A Man Holds a Fish
Haunting portraits by one of New Zealand’s finest photographers.
By Glenn Busch
Publication: August 2024
Pages: 168
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-99-107201-6
RRP: $75
Buy A Man Holds a Fish:
Selected by the legendary photographer himself, the 79 extraordinary images in Glenn Busch’s A Man Holds a Fish cement and celebrate his reputation as one of New Zealand’s most important photographers. Almost other-worldly, and striking in their humanity and emotional effect, the images in this resonant book bear returning to again and again.
Busch’s work secured public notice in 1984 with the publication of Working Men. As art writer Peter Ireland observes in his essay, ‘In the early 1970s . . . the social documentary tradition was the reigning, respectable approach, and Busch’s work remains foundational, even after half a century retaining a vividness and force in its resistance to any tendency to idealise in his portraiture, as this book so clearly attests.’
A handsome, large-format book, beautifully designed by Seven, this book serves as both an introduction to the work of a hugely influential and widely regarded figure in photography in Aotearoa New Zealand and a celebration of his place in our art history.
Author interviews
Bookenz, interviewed by Morrin Rout.
New Zealand Listener, interviewed by Mark Broatch.
RNZ Nine to Noon, interviewed by Paddy Gower.
Review highlights
Art New Zealand, by Don Abbott. “The photographs themselves are big and breath-taking, and command a connection that is both intimate and remote.”
PhotoForum, by Virginia Were. "Busch is notable for avoiding sentimentality and idealisation in his work, and his unflinching photographic gaze shares similarities with that of Diane Arbus who was always on the lookout for oddball and marginalised individuals. Because of their rawness, many of his photographs are seared into New Zealand’s collective visual memory."
New Zealand Geographic, reviewed by Catherine Woulfe.
New Zealand Listener, selected as one of the best coffee table books of 2024.
About the author
Glenn Busch, best known for his intimate, thought-provoking portraits and captivating social documentary work, was born in Auckland in 1948. He left school at 14 and spent his early years working as a manual labourer in many different places around Australia and New Zealand. His passion for photography began with the viewing of the work of Hungarian photographer Brassaï and his understanding of the medium was helped through a chance meeting with John B Turner.
Throughout his career, Busch has focused on capturing the essence of daily life, often exploring themes of community, work and identity. His influential projects include Working Men, You Are My Darling Zita, The Man With No Arms and Other Stories, My Place and the ongoing Place In Time documentary project.
Busch has also contributed to New Zealand’s photographic education with his founding of the influential Auckland photography gallery, Snaps, and through his many years of teaching at the School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha.
Peter Ireland is a well-known painter, curator and art writer with a deep interest in photography inter alia.
Publication: August 2024
Pages: 168
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-99-107201-6
RRP: $75
