In late 1983, looking for the subjects and locations that would bring the desolate landscape of the American West to life for his iconic film Paris, Texas, German filmmaker Wim Wenders took his Makina Plaubel 6 x 7 camera on the road. Driving through Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, Wenders was captivated by the unique, saturated, colorful light of the vast, wild landscape of the American West--even in the 20th century, a land associated with cowboys and outlaws, and suffused with the mythology of the frontier. The series he produced, Written in the West, was first exhibited in 1986 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and first published in 2000. Roughly three decades later, in this expanded edition, Wenders adds 15 new images of the sleepy town that gave the movie its name--though no footage was ever actually shot there. Made with a Fuji 6 x 4.5 camera, the new photographs are poetic documents of an abiding fascination and a search for personal memories. Together, they add an essential new chapter to Wenders' classic Written in the West, now Revisited. Over the past four decades, through films like Paris, Texas (1984), Wings of Desire (1987), Buena Vista Social Club (1999) and Pina (2011), Wim Wenders (born 1945) has distinguished himself as one of the leading lights of New German Cinema and one of the great directors in contemporary film. Wenders has had an equally distinguished career in photography; his photographs are exhibited and collected internationally.
"American Chinese", Superior, Arizona (1983) is reproduced from Wim Wenders: Written in the West, Revisited.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
AnOther Magazine
Alex Taylor
Titled Written in the West, the images demonstrate the same fascination with the area's vibrant, light saturated vistas and vast expanses of wild landscape as the film itself, and make for compelling viewing both as a supplement to the film and in their own right.
vogue.com
Rebecca Bengal
it is enigmatically, exquisitely shot, nearly perfect in its longing
American Suburb X
Owen Campbell
a peaceful book full of still images
Photo-Eye Blog
Tom Leininger
This is a book of pictures about light and space; it is refreshing to see how simple, direct and enjoyable photography for the sake of photography can be.
Fanzine
Jeff Jackson
(Written in the West, Revisited) evokes desolate scenes in vibrant color, creating images that simultaneously suggest narrative and cancel it out... This volume serves as a welcome reminder of Wenders' prodigious talents.
In 1983, while scouting locations for his award-winning New German Western, Paris, Texas, filmmaker Wim Wenders made a series of the photographs that were later collected in the 1987 first edition of Written in the West. Now, three decades later, we are pleased to present a new and revised edition. Below are a series of photographs from the book, along with Wenders' concluding essay, I like Paris in the Winter. continue to blog
"Hot Springs," Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (1983) is reproduced from Wim Wenders: Written in the West, Revisited, the new and revised edition of the influential German filmmaker's 1987 book of photographs made while scouting locations for his cult anti-Western, Paris, Texas. To see more photographs, including several from a 2001 follow-up trip to Paris, Texas - which was never shot for the first edition - and to read Wenders' essay for the new book, continue to our blog. continue to blog
"The local AA meeting point was on the main street and seemed to get frequent visitors. I photographed it mostly for the field flowers in the window, and another time I even saw a cowboy going in there. One of the few figures in my photos ... By contrast, the “Cowboy Bar” was located somewhere out of town, or in one of the surrounding places. I no longer remember. I could only look through the window at the long, wooden bar, covered in a thick layer of dust." Excerpt from Wim Wenders' "I Like Paris in the Winter" is reproduced from Written in the West, Revisited, the new edition of the influential German filmmaker's 1987 book of location photographs made while scouting for Paris, Texas in 1983. "Cowboy Bar" was shot in 2001, when Wenders made a follow-up visit to the film's namesake town - where he did not shoot the movie, and which was not photographed for the original edition of the book. Read more on our blog. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 9.75 x 9 in. / 108 pages / 58 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $39.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $53.95 ISBN: 9781938922848 PUBLISHER: D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers AVAILABLE: 6/23/2015 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers. Text by Wim Wenders. Interview by Alain Bergala.
In late 1983, looking for the subjects and locations that would bring the desolate landscape of the American West to life for his iconic film Paris, Texas, German filmmaker Wim Wenders took his Makina Plaubel 6 x 7 camera on the road. Driving through Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California, Wenders was captivated by the unique, saturated, colorful light of the vast, wild landscape of the American West--even in the 20th century, a land associated with cowboys and outlaws, and suffused with the mythology of the frontier. The series he produced, Written in the West, was first exhibited in 1986 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and first published in 2000.
Roughly three decades later, in this expanded edition, Wenders adds 15 new images of the sleepy town that gave the movie its name--though no footage was ever actually shot there. Made with a Fuji 6 x 4.5 camera, the new photographs are poetic documents of an abiding fascination and a search for personal memories. Together, they add an essential new chapter to Wenders' classic Written in the West, now Revisited.
Over the past four decades, through films like Paris, Texas (1984), Wings of Desire (1987), Buena Vista Social Club (1999) and Pina (2011), Wim Wenders (born 1945) has distinguished himself as one of the leading lights of New German Cinema and one of the great directors in contemporary film. Wenders has had an equally distinguished career in photography; his photographs are exhibited and collected internationally.