From the collector behind Women in Trees, images of a bizarre photo craze
People in polar-bear costumes on the beach, at pubs and fairs, arm in arm with toddlers, men, women: it can only be another gem from the collection of Hamburg-based photophile Jochen Raiss, whose flea-market finds of photos depicting women in trees have already won the enthusiasm of photography fans (Women in Trees and More Women in Trees). Here he reveals yet more treasures from his trove in this new and mysterious series of people posing with polar bears.
The shaggy white creature appears in the oddest places, serving both willingly and naturally as a photographic motif. Where did this trend originate, and why has the polar bear, of all creatures, become so popular? This entertaining little volume collects the best pictures from Raiss’ collection.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Polar Bears.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Zócalo Public Square
Jackie Mansky
...a radically different framing of the polar bear as we know it. But that’s the point. Polar Bears invites us into a happy fantasy of a world different than the one we inhabit.
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Featured image is reproduced from Polar Bears, the infectious new book of German vintage photography from Jochen Raiss, the collector behind perennial bestseller Women in Trees. "It is said that in times of climate change, the polar bear is the most popular animal in the world," Norbert Thomma writes. "In the 1920s, people presumably had less sympathy for it, but it was admired for its savage exoticism. It is not known who first came up with the idea of photographs of people posing with polar bears. A successful ad campaign by Steiff, the German manufacturer of stuffed animals, may have provided the inspiration, or maybe it was billboards for a large zoo. Jochen Raiss… considers both theses improbable. He believes some clever photographer at a seaside resort on the Baltic Sea must have been the first to discover polar bears as a business model, had his assistant get into a costume, and take photographs at popular tourist sites, which were then quickly developed by a second assistant." See other Staff Pick Stocking Stuffers here! continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 5 x 7 in. / 112 pgs / 52 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $13.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $18.95 ISBN: 9783775745994 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 11/26/2019 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA
From the collector behind Women in Trees, images of a bizarre photo craze
People in polar-bear costumes on the beach, at pubs and fairs, arm in arm with toddlers, men, women: it can only be another gem from the collection of Hamburg-based photophile Jochen Raiss, whose flea-market finds of photos depicting women in trees have already won the enthusiasm of photography fans (Women in Trees and More Women in Trees). Here he reveals yet more treasures from his trove in this new and mysterious series of people posing with polar bears.
The shaggy white creature appears in the oddest places, serving both willingly and naturally as a photographic motif. Where did this trend originate, and why has the polar bear, of all creatures, become so popular? This entertaining little volume collects the best pictures from Raiss’ collection.
