Review
"Nothing in the universe is alien to landscape photography, the book argues, from Philippe Chancel's view of the construction of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai...to Elger Esser's hazy scene on the Sacramento River. The subject, however, is the present, and the present is mostly alarming....The book delivers a pair of oddly coupled messages: The planet is in deep trouble, and its trauma makes for eye candy."
― The New York Times Book Review
"Presents a collection of images that departs from the work of the Ansel Adamses of the world. . . . Flipping through the pages of Landmark instantly reveals beautiful places intertwined with humanity’s achievements―and global toll."
― Architectural Digest
"A curatorial discussion of the contemporary practice of landscape photography and perhaps why the practice of landscape photography matters today. . . . Clear and articulate writing and an interesting selection of supporting photographs."
― The Photobook
"Even if you’re familiar with the more prominent names like Hiroshi Sugimoto and his grey, liminal water views, or Edward Burtynsky’s shocking industrial captures, it’s really Ewing’s curation that is most on view."
― Hyperallergic
"An intriguing and much-needed survey of current work in landscape photography. Art photographers and painters alike will admire the compositions and interpretations of subject matter."
― Library Journal
"Important....a compelling and at times provocative meditation on the physical world around us."
― Art Desk Magazine
"Works to explore the relationship between people and place―and that relationship, at times, is unsettling....Transports the reader from the sublime Ilulissat Icefjord in Greenland, photographed by Olaf Otto Becker―noting that Edmund Burke, in the 18th century, imbued the word 'sublime' with a sense of terror―to a hallucinatory image by Amy Stein of a coyote howling at a streetlight in Matamoras, PA."
― Chicago Tribune
"Ewing’s latest book, Landmark, takes on the increasingly fraught field of landscape photography (he as tempted to call it Landslide) with his usual shrewd thoroughness. . . . Ewing can’t avoid hitting the inevitable high notes here (Gursky, Sugimoto, Struth, Vitali), but his interests take him well beyond the obvious."
― Vince Aletti, Photograph
"Ewing's selections show art's power not only to observe and document nature, but also to imagine its future."
― Book Page
"Every shade of optimism, awe, surprise and dread is represented in this colossal survey of contemporary landscape photography."
― San Francisco Chronicle
"Expertly culled by photography writer and curator William A. Ewing, the variety of work encompassed in this volume sparkles....And, while it effectively demonstrates humankind's negative effects on the planet at a time when it is imperative to change our behavior, it does so without making it a rallying cry. With the recent defacement of some of the USA's national parks, it also shows us luminous visions of what it might have looked like before we went and messed it all up."
― Feature Shoot
"It's these unsettling photographs that hold the most power―they're not just reminders of the Earth's beauty, but of its fragility, too, and serve as a call to action instead of simply decoration."
― Fast Co.Design
"The pleasure and conceit of this beautifully designed and illustrated book reside in the unorthodox categories curator Ewing uses to reimagine and invigorate discourse swirling around contemporary landscape photography. . . . Ewing’s lucid, accessible, and thought-provoking essays introduce each chapter and are essential for contextualizing his unusual motifs for the reader. . . . A valuable book for every photography library. Highly recommended."
― Choice
About the Author
William A. Ewing is an author, lecturer, and curator of photography and former director of the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne. His many publications on photography include Edward Burtynsky: Essential Elements and Civilization.
