Civilization: The Way We Live Now

Description

We hurtle together into the future at ever-increasing speed - or so it seems to the collective psyche. Every day and every hour, human civilization expands, evolves and mutates. While we frequently lapse into celebrating the individual at the expense of the group, in science and art, at work and at play, at home and in transit, we increasingly live the collective life. Civilization shows how contemporary photography, notably art photography, is fascinated by, and attempts to decode and communicate, the way we live today. This landmark publication is accompanied by an internationally touring exhibition produced by the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography - a global cultural event for a global subject. Civilization is presented through eight thematic chapters, each led by breathtaking imagery and accompanied by essays, quotes, commentaries and captions to provide a deeper understanding of its theme. Visually epic and ambitiously popular in approach, it will reach out beyond the boundaries of the photography world to connect with audiences worldwide.

William A. Ewing has been an author, lecturer, curator of photography and museum director for more than forty years. His many publications on photography include The Body, Landmark and Edward Burtynsky: Essential Elements, all published by Thames & Hudson. Holly Roussell is a curator and art historian specializing in photography and contemporary art from Asia.

'Part a Who's Who handbook for the photographically astute, part documentary of everything ... The 352 pages zing with 500 photographs, many previously unpublished, from 140 leading photographers. A global family photo album, a memory book of personal stories that patchwork to form a rounded impression of humanity' - Wallpaper 'What makes the project so fascinating - and what gives it its depth and breadth - is the multiplicity of international voices, approaches, perspectives and motivations that feature' - Port 'The most ambitious stock-taking of our world since Edward Steichen's 'Family of Man' in the 1950s' - World of Interiors 'An admirable and ambitious undertaking ... a compelling collection of photographs' - Geographical magazine 'Through the work of top photographers, split into themed chapters (hive, flow, control), the editors have created a fascinating, amusing, disturbing picture of the world we have created' - The Times, Photography Books of the Year