Book Review: Visual Memories and Hidden Places by Paul Caponigro

blog

Book Review: Visual Memories and Hidden Places by Paul Caponigro

September 2nd, 2023 by Cary Benbow

Two Pears, Cushing, Maine, 1999 © Paul Caponigro

Paul Caponigro is a living icon in the world of photography. For over 60 years, the revered American photographer has been sharing his vision of the world through his photographs. His work is often characterized by its emotional intensity and its power to transcend specific subject matter into visual poetry. He is a master of composition and printing techniques, and his images are full of wonderment and story. Whether he is photographing an ordinary frozen windowpane or a vast landscape, Caponigro’s photographs often convey a sense of mystery and awe. His work is a testament to the power of photography to capture the beauty and complexity of this natural world, as well as transcend it… and Visual Memories and Hidden Places contains some of his most famous images.

Caponigro’s work is praised by critics and photographers alike – even the photographic legends who were also his mentors. Visionaries such as Ansel Adams called him “one of the most important photographers of our time,” and Minor White said that Caponigro’s work “is a clear expression of the spiritual life.” Paul Caponigro is a true master of photographic art, and his work continues to inspire and impress viewers across multiple generations and surely generations to come.

Frosted Window, Revere, Massachusetts, 1957 © Paul Caponigro

Reflecting Stream, Redding, Connecticut, 1968 © Paul Caponigro

Soaped Window, Boston, Massachusetts, 1959 © Paul Caponigro

In the introduction to one of his earlier books, Caponigro: Master Photographer, Paul Caponigro writes that his connection to nature began at a young age. He considers nature his greatest teacher, and his photographs reflect his ability to notice shape, form, and light and translate that into emotional and metaphorical images. Caponigro’s use of light and shadow, his attention to detail, and his ability to create images that suggest a deeper meaning beyond the physical world. However, Caponigro says he does not intend to create religious or spiritual imagery. He simply wants to create photographs that are “beautiful, mysterious, and evocative.” In a 1975 interview, Caponigro said, “I see photography as a way of exploring the world around me and the world within me. I am interested in the relationship between light and shadow, form and space, and the interplay of these elements to create a sense of mystery and wonder.”

The superior artistry and craftsmanship of Visual Memories and Hidden Places struck me from the moment I held the book. The quality of the tri-tone offset printed images had me checking the bound pages to see if these are actually silver prints bound into a book. The depth of the image on paper left me feeling like I was holding a precious gift – a collection of prints from a master photographer bound with a linen cover that glints and transforms in the light like sharkskin. For readers who like to read what the artist thinks about a specific image, or relates what it was like to make the image, Caponigro reflects on each image included in the book. The contributor essays accompany the images and the artist’s text as well. For a photographer with such a long and successful career, I always enjoy the insight provided along side the work instead of being buried in an appendix or endnotes.

Tide Pool, Nahant, Massachusetts, 1965 © Paul Caponigro

Dried Sunflower, Winthrop, Massachusetts, 1965 © Paul Caponigro

Kentucky Trees, 1965 © Paul Caponigro

Hiei-San Temple, Kyoto, Japan, 1976 © Paul Caponigro

Fungus on Marble Table, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1962 © Paul Caponigro

Ancient Grapevine, Tecate, Mexico, 1979 © Paul Caponigro

The inside back cover has an affixed envelope furtively holding a small folio of essays and images: Fungus on Marble Table, Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1962; Tide Pool, Nahant, Massachusetts, 1965; and Backlit Sunflower, Winthrop, Massachusetts, 1965. This discovery only heightened the feeling like I was ‘getting away with something’; surely there had been a mistake and I’m holding artist proof prints or silver gelatin prints meant for a limited edition. This book is a treasure to behold and could be a focus-point on anyone’s bookshelves.

“To see into a Paul Caponigro photograph is to look into the universe. The speed of time has slowed to light winking on a pebble, drops of water revealing a granite contour, a blade of grass; feast in the joy of nature’s bouncy. The basic elements, rocks, trees, water, life, birch, death, regeneration, stripped down to essential black and white elements of photography – light, chemistry, and alchemy. The city has steel, concrete, and hard edges; the country has softness, touch it with your eyes – to see it as Caponigro does, you must look beyond the tree trunk and see around to the other side.” -Andrew Smith

Visual Memories and Hidden Places by Paul Caponigro

Hardcover with Linen Slipcase, Duo Bookcloth with Smyth binding,
48 pages plus a separate 8-page folio (saddle sewn), tri-tone offset printing by Hemlock Printers, Burnaby, BC, Canada, and binding by Roswell Bookbinding, Phoenix, Arizona.
12.5″ x 16″
Published by Veritas Editions, 2023
Photobook Designer: Gregory Wakabayashi

Preface, Acknowledgments, and supporting essays by Paul Caponigro. Introduction by Michael K. Komanecky, with essays by Jennifer Schlesinger, Ann Jastrab, Ted Orlando, Andrew Smith, Carl Chiarenza, Huntington Witherill, Kurt Markus, Peter Fetterman, John Paul Caponigro, David Heald, Ron Rosenstock, Scott Nichols, William Clift and Craig Alan Huber.

Paul Caponigro (born Boston, 1932) is one of America’s foremost landscape photographers. While he became interested in photography at age of thirteen, he also had a strong passion for music; he studied at Boston University College of Music in 1950 before deciding to focus on photography at the California School of Fine Art, where Ansel Adams had established one of the first photography programs in the United States. Despite the shift from music to photography early in his artistic career, Caponigro remains a dedicated piano player who believes that his musical training and insight influences his photographic imagery. Caponigro is best known for his interest in natural forms, landscapes, and still-life photos. He had his first solo exhibition at the George Eastman House in 1958 and his work has been shown in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad. Throughout the 1960s he was a part-time teacher at Boston University while consulting on various technical research projects with the Polaroid Corporation. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships and three National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants. In recognition of a career spanning nearly seventy years and a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography, Caponigro was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship in 2001.

About Cary Benbow

Photographer, Writer, Publisher of Wobneb Magazine

View all posts by Cary Benbow →

Location: Online Type: Black and White, Book Review

blog