Adam Fuss

Adam Fuss has emerged as one of the bold and truly creative artists utilizing photography today. Fuss' photograms clearly break from those of his predecessors, Man Ray, Moholy-Nagy, and Talbot, and while striking a chord of homage, the images redefine how and what we see in pictures, viscerally and intellectually. Like an eighteenth-century experimenter, Fuss utilizes organic and raw materials in an unusual approach, revealing spiritual and emotional process. Laid atop the paper for hours, and even days, colorization is recorded with a stroboscopic flash. Live snakes, the entrails of rabbits, eggs, cow liver, sperm, flowers, and stained glass circumscribe the vital, often mysterious energies emitted from these pictures. This book, the first major monograph of the artist's work, is certain to be an important contribution to current discussions of photography's past and the question of its future.

Fuss has created some of the most exquisite photography of the last two decades. By laying objects directly on photosensitive materials he bypasses the mechanism of the camera and places greater emphasis on process?both bringing the artist closer to his work and sacrificing some of his control. Utilizing this photogram technique pioneered by Man Ray and Moholy-Nagy, his works are nonetheless innovative and singular. Taking rabbit entrails, sunflowers, or stained glass windows as the raw materials, the 57 plates reproduced here range from pure abstractions to representational works, from subdued pastel-hued monochromes to multicolored iridescent images, but they are always beautiful. Art historian Parry contributes a cogent essay focusing on the rich metaphors and allusions in the works. An exquisitely produced book from a new small press specializing in photography, this first substantial monograph on Fuss is recommended for all collections with an interest in contemporary photography or history of photography.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.