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“The Noir A-Z”: It’s Not Your Kid’s ABCs
September 9, 2009
Contact: Adri Cowan
Telephone: 347-830-6270
New York, NY – September 9, 2009 – We all remember the whimsical alphabet books of our childhood – and now, photographer Julian Hibbard offers an adult abecedary unlike any other, pairing a captivating word with a photograph for all twenty-six letters in the alphabet. The resulting book evokes a shadowy, sexy and voyeuristic noir aesthetic, offering a grown-up take on our ABCs: The Noir A-Z.
Hibbard’s ability to infuse his frames with palpable emotion repeatedly draws viewers back to his work, as they consider his photographs in relation to words like “forbidden,” lascivious” and “quiescent.” Red lipstick-donned femme fatales, dark shadows and a bewitched, alluring world draw readers to this alphabetic gem. The Noir A-Z is not your child’s board book!
Stephen Mayes, Director of VII Photo Agency and Secretary to the World Press Photo competition, shares an appreciation of Hibbard’s work in his essay, “On the Graphic Incidents of Julian Hibbard”: “Photographing constructed tableaux with cartoon-like simplicity, The Noir A-Z peels back the layers of the irrational mind to see if our dreams can survive exposure to the light . . . this carnival of the alphabet is both knowing and innocent, a whimsical frolic of child-like associations and simultaneously a serious meditation on those troublesome aspects of life that we all must encounter as we grow up.”
“Ever since I began taking pictures I have been drawn to a narrative-driven image, full of suspense, tension and a little dark irony,” says Hibbard. “Twenty-six such examples are presented here. They are cinematic, dreamy, cryptic and connect essentially staged moments with the relationship between watcher and watched.”
About Julian Hibbard
Julian Hibbard is an English photographer who has been living and working in New York City since 2001. Hibbard’s photographic journey began in 1992 at London’s Kingston University where he studied Fine Art Photography. In 1996 he was awarded a scholarship from the British Council and spent the next two years teaching at the School of Fine Art in Santiago, Chile.
Hibbard’s clients include record labels and a wide range of print media. His images have been used to illustrate book covers by such authors as Stephen King, Paul Theroux and Ruth Rendell and seen in publications like Surface, Elle and Popular Mechanics.
Notable photography awards and honorary mentions include the 2008 International Photography Awards, a 2007 ASME Award for the Popular Mechanics “Survival” story, the 2006 Black & White Spider Awards, the PDN Nikon 2004 Self-Promotion Awards, Wraparound Magazine Photo Annual 2004 Awards and selection for the 4th Annual Surface Magazine Avant Guarde Competition in 2001.
Hibbard’s work has been exhibited in London, Scotland, Santiago de Chile, New York and Los Angeles.
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The Noir A-Z
By Julian Hibbard
Mark Batty Publisher
64 pages
6.5 x 5 inches (16.5 x 12.7 cm)
Color throughout
Casebound board book
ISBN: 978-0-9817805-7-3
US $22.95 UK £11.95 CA $25.95
September 2009
For a review copy, more information, or to schedule an interview with Julian Hibbard, contact Adri Cowan, +1 347.830.6271, adri@markbattypublisher.com.
