KONSTEN ATT VARA DAR ("THE ART OF BEING THERE") : THE LIMITED EDITION

Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 1991. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. Stockholm, Sweden: Norstedts, 1991. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 176 pages. Retrospective collection of photographs. Limited Edition of 153 numbered and signed copies. Should not be confused with the Limited Edition of 2000 copies, which was published simultaneously with it. They have the same ISBN. Published as a hardcover original only. The Limited Edition is now rare. An austerely elegant production by Christer Stromholm and Norstedts: Giant-sized volume format. Cream cloth boards with self-portrait pasted in the center and maroon titles embossed on spine, as issued. Photographs by Christer Stromholm. Text by Anders Jonason. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in Sweden to the highest standards. The reproduction quality is outstanding in every respect. In pictorial DJ with white titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents Christer Stromholm's "Konsten att vara dar". The Art of Being There, that is, being immersed in one's life and everything within it. A comprehensive selection of his photographs, sequenced as a sumptuously produced summing-up. As such, it showcases the formal - and exquisite - qualities of the images more than the subjective angst and expressiveness they evoked when they first appeared in such collections as "Till minnet av mig sjalv" (1965) , "Poste Restante" (1967) , and "Vannerna Fran Place Blanche" (1983) . As such, Stromholm's permanent contribution to photography is his emphasis on the importance of cultivating a personal relationship with his subject. "In his view, a photographer should only approach a subject in which they have a solid grounding in personal experience, using photography as a way to reach a deeper personal knowledge of themselves" (The Open Book) . In 1965, when he began, no other photographer was making his unremitting images. At the time, the world was passionately engaged with the dark films of Ingmar Bergman, the greatest film artist of the 20th century. It is easy to see, with the benefit of hindsight, that compared to Stromholm, Bergman's equally tormented private universe is almost positively bright and cheerful. At his best, Stromholm (and Bergman) evokes what Freud once said about all great art: That the greater it is, the more obscene it also is. An absolute "must-have" title for Christer Stromholm collectors. This is a copy of the Limited Edition of 153 numbered and signed copies, indicated as such on the Back Limitation Page. It is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Christer Stromholm. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. He then signed it again with his trademark thumbprint and initials over it. This title is an art photography classic. As far as we know, this is the only copy of the Limited Edition (Numbered And Signed) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Precedes and should NOT be confused with the Limited Edition of 2000 copies, which was published simultaneously with it. A rare signed copy thus. 153 plates. One of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER CHRISTER STROMHOLM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 9198934228.