John Gossage: The Pond

Considered groundbreaking when first published in 1985, John Gossage's The Pond remains one of the most important photobooks of the medium. As Gerry Badger, coauthor of The Photobook: A History, Volumes I and II, asserts, "Adams, Shore, Baltz-all the New Topographic photographers made great books, but few are better than The Pond." Consisting of photographs taken around and away from a pond situated in an unkempt wooded area at the edge of a city, the volume presents a considered foil to Henry Thoreau's stay at Walden. The photographs in The Pond do not aspire to the "beauty" of classical landscapes in the tradition of Ansel Adams. Instead, they reveal a subtle vision of reality on the border between humankind and nature. Gossage depicts nature in full splendor, yet at odds with both itself and humankind, but his tone is ambiguous and evocative rather than didactic. Robert Adams described the work as "believable because it includes evidence of man's darkness of spirit, memorable because of the intense fondness [Gossage] shows for the remains of the natural world." Aperture is pleased to reissue this exquisitely produced classic monograph, not surprisingly a highly sought-a!er collectable. With the addition of three images and two essays, this second edition o"ers new audiences the opportunity to celebrate this notable work by a master photographer and bookmaker.