Joan Fontcuberta

Joan Fontcuberta (born February 24 1955 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain) [http://www.zabriskiegallery.com/artist.php?artist=5&page=117 Joan Fontcuberta - biography.] New York: Zabriskie Gallery, undated. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] is a conceptual artist whose best-known works, such as "Fauna" and "Sputnik", examine the truthfulness of photography. In addition, he is a writer, editor, teacher, and curator.

Biography

Fontcuberta received a master's degree in communications from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 1977. [http://www.artcoregallery.com/artists/joan_fontcuberta.html Joan Fontcuberta.] Toronto: Artcore/Fabrice Marcolini. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.2041581/k.A837/Joan_Fontcuberta.htm Joan Fontcuberta.] New York: International Center of Photography. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] He worked in advertising in his early career, and his family had also worked in advertising.Casper, Jim. [http://www.lensculture.com/fontcuberta.html Wait a minute... audio interview with the artist and a look back at some of the work of Joan Fontcuberta.] "Lens Culture", volume 8 (7.2006-10.2006). Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Joan Fontcuberta speaks with Cristina Zelich. In Richardson, Nan, editor. "Conversations with contemporary photographers". New York: Umbrage Editions, 2005. ISBN 1884167489.] From 1979 to 1986 he was a professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona, after which he earned a living through his art. [http://www.nathaliepariente.fr/pdf/biófontcuberta_gb.pdf Joan Fontcuberta.] Paris: Nathalie Parienté Hors Les Murs Agency for Specific Artistic Projects. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [http://www.jca-online.com/fontcuberta.html Joan Fontcuberta (interview with A. D. Coleman).] "Journal of Contemporary Art" 1991;4(1):34-48. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

In 1980 he co-founded the Spanish/English visual arts journal "Photovision", and he is still Editor in Chief. Since 1993 Fontcuberta has been a professor of audiovisual communication at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. Among other teaching appointments, he was visiting lecturer in Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University in 2003. [Garvin, Diana E. [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=356601 The Art of Deception.] "Harvard Crimson" magazine, 04 December 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Among other awards, he was named an Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 1994. His curatorial experience includes serving as the Artistic Director of the 1996 Rencontres d'Arles, an international photography festival.

Approach to art

Fontcuberta describes himself as "self-taught in photography" and considers himself "a conceptual artist using photography." He states that the propaganda and dictatorship of Spain under Franco in his first 20 years led him to skeptical about authority, which is reflected in his art. His background in communications and advertising led him to contemplate the relationship between photography and truth, and Fontcuberta believes that humor is an important component of his work. His art has been described as "postmodern."Parr, Martin, and Gerry Badger. The Photobook, a History. Volume II. London & New York: Phaidon, 2006. ISBN 0714844330.]

Works in museums

Fontcuberta's works are held in the permanent collections of many museums, such as Art Institute of Chicago; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; George Eastman House, Rochester; Los Angeles County Museum of Art [Los Angeles County Museum of Art. [http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=link;dtype=d;key=116052;page=701900101 Search results: Joan Fontcuberta.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.] ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musée National d’Art Moderne / Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires; Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Museum Folkwang, Essen; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

elected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions of single series of Fontcuberta's works include the following (with earliest known year of exhibition in parentheses):

Herbarium (1984)

In this series, Fontcuberta "arranged inanimate objects such as electrical cord, plastic, a shaving brush or a rubber hose into what appear to be exotic plants" [Foerstner, Abigail. Focus on fine art with a Spanish accent. "Chicago Tribune", 13 February 1987.] , thereby creating "pseudoplants"Moltó, Ezequiel. [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/Comunidad/Valenciana/Objetivo/manipulador/elpepiautval/20010501elpval_33/Tes Objetivo manipulador.] "El Pais", 1 May 2001. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] . The black and white still-life photographs of these constructions were "drily classified in Latin"Perivolaris, John. [http://www.redeye.org.uk/redeye/pdf/RedeyeNewsletter17.pdf Mirrors and windows: photography after postmodernism.] "The Bigger Picture The Redeye Newsletter" 2004 Autumn, Issue 17. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] and thereby resembled the photographs of Karl Blossfeldt. [Cheval, François. [http://www.frac-bourgogne.org/scripts/album.php?mode=data&id_lang=1&id_artiste=70 Joan Fontcuberta.] Bourgogne, France: Fonds Régionaux d’Art Contemporain. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The photographs were exhibited in Belgium, the United States, Germany, Japan, Italy, Spain, Canada, and France.

