Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Landscape is unquestionably the richest genre in photography, and has been since its beginnings. It now finds itself at the cutting edge of contemporary image making, driven partly by an enduring fascination with the land, and partly by the urgent need to take stock of the extraordinary forces impacting on our environment. Fact and fiction mix in this first truly international survey of a vibrant, burgeoning field, its masterful twenty-first-century practitioners, and their work.

William A. Ewing, the eminent photography author and curator, has selected 240 photographs by over 100 photographers, ranging from renowned figures such as Andreas Gursky, Richard Misrach, Susan Derges and Edward Burtynsky, to younger rising stars, including Olaf Otto Becker, Pieter Hugo and Penelope Umbrico. Each represents an individual or original viewpoint of a shared concern for our rapidly changing environment.

Organized into ten themes - Sublime; Pastoral; Artefacts; Rupture; Playground; Scar; Control; Enigma; Hallucination; Reverie - Landmark covers the full range of the genre, and sometimes even goes outside it: from bucolic images picturing the last vestiges of 'nature', through disturbing depictions of a sullied Earth, scarred and abused, to surreal and artificial landscapes where nature is channelled, controlled and regulated.

William A. Ewing contributes introductory texts to each of the sections, as well as the preface and introduction, and the book also features concise statements by the photographers themselves. The result is a thought-provoking meditation on the meaning of landscape in today's world.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Ewing (former director of the Musee de l'Elysee, Lausanne, Switzerland; Face: The New Photographic Portrait) presents an intriguing and much-needed survey of current work in landscape photography. In 240 large (mostly full-page) reproductions, this book investigates the work of 120 artists from around the world who present a variety of approaches and techniques. Many of the contributors practice aerial photography as a way to capture the landscape as a work of shapes and patterns. Ground-level pictures, as well as images of outer space and interior replications of outdoor scenes, are also included. The works selected imply relationships between humans and the landscape, and are grouped in chapters according to themes. For example, the chapter titled "Playground" includes aerial photographs of beaches and ski slopes in which people appear as patterns within the landscapes. A section with statements by each of the artists helps the reader to appreciate the interests and techniques of the photographers. Readers of this title may like Bernhardt Edmaier's EarthArt: Colors of the Earth (2013), which also presents a painterly approach to aerial photography. VERDICT Art photographers and painters alike will admire the compositions and interpretations of subject matter.-Eric G. Linderman, Euclid P.L., OH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The pleasure and conceit of this beautifully designed and illustrated book reside in the unorthodox categories curator Ewing uses to reimagine and invigorate discourse swirling around contemporary landscape photography. The subject, a dominant genre in contemporary photographic practice, thrives under the themes of his diverse, innovative chapters (e.g., "Rupture," "Playground," "Scar," "Control," "Hallucination," "Reverie," and "Enigma") while honoring more traditional landscape themes in chapters like "Sublime" and "Pastoral." Ewing's enthusiasm for diverse photographic strategies and his uniquely global perspective of inclusion embrace over 100 international photographers (some known and some new), celebrating their ongoing fascination with the land. While addressing land use, abuse, and the exploitation of natural resources that contribute to the undeniable effects of climate change worldwide, this book creates an urgent call to arms without being dogmatic. Ewing's lucid, accessible, and thought-provoking essays introduce each chapter and are essential for contextualizing his unusual motifs for the reader. Particularly delightful is the addition of short artist statements that provide a refreshingly personal glimpse into each artist's voice and creative vision. A valuable book for every photography library. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. --Judy Natal, Columbia College Chicago