Asia Photo Books

DANNIN,R., Arms against Fury. Magnum photographers in Afghanistan, New York 2002. Hardcover, 29 x 22 cm., 238 pag. met 200 foto's in kleur en zwart-wit.

Against Fury" investigates the dramatic struggles of the Afghan people through the lens of Magnum photographers, from co-founder George Rodger"s documentation of the country"s role in World War II, through years of turmoil and ultimately to the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.

VAN GELDER, A., Dem Leben nach in Benin, Berlin 2005. Hardcover 26 x 30 cm. 140 pag. met 75 zwart-wit foto's.

LOVEGROVE,K., Graphicswallah, Londen 2003. Softcover 22 x 30 cm. 160 pag. met 180 foto's in kleur.

"Graphicswallah documents a wide range of Indian graphics, from the personalized bodywork of vehicles through to political posters; from hand-painted advertising to lavish Bollywood publicity. Illustrated entirely with new photography, the book reflects religious, political and cultural diversities of one of the world's most populated subcontinents. A source of inspiration and delight for graphic designers, the book will also appeal to anyone with an interest in Indian culture."

SZE TSUNG LEONG, History Images, Göttingen 2006. Hardcover 34,2 x 27,9 cm. 136 pag met 75 fullpage colour photo's.

"Since 2002, Sze Tsung Leong has been photographing the dramatic urban changes that have transformed the cities of China — revealing a process that ranges from the destruction of traditional neighborhoods, which once formed the unique identities of China’s cities, to the mass construction of new urban environments. Photographed with a largeformat view camera in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Nanjing, Pingyao, and Xiamen, these highly detailed images portray the immense scale of an urban upheaval overwhelming the minute scale of the individual. The dense concentration of visual information in the photographs reveals the contradictions created by an uncertain and fluctuating environment: traditional buildings in the process of being demolished are juxtaposed against the new urban reality about to replace them; seemingly abandoned buildings on the verge of destruction, or in the midst of construction, reveal clues of inhabitation; historic areas survive more as a result of neglect and isolation than intent; and obscured in the midst of expansive, culturally ambivalent spaces, small Chinese script on indistinct signs serves as the only hint that these environments are in China."

PINNEY,C., Photo's of the Gods The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India, Londen 2004. Softcover 19 x 25 cm. 238 pag. met 167 afb. waarvan 80 in kleur.

"Photos of the Gods' is the first comprehensive history of posters, postcards and other printed images that comprise a major dimension of India's popular visual culture. It traces the connections between the production and consumption of these images and the struggle against colonial rule. The detailed output of individual presses and artists over the decades is set against the intensification of the nationalist struggle and the constraints imposed by colonial state censorship, and a half-century of Indian independence since 1947. By combining anthropology, political and cultural history and the study of aesthetic systems, and by including many intriguing and unfamiliar images, 'Photos of the Gods' shows that India's current predicament and popular culture cannot be understood without taking into account this complex and fascinating visual history. The emergence of Indian-run chromolithograph presses in the late 1870s initiated a vast outpouring of images of an astonishin variety, an outpouring that today has come to dominate many of India's spaces, both public and domestic. Many interviews with both artists and publishers were undertaken for this book. Among the great variety of artists responsible for the almost bewildering, yet totally compelling, panoply of'photos of the gods' in India are those that trained in the colonial art schools, others whose skills reflect their membership of traditional painting castes, and yet others who began their careers as humble self-taught sign painters. These artists and the presses together helped make rather than merely reflect the politics of their day, hence 'Photos of the Gods' is not a history of the art of chromolithography but reveals how popular visual culture contributed to history in the making in India."

PONCAR, J., Tibet, Duitsland 2000. Hardback, 165 pag. Oblong(extreem) , 23 x 49 cm. Met veel zwart-wit foto's.

Poncar is vooral bekend om zijn speciale "horizontale fotografische[slitcan] techniek" van o.a. de reliefs in Angkor Vat.

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