To Go Very Softly - Jean-Luc Mylayne

Witovsky, Matthew S. - Essay

Published by Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2011

About this Item

36 Un-Numbered Pages. A very blue book with flaps and in as new condition with interior text and illustration pages near flawless. This first edition of To Go Very Softly is limited to 2,000 copies. Book design is by Jack Woody. This solo Exhibition was in Santa Fe June 20 - August 22 in 2010. Jean-Luc Mylayne and his wife and collaborator, Mylene, came to New Mexico, in pursuit of a dream: photographing the three species of North American bluebirds. This would be a five-year project which began with a Lannan-supported exploratory visit to northern New Mexico in 1999. This was to be the start of what Mylayne describes as a worldwide project about the color blue, the blue of the birds and the sky. It was in New Mexico that he wanted to work with these three species of North American bluebirds because they have the most incredible blue color. Mylayne worked for two consecutive winters to capture images of bluebirds in the snowy dry landscape of the high desert near Bernal, New Mexico but the colder winters drove the birds further south. He looked for a long time to find a place to see all three species at the same time. It was on a ranch in the west Texas town of Fort Davis that Mylayne found the mountain, eastern, and western bluebirds, all in one locale. After a few years, many transatlantic trips, and a multiyear Lannan Fellowship, over 200 images were created during Mylayne's southwestern sojourn, 23 of which are now included in the Lannan collection. The title of this exhibition, To Go Very Softly came from Jean-Luc who said it is necessary to go very softly in order to make these images. It is not only about capturing a likeness of a bird; it's about understanding ourselves, about how we fit into the life of birds. Seller Inventory # 19613

Bibliographic Details

Title: To Go Very Softly - Jean-Luc Mylayne

Publisher: Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Publication Date: 2011

Binding: Trade Paperback

Illustrator: Doty, Addison - Photography

Condition: Fine

Edition: First Edition