In March 2009 Cologne’s historical Stadtarchiv collapsed: a catastrophe that can be seen as a consequence of a neoliberal programme of urban redevelopment. Yet for all that, critiques of neo-liberalism often run into difficulty because they lack a clearly defined object to focus on. Faced with structural complexities, their analysis and criticism is often directed towards isolated instances. Arne Schmitt confronts this tendency in his book with a resolutely straightforward approach, or — to use a key concept from the accompanying text by writer Thorsten Krämer — with uncomplexity. On a clearly mapped-out walk through Cologne, Schmitt photographs architecture from different periods, all in black and white. The images and the form of the book thus refer back to the theme-oriented photo-books of the 1950s and 1960s, in which political and social critiques of the day were combined with photographic depictions of the city — a level of achievement that is well worth recapturing.
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FORMAT: Hbk, 9 x 8.25 in. / 88 pgs / 66 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $30.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $40 ISBN: 9783959050272 PUBLISHER: Spector Books AVAILABLE: 2/1/2016 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA AFR ME
Arne Schmitt: New Inequality A Photo Book Tracing Neo-Liberal Architectures
Published by Spector Books. Text by Thorsten Krämer.
In March 2009 Cologne’s historical Stadtarchiv collapsed: a catastrophe that can be seen as a consequence of a neoliberal programme of urban redevelopment. Yet for all that, critiques of neo-liberalism often run into difficulty because they lack a clearly defined object to focus on. Faced with structural complexities, their analysis and criticism is often directed towards isolated instances. Arne Schmitt confronts this tendency in his book with a resolutely straightforward approach, or — to use a key concept from the accompanying text by writer Thorsten Krämer — with uncomplexity. On a clearly mapped-out walk through Cologne, Schmitt photographs architecture from different periods, all in black and white. The images and the form of the book thus refer back to the theme-oriented photo-books of the 1950s and 1960s, in which political and social critiques of the day were combined with photographic depictions of the city — a level of achievement that is well worth recapturing.
