Germaine Krull: Photographer of Modernity [Hardcover]

Kim Sichel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 10, 1999

Germaine Krull (1897-1985) led an extraordinary life that spanned ninedecades and four continents. She witnessed many of the high points ofmodernism and recorded some of the major upheavals of the twentiethcentury. Her photographs include avant-garde montages, ironic studiesof female nudes, press propaganda shots, as well as some of the mostsuccessful commercial and fashion images of her day. Her politicalcommitments led her from communist allegiance to incarceration inRussia as a counterrevolutionary to support of the Free French causeagainst Hitler to a reclusive existence among Tibetan monks inIndia. Kim Sichel's study of this remarkable artist reveals a life ofdeep convictions, implausible transformations, complex emotionalrelationships, and inspired achievements. Krull refused to limit herself to one long-term relationship, onegeographical region, or one set of religious and moralbeliefs. Contemporary critics ranked her with Man Ray and AndréKertesz. Younger photographers such as Berenice Abbott looked up toher. Yet until recently the absence of an archive has made a properevaluation of Krull's contribution to photography and to modernismdifficult if not impossible. In this book Sichel examines Krull'sautobiographical texts and photographic oeuvre to present and unravelthe rich mythology that Krull fabricated around her life and work. Thechapters follow the geographical and chronological sequence of Krull'slife, moving from Munich to Moscow to Berlin to Amsterdam to Paris toBrazil to Africa to Bangkok and other locations. This book, whichaccompanies the first major retrospective exhibition on Krull, shouldsecure Krull's rightful place among the masters of twentieth-centuryphotography. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:Museum FolkwangEssen, GermanyOctober 1999 - December 1999Haus der KunstMunich, GermanyDecember 1999 - February 2000San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco, CaliforniaMarch - June 2000KunsthalRotterdam, the NetherlandsAugust - September 2000Centre PompidouParis, FranceNovember - December 2000

Product Details

• Hardcover: 363 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1ST edition (December 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262194015
• ISBN-13: 978-0262194013
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #834,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully printed - clearly written, May 30, 2000

By 

Becky Senf - See all my reviews

This review is from: Germaine Krull: Photographer of Modernity (Hardcover)

This book is a beautiful book about German photographer Germain Krull. Her career spanned the 20th century and several continents. Her work during the 1920s in Paris helped shape the modern photographic style, and Kim Sichel's writing about this photographer is clear and insightful. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in influential women or in photography.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best retrospective book of 1999, May 9, 2000

By 

D. Power (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Germaine Krull: Photographer of Modernity (Hardcover)

I was on the Maine Photographic Workshop's 1999 Golden Light Award committee (with photographers Slyvia Plachy and Len Jenshel, in April 2000), and we voted this best retrosepctive photography book of 1999. It's a comprehensive, lively, and engagingly designed overview of this intriguiing but little-known artist's work. Our critieria: books we'd want to have on our shelves at home. Coming from a photo book publisher, 'nuff said.