Small Deaths: Photographs (Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern and Mexican Photography Series)

By: Breakey, Kate

Small lives end every day--the unfledged bird fallen from its nest, the unwary lizard caught by a cat--as unnoticed in dying as they were living. Deeply moved by these small deaths since her childhood in South Australia, photographer-artist Kate Breakey has been photographing found animal remains since the mid-1990s, creating stunning, oversized, hand-colored images that--paradoxically--glow with life. This volume is the first book-length work devoted to the photographs of Kate Breakey. It gathers 75 color images from her ongoing Small Deaths series. These birds, flowers, lizards, and insects vividly express Breakey's desire to preserve each lost creature--to freeze it in time, suspend it in space, immortalize it so that its beauty and its death are memorialized. In a brief afterword, Breakey traces the origins of her art to a childhood spent among domestic and rescued animals on the Australian coast. In the introduction, noted art critic A. D. Coleman links Breakey's work to the larger traditions of still-life painting and the postmortem photography of the nineteenth century.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292709013
• ISBN13: 9780292709010
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 3.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 14.9" x 10.6"

Customer Reviews

Sorrowful and Enchanting

There is a great deal of juxtaposition in Kate Breakey's work, and to great effect; though her photographs capture often pitiable subjects, particularly the birds, they portray them with a magnificence of color they could only dream of in life. Breakey's photography is excellent and evocative, and her skillful application of color to each image only heightens the experience. Soft focus and a saturated palette produce a dreamlike quality to many of her pieces. As I turned the pages of the book, I felt sadness for the small creatures that go unnoticed, but I was also moved by the quiet dignity they have in death. Breakey's treatment of her subject matter elevates it from the mundane to the transcendent, and it's an utterly captivating journey.

Award Winner for Book Design

This book has received the Southern Books Competition 2001 Award of Overall Excellence for book design. "Truly enchanting, this is a wonderful example of how valuable intellectual content is enhanced and enriched by thoughtful book design. From the breathtaking front and back covers to the informative colophon at the end, this is an exceptional book. Color continuity from jacket to the text pages rewards the reader and enhances legibility. The dramatic frontispiece dazzles, and the title page is clear and elegant. Section openings mirror the title page opening. Plates and captions combine in bright, clean two-page spreads that inform and reward the viewer." Congratulations to the author, designers D.J. Stout & Julie Savaska of Pentagram Design, and the University of Texas Press.

An Artistic Sensitivity of the Natural World.

A beautiful book of an art form created with a heartfelt sensitivity for some of nature's smaller creatures.