Passes: The Art of the Bullfight; Seduction, Deceptions, Illusion, and Truth

Combining the knowledge of his craft with intelligence, willpower, courage and art, a bullfighter uses a cloth (cape or muleta) to lead, dominate, pass, and kill a charging bull. This book offers an extensive photographic and literary study of the variety of passes performed in a bullfight.

Contemporary bullfighting is probably the most artful and sophisticated way certain cultures celebrate the bravery of the hunter. This ancient ritual can also illustrate the complex relationship between predator and prey, and between culture and nature. Ricardo Sanchez’s vivid photographs reflect this exquisite "pas de deux," where the bull and the bullfighter trace the lines and forms of their existence with each pass. The texts provide detailed descriptions of how the passes are performed, what they mean in the bullring, and what they represent as metaphors of our broader relationships with nature and ourselves. PASSES is a unique visual and intellectual study of the intersection of tradition, culture, art, and nature in this ancient rite.