Magnum photographer Steve McCurry (b.1950) has beautifully and evocatively photographed the temples of Angkor in Cambodia, among the world's most impressive monuments. Over 100 of his images of the site are collected in this stunning book, which documents a magical world of carved gods, weathered masonry, tangled vegetation and orange-robed monks.
Angkor was the capital of the Khmer rulers from the end of the ninth century until the mid-fifteenth. Each built a state temple at the capital, surrounded by walls, moats and embankments laid out in accordance with cosmological precepts. Designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the temples attract tourists, archaeologists and art historians, and are also a pilgrimage destination for Buddhist monks.
McCurry first visited Angkor on assignment for National Geographic magazine, for whom he has photographed all over the world. He has made many return visits, capturing a sublime portrait of the buildings, sculpture and people of Angkor. Winner of numerous honours, including first prize in the World Press Awards and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, McCurry has previously published Portraits and South Southeast (both with Phaidon). The photographs are accompanied by an informative introduction on the history and meaning of Angkor by John Guy, a leading authority on the cultural history of Southeast Asia.
Angkor was the capital of the Khmer rulers from the end of the ninth century until the mid-fifteenth. Each built a state temple at the capital, surrounded by walls, moats and embankments laid out in accordance with cosmological precepts. Designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO, the temples attract tourists, archaeologists and art historians, and are also a pilgrimage destination for Buddhist monks.
McCurry first visited Angkor on assignment for National Geographic magazine, for whom he has photographed all over the world. He has made many return visits, capturing a sublime portrait of the buildings, sculpture and people of Angkor. Winner of numerous honours, including first prize in the World Press Awards and the Robert Capa Gold Medal, McCurry has previously published Portraits and South Southeast (both with Phaidon). The photographs are accompanied by an informative introduction on the history and meaning of Angkor by John Guy, a leading authority on the cultural history of Southeast Asia.
Wenn die Schatten länger werden und die letzten Touristengruppen sich ins Innerste von Angkor Wat drängen, um der in Stein gehauenen mittelalterlichen Pracht zu huldigen, erobert sich das kambodschanische Volk sein Heiligtum zurück. Ein Volk mit einer ebenso grausamen Vergangenheit wie hoffnungsfrohen Zukunft: Bettler – blind und verkrüppelt, ausgespuckt von einem Bürgerkrieg in der Folge der Khmer-Rouge- Herrschaft, der Millionen von Landminen als Vermächtnis zurückließ – säumen den Zugang zum Tempelbezirk in der Hoffnung auf ein paar Riel. Während die Kinder der Bewohner von Angkor ihr Vergnügen in einer erfrischenden Wasserschlacht suchen. „Es ist unmöglich, durch den Tag zu kommen, ohne sich mehrere Male zu baden. Sogar nachts sind ein, zwei Bäder Pflicht”, berichtete ein chinesischer Chronist im 13. Jahrhundert. Damals erlebte die königliche Stadt Angkor, zu deren bedeutendsten Bauwerken Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom und Ta Prohm zählen, ihre Blütezeit und das Khmer- Reich seine größte Ausdehnung. Doch Krieg und Zerstörung führten zu seinem Niedergang. Und was Menschen nicht gelang, vollbrachte die Natur. Bis ins 19. Jahrhundert, als Henri Mouhot Angkor wiederentdeckte, blieben die Tempel im Dschungel verborgen. Noch heute zeugen die Mauern Ta Phroms – umschlungen von den Armen riesiger Banyan-Bäume – von dieser Zeit. Doch die Menschen haben sich Angkor zurückerobert: zu sehr möchte man angesichts der Touristenmassen klagen – in einem lebendigen Zusammenspiel von Mensch und Natur scheint es, blickt man auf die Bewohner der kleinen Ansiedlungen, die allgegenwärtigen buddhistischen Mönche in ihren orangefarbenen Roben oder die in Weiß gekleideten, kahl geschorenen Nonnen. Von dieser Symbiose zwischen Mensch und Natur in Angkor erzählt der wunderbare Bildband „Sanctuary” des Magnum- Fotografen Steve McCurry (Phaidon Verlag, Berlin 2002, 39,95 Euro, mit einem Vorwort von John Guy). Er zeigt nicht nur die versteinerte Epoche Angkors, sondern auch das Leben heute in der einstigen königlichen Residenz – besonders in den Stunden vor Sonnenuntergang.
EVELYN VOGEL
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"Steve McCurry captures the beauty and serenity of one of the world's most wonderful sites."-Evening Mail
"An immensely gifted photographer."-Modern Painters
"A stunning book documenting this magical world."-Traveller
"McCurry has taken not just the best photos yet of not only just the buildings and the sculpture but also the life that continues in Angkor today."-Evening Standard
"Steve McCurry's lushly poignant shots of the people and places of Asia have yielded some of the best known photographic icons of our time. His images often dance on a knife-edge between sensuality and tragedy, sentiment and anguish."-The Independent
"An immensely gifted photographer."-Modern Painters
"A stunning book documenting this magical world."-Traveller
"McCurry has taken not just the best photos yet of not only just the buildings and the sculpture but also the life that continues in Angkor today."-Evening Standard
"Steve McCurry's lushly poignant shots of the people and places of Asia have yielded some of the best known photographic icons of our time. His images often dance on a knife-edge between sensuality and tragedy, sentiment and anguish."-The Independent