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Monteith, Matthew (Photographer) & Klima, Ivan (Contributor).
MATTHEW MONTEITH: CESKY RAJ ("MATTHEW MONTEITH: CZECH EDEN") .
New York City, NY:
Aperture Foundation,
2007.
Hardcover.
First Edition/First Printing.
80 pages.
As New/As New.
The photographer's breakthrough collection. One of the most beautiful art photography books of the year 2007. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. A brilliant production by Matthew Monteith and Aperture Foundation: Oversize-volume format in oblong shape. Pictorial hard boards with titles on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Matthew Monteith. Introduction by Ivan Klima, one of the greatest living Czech writers. Printed on thick coated stock paper by Mondadori in Milan, Italy to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Matthew Monteith's debut collection, which consists entirely of photographs of the newly formed Czech Republic. Czechoslovakia was a Soviet "satellite" state, brutally controlled, repressed, and kept together by Moscow. It broke up under bitterly divisive circumstances into two separate states shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its first President, the legendary Vaclav Havel, left the country in disappointment and lives in self-imposed exile in Portugal. Monteith, now in his early 30's, was born and grew up in the United States, keenly aware of Czechoslovakia's natural beauty and cultural heritage: Europeans, including the French, consider Prague to be the second most beautiful European city (after Paris) and Franz Kafka to be the greatest writer of the 20th century, among other sources of national pride. He kept the lovely old postcards he got and eventually discovered the Czech photographic tradition of Josef Sudek and Josef Koudelka, which is second to none. A graduate of Yale University, he is one of Philip-Lorca diCorcia's most talented disciples, and the latter's influence (together with those of Joel Sternfeld and Alec Soth) is subtly and unmistakably evident in the collection. "When he first visited The Czech Republic, Monteith was taken by the details of ordinary life of a country in transition. Captivated by the ineffable, a mood, a sense of place, he made repeated visits, and from 2001-2003, travelled throughout the country with his camera, in hopes of creating a contemporary allegory that would reflect the ideals he had observed in Czech photography from the 1920's and 1930's. Combining restraint, brilliant color, and a thoughtful attention to the uncanny, Monteith's photographs parallel a venerable tradition staked out by masters like Joel Sternfeld and Alec Soth. Though at times foreboding, an energetic optimism and humor pervades Monteith's work. His meticulously composed and beautifully produced images focus on individuals, landscapes, oddly stilled cityscapes, and the traces of the country's long and complex history. Not a literal description or documentation but rather a parable, in which the viewer encounters individuals and environments that are cohesive yet contradictory, beautiful but unsettling" (Aperture Foundation). Singled out by Martin Parr and encouraged by Mitch Epstein when he was just starting to exhibit his photographs, "Cesky Raj/Czech Eden" is the fulfillment of his hopes and dreams and great promise. A "must-have" title for photography book collectors. This copy is prominently and beautifully signed in black fountain pen on the title page by Matthew Monteith. This title will become highly collectible. This is one of very few signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition still available online and has no flaws, a pristine beauty. A very scarce signed copy thus. 80 color plates. One of the most brilliant living American photographers. A flawless copy. . ISBN 1597110329. $100.00 |
