Balthasar Burkhard: Photographer
2004
First edition of Balthasar Burkhard: Photographer (2004). Large format, fine condition. Very minor wear to outer book jacket. Otherwise all pages are clean and binding is sturdy. Please see photos for reference.
About
Balthasar Burkhard’s photos are different. His use of black and white is the only structural device of his images. Motifs, objects and scenes emerge from the darkness, as if the photographer had placed them in front of a neutral backdrop. Burkhard manages to “compose” still lifes without staging them. Our focus is wholly absorbed by the motifs, which seem to appear naturally, without forcing themselves on the viewer. Even a complex sprawl such as the rainforest on the Rio Negro, its complexity doubled by its reflection in the river, appears like a careful composition that directs our gaze.