On the Beach [Hardcover]

Richard Misrach (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1597110485 | ISBN-13: 978-1597110488 | Edition: First Edition

Richard Misrach, one of today's most prolific contemporary masters, is internationally renowned for his carefully considered, beautifully rendered epic works. In On the Beach, a lavishly produced, oversized monograph that features the long-awaited publication of this spectacular series, Misrach hones in on our delicate relationship to the sea.Light, color, and form are crucial components in Misrach's explorations of difficult subjects. In this body of work he uses a gorgeous, slowly shifting color palette gleaned from changes in depth and tide; abstract patterns of waves and rippling water, and beaches both empty and cluttered. Throughout the series, Misrach carefully balances the minutiae of human gesture against the massive scale of the sea. In some images, a lone figure floats in a liquid field of brilliant turquoise--or in others, lies beached and partially buried. The details in the images are frequently ambiguous. Are the figures relaxed or drained of life? Cavorting in the surf or panicking in the riptide? The balance is a fragile one between control and surrender to the elements. As Misrach says, the work is "suffused with a sense of the sublime, but it also begins to expose our vulnerability and fragility as human beings."At 20 x 16 inches, On the Beach is the largest book ever published by Aperture, and also the first major publication of new work by Misrach in many years. It accompanies a major touring exhibition, with stops in Chicago, Honolulu, Seattle and at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.--a venue that very rarely shows the work of living artists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The frequently stunning images in On The Beach resist easy categorisation... Neither wholly documentary nor art, his photographs derive their richness from the ambiguities, the complexities and the subtleties of their fusion of moral content, aesthetic quality and historical contingency." -- Guy Lane --Foto8

"On The Beach is a lavishly produced, oversized monograph that features our delicate relationship with the ocean." --Photo District News

"His gull's-eye views of beach and shimmering blue water, intricately textured swathes of color punctuated by the forms of solitary swimmers and sunbathers, are collected in On the Beach, a stunningly vibrant visual meditation on 'the precarious nature of life itself.'" --O: The Oprah Magazine

"...there is a menacing grandeur about his new series of pictures, all shot at an unnamed beach, all relentless in highlighting the smallness and fragility of the human form, splashing, swimming, lying on the sand... the images evoke a sense of anxiety, but they are also masterpieces of color and dreamy abstraction, of shifting light and changing moods." -- Luke Barr --Travel + Leisure

"The images reveal abstract patterns of waves and rippling water, and beaches both empty and cluttered. Misrach's photographs carefully balance the minutiae of human gesture against the massive scale of the sea and the details in these images are frequently ambiguous. The balance is a fragile one between control and surrender to the elements." --Flak Photo blog

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Aperture; First Edition edition (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597110485
• ISBN-13: 978-1597110488
• Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 15.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,154,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lavish, beautiful special book, October 27, 2007

By 

Dan Harris "Dan Harris" (Hollywood, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Beach (Hardcover)

'On the Beach' rivals 99% of art books as a production, which is a strong enough feat to deserve 5 stars. But the series itself is so good that when presented in this format, the book is likely to be one of the best of this decade... or any. Larger than any books at a print-standard 16x20 inches, the book is massive and beautifuly produced; for 5% of the price of the large format Taschen series, it delivers a far superior experience. 'On the Beach' takes you from coast to coast, reflecting on man's relationship to the ocean. After one trip through its pages, you can really feel a statement on how truly vast the earth is; how we exist as ants in this endless universe. I've never been a huge fan of Misrach's before, but something special has been made here: the combination of a grand, beautiful, thoughtful series produced into a huge-format book worthy of a museum director's coffee table. It won't be any surprise to me when it wins awards; it's the best book of the year... or last year. Buy it before it's gone.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Fine, December 23, 2007

By 

S. G. Anderson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Beach (Hardcover)

I purchased the book after seeing an exhibition of this work at The Art Institute of Chicago. This book does a fine job of capturing the impact of the exhibition. The images are stunning and perfectly supported by the design and scale of this book. Well worth the price.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RICHARD MISRACH, December 22, 2007

By 

Jerome H. Kay "JEROME H KAY" (ENCINITAS, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: On the Beach (Hardcover)

RICHARD MISRACH SIMPLY AMAZES ME WITH ALL HIS PHOTO PROJECTS. FROM DESERT CANTOS , THE SKY BOOK , SAN FRANSICO BRIDGE BOOK.WE ARE AWAKENED BY HIS ON THE BEACH PROJECT. A MOST INTERESTING AND SOPHISTICATED PUBLICATION TO DATE.A MUST FOR A PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK COLLECTOR.