CHIZU: THE MAP by Kawada, Kikuji - 2005

Tokyo, Japan: Getsuyosha/Nazraeli Press, 2005. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. Tokyo, Japan: Getsuyosha/Nazraeli Press, 2005. Hardcover. As New/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. Unpaginated. 40th-Anniversary Edition of the artist/photographer's masterpiece. One of the greatest Artist Books of the 20th century. Limited Slipcased Edition of 500 numbered and signed copies. Published simultaneously but should not be confused with the Japanese Edition of 1000 copies. Both Editions are now rare. A stunningly beautiful production by Kikuji Kawada: Regular-sized volume format. Black cloth boards with metallic-black titles embossed on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Kikuji Kawada. Separate Pamphlet laid into the slipcase. Pictorial hard board slipcase. Printed using the most advanced digital-reproduction technology by Kawada himself, who considers the results superior to the 1965 Edition: The plates "have a tonal clarity, warmth, and richness that offset lithography in the 1960's could not produce". Without DJ, as issued. Presents, in a definitive, Limited Edition realization, Kikuji Kawada's "Chizu". The Map as the "ultimate photobook-as-object". Originally published on August 6, 1965 to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima, the guiding idea of Kikuji Kawada's memorial project is archaeology. Using multi-panel foldouts, the "various layers inside peel away like archeological strata. The whole process becomes one of uncovering and contemplating the ramifications of recent Japanese history. A masterly amalgam of abstraction and realism, of the specific and the ineffable, woven into a tapestry that makes the act of viewing them a process of re-creation in itself. In the central metaphor of The Map (through a series of interlocking trace marks), Kawada has conjured a brilliant simile for the photograph itself: As scientific record, memory trace, cultural repository, puzzle, and guide" (Martin Parr and Gerry Badger). An absolute "must-have" title for Kikuji Kawada collectors. <b><i> This copy is one of the Nazraeli Press Limited Slipcased Edition, labelled as such on the slipcase's spine ("NZ") in order to distinguish it from the twice-as-many Japanese Edition of 1000 copies, and indicated/numbered as such on the Front Limitation Page. It is very prominently and beautifully signed, kanji style, in black ink-pen (on the very last page) by Kikuji Kawada. This title is a great art photography book. This is one of very few copies of the Limited Slipcased Edition still available online and has no flaws, a pristine beauty. Please note: This Limited Edition marks the very first time the title has been reissued, in response to the fact that: a) there are very few surviving copies of the 1965 First Edition; b) they are almost all in poor condition ("Very Good"); and c) yet easily command thousands of dollars ($15000 and up) when they turn up online or at auction. A rare signed copy thus. </b></i> 49 plates, 23 foldouts. "Chizu" was selected as one of the greatest photography books in "The Photobook". One of the most brilliant artist/photographers of the 20th century. A flawless collectible copy. . ISBN 4901477161.