St. Louis and the Arch by Joel Meyerowitz

(1980)

First Edition 

Medium format softcover in near fine condition. This is a well loved copy. Some shelf wear to the corners and edges of the page block. Reading wear to the spine, partcularly down the centre, where the glue can be seen. Otherwise, binding firm. Discolouration to the back cover, and the outer edges of the pages and page block. Previous owner (photographer Nick Hedges) inscription on the inside corner of front cover. See pictures for reference.

About

At the invitation of The St. Louis Art Museum, Joel Meyerowitz came to St. Louis to record photographically the look and spirit of the city. The Gateway Arch, Eero Saarinen's monumental sculpture, which dominates the city, became at once the subject and nonsubject of Meyerowitz's photographs. In some of the photographs, one has to search to find it; in others, it fills the frame.

Clearly, the Arch exerted a powerful force on Meyerowitz's vision. He speaks of it as a mirror, sundial, tuning fork, pyramid- a pysterious, changing presence that transforms rthe space around it and the city itself. 

Four visits and 400 negatives later, Meyerowitz's portrait of the city emerged- a revealing record of its history and architecture, its life and presence. The St. Louis seen here no longer depends on the Mississippi that fed and built it; nos the Arch, the city's gate and icon, is central.