River of Colour: The India of Raghubir Singh

Description

This is a retrospective view, since the mid-1960s, of the work of Raghubir Singh, one of India's greatest photographers. Published to mark the occasion of an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago, it contains images of India, with an introduction by Singh and quotations from works by noted writers about India, such as Kipling and V.S. Naipal. Since the 1960s, Singh has roamed far and wide across the vast expanses of India, from the source of the Ganges and the ghats of Benares, to Bombay and the Himalayas. In his introduction, he explains what India means to him - focusing in particular on colour. Arranged in 11 thematic sections, the images capture the sights and smells of streetlife, monuments and pilgrims to create a comprehensive picture of daily life in India.

Raghubir Singh (1942-1999) is considered by many to have been one of the finest of contemporary photographers. Born in Rajasthan, India, his work is in the permanent collections of a number of major museums, including The Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. His many publications include books on Kerala, Rasjasthan, Bombay and the Ganges. River of Colour is the first ever retrospective of his work. David Travis is Curator of Photography at the Art Institute of Chicago. His books include Taken by Design: Photographs from the Institute of Design, 1937-1971 and Edward Weston: The Last Years in Carmel.

"A crash course in human diversity that take hold of the eye and doesn't let go unti the viewer is prostrate with exhaustion."-Morning Star "River of Colour is a sumptuous book, a carefully arranged, beautifully printed documentary of the enormous variety of life and colours of a country that, at times, can almost overwhelm the senses."-The Times "This year's single best book of a contemporary photographer's work is surely River of Colour."-Independent