The End of La Belle Epoque (*signed*)

The photographs included in this book The End of La Belle Epoque are from another time, that of the USSR, of Communism, before the fall of the wall.

Misha Pedan's work presented here was made between 1986 and 1989, at a time when the Communist regims seemed to have already loosened their grip; his images show clothes, behaviours, and a street life that could seem old-fashioned or dated - even by the Occidental standards of these years. But the very same images also show people smiling, joking, being optimistic, and that raises a question !

Is it because they are being photographed, is it the bias of the artist's choice of images that concentrate this type of images, this kind of behaviour ?

Probably, to a certain extent, and it is an intersting approach. But one might think that it was indeed a "Belle Epoque", and that positive vibes were circulating in the streets and on the people's faces...

It should be mentioned that the book is also a beautiful object, with a quite simple but elegant design, inserted in a beautiful soft-cardboard case closed with a piece of fabric.

Text by Irina Sandomirskaia, in English and Russian. Design by Anders Malmströmer.

NB : This book was awarded 2nd place at the "IPA 2013 - International Photography Awards", in the "Book - Documentary" category.

92 pages - Hardcover, no DJ, in slipcase

Khimaira Förlag, 2013

*Signed*

New - Mint condition