About this item
Highlights
- The canonical 1977 American photobook returns to print in a new, definitive edition that most closely resembles the originalIn 1977, American photographers Larry Sultan (1946-2009) and Mike Mandel (born 1950) published a book of photographs titled Evidence.
- 92 Pages
- Photography, Individual Photographers
Description
Book Synopsis
The canonical 1977 American photobook returns to print in a new, definitive edition that most closely resembles the original
In 1977, American photographers Larry Sultan (1946-2009) and Mike Mandel (born 1950) published a book of photographs titled Evidence. The book was the culmination of a two-year search through the archives of 77 government agencies, educational institutions and corporations, including General Atomic Company, Jet Propulsion Laboratories, the San Jose Police Department and the United States Department of the Interior. The original pictures were made as objective records of activities unfamiliar to the lay public: the scenes of crimes, aeronautical engineering tests, industrial experiments and other subjects. Sifting through some two million images, Mandel and Sultan assembled a careful sequence of 59 pictures. The book was thoughtfully designed to depict the photographs in terms of their "documentary" origins, unaccompanied by identifying captions. Faced with a world of mysterious events and unfathomable activities, the reader is confronted with only the sequential narrative imagery of the book and thus must actively participate in creating its meaning.
Following a revised edition of the book in 2003 and a 2017 reprint--both of which sold out quickly and have become highly collectible--Evidence is back in print nearly 50 years after its initial publication. This new, definitive edition features revelatory new scans--many made from the original negatives--which greatly enhance the eerie objectivity conveyed by the book's title. In many cases, the original negatives revealed that crops had been made to the image by the agencies; the complete images are restored here. The jacketless, library-style binding of the original 1977 edition is also restored, further underscoring its impersonal documentlike character and its canonical status.
Review Quotes
Half a century later, 'Evidence' has become canon without losing any of its charge. The questions it poses of photography's role as a tool of propaganda to uphold systems of power feels all too timely in our brave new world.--Miss Rosen "Huck magazine"
'Evidence' is a pioneering work in photography's engagement with meaning and context.-- "Blind magazine"
Half a century later, 'Evidence' is not only considered a vital flashpoint in art history, but some go as far as to call it one of the most important photography books ever made. Back in print nearly 50 years after its initial publication, D.A.P. has now republished a new edition of the cult book.--Ryan White "AnOther Magazine"