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Photography Monographs

Lynne Cohen: Occupied Territory

photographs by Lynne Cohen

text by Britt Salvesen

preface by David Byrne

Publisher
Aperture
Initial publish date
Jun 2012
Category
Monographs, Photoessays & Documentaries
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781597111454
    Publish Date
    Jun 2012
    List Price
    $83.95

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Description

In 1987 Aperture published Lynne Cohen's first monograph, "Occupied Territory," an exploration of space as simulated experience--a sham reality, idealized and standardized. Now, Aperture is publishing a newly expanded and updated reissue of this classic monograph, making Cohen's pioneering work available to a contemporary audience and situating her within the lineage of Lewis Baltz, Stephen Shore and other celebrated New Topographics photographers. In the 20 years of work contained in the book, Cohen turns her view camera toward classrooms, science laboratories, testing facilities, waiting rooms and other interior spaces where function triumphs over aesthetics. What decorations the inhabitants might have added to these rooms to make them more inviting--mostly phony attempts at warmth or individualism--only serve to amplify their artifice and uniformity. In cool, functional offices, futuristic reception areas, lifeless party rooms, escapist motel rooms and haunting killing chambers, Cohen surveys a society of surface, contradiction and social engineering. In her hands, clouds peel off walls, forest glades invade indoor tennis courts and the awkward lives of furniture are revealed. Drawing on a background in sculpture, Cohen records the world's readymade sculptures, waiting to be framed by the photograph. This new edition of "Occupied Territory" includes unpublished images drawn from the time period in which the book was made, encouraging a reexamination of Cohen's deft exploration of Topographic seeing.

About the authors

Lynne Cohen studied print making and sculpture before turning to photography. She has had many solo and group exhibitions, including retrospectives in Canada, France, and Switzerland. Besides Occupied Territory she has published L'endroit du décor/Lost and Found (1992), No Man's Land (2001), Camouflage (2005), Cover (2009), and Nothing is Hidden (2012). In 2005, she received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (Canada) and in 2011 was the first winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award.

Lynne Cohen's profile page

P align=left>Britt Salvesen, curator at the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography, is the author of Harry Callahan: The Photographer at Work.

Britt Salvesen's profile page

David Byrne is a renowned artist, the force behind the Talking Heads and creator of the highly regarded record label Luaka Bop. He is a photographer, film director, and author.

David Byrne's profile page