According to the press release, Wynn Bullock: Revelations offers the most comprehensive assessment of the photographer's extraordinary career in nearly forty years. Produced by the High Museum of Art in partnership with the Center for Creative Photography to accompany a traveling exhibition, this retrospective traces Bullock's evolution from his early experimental work of the 1940s, through the mysterious black-and-white imagery of the 1950s and the colour light abstractions of the 1960s, to his late metaphysical photographs of the 1970s. The book presents 110 images, including some from the Bullock estate that have never been published before. An essay by the High's Curator of Photography Brett Abbott explores the nuances of Bullock's approach to photography and its fascinating relationship to the history of science and philosophy. All I can say is that it is long overdue. For release in June 2014. Published by University of Texas Press. Get it while you can. UPDATE Publication put back until late July 2014.
Conversations with the Masters interview 1971
Bullock website

Tags:Wynn Bullock

Michael Collins, London Winds and RNO play Dvorak’s Serenade for Wind. Such life enhancing music.

In 2012 I discovered the photography of the Finnish photographer, Pentti Sammallahti. Last year (2013) I had another lovely discovery, that of the Swedish photographer Gunnar Smoliansky. His first ever exhibition in the UK, at the age of 80, was held in the Michael Hopper Gallery in London and I subsequently read about it in Black and White Photography Magazine. Impressed by the photography in the magazine, I sought out his retrospective book One Picture at a Time published by Steidl in 2009.


The book covers his entire career, at the time of publication, 1952-2008 and is one generous book containing as it does over 230 tritone printed plates.



Smoliansky has said that he dislikes getting involved in projects preferring instead to take one picture at a time. A great title for the book, as the viewer is asked to experience the pictures one by one. There is no sequencing, images sit side by side independent of each other, strong, bold, enigmatic, playful, abstract, tender.



As Gerry Badger says in his concise essay in the book, ‘Smolliansky is not making art but responding to life’



At times one see’s the influence of photographers like Lee Friendlander, Aaron Siskind or even Andre Kertész. His compositional style is clean, precise, one might say classical.



Smoliansky has said that ‘You need fresh eyes and not experience when you are about to take a photograph'



The book also contains an essay by Marie Lundquist which is nicely spread out, a page at a time, throughout the book, encouraging one to read it as you encounter it.






As to the production of this book I can have only the highest of praise. Printed on a nicely weighted warm paper stock, the tritone printing is up to Steidl’s high standards. About 30cm x 30cm, it comes in a cloth bound hard cover with dust jacket.



At time of writing it seems difficult to get new but hopefully a second edition will come soon. This photographer deserves to be better known worldwide.

Gunnar Smoliansky’s website

Tags:Gunnar Smoliansky,steidl