For forty years, celebrated photojournalist Ed Kashi has delivered the world’s stories through images that both imply, as well as directly show, humanistic challenges and joys. Abandoned Moments: A Love Letter to Photography (Kehrer Verlag, Spring 2022) is a window into Kashi’s unique voice and craft, and presents glimpses of ordinary life, as well as extraordinary events, struggles, and triumphs.
A tenet of journalism is to remove one’s own voice, as much as is possible, from the narrative. But a photographer’s impulses are also inextricably linked to and driven by who they are. This cues how they see, what they notice, and how they compose. The book’s publisher notes,
“When geometry, mood, and possibility unite to unintentionally create something new, the magical and fictional qualities of still photography capture the unplanned essence of existence. In contrast to his journalistic approach of deep personal connection and keen observation, this work is about capturing the untamed energy of a moment with abandon.”
In the essay she contributed for this book, “On Recollection,” photography scholar and curator Alison Nordström reflects on this intersection between the intentional and unplanned elements within Kashi’s work. “By returning to his archive, long after the images have lost their primary relevance and immediate use, he re-inserts his voice, heart, and intellect into a world of pictures from which he had once intentionally concealed his presence.”
Abandoned Moments
A Love Letter to Photography
Photographs by Ed Kashi
Texts by Ed Kashi and Alison Nordström
Published by Kehrer Verlag
Hardcover
30 x 24 cm
136 pages
42 color and 26 b/w illustrations
English
ISBN 978-3-96900-044-1
https://www.kehrerverlag.com/en/ed-kashi-abandoned-moments-a-loveletter-to-photography-978-3-96900-044-1
Thursday, June 9 at 7pm GMT+1: A Conversation + Book Signing
The Frontline Club, London
https://frontlineclub.glueup.com/event/abandoned-moments-a-love-letter-to-photography-52852/?pk_campaign=widget-event-list