Fauna (1987)

Also known as "Dr. Ameisenhaufen's Fauna" or "Secret Fauna", Fontcuberta created this series in collaboration with the writer Pere Formiguera. The premise was that Fontcuberta and Formiguera discovered the long-lost archives of German zoologist Dr. Peter Ameisenhaufen, who was born in 1895 and who disappeared mysteriously in 1955. [Fontcuberta, Joan, and Pere Formiguera. [http://www.zonezero.com/EXPOSICIONES/fotografos/fontcuberta/ Secret fauna.] December 1987. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Ameisenhaufen had catalogued a number of unusual animals; for example, "Ceropithecus icarocornu" resembles a monkey with a unicorn-like horn on its head and wings; and "Solenoglypha polipodida" resembles a snake with 12 feet. [Fontcuberta, Joan, and Pere Formiguera. [http://www.kaapeli.fi/eko.fi/gallery/fontcuberta/1/fauna1.html Fauna.] Eko.fi Gallery. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

A review of the exhibition as presented in 1988 at the Museum of Modern Art noted that the evidence presented for the existence of the animals included "photographs... both in their natural habitats and in laboratory situations; detailed field notes, both in the original German and English translations; an occasional skeletal X-ray or dissection drawing; two or three tapes of the animals' cries, and in one case, an actual stuffed specimen.”Smith, Roberta. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDA103CF93AA15754C0A96E948260 Review/art; a furry-footed fish and other gallery rogues.] "The New York Times", July 29, 1988. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Furthermore, a video displayed interviews in which various peole discussed Ameisenhaufen's life.

The exhibition was shown in England, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Canada and the United States. The fake animals displayed at the exhibitions varied according to the "legends, traditions, and superstitions" of the place hosting the exhibition. Among other clues suggesting that the exhibition was a hoax, "Formiguera" and "Ameisenhaufen" both mean "anthill," and the name of "Hans von Kubert" (Ameisenhaufen's research assistant) sounds like "Joan Fontcuberta."Roth, Andrew, et al. "The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the 20th Century". New York: PPP Editions in association with Roth Horowitz, 2001. ISBN 0967077443.]

Fontcuberta reported that responses to the exhibition ranged "from people who understand that it is a farce and appreciate the satire and the humor of it, to people who understand it's a farce and are angry at you for trying to fool them, to people who believe it and are angry, to people who believe it and are delighted." He said in another interview that during the 1989 exhibition in the Barcelona Museum of Natural Science, [ [http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/wprmuseuciencies/Museu.GeneradorPagines?idioma=1&seccio=13_1_3.420&visible=1 Exposicions anteriors (1980-1999): Exposicions del Museu de Zoologia.] Barcelona: Museu de Ciències Naturals. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] "30% of the visitors aged 20 to 30, with university training, believed that some of our animals could have existed." [Joan Fontcuberta interview with Diane Neumaier [1991] . In: Campany, David. "Art and photography". London: Phaidon, 2003. Page 285. ISBN 0714842869.]

Constellations (1993)

In this series, "the images of the cosmos are strewn with a fine stardust",Malherbe, Anne. Joan Fontcuberta, Musée de l'hôtel-Dieu, 9 avril - 3 octobre 2005. "Art Press" 2005 July/August;314:84-5.] but "what they actually record is dust, crushed insects and other debris that accumulated on the windshield of Mr. Fontcuberta's car."Johnson, Ken. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807EEDA153AF933A05752C0A96E958260 Joan Fontcuberta "Constellations."] "The New York Times", 30 January 1998. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The photographs were created "by applying sheets of 8-by-10-inch film directly to the glass and shining a light through, creating photograms, which were then made into Cibachrome prints."

