available, this can be highly recommended for all larger collections.
Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., CA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Mary Ann Lynch, View Camera
"Well-produced. . . . The most complete representation of the artist's work to date. . . . This elegant compendium is well worth getting."
Book Description
Thomas Struth (b. 1954) is one of the most compelling artists using photography today. Coming to prominence in his native Germany in the 1970s, Struth captured the atmospheric power of the contemporary urban landscape in his early black-and-white works. With an intent gaze and exacting lens, Struth expanded his range to include color portraits, bringing a unique psychological precision to the tradition of portraiture. Perhaps Struth's best-known works are his majestic, large-scaled museum photographs depicting visitors to some of the world's great museums and buildings, including The Art Institute of Chicago, the MusTe du Louvre in Paris, the Accademia in Venice, and the Pantheon in Rome. These captivating photographs not only transport us to the place depicted, they also provide a chance to reexamine our own selves looking at art. Continuing his interest in series, Struth has recently created expansive works based on the natural world, often training his camera on a particular contemporary melding of nature with technology and architecture. |
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