Håkan Ludwigson: Taken out of Context - Tapa dura

Swedish-born Hakan Ludwigsson is one of the select star photographers of Conde Nast Traveler. In New York's trend-conscious media scene, his name is invoked with particular respect, a respect that Ludwigsson has earned through 16 years of successful photography. Technical perfection and visual brilliance are the hallmark of his picture essays for what is the quintessential travel magazine. In Taken Out of Context, Ludwigson's photography shows that the boundaries between the medium's various genres are becoming increasingly difficult to define. The book interweaves advertising photos made for leading car companies with documentary shots taken for Conde Nast Traveler in the visual language that Ludwigsson shares with American art photographers such as William Eggleston, Joel Meyerowitz and Stephen Shore. According to Ludwigson, his ambition is "to create a personal, visual language that lies somewhere between art, documentary and classical photography." Here, Ludwigson ultimately displays a healthy questioning attitude to the global adventure industry that he has helped to create through his visual art.