8 10 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113Also out nowThelatestandbestbooksandexhibitionsfrom the world of photographyLiteraryParis:
APhotographicTour
ByNicholeRobertson,ChronicleBooks,£11.99,
128 pages, hardback,ISBN978-1-
FEWBIBLIOPHILEScanresista
booknook– thatcornerof a room
furnishedwitha comfychairanda
stackof bookssilentlyurgingyouto
loseyourselfin a literaryadventure.
AuthorNicholeRobertsonis clearly
a loverof books,andanadmirerof theFrenchcapital
(seeherbooksParisin ColorandParisin Love). Her
photographictourof thecity’shistoricbookshops,
libraries,marketsandcafesis classicInstagramfodder:
allsquare-formatpictures,pasteltones,andsoft
naturallight.Viewedseparatelysomeshotsarea
littleweak,butseenenmassetheeffectis pleasing
enough.Quotesfromthelikesof JoyceandProustare
scatteredthroughoutthebook,andRobertsonhas
includedanindexof locations,anda timelineof literary
highlights.It’sa niceadditiontoherbrand,butfeelsa
touch one-dimensional.★★★★★Tracy Calder© 20TH CENTURY-FOX FILM CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDWork & Workers‘Work& Workers’is at theAmberGalleryin Newcastle uponTyneuntil8 September.Entry is free.
Visitwww.amber-online.com for details.E
verythingchangedin the18th
century.It wasaroundthistime
thatWilliamBlakewitnessed
thecountlessfactoriesspring
uparoundtheBritishlandscapeandspew
greatcolumnsof blacksmokeintotheair,
arguablysignallingthebeginningsof global
warming.Blake’sreferenceto ‘dark,Satanic
mills’speaksnotjustabouttheimposing
natureof thesestructuresbutalsoof his
fearof theimpendingexploitationthat
wouldresultfromtheIndustrialRevolution.
It’sa sentimentechoedbybothKarlMarx
andFriedrichEngelsinDasKapitalwhich
appearedjusta littlewhilelater.Theycould
seethatpeoplewouldbecometrappedin
the inescapable maze of menial work,reducedto cogsin a tirelessmachine.
Capitalismhadarrivedand,despiteMarx
andEngels’bestefforts,it remainswithus
to thisday.Asa result,thenotionof work
andemployment,whetherwelikeit ornot,
is aninherentqualitythatnotonlydefines
whoweareto ourselvesbutalsoto how
wearepotentiallyperceivedbythose
aroundus.It is a conceptthatis political,
social,culturalandeconomic.
Thisfantasticexhibitiontakesa wide
viewof theconceptof employmentand
presents 242 imagesthatattemptto
surveywhatit meanstolivein a world
thatdemandsweworkforourfood.A
greatnumberof photographersare
represented,suchasNickHedges,Chris
Killip,TishMurthaandSimonNorfolk.
Wealsoseea greatrangein typesof
employment.Steelworkersfromthepast
sharegalleryspacewithsweatingand
frenziedkitchenstaffin modernexclusive
restaurants.Mostimportantly,it gives
eachworkera face.Fortheperiodin
whichyouviewtheseimages,theyare
nolongerfacelessdrones.Theyare
humanbeings.Thatmakesthisexhibition
absolutelyvitaland well worth a trip.
Oliver AtwellTheimpressive
exhibitionincludes
thisimage,
‘Tyneside coalyards’BOOKBOOKEXHIBITIONIOnlyHaveEyesForYou
ByAliceHarris,powerHouseBooks,£25, 112
pages, hardback,ISBN978-1-57687-819-
FROMManRay’s‘GlassTears’toWilliam
Wegman’s‘Eyewear’,authorAliceHarris
hascompileda highlyevocativeseriesof
imagesof humanandanimaleyes.Not
purelyaboutphotography,thebook
alsoshowcasesartfromthelikesof Roy
Lichtenstein,DaVinci,Warhol,PicassoandMagritte.
Theimagerycomesat theviewerin anunexpected
way,andthecombinationof photographywithpainting
andillustrationgivesthebooka surrealfeel.The
choiceof photographsis firstclassanddemonstrates
a deepunderstandingof classiceyeimages,including
theworkof BarryLategan,MartinSchoeller,Guy
Bourdin,RalphMorseandMartineFranck.
Despitea lackof explanatorytext,thisbookis quirky,
funandeasytodipin to.You’llprobablyfindyourself
beingdrawnbacktoit toflip through it time and again.
★★★★★Steve FaircloughBy various photographersMore than 200 images are on displayElizabethTayloras
Cleopatra, 1963© ISABELA JEDRZEJCZYK