Synopses & Reviews
The idea of the American wilderness has long captivated artists fascinated by the ways in which its unspoiled natural beauty embodies the nationand#8217;s identity. This beautifully produced volume celebrates the unsurpassed splendor of a fabled region, while also presenting the environmental complexities of managing a vast landscape in which the needs of ranchers, biologists, miners, tourists, and locals seek a finely delineated balance.
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Photographer Laura McPhee follows in the tradition of 19th-century artistic approaches toward the sublime, relying on a large-format view camera to capture images of exquisite color, clarity, and definition. In images spanning all seasons, McPhee depicts the magnificence and history of the Sawtooth Valley in central Idaho. Her subject matter includes the regionand#8217;s spectacular mountain ranges, rivers, and ranchlands; its immense spaces and natural resources; the effects of mining and devastating wildfires; and the human stories of those who live and work there. Featured texts set McPheeand#8217;s photographs in the context of the work of American predecessors including Frederick Sommer and J.B. Jackson, and discuss her working methods and experiences photographing the evolving landscape.
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Review
andldquo;McPheeandrsquo;s book is a loving portrait of the former capital of India, its architecture that remembers its history while embracing its future, its residents that line the streets, selling goods, tailoring dresses, delivering cargo.andrdquo;andndash;Nicole Crowder, The Washington Post
Review
andldquo; . . . andnbsp;awash in colors, textures, and architectural details as it sweeps through extravagant mansions and crumbling dwellings.andrdquo;andndash;Jan Gardner, Boston Globe
Synopsis
This book portrays the unique and vibrant city of Calcutta in an intriguing array of captivating and visually arresting photographs.
Synopsis
A portrayal of the unique and vibrant city of Calcutta, shown in an intriguing array of captivating and visually arresting photographs
Photographer Laura McPhee, noted for her stunning large-scale landscapes and portraits of the people who live and work in them, has been traveling to eastern India for over a decade. There she has devoted her perceptive vision to picturing layers of history, culture, religion, and class as they appear in private heritage homes and public markets, in lively street festivals, and in the faces of city dwellers in Calcutta (also known as Kolkata).
This exquisitely produced book features a selection of McPhee's works made in and around India's former capital. Here we glimpse courtyards, living spaces, temples, and altars as both vestiges of the past and elements of contemporary urban existence. McPhee's images sensitively penetrate the surface to show the blurred boundaries between social classes, the blending of public and private life, and the resonance between India and other parts of the world. Also included are a foreword by Amitav Ghosh on the historical divisions inherent in the city's culture and on the nature of McPhee's work, and an essay by art historian Romita Ray on the ways McPhee captures and distills the remnants of colonial Calcutta in her photographs of the contemporary city.
Synopsis
Photographer Laura McPhee, noted for her stunning large-scale landscapes and portraits of the people who live and work in them, has been traveling to eastern India for over a decade. There she has devoted her perceptive vision to picturing layers of history, culture, religion, and class as they appear in private heritage homes and public markets, in lively street festivals, and in the faces of city dwellers in Calcutta (also known as Kolkata).
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This exquisitely produced book features a selection of McPheeandrsquo;s works made in and around Indiaandrsquo;s former capital. Here we glimpse courtyards, living spaces, temples, and altars as both vestiges of the past and elements of contemporary urban existence. McPheeandrsquo;s images sensitively penetrate the surface to show the blurred boundaries between social classes, the blending of public and private life, and the resonance between India and other parts of the world. Also included are a foreword by Amitav Ghosh on the historical divisions inherent in the cityandrsquo;s culture and on the nature of McPheeandrsquo;s work, and an essay by art historian Romita Ray on the ways McPhee captures and distills the remnants of colonial Calcutta in her photographs of the contemporary city.
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Synopsis
The first substantial exploration of the picturesque in British India, revealing how the Indian landscape generated fresh ways of presenting this concept to British artists and writers.
Synopsis
Under the Banyan Tree is the first comprehensive study of the evolution and flourishing of the picturesque during the British Raj. Romita Ray argues that this concept allowed British artists and writers traveling in India to aestheticize the Indian landscape, its people, and the biota (the banyan tree and the elephant, above all). These ideas not only shaped specific landscapes in India, but also fed the imagination of a global audience throughout the British empire. The material in this engaging text ranges from river landscapes and tea plantations to elephants and bejeweled Indian princes, shedding light on how the concepts of picturesque beauty and pleasure were diversified in India, sometimes dramatically beyond their conventional parameters. Exquisitely illustrated with unusual and beautiful images, Under the Banyan Tree is both a starting point for examining the function of the picturesque and an insightful addition to scholarship investigating British art and empire in the 18th and 19th centuries.
About the Author
Laura McPhee is professor of photography and Joanne Lukitsh is professor of art history at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. McPheeand#8217;s books include No Ordinary Land: Encounters in a Changing Environment, Forces of Change: A New View of Nature, and Girls: Ordinary Girls and Their Extraordinary Pursuits. Lukitsh is the author of Julia Margaret Cameron and other publications in the history of photography. Robert Hass was United States poet laureate from 1995 through 1997. His most recent collection of poems, Time and Materials, won the 2007 National Book Award in poetry.