josef chladek

on photobooks and books

Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book, Cosac Naify, 2012, São Paulo

 

Hardcover, japanese binding, design by Jean Yves Cousseau, second edition (first 1997)
"My work has a lot to do with skin, for that is the surface connecting us to the world, in pleasure as much as in pain. Skin is a dialogue between outside and inside, a separation that is also a connection." - Miguel Rio Branco

Silent Book presents a compelling portrait of the latin world, composing a Baroque panel with ruined objects, poor circuses, brothels and cheap boxing gyms. The images expose urban life with extreme lyricism contrasting affection and violence.

"[Miguel Rio Branco's] is a full-blooded Roman Catholic art, its frequent sanguinary references alluding both to the central sacrament of that religion and the violent history of Latin America. Like that of Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Branco's art deals with the cultural complexities of the area, even when he makes a photograph elsewhere...'describes a world that, while intensely physical, made of blood, sweat and matter, is dark and shadowy, described . in sideways glances and mysterious half-lights. [Silent Book] begins with an enigmatic image of an ominous, half-open doorway, followed by one of a glittering knife, and we are soon at the heart of the matter - the dark, sweaty Santa Rosa gym. The recurring metaphors revolve around violence, death, religion, poverty. His images of the gym, and also of a bullfight, suggest that the sacramental violence offered in sport is not, as some suggest, an incitement to violence outside, but a way to mitigate or break the cycle" - Parr & Badger

Pages: 98
Place: São Paulo
Year: 2012
Publisher: Cosac Naify
Size: 20 x 20 cm (approx.)


Included in "The Photobook: A History Volume II" by Parr/Badger
>> see more Vol. II picks here






 Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Front)

Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Front)

 Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Spine)

Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Spine)

 Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Back)

Miguel Rio Branco - Silent Book (Back)




Sample page 1 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 1 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 2 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 2 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 3 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 3 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 4 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 4 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 5 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 5 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 6 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 6 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 7 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 7 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 8 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 8 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 9 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 9 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 10 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 10 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 11 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 11 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Sample page 12 for book  Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book

Sample page 12 for book " Miguel Rio Branco – Silent Book", josefchladek.com

Other books by Miguel Rio Branco (see all)
Other books tagged Parr Badger Vol. 2 (see all)
Other books tagged Brazil (see all)
Other books by Cosac Naify (see all)


 

Hardcover, japanese binding, design by Jean Yves Cousseau, second edition (first 1997)
"My work has a lot to do with skin, for that is the surface connecting us to the world, in pleasure as much as in pain. Skin is a dialogue between outside and inside, a separation that is also a connection." - Miguel Rio Branco

Silent Book presents a compelling portrait of the latin world, composing a Baroque panel with ruined objects, poor circuses, brothels and cheap boxing gyms. The images expose urban life with extreme lyricism contrasting affection and violence.

"[Miguel Rio Branco's] is a full-blooded Roman Catholic art, its frequent sanguinary references alluding both to the central sacrament of that religion and the violent history of Latin America. Like that of Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Branco's art deals with the cultural complexities of the area, even when he makes a photograph elsewhere...'describes a world that, while intensely physical, made of blood, sweat and matter, is dark and shadowy, described . in sideways glances and mysterious half-lights. [Silent Book] begins with an enigmatic image of an ominous, half-open doorway, followed by one of a glittering knife, and we are soon at the heart of the matter - the dark, sweaty Santa Rosa gym. The recurring metaphors revolve around violence, death, religion, poverty. His images of the gym, and also of a bullfight, suggest that the sacramental violence offered in sport is not, as some suggest, an incitement to violence outside, but a way to mitigate or break the cycle" - Parr & Badger

Pages: 98
Place: São Paulo
Year: 2012
Publisher: Cosac Naify
Size: 20 x 20 cm (approx.)


Included in "The Photobook: A History Volume II" by Parr/Badger
>> see more Vol. II picks here