e.

e

by Masao Yamamoto. Nazraeli Press/42 pp./$75.00 (hb), $750.00 (special edition).

Japanese photographer Masao Yamamoto's latest book, and fifth monograph, is entitled e. As with his previous publications, e is limited to an edition of 2,500. A special edition of 150 copies with three signed original prints in a clamshell box is also available for $750.00. Working from the Zen philosophy of "emptiness," Yamamoto makes minimalist photographs that suggest the passage of time. Yamamoto's original prints are small and are distressed, stained, torn at the edges, and creased, making them feel more like precious objects than photographs. Nazraeli Press was careful not to take away the personality of the photographs in their reproduction. Printed on uncoated Japanese paper in an oversized format (13x16in.), the photographs are reproduced in a way that includes the shadows and curled edges inherent in the original images. e consists of fifty-nine four-color plates on forty-two pages, with a stunning double gatefold in the center that opens to 16x52. The layout of the book echoes Yamamoto's installations with the majority of the pages comprised of empty space with the images grouped together in varying ways. The reproductions are somewhat dull compared to Yamamoto's photographs, which is likely due to the paper on which the book is printed.

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