Photography Books

Joan Fontcuberta: “The Photography Of Nature & The Nature Of Photography”

“It’s both a great honour and a big responsibility.”

Joan Fontcuberta

The Photography Of Nature & The Nature Of Photography, after receiving the 2013 “Hasselblad Award”

Joan Fontcuberta is not a photographer in the traditional understanding of that term.

Instead of approaching the medium strictly from its aesthetic perspective, he’s been particularly interested throughout his career to discuss photography in the context of philosophy as a tool for critical thought. His most recent publication “The Photography of Nature & The Nature of Photography” (2013) is no exception.

Celebrating Joan Fontcuberta’s nomination as 33rd recipient of the prestigious “Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography” in 2013, MACK and the Hasselblad Foundation decided to publish a collection of the Catalan photographer’s most important series: Herbarium (1984), Fauna (1987), Constellations (1993), Sputnik (1997), Sirens (2000), and Orogenesis (2002).

The book does not only display Joan Fontcuberta’s outstanding skills as a photographer, but also shows his other talents as an essayist, humorist and fantasist.

© Joan Fontcuberta, 2014, courtesy MACK / www.mackbooks.co.uk
Joan Fontcuberta’s field of study has always been what he once called “conspiracy images”, referring to that kind of photographs whose object is to make a reflection. Their intention is not so much to describe the world as to think about it, criticize it or try to make it understandable for others. Joan Fontcuberta is well aware of the power of images and how they can be an instrument of power.

Therefore he stresses the importance of being visually educated. He believes that it’s important to know how visual imagery works and which mechanism of possible manipulations they inherit.

Interview with Joan Fontcuberta about the nature of photography

You might also want to watch the video from the Award Ceremony and documentary film about the 2013 “Hasselblad Award” winner Joan Fontcuberta.

© Joan Fontcuberta, 2014, courtesy MACK / www.mackbooks.co.uk

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