Chaos, en près de cent clichés, dans un format fidèle à l'homme et à l'oeuvre (30x43 cm), illustre bien la singularité de Koudelka au sein de l'agence Magnum et parmi les photographes. Ce sont des plans larges en noir et blanc, étroits et serrés, des compositions géométriques partagées entre les ténèbres et la clarté, l'ombre et la lumière. Le photographe est un artisan des verticales et des horizontales, il aime le format étiré, joue sur les perspectives. Celles d'un quai de métro à Paris, d'une carrière désaffectée, d'une usine où subsiste seulement une vieille machine, d'une gigantesque statue en plâtre de Lénine, écrasant de son poids la longueur d'une péniche dérivant sur le Danube. Des images de la République Tchèque, de Bosnie, de Grèce... Ici et là, des murs effondrés, éclatés par un obus, des routes qui s'estompent, se perdent au bout du cadre, des blocs de bétons entassés, accumulés, jetés en vrac sur un quai. Voilà tout un monde minéralisé, débarrassé de ses hommes, chaotique, marqué par les désastres. Et, au bout du compte, ces images recomposent un autre paysage, un autre décor, façonné par l'oeil du photographe. Céline Darner

Book Description

For the past 12 years, Koudelka has made photographs using a panoramic format camera, exploring its formal possibilities with rigour and originality, and "Chaos" is the fulfilment of Koudelka's panoramic vision. "Paradoxically, the images in "Chaos" viciously expose the anarchy which man imposes on nature and on himself" writes Robert Delpire in his foreword, "beyond all controversy, they denounce the absurdity of a world turned into a scene of dereliction. Josef Koudelka recreates a dream space, an elsewhere beyond time, beyond location, within which he organizes the shapeless and the chaotic". "Chaos" is dramatic, provocative and beautiful. Koudelka's next publishing landmark, it will have a powerful impact within the art and photography world.

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5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars homage to JK, Aug 8 2003

James F Leisy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chaos (Hardcover)

JK is a street photographer who transcends the boundaries. Eye of the artist and soul of the novelist. This book represents the closest thing to recent work. Unfortunately he has withdrawn his photographs from circulation. He is concentrating on photographing and not doing any printing.
The large format is perfect for these panoramic images. A statue of Lenin on a barge is my favorite pic. Worth the price of the book. However, there are many others to fall in love with.

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5.0 out of 5 stars somewhat abstract yet powerful landsape photography, Aug 22 2001

dogparty - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chaos (Hardcover)

This book drives me up the wall, the pictures of wartorn lanscpaes, dispaced lonely images, almost completely void of people. The isolation one feels is intense, like walking into an old subway entrance when nobody is around. The photos document the natural erosion of landscapes and the 'personalities' that prevail as a result of neglect, beautifully framed by cold hard angles giving shape to the image at hand. And anogst all the torn metal and concrete then there is a picture of a lone tree in the middle of a baren snow-covered landscape, cold and alone and wonderful, just how you will feel when you read this. Not really a coffe table book, unless of course you never have have any guests.

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5.0 out of 5 stars -, April 27 2001

stain (nyc) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chaos (Hardcover)

absolutly stuning, wonderful study of texture. and i bought it for... right after looking at it. if i don't see it every now and then i miss it. i want to say something more, something globaly political, but the images are so romantic it seems josef koudelka doesn't realize where he is. (that's a complement)

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich images
I consider Koudelka to be one of the finest photographers to come out of Prague. This book is handsome. The images are beautifully reproduced and the camera format seductive. Read more

Published on Mar 9 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars Different . . . heart-stopping
I like Koudelka's work very much. I saw this new book listed here in Amazon, but who wants to buy a photography book without looking at it? Read more

Published on Dec 16 1999 by Margot Otway