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The Pleasure of Seeing

Conversations on Joel Meyerowitz's sixty years in the life of photography
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Pleasure of Seeing recounts the life and career of an influential individual, giving readers a glimpse into personal experiences and professional milestones. This biography and memoir take you on a journey through pivotal moments that shaped their perspective on the world, illuminating both challenges and triumphs without revealing key plot twists. It's an engaging read aimed at those curious about the complexities and nuances of a remarkable life.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to the world of photography and visual arts, offering an insightful glimpse into the life and creative process of a renowned visual artist. It takes you through a remarkable personal journey, making it a captivating read for those who appreciate memoirs that blend personal experiences with artistic exploration.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Street photography burst into colour through the pioneering work of Joel Meyerowitz. ... a new book charts his sixty-year career from the bustling 1960s New York scenes that made his name to the experiments in landscape photography... The Telegraph

... has some amazing tales to tell, but the pictures themselves tell their stories equally powerfully. - Collagerie

Like his photographs, Joel Meyerowitz's reveries are perfectly composed, multilayered reflections of the world we live in. Complex yet accessible, they meet you where you are - as does Meyerowitz when he looks back at his journey to become one of the most influential contemporary artists of our time. - Huck

Joel Meyerowitz is one of the pioneers of colour photography and an essential reference figure for street photography, large-format photography, and portraits. The Pleasure of Seeing is his first biography, offering a look behind the scenes of the life and career of one of America's photographic living legends.

In conversation with historian and photographer Lorenzo Braca, Meyerowitz speaks vividly about his beginnings, studying art history, meeting Robert Frank, photographing on the streets of New York City with Tony Ray-Jones and Garry Winogrand, traveling extensively across America and Europe, learning from John Szarkowski, director of photography at MoMA, and working on numerous exhibitions and publications. He also discusses photographing at Ground Zero in 2001 and 2002, and his most recent still lifes and self-portraits projects.

The book contains over one hundred pictures, including Joel's most iconic photographs as well as new and previously unpublished material. This comprehensive visual biography testifies to the author's continuing evolution throughout the six decades of his career and discusses his work in relation to his personal life, the history of photography, and the incessant transformation of the medium. Meyerowitz reveals anecdotes, personal memories, and the stories behind many of his famous photographs.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Pleasure of Seeing is celebrated as a breezy, joyful, and intellectually stimulating exploration that provides insights into the world of photography. The reflections by Joel Meyerowitz are likened to his photographs, being multilayered and complex yet accessible, offering a richly detailed perspective on his life and career. The work is praised for giving an intimate look behind the scenes of Meyerowitz's life, highlighting his status as a photographic legend.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9788862087933

Publisher: Damiani

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 23 March 2023

Country: Italy

Imprint: Damiani

Illustration: Illustrated throughout

Contributors:

  • Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz
  • Assisted by Lorenzo Braca

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 210.0mm

Height: 280.0mm

Weight: 1170g

Pages: 216

About the Author

Joel Meyerowitz (born March 6, 1938) is a street photographer and portrait and landscape photographer. He began photographing in color in 1962 and was an early advocate of the use of color during a time when there was significant resistance to the idea of color photography as serious art. In 1962, inspired by seeing Robert Frank at work, Meyerowitz quit his job as an art director at an advertising agency and took to the streets of New York City with a 35mm camera and Colors film. Garry Winogrand, Tony Ray-Jones, Lee Friedlander, Tod Papageorge, and Diane Arbus were photographing there at the same time. The fleeting moments of street life in New York City and other American cities that Meyerowitz has captured are some of the earliest and best-known examples of color street photography. Many of his photographs are icons of modern photography, and made Meyerowitz, along with William Eggleston and Stephen Shore, one of the most influential modern photographers and representatives of the "New Color Photography" of the 1960s and 70s.

Lorenzo Braca (born 1977) is an Italian historian and photographer who has published widely on the literature, the mentality, and the imagination of the late Middle Ages. He is currently working for the Catholic University of Milan on research projects concerning Medieval intellectual history. As a photographer, his work is oriented primarily towards the urban environment, its evolution, and the overlooked signs of human presence. Braca's photographs have been exhibited in collective shows since 2016, and in 2021 he had his first solo exhibition. He is now about to publish a book co-written with American photographer Joel Meyerowitz on his sixty-year career.

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