Kolkata Calcutta Cover

Jean-François Chevrier (ed.)

Patrick Faigenbaum
Kolkata Calcutta

Patrick Faigenbaum’s new book is dedicated to a specific terrain: the Bengali metropolis of Kolkata, which bore the name of Calcutta during its time as a British colony. Winning the prestigious Henri Cartier-Bresson Award in 2013 allowed the artist to pursue the project Kolkata – Calcutta, in collaboration with the art historian and critic Jean-François Chevrier.

The photographs that Faigenbaum began taking in the spring of 2011 make tangible how a visitor can’t help but be taken in completely by this overwhelming city. Detailed captions accompany the photographic sequences, while an interview with France Bhattacharya embeds the images in the Bengali culture. The historical profile of the chaotic metropolis and its close connection with the surrounding countryside are shown through the prism of figures from public life, rituals, and intimate landscapes.

Patrick Faigenbaum’s new book is dedicated to a specific terrain: the Bengali metropolis of Kolkata, which bore the name of Calcutta during its time as a British colony. Winning the prestigious Henri Cartier-Bresson Award in 2013 allowed the artist to pursue the project Kolkata – Calcutta, in collaboration with the art historian and critic Jean-François Chevrier.

The photographs that Faigenbaum began taking in the spring of 2011 make tangible how a visitor can’t help but be taken in completely by this overwhelming city. Detailed captions accompany the photographic sequences, while an interview with France Bhattacharya embeds the images in the Bengali culture. The historical profile of the chaotic metropolis and its close connection with the surrounding countryside are shown through the prism of figures from public life, rituals, and intimate landscapes.

English edition – also available in French

Edited by Jean-François Chevrier

With photographs by Patrick Faigenbaum

Design: Integral Lars Müller

24 x 30 cm, 9 ½ x 11 ¾ in

160 pages, 153 illustrations

hardback

2015, 978-3-03778-464-8, English
CHF 35.00