Pia Zanetti
Over more than 350 pages, this predominantly black-and-white softcover photo book presents the oeuvre of photographer Pia Zanetti (b. 1943) as a fascinating journey through time and around the world. The large images generally appear one or two to a double page with regular white borders. They follow a strict chronological order from 1961 to 2017, with no division into chapters or thematic groupings. The upper border states the location and date, with the only other text in the entire book being brief explanations by the photographer either alongside or below the images. The material is presented in a highly accessible way and truly comes into its own – the experience is as though the photographs had been laid out on an archivist’s table to browse through, with the photographer’s voice adding commentary. The light-grey paper contributes to the air of unpretentiousness, and a conscious choice was made to avoid brilliant picture quality. The very charming cover shows the artist as photographed by her husband in 1967 and uses title lettering redolent of magazines of that era.
