Matthew Monteith: Czech Eden - Hardcover

Klima, Ivan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1597110329 ISBN 13: 9781597110327

Publisher: Aperture, 2007

Synopsis

When he first visited the Czech Republic in the 1990s, Matthew Monteith was taken with the details of ordinary life in this country in transition. Captivated by the ineffable―a mood, a sense of place―he made repeated visits and in 2001–3 traveled throughout the country photographing with the hope of creating a contemporary allegory that reflected ideals he had found in old postcards and Czech photography from the 1920s and ’30s. With their restraint, brilliant color, and thoughtful attention to the uncanny within the everyday, Monteith’s photographs parallel a venerable tradition staked out by masters such as Joel Sternfeld and embodied in contemporary work by practitioners such as Alec Soth. Though at times foreboding, Monteith’s work is pervaded by an energetic optimism and humor. Meticulously composed and beautifully produced images focus on individuals, landscapes, oddly stilled cityscapes, and the worn traces of the country’s long and complex history. Czech Eden is not a literal description or documentation, but rather a parable in which the viewer encounters individuals and environments that are cohesive yet contradictory, beautiful but unsettling.

About this title

Synopsis

The people, buildings, and landscape of Czechoslovakia are captured with art and frankness in the impressive photos of the young American Montieth (he received an MFA from Yale in 2004). An introduction to the collection is provided by Prague author Ivan Kl ma. The photos are presented in full-page plates in an oversize format (11.25x9.75"). Distri

Edition details

• Publisher: Aperture
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1597110329
• ISBN 13: 9781597110327
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 80