Raghubir Singh (1942-1999) was considered one of the finest contemporary photographers. Born in Rajasthan, India, his work is in the permanent collections of a number of major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. "A Way into India" is Singh's last photographic project and is a testament to his love affair with sights, sounds and colours of his homeland, but also with one of its most unexpected icons - the Ambassador car. Continuously in production in Indian since 1957, the Ambassador is everywhere to be seen, in all possible guises, from delivery van to diplomatic limousine, and has become something quintessentially Indian. Travelling back and forth across the country, Raghubir Singh reveals India through windows of the Ambassador. Amongst the bustle of the towns and the majesty of the countryside there are rotting cars and pristine new ones being used as taxis and poultry vans. Temples and tourists, monsoon rains, paddy fields, tea plantations and elephants are dramatically framed by the Ambassador's distinctive curves. The old and the new sit side by side as Singh and the Ambassador show us a way into India.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Raghubir Singh (1942-1999) was considered one of the finest of contemporary photographers. Born in Rajasthan, India, his work is in the permanent collections of a number of major museums, including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and The Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. His many publications include books on Kerala, Rasjasthan, Bombay and the Ganges. River of Colour, the first retrospective of his work was published by Phaidon in 1998.
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
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
India through symbolism and icons,
By
This review is from: A Way Into India (Hardcover)
Thousands of years of traditions flood the photos in A Way into India; A notable book in the ability to convey the passion of photographer Raghubir Singh without written words. Singh's concept is simple: capture the fabric of India's culture all whilst traveling the country in the backseat of an Ambassador. We the readers are taken on a journey filled with images common in daily life bringing comfort yet still some wonder of the unknown in the same photograph.
But it's the Ambassador car which pulls the pictures together. In just sixty years of production, the Amby has effectively become one of the most iconic symbols of India. And it stars in some capacity in every shot. In one photograph, a Dutch church stands in the background, shot from the front seat where we can see the smudges of the windshield and wipers. But it's the rear view mirror which captures the sight of a classic white Amby, delivering the final element and juxtaposition with modern India. Or maybe it's the shot from the backseat where we see the door opened wide, window rolled down and a young woman, long curly black locks and inquisitive look wearing a gray sweatshirt that mystifies us. She wears no tilak, no sari or salwar kameez as she's hunched into the photograph in front of a horse drawn tonga and the moghal era Red Fort in the background. Singh delivers a brilliant book for anyone who has an affinity for India. Unfortunately this was his last project before death came in 1999, and testament of love for his country. This is a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone who has yearned to travel or has already visited India. A country that continues to evolve from, yet clings to, it's rich, colorful past. © 2010 [...] India Travel Blog
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
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
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
