FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AM I NOT LIGHT
A poem and photographs by Bob Farese, Jr.
Published by Lecturis Fall 2021
Designed by Syb
With the Premiere of an Accompanying Video in collaboration with
Mike Long (of Tiny Anthems) and Alec Boehm.
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"Am I Not Light is a deeply existential exploration of what it means to be human. In the deconstruction of form, the photographs dissect and question the way we look at the world around us. The book is a brilliant exploration of the soul through the prism of light and darkness.”
– David Gaberle, Photographer and Fujifilm Ambassador
In 2015, photographer and scientist Bob Farese, Jr., moved to a new and somewhat bewildering city, finding himself suddenly without the creature comforts of family and friends, and experiencing aloneness in an unexpected and profound way. To soothe his feelings of isolation, Farese began taking street photographs drawing inspiration from the spontaneous and observational style of iPhone photographers David Guttenfelder and Gueorgui Pinkhassov, and the work of Cartier-Bresson. Images were captured in a mindful and receptive manner, alert to interesting viewpoints of everyday things that are hidden in plain view. Beauty in the banal.
Over the next five years, Farese continued his personal photographic journey with guidance from his mentor, the British/Egyptian photographer, Laura El-Tantawy. More than 100 of Farese’s exquisite images made during this period will be published in his first monograph, Am I Not Light (Lecturis, Fall 2021). The work reflects the photographer’s experience of arrival, the yearning for connection, and the newfound feeling of solitude. It is a meditation on loneliness, but not on solitary aloneness. Rather it expresses how one can feel alone even whilst being among many.
Farese’s images are lyrical, sometimes sensual, at times direct, often with a delicate distance. They made their way into the photographer’s eye from his peripheral vision, unexpectedly, as light called out to him. Many are abstractions of the ordinary, framed with an aesthetic to render them extraordinary.
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The images are embedded in an accompanying poem, written by Farese, that capture his emotions while walking and shooting. Together the poem and the images offer a contemplative experience, inviting one to stop and rest within the pages. This experience is heightened by the book’s design, which beckons the reader to discover the connections between the words and pictures. |
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Feeling alone is a universal experience; Farese’s book is his artistic response to these feelings. The work transmits a sense of detachment and solitude as the photographer roams the streets sometimes in the rain, in the cold, at night, in the snow. Yet Farese’s photographs are punctuated by bursts of light and color that elevate the everyday to the exceptional. Wandering glimpses. Beauty. |
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Farese's mentor Laura El-Tantawy writes: “Straddling the real and the whimsical, Am I Not Light is an introspective journey to experience the universal commonality that is solitude. It is especially poignant after the global Pandemic that brought all our lives at a halt forcing us to look inward and seek solace in the banal. I am especially delighted to see this book come to fruition after working with Bob for a few years to shape the work into what it is today.”
View an accompanying video for the project here: https://vimeo.com/569382639 created in collaboration with Mike Long (of Tiny Anthems) and Alec Boehm.
About the photographer:
Bob Farese, Jr., is a doctor and a research scientist with a love for the creative arts, including photography and music. A longtime artist with pencil or paintbrush, recently he discovered the joy of making sketches with a camera. He studied and learned photography under the teaching and influences of David Guttenfelder, Ed Kashi, Gueorgui Pinkhassov, Tatiana Sotnikova, Laura El-Tantawy, and his wife, Nancy Richards Farese. He lives in Boston and the San Francisco Bay area. His Instagram page serves as a public gallery, a diary filled with “visual poetry”, and his photos have been selected for several awards for mobile photography. This is his first photo book.
Instagram: @bfarese
The book is designed by the renowned Dutch graphic designer Syb (Sybren Kuiper).
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All images in this press release are © copyright Bob Farese. The images above are self portraits.
About the Publisher:
Lecturis was founded in 1922 as a publishing company. In 1940, printing became its primary activity and in 2010 Lecturis began publishing books again; books about art, design, photography and cultural history known for their outstanding quality in design, printing and finishing. Since 2015 Lecturis is a publisher with three imprints: Lecturis, DATO and Citrus. Citrus started in the summer of 2019 as an imprint with books about cooking.
Book Details:
ISBN: 9789462264199
Japanese bound in hardcover
Page count: 316
Page size: 165 x 224 mm (Portrait)
Media contact for Bob Farese, Jr:
Andrea Smith
Cell: +1 646-220-5950
Call or email Andrea to secure a selection of images for reproduction and arrange an interview with the author.
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