The Swimming Pool in Photography - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A photographic leap into cooling waters

The Swimming Pool in Photography invites readers to dive into the cultural history of swimming pools.

As long as 5,000 years ago, the allure of the sea inspired humans to recreate its essence in miniature artistic forms, such as public baths where ancient rituals would take place. Since then, swimming pools have become status symbols and a source for a gamut of purposes from athletics to the simple pleasure of just being in water. It is no wonder, then, that filmmakers and photographers constantly return to the swimming pool as a subject and setting.

Reflections of water and light are captured in countless unique ways in the more than 200 compelling images of pools and swimmers that comprise this catalog. The Swimming Pool in Photography includes works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gigi Cifali, Stuart Franklin, Harry Gruyaert, Emma Hartvig, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Parr, Paolo Pelligrin, Mack Sennett, Alec Soth, Larry Sultan, Alex Webb and many others.

Review Quotes

Whether it's an infinity pool in Alicante, Spain, or the rooftop of Le Corbusier's "Cité Radieuse" in Marseille, pools are, perhaps, objects of beauty in their own right.--Oscar Holland "CNN Style"

Iannone's vibrantly rendered "accumulation of recipes" represents one of the best examples of the cookbook-as-artwork--Andrea Gyorody "Stained Page News"

A watery lens through which to view class, gender, culture, fashion, art, nationalism, economics and ecology. It is the people, objects and architecture in and around the water that you will respond to.--Beige Luciano-Adams "LA Weekly"

As this joyous edit of images proves, our relationship with the pool is far more complex than simply somewhere to exercise in or laze around nearby.--Tish Wrigley "AnOther"

Captures the swimming pool in various forms around the world, in cities present and eras passed... a reminder that pool hopping through a memory can outline a life.--Eric Bard "Vanity Fair"

Chronicles the history of the pool from its health-minded origins in the late 1800s through its emergence as a status symbol to photograph.--Alexandra Wolfe "Wall Street Journal"

Dive into some of the world's most enticing pools.--Stephanie Eckhardt "W Magazine"

From the Art Nouveau-style bathing houses at the turn of the last century to the history behind the design of American pools in the 1950s to the basins that were repurposed as skate parks in California in the 1970s, you can enjoy immersing yourself in the destinations we long for on hot days.-- "Creative Boom"

Hodgson's book is a demonstration of how swimming pools are genetically photogenic. Perhaps it's that a pool somewhat resembles a photograph: a field of glittering action, bordered by white. Or that before digital cameras, to develop a photograph meant to submerge it in a series of three pools--developer, stop bath, fixer. Or that both center around the joys of seeing--light dancing on water, bodies glowing in the sun. Photography might as well have been invented for swimming pools.--Hunter Braithwaite "Paris Review"

Ideal for the photography lover or anyone in cold climates who needs a visual reminder of warmer spots.-- "Kirkus"

Old ones, new ones, drained ones, blue ones. An improbably mesmerizing look at swimming pools and their patrons through the ages.--Kim Hubbard "People"

Striking imagery showcase everything from the artificial beach inside the Ocean Dome in Miyazaki, Japan to empty outdoor pools in Kabul.-- "Cool Hunting"

Take a refreshing dip through the best swimming pools ever captured in still images.-- "New York Magazine"