Suspending Time: Life - Photography - Death (English and Japanese Edition)

The magic of photography is its unique power to capture a moment in the past to be viewed in the present, to capture a subject suspended between life and death. This evocative, beautifully written catalog from Japan's Izu Photo Museum documents an inspired exhibition that looks into photography's mystical way of suspending time--with an innovative mix of photos from Japan and the West.

Even with the relatively recent inclusion of vernacular photos in ''serious'' photography collections, the study of the art form has remained almost entirely Euro-centric. Yet in Suspending Time, curator Geoffrey Batchen (a professor at City University New York) opens the door to using Japanese vernacular photos--and what a treasure-trove he's found!

Among the sections is one of memorial ''cabinet cards'' and funerary photos, from Mexico, France, the United States and Japan. A delightful collection of snapshots shows the shadow of the photographer; ''group portraits in which both subject and object are figured in eternal union,'' writes Batchen. He includes photos by professionals Lee Friedlander and Daido Moriyama to make his point.

With over 100 beautiful plates of cabinet cards, Daguerreotypes, photography jewelry, tintypes, Japanese ambrotypes, and Mexican sculptures. Includes essays by Batchen, Yoshiaki Kai and Masashi Kohara. In English and Japanese.