josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Brad Feuerhelm & Michael Salu - Let us now Praise Infamous Men, Paralaxe Editions, 2014, Los Angeles / Barcelona

Softcover with booklet in cardboard slipcase. Edition of 200, texts by Brad Feuerhelm and Michael Salu.

"This is a 'destroyed' book; a book in which a bullet has been shot through the pages. It is a book of portraits, the heads of Disney comic characters paired with the heads of leaders of multinational arms corporations, all rent asunder by a gunshot — that would be the summary of Brad Feuerhelm's latest work. It's not a classical photobook, but more of an artist's book. The images used are all pixelated and from different sources, the reason could be to disguise the persons shot in order to make the 'shooting' more bearable or maybe more banal. Or perhaps, the images were not available in sufficient quality. Flipping through the book is an aggravating adventure due to the sticking together of the pages from the damage of the bullet, which in the end justifies the repulsive 'content.'

While so many photobooks these days drown themselves in gimmickry, superficially seen you could be tempted to put this one there as well — but this one is brilliant! Feuerhelm makes a strong statement here, without any words (OK, there is a booklet — but you don't need that really to get the point), and that is a rare thing." (Josef Chladek)

See the limited edition here.

Order at Paralaxe Editions.

Pages: 55
Place: Los Angeles / Barcelona
Year: 2014
Publisher: Paralaxe Editions
Size: 15 x 22 cm (approx.)