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Distributed for Hirmer Publishers

David Katzenstein

Ritual

An intimate portrait of humanity depicting rituals from all over the world.

These photographs by David Katzenstein emerged from his lifelong artistic journey as a visual chronicler of humanity. His mission led him to travel to many parts of the world to experience other cultures and peoples firsthand, capturing images that relate to the themes he is drawn to. In the process, he came to be fascinated by rituals. The images in this volume were taken in twenty-six countries on six continents between 1982 and 2019. They document humans in the act of performing a wide array of rituals, both religious and secular. Rituals depicted herein include those of Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Shintoism, as well as the nonreligious rituals of everyday life such as folk festivals, military assemblies, and parades. Whether rituals are religious or secular, Katzenstein has discovered, they are all, in some sense, sacred to those who perform them.
 

160 pages | 120 halftones | 10 x 11 | © 2022

Art: American Art, Art--General Studies, Photography


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Reviews

"These photographs byDavid Katzenstein emerged from his lifelong artistic journey as a visual chronicler of humanity... Whether rituals are religious or secular, from his experience they are all, in some sense, sacred to those who perform them."

The Eye of Photography

"[Katzenstein's] lens is refreshingly egalitarian, finding harmonies across spiritual and secular communities in places as diverse as Senegal and Turkey, Jerusalem and Bhutan, Brooklyn and Queens. Careful attention to smiling faces and ceremonial clothing also reveals a rare humility on the artist's part, showing us that practicing photography—or any art—with curiosity and respect for others can also be a form of self-expression and self-discovery."

Commonweal

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