Praha, Paris, Barcelona. Photographic Modernity 1918-1948.

Praha, Paris, Barcelona. Photographic Modernity 1918-1948. Edited by David Balsells. La Fábrica/MNAC Museu Nacional d'A, 2010. 250 pp., illustrations throughout, 9x10¾".

The book 'Praha, Paris, Barcelona. Photographic Modernity 1918-1948' was published to accompany the exhibition of the same name that's just finished at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.

It examines the "revolution in photography that took place across Europe between 1918 and 1945" with the focus on the three cities of Paris, Prague and Barcelona "each of which served as a nexus for major developments in the medium".

"Until the First World War, photography had largely followed the aesthetics of painting; during and after the war, such movements as Constructivism, Moholy-Nagy's New Vision and Surrealism led photography to new frontiers, developing techniques and styles that took the medium strictly on its own terms. Demonstrating the interconnectedness of these tendencies, this volume assesses the contributions of each of these cities.

Photographers based in Paris during these years include Man Ray, Brassai, Emmanuel Sougez, Hans Bellmer, Jacques-André Boiffard, Germaine Krull, André Kertész, François Collar, Claude Cahun, Florence Henri, Andreas Feininger, Eli Lotar, Dora Maar, Roger Parry and Raul Ubac; in Prague, Josef Sudek, Frantisek Drtikol, Jaroslav Rössler, Eugen Wiskovsk, Jaromír Funke, Karel Teige, Ladislav Berka, Jan Lauschmann, Josef Bartuska, Jindrich Styrsky and Karel Kasparik; and in Barcelona, Pere Català Pic, Josep Masana, Josep Sala, Josep Lladó, Emili Godes, Antoni Arissa, Gabriel Casas, Salvador Dalí and Joaquim Gomis.

Text by Maite Ocaña, Oliva María Rubio, David Balsells, Jan Mlcoch, Quentin Bajac, Juan Naranjo, Salvador Dalí."


Quotes from publisher's description.