Text by by Daymé Arocena, Larry Fink, Matt Goulding, Michael Magers, Mitch Moxley, Matthew Shultz.
From portraits of craftsmen in action to Tokyo nightlife: a decade of photography by Michael Magers
New York–based photographer and journalist Michael Magers (born 1976) travels the world taking photographs for Time, Vogue Italia and Huck magazine. Independent Mysteries, Magers' first photobook, collects his photographs from the past decade, from places such as Japan, Cuba and Haiti. Over the years, Magers has shot subjects ranging from the nightlife of the world's cities, craftspeople at their work and the intimacy of the bedroom. His photographs each demonstrate a master's approach to craft, eschewing showy flourishes for the detail that unites the work. For example, in a portrait of the tattoo artist Horiren 1st contemplating her work on a customer's back, the room goes out of focus, the tools of her work legible yet fuzzy in comparison to the sharp focus on the ends of their use.
This volume contains contributions by past collaborators such as Cage the Elephant's Matthew Schultz, Matthew Goulding, author of the Eat This, Not That columns and books, photographer Larry Fink and others.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Vogue Italia
Di Rica Cerbarano
Independent Mysteries is a virtuous example of how a photographer can look at his own body of work from a different point of view, allowing himself to be surprised by the infinite possibilities that photography holds.
PDN
Samantha Reinders
With his camera Magers explores the poetry in small moments on the street and corners you wouldn’t take a second look at – both completely universal and overtly personal at the same time. He seems to seek the quiet in the noise, or at least find magic there.
Yahoo News
The provocative new book 'Independent Mysteries' explores the sense of 'intimate distance.'
British Journal of Photography
Marigold Warner
Magers’ images have a stillness to them, and a sense of melancholy that permeates shots of the street, the landscape, and people.
Washington Post
Kenneth Dickerman
Magers’s work is not meant to be about any particular set of events. Rather, it is a collection of work culled from his archives of fleeting connections and unusual events.
Washington Post
Kenneth Dickerman
[Michael Magers's] brooding black-and-white photos remind one of classic films [though] they’re not so much descriptive of anything happening in front of Magers’s lens as much as they are a window into his personal thoughts. 'Independent Mysteries' is a very introspective collection of images exploring the artist’s inner world to which we’ve been invited to make connections if and where we can.
Huck
[Michael Magers's] latest book, 'Independent Mysteries,' sees him capturing “the opaque poetry of everyday life”.
Musee
Daneal Rozman
These stories Magers tells through each image fill readers with questions that cause further curiosity even with the inclusion of short writings and poetry. In-turn it seems that Magers accomplishes just what he wants, and allows for the notion that these are individual, uncompleted stories, devoid of answers.
Lensculture
Scott W Olsen
Shot across multiple locations, Magers’ latest book is made up of poetic enigmas: images that linger beyond their first viewing, inviting us to look again.
Cool Hunting
Independent Mysteries, [is] a photo book that features striking images of intimate settings and city streets with the same complex and nuanced lens the photographer has mastered in his journalistic endeavors. Each image conveys a moment—whether seemingly emotional or innocuous—with gravitas and tenderness. There truly is a mystery to each image that’s remarkably engaging.
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.5 x 11 in. / 88 pgs / 68 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $32.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $45 ISBN: 9783775746403 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 4/7/2020 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Hatje Cantz. Text by by Daymé Arocena, Larry Fink, Matt Goulding, Michael Magers, Mitch Moxley, Matthew Shultz.
From portraits of craftsmen in action to Tokyo nightlife: a decade of photography by Michael Magers
New York–based photographer and journalist Michael Magers (born 1976) travels the world taking photographs for Time, Vogue Italia and Huck magazine. Independent Mysteries, Magers' first photobook, collects his photographs from the past decade, from places such as Japan, Cuba and Haiti. Over the years, Magers has shot subjects ranging from the nightlife of the world's cities, craftspeople at their work and the intimacy of the bedroom. His photographs each demonstrate a master's approach to craft, eschewing showy flourishes for the detail that unites the work. For example, in a portrait of the tattoo artist Horiren 1st contemplating her work on a customer's back, the room goes out of focus, the tools of her work legible yet fuzzy in comparison to the sharp focus on the ends of their use.
This volume contains contributions by past collaborators such as Cage the Elephant's Matthew Schultz, Matthew Goulding, author of the Eat This, Not That columns and books, photographer Larry Fink and others.
