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| Burned Out- Mark Murrmann |
Went to the Leica Gallery here in San Francisco a few days ago, and I must say it's far from the stuffy, elitist institution one would tend to think. In addition to the quality exhibits they usually have, they also have a number of books in the back for sale or perusal and the people there are quite friendly and accommodating- not the kind of treatment someone like myself is accustomed to, ie- being followed about as "a person of interest' in many a place that sells high priced, premium items. So it feels kinda nice experiencing how the other half lives...
Anyway, I was looking through a few books, many of which were quite good- but which were so very similar to those I have previously bought over the decades. Then I noticed Mark Murrmann's Burned Out, a small (5x6 1/2in) little indie made on the cheap in a spiral bound format. I love small book formats that one can easily carry about for a 'quick read.' It consists of forty B&W prints mostly printed double truck across the spiral along with some single page verticals. It's a typology of tire burnouts, many of them occurring during illegal 'sideshows' in Oakland, CA. Many of them read almost as abstracts, although several are more documentary in nature displaying adjoining buildings and other neighborhood details. It's a small labor of love, as are many indie publications. I've done a coupla typologies myself, but on the generic Blurb format- not quite the same thing! It lacks the uniqueness, the personalization... the love!
Of course, none of it adds up to anything unless the images hold up- and that's where the imagination really shines. The photos are not only fun, they're unique, imaginative images unto themselves. A first rate how to manual on making something worthwhile and memorable outta literal skidmarks...
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