Natural Habitats
Massimo Vitali
300 pages
Hardback / Clothbound
Steidl, 2011
With this book Massimo Vitali extends the scope of his survey from beaches and discos to include skiing resorts and swimming pools from across the globe. His large-scale, color images apply a topographical clarity and wealth of detail to the rites and rituals of modern leisure.
Vitali’s experience of working with both still and moving images produces a mixture of recognition and unfamiliarity that shifts the image from documentary realism towards the surreal. In Vitali’s images figure and environment subtly cohabit the space of the picture, combining the minute detail of view camera photography and the fascination with the world of appearances and their uncertainty.
http://www.steidl.de/flycms/en/Books/Landscape-with-Figures/0410384950.html