
Dark Room
Garry Fabian Miller(Author)
Bodleian Library (Publisher)
Published on 16. March 2023
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-85124-609-0 (ISBN)
Description
Garry Fabian Miller's Dark Room is a photography book unlike any other. At its heart is the artist's description of a life lived making pictures between the dark and the light, a deeply personal account woven against the history of photography from the moment of its birth in the 1830s to its decline, and some would say death, in the digital age almost two hundred years later.
It is a memoir that reads at times like a manifesto, at others like a confession; a last testament to the dark room as both a site for the imagination, and a physical space for the alchemy that William Henry Fox Talbot once described as 'a little bit of magic realised'. Dark Room charts Miller's work over five decades, shifting from a camera-based practice in early career to the abstract picture making for which he has become internationally recognised, working without a camera to experiment with the possibilities of light as both medium and subject.
At its core is the relationship with nature and place that has so sustained his way of life, and specifically with his home on Dartmoor and the cycle of daily walks that have been at the core of his practice for thirty years.
The book also features an essay on Miller's work by his friend the potter and writer Edmund de Waal and technical notes by Martin Barnes, senior photography curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
It is a memoir that reads at times like a manifesto, at others like a confession; a last testament to the dark room as both a site for the imagination, and a physical space for the alchemy that William Henry Fox Talbot once described as 'a little bit of magic realised'. Dark Room charts Miller's work over five decades, shifting from a camera-based practice in early career to the abstract picture making for which he has become internationally recognised, working without a camera to experiment with the possibilities of light as both medium and subject.
At its core is the relationship with nature and place that has so sustained his way of life, and specifically with his home on Dartmoor and the cycle of daily walks that have been at the core of his practice for thirty years.
The book also features an essay on Miller's work by his friend the potter and writer Edmund de Waal and technical notes by Martin Barnes, senior photography curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Reviews / Votes
Fabian Miller's works dwell majestically, inviting pause, tempting immersion, evading final qualification. These rare encounters remind us of quite how magical the photographic arts are. * Amateur Photographer * We see a lot of books here at Amateur Photographer, and it's safe to say that while many of them are excellent, it's rare for one to give such pause for thought as Dark Room...to sit down and absorb the book, front-to back, is a fantastic experience that is hard to beat. * Amateur Photographer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 250 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1148 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85124-609-0 (9781851246090)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Garry Fabian Miller is one of the most progressive figures in contemporary fine art photography. He gained international acclaim in the 1970s for photographs of sky, land and sea, notably for the series Sections of England: The Sea Horizon, 197576. His books include Blaze (2019), Bliss (2015) and Between Sun and Earth (1993).
Edmund de Waal is an artist, ceramicist and best-selling author of The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010).
Edmund de Waal is an artist, ceramicist and best-selling author of The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010).
Content
Dark Room 13
Farewell to an Idea: Edmund de Waal 226
Catalogue 242
Technical Notes: Martin Barnes 256
Further Reading 259
Biography 260
Acknowledgements 262
Farewell to an Idea: Edmund de Waal 226
Catalogue 242
Technical Notes: Martin Barnes 256
Further Reading 259
Biography 260
Acknowledgements 262