Photographs and text by David Maisel
Essay by William L. Fox
Poem by Mark Strand
48 pp., 12×12 inches, casebound
Book design by Bob Aufuldish, Aufuldish & Warinner
Published by Nazraeli Press
Publication Date: 2006
ISBN 1-59005-182-3
“The term ‘shadowland’ that Maisel uses when discussing the Oblivion photographs is appropriate. When you cast a shadow on a fact, you create doubt. When you shadow someone, you follow them invisibly. Shadowland is what the military calls those blacked-out areas where they wish to operate unseen, whether they are testing an experimental aircraft or interrogating people beyond lawful means. It is a land of spies and spooks, a place where ghosts live, and what Los Angeles looks like in Oblivion. The city is almost recognizable in Maisel’s negative prints and yet not quite, as if we are seeing both more of what we know and less.”
Oblivion is currently out of print. A few rare copies of the Limited Edition and the trade version are available for purchase through David Maisel Studio. The Limited Edition includes a signed copy of the book and an original signed print from Oblivion, housed in a specially made clamshell box. Please inquire here.