All About Saul Leiter /anglais

by LEITER SAUL

An only-from-Japan exploration of the photographer’s art and philosophy.
Photography lovers the world over are now embracing Saul Leiter, who has enjoyed a remarkable revival since fading into relative obscurity in the 1980s. This collection takes a Japanese perspective into the secrets of his appeal, from his life philosophy and lyricism to masterful colors and compositions reminiscent of ukiyo-e.
Some two hundred works—including early street photographs, images for advertising, nudes, and paintings—cover Leiter’s career from the 1940s onward, accompanied by quotations from the artist himself that express his singular worldview.

Saul Leiter was born in 1923 in Pittsburgh. He pioneered a painterly approach to color photography in the 1940s and produced covers for fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar before largely withdrawing from public attention in the 1980s. The publication of his first collection, Early Color, by Steidl in 2006 inspired an avid “rediscovery” that has since led to worldwide exhibitions and the release of a documentary, In No Great Hurry: 13 Lessons in Life with Saul Leiter (2014). He died in New York in 2013.

size: 210 × 148 × 28 mm
binding: softcover
language: english/japanese

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, The United States Of America, Art and Photography

296 pages, Paperback

Published July 12, 2018

Reviews

[Inga Pizāne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viens no maniem mīļākajiem fotogrāfiem. Ne maz no viņa esmu iedvesmojusies, bildējot pilsētvidi. Viņš gan biežāk izvēlējies krāsu fotogrāfiju, man tuvāka melnbaltā, bet no viņa kadrējumiem esmu mācījusies daudz un dikti.

[andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully, terrifically dense, with some of leiter's most gorgeous photographs full bleed. text is minimal but impactful and thoughtfully placed. especially loved the essays at the end. wanted to devour this book in one sitting but knew it was special so I took my time with it. will return to it again and again and again.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Went through the whole thing at the Barnes foundation and had a really nice time with it 🫶👍

This man LOVES precipitation and the color red.
I want to do more photography.

[Alina Vasylchyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

краса красива ❤️

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un precioso libro de fotografía. Las fotografías de Saul Leiter con ese aura de espectador casual de un mundo incompleto que se transforma en toda una intención. El texto de Saul Leiter reflexionando sobre la fotografía, cortas, dispersas, tan llenas humanidad. Y por último, las pinturas que también desarrolló junto a testo bibliográfico. Lo hacen un libro para abrir una y otra vez.

Para mí Saul Leiter es fotografía de calle, pero en este libro realmente hay mucho retrato también, incluso de estudio, pero con esa misma aura siempre o ese mismo buscar, forma de buscar.

Me ha gustado mucho y lo guardaré en la estantería cerca.

[Victor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book started my street photography obsession.

Describing words can’t do it justice so I suggest you go to your library, put on a noise cancelling headset and let yourself be immersed in Saul’s pictures.

[Rodica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this book on my nightstand for quite a while and, now that I officially finished it, I feel like I need to start it again.

This is a awe-inspiring beautiful book of photography. Saul Leiter was a painter-photographer, both literal, as he wanted to become a painter, and figuratively. His photography is all about capturing the fleeting moment, the myriad of shadows, the colors. It also captures the spirit of the city in a way that makes me go to the train station and ride into NYC at right this moment. The energy and the stillness of if all, at the same time.

Brilliant body of work, absolutely recommended to any photography lover.

[Michel Schynkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het was in een boek van Teju Cole dat ik voor het eerst op de naam Saul Leiter stootte. Op internet ging ik op zoek naar de bijhorende beelden. Sindsdien behoort de man tot mijn absolute favorieten. Heel blij dan ook met dit fotoboek, waarvan ik wel het kleine formaat wat betreur. Ook op de selectie zelf is iets af te dingen. Zo beperkt het boek zich grotendeels tot zijn oeuvre van de jaren ’50. In die periode maakte hij weliswaar zijn sterkste werk, maar ook wat daarna nog kwam, was niet mis. Het ware leuk geweest – gezien de titel van het boek - mochten we ook daar een glimp van opvangen. De man leefde tenslotte tot 2013 en hield nooit op met fotograferen.
De samenstellers van het boek namen wel een aantal van zijn schilderijen op. Boeiend om ook daar een beeld van te krijgen. Die werken zijn niet slecht, maar steken niet boven het maaiveld uit. Had de schilder Saul Leiter niet besloten om ook de camera te hanteren, dan hadden we wellicht nooit van hem gehoord. De inclusie is echter vooral interessant, omdat zijn schilderblik – met een voorliefde voor het werk Pierre Bonnard en Edouard Vuillard – een sterke invloed had op zijn beeldtaal als fotograaf. (In zijn foto’s vangt hij het licht vooral via reflecties en legt hij vaak grote kleurvlakken vast.) Vaak heeft men meer het idee naar schilderijen dan naar foto’s te kijken.
Als toemaatje bevat dit boek drie prima (korte) essays, waarin o.a. ook de invloed van Japanse prentkunst (ukiyo-e) op zijn werk wordt toegelicht.

