Josef Koudelka (Photofile)

To follow up on a comment by a previous poster, I will say that even if English is NOT your first language but you DO HAVE a good command of English, you will appreciate the toughtful 12-page essay by Anna Farova that introduces Koudelka's pictures, as well as the 24-page transcription of a conversation between Josef Koudelka and a fellow Czech journalist. Anna Farova's essay is particularly enlightening as it goes over the different stages that Koudelka went through as an artist particularly as they relate to the selection included in this booklet. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography of Koudelka's work.Koudelka is famous for how stubborn he is about showing new images, and this book isn't an exception as it is a review of the photographer's most-known bodies of work: Gypsies, Invasion 1968, Exiles, Chaos. Let assured however, the most if not all of Koudelka's iconic images are present, and the quality of the reproduction is very high (for example, some of the photos from Exiles have much better definition and contrast than their reproduction in my copy of the revised edition published by Delpire in '97). Also, you get a rare glimpse of the photographer's earlier work from the late 50's and of his theatre photography from the early 60's in Czechoslovakia.Considering the high prices of other books by Koudelka, this book is a bargain, and if you're new to this photographer's work, it's a great place to start.

i first learned of koudelka via a book my wife bought me about Czech photographers. his photos of the '68 prague uprising intrigued me enough to want to see more of his work and learn about who he was. through amazon, i found a number of books dedicated to his photography and this was one of the first. if you're looking for a biography, this is not the book for you, but it does have a number of excellent photographs in a pocket book size, which will inspire you to search out more of his work. there are many photos from the gypsies series, as well as photos from throughout europe, and a few from the '68 prague uprising (there are entire books on all of these subjects).he is a worthy subject of investigating further, this is a good place to start.

This mini coffee table book is pure joy and heartache simultaneously. The backstory on this artist is riveting and his images are permanent. Wish the large format books were more affordable; til then, I’ll carry this little gem with me from now on.

As for doing a large presentation and project on him, I did not like that the book had no sense of order when it came to his pictures. I had 4 different books, a few websites and a few collaborated books with koudelka in them and I still could not figure out how the pictures were placed. Although this small book had the most pictures I needed to see! I thought it was completely worth buying, especially for the price.

can't go wrong with j.k. searing perspectives by a non-conformist.

The Czech photogrpaher, Josef Koudelka is the great chronicler of the last prockets of pre-modern Europe. His work combines ethnography, photojournalism and the sensibilities of a great landscape painter. Unfortunately, many of his photo collections are expensive and difficult to find. The Photofile series were originally published in France with the purpose of serving as a reasonably priced introduction to the great photographers of the Twentieth Century. This volume on Josef Koudelka provides a wide selection of his best works. Both the quality of the paper and printing are first class. This book is a great value. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent book for someone who is trying to get acquianted with the work of Koudelka. It's compact and has a basic introduction of Koudelka's work. Besides the photos I found extremely interesting the discussion with Koudelka at the end of the book. Extremely interesting and gives you a nice flavor of the philosophy and way of life of the man. That made me appreciate him even more.

Review of 5.5" x 5.5" paperback, hopefully there is a larger hardbound edition somewhere.There is an excellent introduction by Anna Farova who had known the photographer for 40 years by the time of the writing and is a leading photography historian. The book also possesses an insightful discussion between Karel Hvizdala and the photographer although it isn't quite as captivating.But the true light of this book are the images of Josef Koudelka, starting with the theatrical experiments up through the emotional environmental shots. I am glad that they chose the theatrical experimentations as they link all of the work together. Without these images I would have said leave the pure landscapes out as they just don't fit with Koudelka's images of people. It is the theatrical images that show that the landscapes are more about how the environment shapes what you are seeing, changing the subject matter into an emotional statement.Throughout Koudelka's images you are on the outside looking in and you can never be on the inside looking out. You want to feel for the subject but you know you can not feel what the subject is feeling.To me Koudelka surpasses Sudek as a poet in the manner of e.e. cummings being compared to Shakespeare. One may be a classic master but the other is redefining what is being mastered.

Love it, and all the photofile series.

昔アンゲロプロスの映画「ユリシーズ」での写真しか知らなかった私。その戦後のサラエボを切り取るモノクロ写真の迫力が記憶から離れず、購入。結果で言うと、サイズは小さいものの、結構お買い得でした。戦前の東欧演劇やジプシーの暮らしに迫った写真。そしてソ連のポーランド侵攻時の生々しい写真。そしてこの人の持ち味である、自然をダイナミックに切り取るパノラマ写真。その切れ味はアンゲロプロスもびっくりです。代表作の「カオス」もいいですが、今は手に入らないので、まずはこの本を試してみて損はないと思います。表紙と同じ、生々しくて、でもしっかりクールでアートな写真が楽しめますから。

Amazing photography!