Anonymous: Enigmatic Images from Unknown Photographers

by Robert Flynn Johnson, William Boyd (Introduction)

"To isolate and pointedly categorize the anonymous is to postulate something both unusual and intriguing....The anonymous photograph...makes us ask, with new concentration, what it is about a photograph that elevates it above the casual and banal....What, in short, makes a photograph good?" William Boyd In recent years, collectors and curators have begun to turn their attention to the great mass of anonymous photographs that excite our imagination with their seemingly random recording of public works and private lives. Like gold nuggets among worthless pebbles, the 200 classic images reproduced in this book include many of transcendent beauty and psychological insight, all with the magical, mysterious charge that comes from using our own imaginations to speculate on the circumstances in which they were taken. The number of collectors of anonymous photographs is growing found objects in a flea market, available for a few dollars, the photos provide collectible visual narratives. Organized into the themes that govern our livesfrom birth to death, from love to war, from travel to celebritythe photographs gathered here are pleasurable and poignant, giving insight into the human secrets with which we can all identify. 200 photographs printed in color.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Coffee Table Books, History

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2004

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, mysterious, sad photographs from a time when the word "photograph" meant something. So many unknown artists! And yet, like in Johnson's other book, The Face in the Lens: Anonymous Photographs, they seem to share something, the same mood, as if they were all taken by one timeless photographer.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

The emphasis here is definitely on the photos themselves, which are nicely printed at good size (most somewhat larger than the original); even the (sparse) captions are all at the end, keyed by page, so the pages are without text to distract from the image. But the introductory short essay by William Boyd, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Photograph", is one of the best introductions to the subject, in my opinion much better than the usual cited works like Barthes and Sontag. And the joy of such anonymous images is that, lacking famous names and associations to hang one's appreciation on, they must be appreciated as sheer visual objects. One of my favorites.

[Elizabeth Roberts-Zibbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy and curious.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing collection that is sure to invite frequent re-opening to random images!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of arresting found photos that hold their own with the shots of known greats. Moving and thought-provoking. I have the feeling these images will find their way into my dream sleep.

[Aischa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous photos. A collection of mundane and bizarre pictures, mostly black and white. Totally satisfies anyone with a curiosity for humanity.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

More puzzling evidence from the human psyche. I'm loving it and coveting many of these photos.

[janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xmas present from Jay&Cheryl.