C PHOTO Génesis

Genesis examines the early approaches to photography by a number of major artists in contemporary photography. Their early works reflect their search for a unique direction and efforts to define their own language. The photographs are accompanied by texts from the photographers and photography experts, enabling viewers to better appreciate the development of their work.

The publication includes the first portfolios and images from the early days of Marina Abramović, Nobuyoshi Araki, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, William Eggleston, Joan Fontcuberta, Danny Lyon, Boris Mikhailov, Helmut Newton and Jeff Wall. In these very early works, their talent can be seen as well as the traits which made these photographers masters and which is, in fact, the search for a distinctive path and the attempts of each author to define their own language.

Genesis offers the opportunity to observe the trials and the approaches to the photographic medium of this selection of artists. Through the originals, one discovers the root of the style and the distinguishing features which turned these artists into outstanding figures of the genre. Each author’s portfolio is accompanied by an introductory text by Hans Magnus Enzensberger as well as texts by the photographers themselves or by critics, which enable a deeper understanding of the development of their artwork. Among these names, authors like Nicolas Bourriaud, Tom Ford, Thomas Weski or Peter Galassi can be found. “These are little-known artworks, some unpublished, in which one can discern and recognise the talent and genius of each one of them”, says Elena Foster, the editor.

This first volume represents the beginning of a new cycle and the closure of the initial stage (2005-2010). The result of these first five years of work was the ten editions of C International Photo Magazine, which comprises a complete collection dedicated to contemporary photography. Two cycles working together to further explore the changes and development experienced by the art of photography, without cultural and geographic hierarchies.

For the subsequent volumes in this cycle, the C Photo editorial team will invite internationally recognised experts to curate each publication. Tobia Bezzola and Hans Ulrich Obrist, among others, are some of the guest editors who will provide each issue with a unique singularity.