Magnum photographer and color maestro Harry Gruyaert has been digging into his archives, I'm happy to say, probably because of the unexpected popularity of his eponymous 2015 book, which Ken Tanaka reviewed for us in the post "A New Old Master." I know that one has become an all-time favorite of a number of readers, because they've told me so.
The new books are a generously-sized (8x12 inches) pair housed together in the same half-slipcase. "At a time when the world was politically divided into East and West," says Magnum, "Harry Gruyaert's quest for light and sensuality led him to capture the colors of two very different worlds: the vibrant glitziness of Las Vegas and Los Angeles in 1981, and the austere restraint of Moscow in 1989, just before the fall of the Soviet Union." I haven't seen the books yet. A review in Spanish at Amazon UK says there are lots of smallish horizontal pictures on vertical pages and a fair number of pictures crossing the gutter, something to think about if you're allergic to those things.
Th vast majority of photographers shoot in color now, but very few are color photographers.
These can't go out of print soon—the publication date was only the 14th of last month. But Amazon has 15 in stock (well, 14, because I ordered one prior to posting this), and Magnum is out of stock. Surely that is only temporary. But these books are being mentioned all over the place.
Mike
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Some decisions are easy. Mine is ordered (through your link of course!)
Posted by: Peter Wright | Monday, 04 December 2017 at 11:42 AM
When will Amazon start selling enough hours in a day -- Prime members only to read all the great books mentioned here?
Posted by: Speed | Monday, 04 December 2017 at 02:27 PM
"The vast majority of photographers shoot in color now, but very few are color photographers."
I like that. I've been thinking a lot about colour recently. How to see in colour, the way I try to see in black and white. I've been studying the works of Saul Leiter and Cig Harvey to try and make colour a compositional element.
Looks like this book would be one to get.
Posted by: David Cope | Monday, 04 December 2017 at 03:05 PM
Excuse me while I write Santa.
Posted by: Manuel | Monday, 04 December 2017 at 06:40 PM
I pre-ordered one of these from Target of all places and it's quite a good book. The print quality is great, but not quite to the level of the big one from last year. Or maybe it's better? I don't know, but looking at pictures side by side, say the one of the balding guy standing in the blue tiled bathroom, in the eponymous book, it's contrasty and saturated and gritty; in East it's a bit more muted, not quite as saturated, and it doesn't grab me quite as much. Also, the pictures in the airport lounge that knocked me out in Harry Gruyaert are still impressive in the new book(s), but no longer quite the WOW that I felt when I first encountered them.
Oh, and after swearing off Amazon in 2014, I floated around, ordering books from all over. Books from B&N invariably come with dented corners and dings in the edges. Books direct from publishers are usually good. Books from Walmart are hit and miss, but generally better than B&N. But Target takes it. They ship in these flimsy looking wrap around stiff cardboard envelopes that have been sorta shrink-wrapped to the books, and I've never seen even the slightest bit of damage on a single book. Highly recommended, if you avoid Amazon like I do (crazy, I know...).
Posted by: James | Monday, 04 December 2017 at 07:17 PM
"They ship in these flimsy looking wrap around stiff cardboard envelopes that have been sorta shrink-wrapped to the books, and I've never seen even the slightest bit of damage on a single book. "
Hmm, I'm about to ship three or four hundred books" in a couple of weeks, I'll have to order a book from Target and see this wrapping.
The best book wrapping I've seen it the box the Graingers catalog comes in.
* two tons of postage!
Posted by: hugh crawford | Tuesday, 05 December 2017 at 04:11 AM
Another intriguing publication that I noticed from Amazon is coming out soon: "In My Room", a collection of Saul Leiter's nudes (http://amzn.to/2BKXzJA). The few I've seen in other collections - particularly the beautiful "Lanesville" shots - has piqued my interest.
Posted by: Ade | Tuesday, 05 December 2017 at 05:45 AM
Would love those - loved the first - but excessive printing across the gutter is usually a deal breaker for me.
Posted by: Mike | Tuesday, 05 December 2017 at 12:52 PM