• front over details of shooting space book

    Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography Elia Redstone

    Shooting Space is an anthology that examines the relationship between photographers and architecture. The book is divided into five parts that presents a vary of approach’s to the subject. The first chapter is prefaced by Julius Schulman quote:
    “ I sell architecture better and more directly and more vividly than the architect does” .
    This sets the tone for much of the book. It also highlights the problem of how architecture is represented. The images from this chapter avoid the conventions of blues skies, vertical lines , perfect context etc. Of interest are images by Iwan Bann and Michele Nastasi.

    The book is representative of the global architecture covering Asia, Europe, The Americas and Middle East. Africa is not represented extensively. Work by Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse on Ponte city could have address this imbalance. The book Ponte city was published in 2014 however most of the photographers were from 2008 onwards.

    Michael Wolf , Thomas Struth and Nuno Cera feature in the “Cityscapes of change” chapter. The project “Architecture of Density” by Michael Wolf showcases the density of development in Hong Kong. Thomas Struth documents cities in his “Unconscious Places” project. The series seeks to encapsulate the sense of a place in a single image. Nuno Ceras’ images investigate the physical and metaphorical nature of space. The images present layers images of reflections from high rise hotel rooms. Sze Tsung Leong visual documentation of China are very compelling also.

    Man-altered Landscapes catalogues work by Peter Bialobrzeski , Nadav Kander, and Armin Linke amongst others. The project “Architecture of Authority “ by Richard Ross is also featured. The images is “explore the nature of institutionalized space” and present an architecture that shows the “failure of moderation, politics….humanity”.

    The strongest parts of the book show photographers working in a documentary tradition. The chapters on conceptual photography speak less about “Shooting space” and are more concerned with creating new visual spaces. Typically, the images are made by digital manipulation of some sort. Overall the book presents a good anthology of photographers and their approach to photographing the city.

    http://uk.phaidon.com/store/architecture/shooting-space-9780714867427/

    Iwan Bann http://iwan.com/iwan_index.php
    Michele Nastasi http://www.michelenastasi.com/
    Micheal Wolf http://photomichaelwolf.com/#architecture-of-density-2/1
    Thomas Struth http://www.thomasstruth32.com/bigsize/index.html
    Nuno Cera http://www.nunocera.com/
    Sze Tsung Leong http://www.szetsungleong.com/
    Nadav Kander http://www.nadavkander.com/
    Armin Linke http://www.arminlinke.com/
    Peter Bialobreski http://www.bialobrzeski.de/work/paradise_now/ParadiseNow-18.html
    Richard Ross http://richardross.net/
    Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse http://www.subotzkystudio.com/