Salt Dreams [Hardcover]

Jimmy Katz (Photographer), Dena Katz (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

Leaving the bustle of the music scene of New York City, where they now live and work, photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz headed out West to make a personal landscape project in and around the Salt Flats of northern Utah. Standing on the shore of the Great Salt Lake with a stark, almost surreal view stretching ahead, they came upon a trio of plastic pink flamingoes abandoned in the water. Inspired by the odd juxtaposition of the timeless and transient, they circled the lake seeking other such moments, and then pushed on to the flats. Again and again they discovered human possessions and personal obsessions flung onto the salt surface against undulating mountains and boundless sky. They became intrigued by the inventors who, with their hand-built hotrods, racecars, and rockets, participate in the annual rituals and races on the Salt Flats—making their own statement in the landscape. The photographs of people and objects that the Katz’s encountered are collected for the first time in Salt Dreams, an ironic and haunting comment on the audacity and fragility of human dreams, and a new dream itself.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in New York City, photographer Jimmy Katz spent more than a decade based in Utah as a mountaineer and Nordic skier, photographing the desert and mountainous terrain. He often contributed photographs and articles to climbing publications about his expeditions and first-ski descents in remote areas of the world. Back in New York, he established himself as a well-known music photographer, shooting over 250 recording projects and more than 60 Jazz magazine covers. Although he lives in New York City, Katz is still closely connected to the American West, where he often finds inspiration for his personal projects.

Dena Katz was born and educated in Moscow, in the former Soviet Union. She met Jimmy Katz during his expedition to the Soviet Pamir, and the relationship developed after she had climbed the highest peak in Europe. Shortly thereafter, she moved to the United States and pursued post-graduate work in East Asian Studies at Columbia University. She has been a conceptualist and collaborator with Jimmy Katz on a number of photographic projects.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 108 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576873161
• ISBN-13: 978-1576873168
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 10.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,901,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Travel > United States

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful photography, October 24, 2008

By 

F. Whitby (Salt Lake City, UT United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Salt Dreams (Hardcover)

I run into Jimmy and Dena occasionally in the West Desert. They do an excellent job evoking the strange solitude of Utah's West Desert and the Great Basin. This area seems to stimulate originality. The salt is remarkable in preserving history while at the same time destroying anything left unattended for long. A must-have photographic collection for desert lovers.

5.0 out of 5 stars good buy, July 1, 2008

By 

NDT (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Salt Dreams (Hardcover)

Beautifully presented and printed. The images are vivid, bold and very stark. The photographers really know how to isolate and present their subjects, and the large format photography really shines through. As a fan of good photo lighting i was a little distracted by the double-shadows in some of the images. Apart from this, technically all the photos are wonderful.

5.0 out of 5 stars new direction in art photography, September 4, 2006

By 

George Petty - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Salt Dreams (Hardcover)

In "Salt Dreams" photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz have used large format technology to capture the strange clashes between people and what was once a vast naked desert. The images are produced in such clarity and detail they seem to insist on the discovery of a new reality, neither hyper- nor sur-real, but a pop-reality made of rocket and race-car dreams, and civilization's discards. These photos make both artistic and conceptual statements in brilliant color and fantastic precision. No more fuzzy roanticism; this is how we really are.