Touchless Automatic Wonder

(Above) Cover of the book “Touchless Automatic Wonder” by photographer Lewis Koch.

Click any image for larger view.



Click any image for larger view.



Click any image for larger view.




TEXT AND IMAGE, MIXED WITH WONDER AND SURPRISE are the stars of this new book by photographer Lewis Koch. Described as “found text photographs from the real world” Koch is a photographer whose works are in some awesome collections: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago, and numerous major European collections.

Lewis Koch is a master at his craft and a master of his art. I get the sense that his is “an eye” that never rests—something all artists of any substance have. Koch has traveled the world to find these images, from Uttar Pradesh, India, to Hoodoo, Tennessee—and many countries, states and small villages in between. The printed, painted or scrawled word—these bits and pieces of visual language communication that tell us yes or no, follow this, turn here, buy that and so many things—Koch seeks the intersection of the two where wonder and mystery appear. Only through the lens of Lewis Koch will you (the reader) easily find these metaphors. You’ll find them easily because it has taken Koch much of a lifetime to bring them to you. He has captured them in his camera, developed them and presented them for you in this beautifully printed hard cover book published by Borderland Books, Madison, WI.

Koch will be doing a book signing in St. Louis next Thursday, February 4 at 7 pm at the famous Left Bank Books, an independent bookstore in St. Louis founded in 1969.

You can order the book here, or on Amazon here.

And one more thing. A big round of applause to Richard Quinney, editor of Borderland Books. Where would publishing be today without the small, independent press? Huzzah!

David Moore: A Renowned Australian Photographer

(Above) Diving suits, Menorca, Spain [100 Photographs, pl. 033] 1954 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Sisters of Charity, Washington DC [100 Photographs, pl. 038] 1956 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Lloyd Rees at 90, Northwood, Sydney [100 Photographs, pl. 096] 1985 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate

(Above) Fairground horses, UK [100 Photographs, pl. 027] 1953 (ca) Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Painting the Himalaya, Sydney [100 Photographs, pl. 018] 1950 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Orcades departure, Pyrmont [100 Photographs, pl. 009] 1948 (ca) Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Pyrmont Bridge, Sydney [100 Photographs, pl. 005] 1947 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


(Above) Funnel of Orion [100 Photographs, pl. 004] 1947 Gelatin silver print David Moore Estate © Courtesy of the David Moore Estate


FROM TIME TO TIME I LIKE TO REMIND MY READERS OF A GREAT WEB SITE on photography called Luminous Lint. It is a very complete and thorough Web site that traces the beginnings of photography to present day photographer/artists. Developed by my friend Alan Griffiths, Alan has devoted himself to this effort. If you have a question about photography, the processes, the styles, the art or the science—you can most likely find it on this site. It’s an on-going labor of love—for you folks who love photography.

Luminous Lint hosts special on-line exhibitions every month. Last month (April 2, 2009) was the exhibition “David Moore: 100 Photographs”— the legacy photographs of the late David Moore (1927-2003), who was a renowned Australian photojournalist. At his death, David left a legacy of over 200,000 negatives, of which 100 were selected for posthumous publication in editions of 90. Moore felt that this set of images was pivotal to the archival record – historically, artistically and biographically. He asked his daughter, Lisa Moore, to coordinate the posthumous production of limited edition prints from each negative. She felt that this was also her father’s way of ensuring that his legacy of photographs was not only still available to the public but was represented by a collection over which he had exercised control.

In the 1950s his photographs were widely published in newspapers and magazines including The Observer, Time-Life, Look, The New York Times and Sports Illustrated. In 1958 he joined Black Star, a photo agency based in New York. Numerous books have been published of his work and many of his photographs have become iconic images of Australia.