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.
 |
Shop the Amazon.com Textbooks Store and save up to 70% on textbook rentals, 90% on used textbooks and 60% on eTextbooks. |
Book Description
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
"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
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Dan Harris
Format: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.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Mark
Format:Hardcover
this is a focused work of exceptional calibre. Its presentation is immaculate, and the topic is the beach... still life's or life frozen, the water mesmerizes, the people are sometimes mystifying, sometimes inconsequential, mostly always only a part of a whole much larger. The colours and the clarity of his shots are beautiful. Just make sure you have room for this work!
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Squirrel
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The large format of the images is really strinking. The book was much larger than I expected when I ordered it. I wonder if the prints would be as moving if they were smaller. But the size is part of the work so I guess that question might not matter. I imagine these images would be great alone on a wall as well. The images gave me sense of how limitless our universe is around us. We find things in life to ground us or anchor us but really we are just floating around in the ether.
By James Casper
Format:Hardcover
This is one of those exquisitely printed, oversized photo books that takes you out of yourself and out of your own immediate environment, and allows you to experience the weightless free-flying giddiness of a dreamlike vacation.
It's a joy to get lost in the beautiful natural expanses that act as abstract minimalist grounds dotted here and there with humans at peace and in repose. The late afternoon light captures the dimples of the sand and the ripples of the calm glowing surface of the sea.
What more can I say? Not much. And apparently the publisher knew that, too, because indeed there is only one short paragraph of text at the end written by the photographer.
If you are craving a totally relaxing tropical vacation, this is next best to the real thing.
-- Jim Casper
It's a joy to get lost in the beautiful natural expanses that act as abstract minimalist grounds dotted here and there with humans at peace and in repose. The late afternoon light captures the dimples of the sand and the ripples of the calm glowing surface of the sea.
What more can I say? Not much. And apparently the publisher knew that, too, because indeed there is only one short paragraph of text at the end written by the photographer.
If you are craving a totally relaxing tropical vacation, this is next best to the real thing.
-- Jim Casper
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
|
|
