FIRST EDITION OF ATMOS, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

HATAKEYAMA, Naoya. Atmos. Tucson: Nazraeli Press, 2003. Oblong quarto portfolio, original white cloth, original clear plastic slipcase. $400.

First edition of this photographic exploration of natural and man-made beauty, with 22 color photographic plates, signed by the author.

As the author explains, he was struck by the natural beauty of the Camargue, the Rhône River delta in France, and how it resonates with the unnatural beauty of the steam from the Camargue’s steel plant. “The etymology of ‘atmosphere’ is the ancient Greek words for vapor (atmos) and sphere (sphaira). Once I learned this, the air that filled the Camargue and the steam from the steel factory seemed to fuse into one before my eyes. It no longer felt strange to see signs of humanity in the sky and the land, nor to sense nature in the cloud of steam from the factory. And I began to feel that it would no longer be possible to draw a clear line at the border between nature and the artificial.” To emphasize these parallels, the author has chosen an unusual format for this book: two oblong quarto-sized portfolios joined in the center into one book with one spine that unfolds into two parallel and complimentary series of photographs, those of the steel plant on the left, and the river delta on the right.

Fine condition.