Fielding, Jed. City of Secrets: Photographs of Naples by Jed Fielding.

Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago, and Takarajima Books, 1997. Foreword by Denise Miller. Essays by Shirley Hazzard and Nan Richardson. [Monograph of black-and-white photographs by a former student of Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan at the Rhode Island School of Design.]  1st ed., near fine with protected dust jacket that has a few light scratches hard to discern. Small black remainder dot at bottom near spine. Issued at $40.  Summary:

City of Secrets: Photographs of Naples (1997), published by Takarajima Books in conjunction with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, is the debut monograph by American street photographer Jed Fielding.

Key Details & Summary

• Scope & Concept: Accumulates two decades of work photographing the concrete streets, alleyways, and public squares of Naples, Italy, capturing the raw, intimate energy of the city and its residents.

• Imagery & Aesthetic: Focuses heavily on expressive street portraiture of adults and children, highlighting gesticulations, playfulness, defiance, and resilience frozen in high-contrast black-and-white.

• Textual Contributions: Includes introductory and contextual commentary by acclaimed novelist Shirley Hazzard, who provides historic and poetic framing of Naples, alongside an analytical essay by photography writer Nan Richardson.

• Exhibition Record: Functioned as both a stand-alone fine-art monograph and the official catalog for Fielding’s solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (November 1997–January 1998).

Biographical Summary: Jed Fielding

Jed Fielding (born 1953) is an American fine-art and street photographer renowned for his intense, tactile, and close-quarters portraiture of urban life. Raised in Chicago, Fielding earned his B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he studied under Aaron Siskind and Harry Callahan, before receiving his M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1980. His artistic career has been defined by long-term engagements with specific global cities, most notably Naples, Italy—where he spent twenty years photographing residents in the historic center—as well as Peru, Mexico, and his hometown of Chicago. Known for his high-contrast black-and-white visual style and deep empathy, Fielding captures sensory details, physical touch, and the kinetic energy of street culture. His work has been widely exhibited, featured in publications such as City of Secrets (1997) and Look at Me (2009), and is included in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.