Aperture 177. Winter 2004. Robert Doisneau, David Hilliard, Jason Florio, et al.

Fine condition, like new.  Includes Reviews by Vicki Goldberg, Andy Grunberg, and Vince Aletti; This Is Libya by Jason Florio; David Hilliard: Wide-Screen Tableaux; Doisneau Noir by Carole Naggar, an intimate memoir of walking the streets of Paris with Robert Doisneau over many years with many Doisneau photos; Eyes on a Fast World: The World Press Photo Contest 2004; Rinko Kawauchi: Utatane (also cover photo by Kawauchi) by Charlotte Cotton; Dispatches from the Image Wars by Abigail Solomon-Godeau on books by Susan Sontag and John Taylor; and more. Summary:

Aperture 177 (Winter 2004) is a multifaceted issue of the renowned photography quarterly that explores the intersection of personal identity, global reportage, and the quiet beauty of the everyday. Edited by Melissa Harris, the issue is notable for its international scope, ranging from the streets of Paris and Tripoli to the domestic interiority of Japan.

Key Portfolios and Features

• Robert Doisneau: Doisneau Noir With an essay by Carole Naggar, this feature offers an intimate re-examination of the master French photographer. Moving beyond his popular "charming" street scenes, the archive exploration reveals a moodier, more complex side of Doisneau's Paris—capturing the grit, shadows, and overlooked corners of the city he walked for decades.

• David Hilliard: Wide-Screen Tableaux Bill Arning introduces Hilliard’s signature panoramic polyptychs. These multi-panel photographs construct cinematic, wide-angle narratives that blend autobiography with fiction, exploring themes of masculinity, family dynamics, and the construction of identity,

• Jason Florio: This Is Libya In Aperture’s first commissioned photographic feature, Florio travels to Tripoli. His images document a country then in a state of wary transition, capturing the friction between deeply held North African traditions and the encroaching influence of Western culture.

• Rinko Kawauchi: Utatane Charlotte Cotton presents the work of this Japanese photographer, whose images find the sublime in the minutiae of daily life. Kawauchi’s aesthetic—characterized by soft light and "ordinary" subjects—became a major influence on contemporary photography during this period.

Reviews and Essays

• World Press Photo 2004: Elisabeth Biondi provides a "Witness" report on the 2004 World Press Photo Contest, discussing the evolution of photojournalism and the impact of the digital transition on the industry.

• Book Excerpts: The issue features significant previews of era-defining monographs, including Alec Soth’sSleeping by the Mississippi, Geoffrey Batchen’s Forget Me Not, and Bruno Stevens’ Baghdad: Truth Lies Within.

• Contributors: Critical commentary is provided by heavyweights in the field, including Vicki Goldberg, Andy Grundberg, and Vince Aletti.

Summary

Issue Theme: A meditation on the "unseen"—whether it is the overlooked darkness in a famous photographer's archive (Doisneau), the private interior worlds of the home (Kawauchi), or the rarely documented streets of a secluded nation (Libya). It remains a landmark issue for its introduction of significant contemporary voices to a broader Western audience.