Andreas Gurskys new Bangkok series forms the basis of this book. Gurskys photos depict the dark, moving water of Thailands Chao Phraya river, whose shimmering surface possesses the qualities of abstract painting. Indeed these photos are reminiscent of some of the most recognisable examples of Modernist Abstraction such as the work of Hans Arp, but they also echo the more hostile patterns of military camouflage. Seductively beautiful on the first glance, it is only in time that the rubbish of civilisation becomes recognisable floating on the surface of the river the flotsam of a threatening reality moving upon colourful reflections. Gursky alludes to the ecological problems that jeopardise Bangkok, and which shortly after these images were made, culminated in the widespread flooding that devastated great parts of Thailand. Andreas Gursky, born in 1955 in Leipzig, is one of the most important contemporary photographers. He studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen, and at the Kunstakademie Du?sseldorf under
Bollywood movies are glorious, colorful spectacles of romance,action, drama, song, and dance. The biggest film industry in theworld, Bollywood puts out some nine hundred movies a year, whichare watched by passionate fans around the globe. Stephen Alter--awriter who grew up in India and has inside access toBollywood--acts as translator and tour guide in this firsthand lookinto the world of Bombay films. Following the making of a Bollywoodversion of Othello, he explores the enormous popularity of Hindimovies and reveals the actors, directors, musicians, and feats ofartifice that make them so compelling and unique. From the blessingceremony performed each time a movie starts shooting to the secretsbehind the song- and-dance extravaganzas, Fantasies of a BollywoodLove-Thief is a beguiling introduction to the rituals and cultureof a moviemaking industry so similar to and yet utterly differentfrom our own.