[Sotiris Dimitrakopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Νομίζω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο πήρε την θέση ως το αγαπημένο βιβλίο φωτογραφίας που έχω διαβάσει. O Leiter έχει ένα ιδιαίτερο και διαχρονικό στυλ καλλιτεχνικής φωτογραφίας δρόμου που με αγγίζει. Τόσο τα χρώματά του όσα και το καδράρισμα που κάνει, σε συνδυασμό με τους ανθρώπους μιας παλαιότερης εποχής, σε κάνει να νοσταλγείς στιγμές που δεν ένιωσες με έναν περίεργο τρόπο καθώς. Πολύ αφηρημένο στυλ φωτογραφίας το οποίο δεν έχει χρονολογία λήξης. Είμαι σίγουρος πολύ έχουν επηρεαστεί απο τον Leiter για την φωτογραφία τους. Δεν θέλησε ποτέ να είναι στο προσκήνιο ούτε θεωρούσε τον εαυτό του καλλιτέχνη, παρόλα αυτά οι φωτογραφίες του έγιναν διάσημες και δημιουργήθηκε το leiter style στην φωτογραφία.

Όπως λέει και ο ίδιος "Οι φωτογραφίες είναι σουβενίρ ενός μυ ολοκληρωμένου κόσμου".

[MML · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, contains many magical shots.
But.
splitting photographic art across two pages so that the middle of the opened book eats the topic of the image is dumb. Leiter’s paintings are a curiosity, but IMHO not sufficiently high quality to be included in the multitude they have been. Some of the chosen nudes are really good and some just tacky - if a Playboy page beats your nude in artistry, maybe raise the bar?
🤷🏼‍♂️
Contains a heap of legendary images, but IMHO after them also quite a bit of material feeling strangely like “filler”, considering the man had a treasure vault of shots 🤔
🤷🏼‍♂️
But I really liked the commentary accompanying the shots.

[Louise B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely needs a few reads to fully appreciate it. The photography sections are quite dense and need time to process and enjoy every single detail and imperfection. The essay section at the end is also to enlightening and is one of the reason why a second read though will be necessary to gain a bigger perspective on Leiter’s body of work.

[Christina Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atmospheric, I loved the sparse quotes interspersed throughout. Felt like the artist was showing you around his studio, not bogged down by essays by others (though there's some of that at the end for those who insist.) Lovely work.

[Vincent Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discovered this photographer through the documentary, In No Great Hurry. A fan ever since. This book is nicely slim on text, which, being a Japanese production, is pithy while not be overly self-important. Mostly it is simply tons a riveting photos - and some paintings -taken over half a century.

[shiqin]

really love his style of street photography, will definitely be looking out for more of his work. he manages to capture little moments that can mean so much which i think is really cool. would love to take more inspiration from his street photography style.

[kelly]

"Photographs are often treated as important moments
but really they are little fragments and souvenirs of an unfinished world."
— Saul Leiter

i want to dissolve completely into saul leiter's photographs.

[traveler, learner, lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

best enjoyed in a dark room with a small portable warm origami lamp and ‘abstract classical mix’ on spotify

saul leiter and his work are an endless inspiration i deeply connect with

this book was a christmas gift for myself just because

[Raffaele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una visione straordinaria.
La ricerca sorprendente di un genio riscoperto.

[Akshay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at American Book Center, Amsterdam

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A precious little ode of an exhibition catalog to an undersung artist.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of photographs.

I thought some of the images were striking and the short text sections were thought provoking.

Viewing / reading time around forty-five minutes.

[Bradley Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best 3 color photographers of ALL TIME. Huge inspiration for what is possible with the medium if one's eye is trained to see the abstract.

[Camilo]

Simplemente hermoso.

[Brandon Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There is a tremendous advantage to being unimportant.”

[Chen Pang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saul Leiter is a true artist. The kind that no longer exists today. His work is emotional but very calm. Not only was he a true pioneer in color photography, he's the master of street photography. He truly paints with his lens.

[Tal Castiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice pictures, interesting quotes of Saul, very intimate work

[Huw Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. The text is well written and informative. The pictures inspirational. A cheaper way to get into Saul Leiter.