| book details |

The Instant and Its Shadow: A Story of Photography

By (author) Jean-Christophe Bailly, Translated by Samuel E. Martin

This book is currently unavailable. Enquire to check if we can source a used copy

| enquire |

| book description |

A compelling and innovative reflection on the way photography captures and condenses time Two photographs, connected by a ladder, separated by a century. First, William Henry Fox Talbot photographed a faithfully realistic image of a ladder against a haystack in the English countryside.One hundred years later, an anonymous photographer captured another ladder, â€œphotographedâ€ alongside an incinerated man by the blinding light of the atomic bomb. These two images underpin a poetic and theoretical reflection on the origins of photographic technique, the imaginative power of montage, and the relation of photography to time itself in Jean-Christophe Baillyâ€™s The Instant and Its Shadow, translated into English for the very first time. A rare find of intellectual caliber and theoretical rigor, The Instant and Its Shadow pursues a unique and powerful reflection on the first hundred years of photographyâ€™s history and on the essence of the photographic art in general. Inspired by the unexpected coming together of these two iconic images, the book begins by retracing Talbotâ€™s invention of the photographic calotype in the early nineteenthcentury, highlighting the paradox that saw Talbot wishing to imitate the representative arts of painting and drawing while simultaneously liberating the image from any imitative paradigm. This analysis leads Bailly to elucidate photographyâ€™s relation to material and visual reality. A meditation on photographyâ€™s seeming ability to stop time follows, concluding with the photographs of Hiroshima and the photographic nature of the atomic bomb. Building on an inspired juxtaposition of The Haystack with the Hiroshima photographs, the book becomes a testament to the potency of photomontage, arguing that â€œthe more singular an image, the greater its connective power.â€ Baillyâ€™s book is at once a lyrical homage to some of the founding texts of photographic theory and a startling reminder of the uncanny power of photography itself. Part theoretical reflection, part lyrical reverie, The Instant and Its Shadow is packed with profound and stellar insights about the medium.

| product details |

| other options |

| back |

| your trolley |

To view the items in your trolley please sign in.

| sign in |

| specials |

Bonsai Success in Southern Africa

Carl Morrow
Paperback / softback
160 pages
was: R 320.95
now: R 288.95
Stock is usually dispatched in 6-12 days from date of order

In this uniquely Southern African book, Carl Morrow and Keith Kirsten guide readers step by step into the magical realms of bonsai as a hobby, horticultural practice and art form.

| more |

| add to trolley |

The Ballerina and the Bull: Anarchist Utopias in the Age of Finance

Johanna Isaacson
Paperback / softback
288 pages
was: R 306.95
now: R 275.95
This title will take longer to obtain, and should be delivered in 6-8 weeks

Our moment has seen the resurgence of an anarchist sensibility, from the uprisings in Seattle in 1999 to the Occupy movement of 2011.

| more |

| add to trolley |

Fifteen Dogs

AndrÃ© Alexis
Paperback / softback
176 pages
was: R 280.95
now: R 252.95
Available from overseas. Dispatched in aprox 4-8 weeks as local supplier is out of stock

A pack of dogs are granted the power of human thought - but what will it do to them? A surprising and insightful look at the beauty and perils of consciousness.

| more |

| add to trolley |