Kenro Izu: Sacred Places [Hardcover]

Kenro Izu (Photographer), Clark Worswick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 10, 2001

During the 1980s, Kenro Izu began making photographs of difficult-to-reach places. Invariably, for want of a better description, these were places that were possessed of "spirituality." Izu made "documents" of places of worship as diverse as Easter Island, Teotihuacan, Angkor Wat, Stonehenge, the monuments of the Chinese Silk Road, Palmyra, Mustang, Hampi, the caves of Ajanta, Borobudur, Pagan, and Lhasa. The work was painstakingly slow. Since creating those first images in the 1980s, Izu has continued his travels, making numerous journeys to these out-of-the-way places. Sacred Places, which follows the success of Still Life, Izu's first book with Arena Editions, represents the first major compilation of these magnificent travel images-images that truly defy simple description. His is a vision that has literally been hacked and honed until the photographs are totally minimalist documents, to which nothing can be added and from which absolutely nothing can be subtracted. It is a vision totally outside of the ordinary photographic parameters of our time.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Arena Editions (October 10, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892041472
• ISBN-13: 978-1892041470
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 10 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,970 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection, December 25, 2002

By 

Ed Photographer "edphotographer" (Northampton, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenro Izu: Sacred Places (Hardcover)

Last month I saw Izu's original platinum prints at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the richness and subtlety of the gray tones in the photographs nearly brought me to tears. On my return home, I bought the book from Amazon as a Christmas present to myself.

Izu is a special photographer and this is a special book. The reproductions are superb; this is the highest-quality photography book I own (I am a photographer).

If "Sacred Places" is out-of-stock, it is worth seeking out. Along with David Heald's "Architecture of Silence" (which I also own--available from Amazon), it will form the basis of the "mini-library" I am assembling for the little meditation corner of my photo studio. It's hard not to get hyberbolic about these two books, but they are not only art but also true touchstones of the spirit.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mastery and Artistry, October 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Kenro Izu: Sacred Places (Hardcover)

Izu currently is on exhibit at the Freer Museum in DC. In one photo an ancient Budhist temple is illuminated despite being surrounded by the shadow of the mountains it is nested within. I marvelled aloud at this incredible, seemingly impossible shot and another patron walked up as said, "The man has patience."
I bought the book at the gift shop. Five years ago I bought a book of Izu's Angar Wat shots. He's phenomenal. I don't know if Adams would grin or sweat. The platinum process is exquisite. His composure travels into the mystic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New edition coming out!, March 13, 2007

By 

let - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kenro Izu: Sacred Places (Hardcover)

Just wanted to inform potential purchaser that a new edition may be coming out with a different publisher. Izu is expected to have an exhibition later this year/early next year. Pls don't pay these outrageous prices for a wonderful book.