MATT MAHURIN: THE RAM EDITION

Tokyo, Japan: Research Of Art Media (RAM) , 1993. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. Tokyo, Japan: Research Of Art Media (RAM) , 1993. Hardcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 47 pages. Collection of black-and-white and color photographs, presented as an Artist Book. Limited Edition of 2300 copies. The first and only edition. Published in a small and limited print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Matt Mahurin and Hideyuki Taguchi: Regular-sized volume format. Black velvet cloth boards with gilt-and-red lettering design embossed on the cover and spine, as issued. The design consists of his name in Roman alphabet rendered horizontally in gold and matching Japanese hiragana ("matomahurin") in vertical red Japanese characters. Photographs by Matt Mahurin. There is no text. Printed in gravure on thick uncoated stock paper by Toppan Printing Company in Tokyo, Japan to the highest standards. As expected of Japanese publishing, the nuances, warmth, and tonal range of the reproduction quality must be seen to be believed. Without DJ, as issued. Presents "Matt Mahurin". The photographer's finest and most representative work in a sumptuous collector's edition. In 1989, Twelvetrees Press published Matt Mahurin's debut collection of haunting and haunted, luminous and numinous images. After that auspicious debut, Mahurin stopped taking photographs. Working restlessly for several years in digital imagery, writing, and feature filmmaking, Mahurin finally returned to the simplicity of the camera and darkroom. The photographs reflect the mood and vision of his first monograph and include work from America, France, Nicaragua, Ireland, and Mexico. "Mahurin's vision straddles two worlds--daytime glimpses out of the corner of the mind's eye and night visions we might spy with our eyes closed. Ordinary moments captured in mid-gesture are infused with an unexpected ritualism. The photograph becomes a frozen prayer to the perpetual rhythm of everyday life" (Jack Woody) . The book is presented as a triptych: The first is a series of black-and-white imagery; the second, a suite of extreme closeup portraits in color that is inspired by Japanese Classical painting; and the third, a concluding series of black-and-whites. Like the best photography books, the presentation is deceptively simple, and perfect. While Hujar evokes life's journey-unto-death, Mahurin celebrates life's perpetual cycles and the outer (black-and-white) and inner (color) worlds we all inhabit at the same time. At his very best, Mahurin is a transcendent artist who captures the inscrutable mystery and elusive beauty of our world in some of the most unforgettale photographs ever taken by a contemporary artist/photographer. An absolute "must-have" title for Matt Mahurin collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed and inscribed in black pen on the title page by the artist/photographer: "For Kory & the shopgirl, Love, Matt". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipients, who are named, are unmistakably personally known to the artist. This title is a contemporary art photography classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed and inscribed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare signed copy thus. 44 gravure plates. One of the most brilliant artist/photographers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER MATT MAHURIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 4947671017.