Josef Koudelka: the Exiles Hb [Hardcover]

Marc Riboud (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1997

This collection of pictures by an acknowledged master of photography, now updated to include 11 new images, forms a document of the spiritual and physical state of exile. The sense of private mystery that fills these photographs - mostly taken during Koudelka's many years of wandering through Europe and the United States since leaving his native Czechoslovakia - speaks of passion and reserve, of his "rage to see". The images here interrogate and penetrate, and reflect the nature of alienation. The accompanying essay by Robert Delpire invokes the soul of man in search of a spiritual homeland. Josef Koudelka's photographs of the Warsaw Pact armies' intervention in Prague won him the Robert Capa Gold Medal in 1969. In 1970 he left Czechoslovakia for asylum in England and became a member of Magnum Photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In these black-and-white photographs, Koudelka looks at incongruous images, things laying about on sidewalks, and people in grainy and stark surroundings. These images are underpinned by Koudelka's stark composition and the graininess of the photographs themselves. The photographs are beautiful, not because they present pretty images, but because they reveal the realities and oddities of life. Nobel prize-winning poet Milosz contributes an essay on the meaning of exile that is thoughtful but doesn't add to the photographs, which need no words. A good choice for photography collections. Steven Hupp, Eisenhower P.L., Harwood Heights, Ill.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Koudelka's unsentimental, stark, brooding, intensely human imagery reflects his own spirit, the very essence of an exile who is at home wherever his wandering body finds haven in the night. . . ." --Cornell Capa, Founder, International Center of Photography

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 156 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 2nd edition (October 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500542082
• ISBN-13: 978-0500542088
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,055,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Images to look at when you shut off the news, April 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Exiles (Hardcover)

In the past couple of weeks, with the war in Kosovo, I was reminded of these photographs...seeing the images of the refugees, Albanian Kosovars in exile, day after day on the news is a stunning experience...I'm curious as to how other people process these images, what kind of individuality they attribute to the people that make up the masses in flight....if they have any way of identifying with them or forming true sympathetic feelings. I remember that seeing these photographs by Koudelka was a lesson of sorts in processing this kind of experience that is impossible to imagine in any real way unless you ever find yourself in the middle of it. News photos don't do enough to bring the reality home...Koudelka's photos and poetry fill in the gaps.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book by a wonderful photographer, July 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exiles (Hardcover)

Koudelka is an amazing photographer! Every young photographer must see these pictures.