"CHILI" by Koen Wessing

Some of you know that I have always been a fairly passionate collector of photobooks, and I'd like to share my most recent acquisition.

“Chili, September 1973” is a very rare first printing of the first edition of Koen Wessing’s critically acclaimed photobook which was published by De Bezigle Bij, Amsterdam in 1973. It contains 24 black-and gravures (most of them double page) and measuring approximately 10.75” x 7.75”, the book is bound in illustrated wrappers. 

*From the book “The Photobook: A History” by Parr & Gerry Badger:

 "The Dutch photographer Koen Wessing was on the streets of Santiago immediately after the coup happened. His gritty documentary pictures were quickly published in this no frills, extremely elegant photobook … There are not many images in the book, but each is carefully considered, modest and succinct ... despite the difficulties of taking photographs in such a tense and difficult situation. The main thrust of the book is the coup’s immediate aftermath, the shock and grief of the people, the rounding up of Allende’s supporters by the Army, and their herding into the now notorious National Stadium in Santiago, where many would be tortured and killed. Wessing vividly captures one of these executions, in a two-page sequence that forms the book’s climax.”

For some time, I had been looking for a nice copy of this book, and I found an antiquarian book dealer in Amsterdam who had a copy. As he had met Wessing a few times. I asked him if he could get the book signed. A week or two later, I received an email from Jaap (the dealer), and this is what he wrote on January 10th, 2011:

"To get Koen's signature  was not easy, because I don't know where he lives at the moment,  and  to meet him downtown, (which was not so difficult in the past) has become complicated because Koen  is very ill, he suffers from lung cancer and leads as far as I can judge a solitary life and does not appear in public often. The only place  that he frequents now and then is a pub near the Spui, where the weekly bookmarket is. There I saw met him recently , and although he was in company, I could ask him for his signature. He agreed."

Koen Wessing died less than three weeks later on February 2nd, 2011.

The images are amazing-they make you want to see more of Koen Wessing's images from this incredible event in the history of Chile.

SB3 in Philadelphia

I've just returned from Philadelphia, where I participated in SB3 with four other Board members from CT-ASMP, and my head is spinning with ideas, inspiration & impressions!

If you haven't yet signed up for SB3 in Chicago, do it.

You can register by following the link above.

 And for those of you who are asking about my "Escalator Legs"  video, stay tuned!

Who was Meinhardt Raabe?

"As coroner, I must aver
I thoroughly examined her.
And she’s not only merely dead,
She’s really most sincerely dead."

More here: NYT Obituary

Another favorite image....

 

This very touching image by a Chinese photographer named Jianbin Huo, has been hanging on my wall for the last two years

From Audubon Magazine:

"As the tale is told, the 12-week-old monkey was separated from its mother and close to death when it was rescued by a refuge worker. But the little guy simply wouldn’t perk up until the bird became its inseparable friend. This sweet photograph of the orphan and its companion was snapped by chance by Jianbin Huo, a young Chinese photojournalist visiting the island".

You can read more here:  http://tinyurl.com/yhz3rgl

PS. By the way, Jianbin Huo's birthday is on April 6th.

A beautiful series of images from Jamey Stillings

Last year at a Leadership Conference in Detroit for ASMP, I met a photographer from New Mexico, Jamey Stillings. Check out his images from his personal project to document the "Bridge at Hoover Dam". 

The images are very beautiful and sometimes surreal.

More images here: http://bridgeathooverdam.com/