Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Advertisements by Josef Sudek.








Advertisements. Photographs by Josef Sudek. Torst, Prague, 2008. 96 pp., Numerous black and white illustrations., 11.2 x 8.9".

"The Czech photographer Josef Sudek, who is best known for his moody, Romantic shots of still lifes and street scenes, was also an influential advertising pioneer.

His collaboration with designer Ladislav Sutnar and architect Otto Rothmayer created striking ads that rival the work of better-known contemporaries.

This aspect of his career was short-lived, however: the nationalization of privately owned businesses in Czechoslovakia at the end of WWII , coupled with the Communist takeover of 1948, made advertising largely superfluous.

In this volume, Sudek's striking commercial oeuvre is presented for the first time."

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