Chakeres, John A. Traces: An Investigation in Reason by John A. Chakeres.

Light Impressions, 1977. First edition. Wraps, very good with some waviness to text block.  Printed in two impression offset lithography on 100 pound Cameo dull. Unpaginated with 48 b&w plates. Illustrated heavy-card cover. John Chakeres was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1952. His interest in photography began at the age of 13. In 1976, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Ohio University in both photography and printmaking. His first book, Traces, consists of black and white landscape photographs, edited to suggest a journey of self-discovery.  Summary:

Traces: An Investigation in Reason (1977) by John A. Chakeres is an artist's book and conceptual photographic study that explores the intersection of photography, formal logic, and visual perception. Created during a period of intense experimentation with the medium's formal capabilities, the book presents a sequenced series of black-and-white minimalist photographs that investigate how photographic images function as semiotic signs and evidence. Through sparse compositions, rigorous geometric framing, and a deliberate focus on subtle physical traces, light, and surface, Chakeres challenges the viewer to analyze the image as a logical structure rather than a purely representational document, interrogating the nature of visual reasoning and the mechanical fidelity of the photograph.

John A. Chakeres (born 1952) is an American fine art photographer, printmaker, and educator whose career spans over four decades of technical innovation and formalist exploration. Born in Ohio, Chakeres earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from Ohio University in 1977, the same year he published Traces: An Investigation in Reason. Throughout his career, he has worked across both analog and digital mediums, gaining acclaim for diverse projects ranging from his architectural and landscape studies to First Light: Space Shuttle (published as a monograph in 2018), a historic series documenting the early launches of NASA’s Space Shuttle program using custom-built remote camera systems. In addition to his creative practice, Chakeres has worked extensively as a master printer, commercial photographer, and educator in the Midwest. His work has been widely exhibited and is held in permanent museum collections, including the Columbus Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Center for Creative Photography.