Michael Kenna (Bilingual edition)
by Chantal Colleu-Dumond, Françoise Reynaud
Published on the occasion of the exhibition "Arbres" organized at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, this catalogue gathers the most beautiful photographs of trees by Michael Kenna.
The famous photographer travels the world, from France to New Zealand, through the United States and South Korea, to immortalize trees and forests. In this book, the dense forests and their gaps of light as well as the tiny trees isolated within idyllic landscapes highlight the diversity of the photographed specimens as much as the plurality of the compositions.
Exclusively in black and white, these photographs allow us to cross the seasons while reinventing the colours that are traditionally associated with them to focus on the interaction between the opaque and delicate black of the tree and a fleecy light that generates wonderful atmospheric effects. On rare occasions, the existence of human civilizations can be seen: some road sections, buildings, fences and stakes or, more surprisingly, slippers, constitute the only traces of human presence. Elsewhere, the perfect and regular alignment of trees along a road shows human intervention.
Hardcover
Brand New
Author Biography
Chantal Colleu-Dumond is Director of Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire in France.
Françoise Reynaud is Photography historian and curator at Musée Carnavalet in Paris.
Promotional
Michael Kenna at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire
Long Description
Ethereal black-and-white treescapes from a master of long-exposure photography Published to accompany the eponymous exhibition at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire in France, this catalog gathers a stunning selection of photographs of trees by English-born, Seattle-based photographer Michael Kenna (born 1954). For over 40 years, Kenna has been traveling around the world with his camera immortalizing trees and forests in his signature ethereal lighting, which he achieves by working in the early morning and late-night hours, and through his use of extremely long exposure times, often lasting up to 10 hours. Captured exclusively in black and white, these idyllic images are divorced from both seasonal and geographical context, emphasizing the diversity and plurality of the photographed specimens. On rare occasions, the existence of human civilizations peeks through in his work: some road sections, buildings, fences and stakes or, more surprisingly, slippers, constitute the only traces of human presence. This flattening of setting and simplification of subject allows us to reimagine the colors that are traditionally associated with trees and focus on the interaction between the opaque, delicate black of their branches and the fleecy light that filters through them, generating the wonderful atmospheric effect so distinctive to Kenna's photography.
Promotional "Headline"
Michael Kenna at Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire
Details
