黑白2 - 阿部淳 ( Jun Abe - Black & White Note 2)

One of the most exciting discoveries of the last few years has been the photography of Jun Abe, the leading member of the Osaka-based photography collective Vacuum. Now, following upon four previous books, including the highly valued and unfortunately out of print Citizens released by that collective's publishing arm, Vacuum Press, we have a new collection of Abe's street work to get excited about: Kokubyaku Note 2.

As the title would indicate, this is a "followup" to the 2010 Black & White Note 2 As with all of Abe's releases, context is scant so whether this is an actual Part Two or a sequel in name only we don't know. It could be, as was the first book, work shot between 1996-1999 -- or it could be work from the years afterward. There are no real visual clues either. But really, this is idle speculation -- you forget such cares as the begin to page through the book.

Unlike a lot that passes for self-professed street photography these days, Abe is not out to challenge for challenge's sake, to fethisize confrontation or consign the unwitting to decrepitude. Abe opts for a subtle approach where the oft-quoted decisive moment of tripping the shutter actually does matter, and where the resulting narratives render helping modifiers like "street" as ultimately superfluous.

Softcover, 24cm x 18cm, 132 pages, approx. 128 b/w photos.