- Hardcover: 152 pages
- Publisher: Steidl; annotated edition edition (23 April 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 3865213804
- ISBN-13: 978-3865213808
- Product Dimensions: 34.1 x 26 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 236,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon documents spaces that are integral to Americas foundation, mythology and daily functioning, but remain inaccessible or unknown to a public audience. She has photographed rarely seen sites from domains including: science, government, medicine, entertainment, nature, security and religion. This index examines subjects that, while provocative or controversial, are currently legal. The work responds to a desire to discover unknown territories, to see everything. Simon makes use of the annotated-photographs capacity to engage and inform the public. Transforming that which is off-limits or under-the-radar into a visible and intelligible form, she confronts the divide between the privileged access of the few and the limited access of the public. Photographed with a large format view camera (except when prohibited), Simons 70 colour plates form a seductive collection that reflects and reveals a national identity.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
photos and text,
By Un francais en angleterre (Londres, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (Hardcover)
the photos would stand on their own, but the narrative associated with each one of them makes the book stand apart. If you want to know more about the author and her work before buying the book I would recommend the video that can be found on ted.com.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully considered,
By
This review is from: Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (Hardcover)
This is a fantastic selection of some of the oddest and unique photos I've come across. Really beautifully considered, both from the photographic and design perspective and for the window into a dark underbelly of American culture that is revealed in the text. I would recommend this book highly. Enjoy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews) 6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like having an art museum all to yourself,
By Jan in NC - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (Hardcover)
I like the big white pages. To me, it feels like being in a gallery, without the background chatter and the one woman with too much perfume who talks too loud, you know who you are. All the white space lets you focus on just that photo, that moment. The detailed captions are a treat for the mind.This isn't a book of snapshots. Each photo demands contemplation and admiration that she got consent to access this location. Except Disney, of course. Their letter of rejection and their reasoning at the end is droll, compared to what she was granted permission to capture. Several of these locations I knew of. Many I didn't. Some are upsetting, as they should be. Bravo! 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A little disappointed,
By R. Watson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (Hardcover)
I purchased this book following a visit to a superb exhibition containing many of the photos in the book. The concept, the photographs, and the accompanying text for each image, were absolutely enthralling in the exhibition. Photos in the exhibition were all quite large, and many were incredibly complex. We spent a long time examining each one. As you might expect, the photos in the book are not nearly as large (duh!), but also were not reproduced with the same clarity. Much of the detail is lost and some of the images seem very dark. I have to say I was a bit disappointed, as I had purchased two copies of the book as gifts for people who were unable to attend the exhibition; although I knew there would be a loss of quality in each reproduced image, I was not expecting the loss to be as great. It is a shame, because Taryn Simon's work is exceptional.
10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taryn Simon Is Artistically All Over The Map, But This Book Confirms Her Status As One Of Our Most Important Photographers,
By John Kwok - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Taryn Simon: An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar (Hardcover)
Having seen the small exhibition at the Whitney Museum devoted to this body of work (It's currently on view there until early June.), I strongly believe that this book confirms what many people - myself included - have thought of fellow Brunonian Taryn Simon's work ever since she made her spectacular debut with "The Innocents" a few years ago. "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" demonstrates that she has become one of our most important documentary photographers, stretching her artistic terrain to encompass much more than the fine environmental portraiture that she demonstrated so well in "The Innocents". Stylistically, Simon is indeed all over the map, but she still has made memorable color images which pay homage to work from the likes of Lewis Baltz, Richard Mishrach, Walker Evans and Richard Avedon to name but a few (I might add too that like most of these photographers, Simon works primarily with a large format camera, using availiable light only to photograph her subjects.). If there is a serious artistic criticism to be made of her latest body of work, then it's probably one related to her sequencing of images (It's a point that I've remembered vividly well from an intermediate photography course I had taken years before, which was taught by distinguished photographer Harold Jones, the founding director of both New York City's Light Gallery and the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography.) - though this may be more the fault of her editors than of Ms. Simon herself. If you're unfamiliar with Simon's memorable imagery, then "An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar" is a superb place to begin your artistic journey.
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