Flora Photographica The Flower in Contemporary Photography

About this book

Vivid, bold, spectacular and unexpected: a definitive overview of one of contemporary photography's most innovative fields, showcasing flower imagery by more than 120 of the world's leading practitioners.

There has never been a period in photography's long history – no school, no movement – when flowers have not been a central focus, whether in the form of the classic still life, the botanical study, incorporated into portraiture and studies of the human body, documented in street photography, or used subversively in surrealist collage and montage.

Today, flower photography remains in full bloom, with photographers the world over depicting flowers and floral motifs in novel ways. Featuring works by more than 120 photographers, Flora Photographica links the very best of flower photography from the past thirty years with its predecessors – canonical floral studies from the realms of photography, botanical illustration, drawing and painting that have marked the collective imagination for centuries, if not millennia.

Works by contemporary photographers such as Cindy Sherman, Thomas Ruff, Vik Muniz, Valerie Belin, Viviane Sassen, and Martin Schoeller appear across nine thematic chapters, complemented by two in-depth essays by curators William A. Ewing and Danae Panchaud exploring the relationship between contemporary works and the rich traditions of floral art and photography.

Contents

EMBLEM. SYMBOL. TOKEN. CODE.
ORIGINS
IN SITU
ENQUIRIES
Beneath the Lenticular Eye: The Flower in 21st-Century Photography
ARRANGEMENTS
ESSENCE
MUTATION
The Flowering of Photography
PERSONA
IMPOSTORS
FUGUE
REVERIE
Artists' Statements

Customer Reviews

Biography

William A. Ewing is an author, lecturer and curator of photography. Director of the Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne from 1996 to 2010, his many publications on photography include The Body (1994), Edward Burtynsky: Essential Elements (2016) and Civilization (2018), all published by Thames & Hudson.

Danaé Panchaud is a curator and lecturer specializing in photography. She is the director and curator of the Photoforum Pasquart in Biel, an exhibition centre dedicated to Swiss and international emerging photography.