Customer Reviews

Ashes and Snow: New York Exhibition Catalog

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have collected photographic books over the past 30 years. This ranks among the top 3 books in my collection. It is simply stunning in its construction and in the uniqueness. The photographs are not only visually impressive but they simply speak to your soul. It has become quickly one of my favorite items to view. Strongly recommended.

It is rare to find a book that is so beautifully made, that it immediately strikes a strong positive aesthetic nerve, such as this Exhibition Catalogue of "Ashes and Snow" by Gregory Colbert. The design is "over-the-top" in originality, and no two books are the same in that they are hand made from raw materials, in a style reminiscent of early published titles. The images contained in this book capture the essence and beauty of the current Exhibition, and are terrifically reproduced for this book. If you have not seen the Exhibit, then the quality of the images will certainly provide an excellent sampling of Colbert's work; but, if you have seen the Exhibition with larger-than-life art, this work will bring back those beautiful images. This is an OUTSTANDING Exhibition Catalogue, which pushes the envelope on originality, created to be as beautiful as the works it contains. Kudos to Colbert and his design team! FIVE STARS!

This is one of the most moving books I have ever been blessed to put my eyeballs on. The images are haunting, poignant, irresistable, and inexpressibly beautiful. Their presentation in handmade italian paper, with the cover made from Nepalese paper, is breathtaking. I saw the exhibit in New York City, and would travel the six and a half hours (each way) by bus just to see this exhibit again. Absent my ability to do that, this beautiful little book will feed my heart and soul for years to come. Sure it is expensive. How often can you nourish your soul with beauty as compelling, as spiritual, as moving, as transcendant as this? It is worth every penny.

The Nomadic Museum, a facility constructed onsite in various locales (now in Santa Monica, CA) out of boxcars, cartons, and pipes is in itself an artwork and the peripatetic museum houses some wispy photographs by Gregory Colbert of moments of world observation that in context are strangely moving. The object is to bring the spirit of mankind into a space outside the usual exhibition venues and in doing so it becomes an experience for the people.

The catalogue that accompanies this show is equally impressive in its conception. No two books are alike in that they are created from handmade Italian paper and bound in a cover made from unique paper from Nepal. The photographs reproduced well in the catalogue languish from being reductions of the oversized images form the exhibition, but the flavor is there. Images of robed children and adults, animals both alone and in tandem with humans, bits and pieces of atmosphere form a journeyman's eye take on a significance that surpasses the original works.

The catalogue for the exhibition is pricey due tot he one of a kind quality of presentation. But for those who want to forgo the expense, there is also a version of the images (paperback with 48 pages as opposed to the 232 pages of this volume) available through this site. If you are unable to experience the exhibition (for that is truly what the exhibition is about) then this art book form of the catalogue is a substantive memento of a unique artistic experience. Grady Harp, January 06

I cannot highly enough recommend either the exhibit or any of the accompanying materials: books, poster, etc. We waited to see this for 2 years, until it went to CA.

I bought the full exhibition catalogue, the DVD of the 60 minute film and two posters and are extremely happy with everything. Everyone we show them to is excited and fascinated by the pictures and the artist.

I can't imagine being disappointed at all.

I recently attended the Ashes and Snow exhibition in New York. The show was good,if a bit reptative. Its location, The Noamadic Museum is an engineering marvel and seems more like a gothic cathedral than shipping containers (Frankly seeing the photos in the building is a truly awesome esperience). After the show I went to book store to pick up the catalog and found it was selling on site for $130. This is way way too much money for what you're getting. Like all of the materials for sale connected to the exhibit you're paying for the presentation rather than the pictures themselves, all of which are reproduced in a much too small size. What you're paying for is the binding and while the binding might, with some better interior material, be worth $130 or more, here its simply a major rip off. Gregory Colbert has those of us who like his work over a barrel and he's going to squeeze every last penny from us. While I do like the images, I can not recommend anyone buying the catalog, or any other material connected with the show, at the wildly inflated prices they are asking.

Go see the show instead, its only twelve bucks and you get to see the glorious space they've built to house it.

She loved it