Life Below: The New York City Subway [Hardcover]

Christophe Agou (Author, Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004

Since the early 1990s, Christophe Agou, a French photographer, has been taking pictures of New York. He has developed a love for the city and an uncanny feel for the look of the ordinary. The New York subway has captured the imaginations of photographers from Walter Evans to Bruce Davidson. But never has it been so powerfully and lyrically portrayed as in Agou's carefully orchestrated sequences where the searing images haunt and intrigue us at the same time. Bridging the worlds of documentary and art photography, Life Below is a series of frozen moments, revealing fear, love, affection, stress and solitude. These are compellingly intimate photographs of people from all walks of life, in a meditative state before they put on a mask.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shot between 1997 and 2000, French photojournalist Agou's subway portraits stick to the gritty b&w protocol set by generations before him and deliver satisfying set pieces. An exhausted Latino worker sprawled out on the steps in the heat, waiting interminably for the train; a sensitive looking Clark Kent type in madras shorts staring blankly out the window of a passing train; an emaciated nun dozing but alert; trash blowing above grates; the bulging stomach of a mid-level employee in outdated shirt and tie; a tangle of wires leading to an antiquated P.A. speaker—it's all here, including what looks like a pool of blood on a concrete concourse. The printing of these 64 duotones is sharp, with a maximum of one photo per page and some spreads. As the publicity note states, New York City is considering banning "unauthorized" photography in the subway, so Agou's subject and style, which are commonplace now, may become rarer.
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About the Author

Christophe Agou's work has been published in major magazines, exhibited in Europe and the US and represented in numerous public collections, notably The Smithsonian Institution and Les Galaries Photo Fnac.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Quantuck Lane Press; First Edition edition (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593720084
• ISBN-13: 978-1593720087
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nyc subway......what a feeling, January 4, 2005

By 

Ruediger Glatz - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Below: The New York City Subway (Hardcover)

this book is a masterpiece of subway photography. the author/photographer caught exactly the feeling you have, when you travel with open eyes in the nyc subway........lots of different faces, bodies, fates,.......individuals.

i have travelled myself in many, many subway systems, but new york, as it is very special place itself, has the most interesting mix of people and he did catch this feeling with his camera.........he did protrait these individuals with the glimmering light of the subway.

a book i will often take to my hands in combination a nice glass of wine to relax and to shift to this amazing place.....

ruediger glatz

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THERE'S GUM ON MY SHOE, February 18, 2005

By 

ludido "ludido" (ny) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life Below: The New York City Subway (Hardcover)

1.A GREAT BOOK THAT BRINGS A NEW VISION TO THIS WELL DOCUMENTED PLACE

2.A POET AT WORK ,WHO JOINS ROBERT FRANK ,WALKER EVANS,GENE SMITH, IN THE CHURCH OF WHAT IS HAPPENING BABY!

3.A BOOK COLLECTORS ADVICE: BUY A BUNCH OF THESE ,OH WHAT A HOSTESS GIFT!

4.THANKS FOR A BEAUTIFUL BOOK ,MY GUESS IS THEY ARE ALSO BEAUTYFUL PRINTS IN ORIGINAL ,WELL THE PUBLISHER DID THE PHOTOGRAPHER PROUD.

5.POUNCE!!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must buy!, October 13, 2004

By 

Gregoire Eloy (Paris France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Below: The New York City Subway (Hardcover)

Several years of work by a very talented and inspiring photographer. Dramatic pictures, unseen since the Bruce Davidson's Subway. Definitely taking subway pictures to another level.