Artist and the Photograph (1995)

In this series, Fontcuberta "imagine [d] and realize [d] photographic works by the four greatest Spanish artists of the twentieth century, namely Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Antoni Tàpies." He mixed fact (e.g., that Picasso and André Villers collaborated on a series of lithographs called "Diurnes") with fiction (e.g., that a researcher recently found discarded images from the series).Fontcuberta, Joan. [http://www.zonezero.com/exposiciones/fotografos/fontcuberta2/ The artist and the photograph.] ZoneZero, 2001. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The purpose of this series was to explore how curators and museums influence the public's perception of art.University of Alicante. [http://www.ua.es/secretaria.gral/es/memoria/2000_01/14extension_universitaria/1401A2sala_365_mua.htm#CONTRANATURA Contranatura.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

putnik (1997)

For this project, Fontcuberta fabricated a story about and evidence for a "Soyuz 2" mission involving cosmonaut Ivan Istochnikov.Auer, Catherine. Ground control to Comrade Ivan. "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" 2002 Mar/Apr;58(2).] Soyuz 1, an actual Soviet space mission in 1967, had ended with the death of cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov when the spacecraft crashed on landing. In 1968, according to the fabricated story, "Istochnikov and his canine companion Kloka mysteriously vanished after leaving the [Soyuz 2] capsule for a routine space walk. When the Soyuz 3 arrived for a docking maneuver, it found only a vodka bottle containing a note, floating in orbit outside the empty, meteorite-damaged ship." To avoid embarrassment, Soviet officials deleted Istochnikov from official Soviet history; however, the "Sputnik Foundation" discovered Istochnikov's "voice transcriptions, videos, original annotations, some of his personal effects, and photographs taken throughout his lifetime." The exhibition of artifacts (e.g., photographs) related to "Soyuz 2" was shown in many countries, including Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Japan, and the United States.Pérez de Albéniz, Javier. [http://www.el-mundo.es/magazine/num84/textos/cosmo.html El cosmonauta fantasma.] "El Mundo" magazine, 25 May 1997. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [Curtis, Mary Jo. [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2000-01/00-070.html Artists mix fact and fantasy in False Witness exhibition at Bell Gallery.] Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University, 17 January 2001. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Among other reactions to the exhibition, a Russian ambassador "got extremely angry because [Fontcuberta] was insulting the glorious Russian past and threatened to present a diplomatic complaint."

Several lines of evidence available since the first exhibition of "Sputnik" in 1997 in Madrid suggested that the story and artifacts form an elaborate hoax:
* The name "Ivan Istochnikov" is a Russian translation of Joan Fontcuberta's nameGamez, Luis Alfonso. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_30/ai_n16714522 The fabricated cosmonaut and the nonexistent prophecy.] "Skeptical Inquirer", 2006 September-October. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] ; in specific, "Joan" and "Ivan" both translate to "John" [ [http://www.diccionaris.net/ English Catalan Dictionary.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [ [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Ivan Online Etymology Dictionary: Ivan.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.] and "Fontcuberta and Istochnikov both mean 'hidden fountain'".
* The photographs of Istochnikov show Fontcuberta's face.Gamez, Luis Alfonso. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_5_30/ai_n16714522 The fabricated cosmonaut and the nonexistent prophecy.] "Skeptical Inquirer", 2006 September-October. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]
* Pages of the official Web site of the Madrid exhibition contain the words "PURE FICTION" toward the top of each page in light red text on a dark red background [ [http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/at/esputnik.html Sputnik Foundation.] "From May 21st to July 20th, 1997." Retrieved 1 July 2008.] or light pink text on a white background. [ [http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/at/esputnik1.html Texts from the SPUTNIK catalog.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.]
* The front and rear endpapers of the catalog accompanying the Madrid exhibition have the words "it's all fiction" in Russian and Spanish printed on them using glow-in-the-dark ink. [Kondakova, Olga, et al. "Sputnik". Madrid: Fundación Arte y Tecnologia, 1997. ISBN 8489884005.]
* At the Web site of Spanish newspaper "El Mundo", the third of three pages concerning the Madrid exhibition states that "the report which we published on the previous pages is a product of his [Fontcuberta's] imagination."

Nevertheless, "many unsuspecting folks have been taken in by the story", including the Spanish journalist Iker Jimenez. On the 11 June 2006 television show "Cuarto Milenio" (Fourth Millennium), Jimenez said (in Spanish) about Istochnikov "the question is why [he was deleted from history] , what he had done, why he annoyed [the Soviet government] ." [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG7sVXkxpxU Cosmonauta fantasma (Iker Jiménez).] Retrieved 1 July 2008.] In response, "one of Jimenez's collaborators, Gerardo Pelaez, said the Soviet authorities made Istochnikov disappear because he was the personification of 'a noisy failure'." Fontcuberta was quoted as saying about Jimenez's mistake "It's all very funny!" The next week, Jimenez issued a correction, saying that the story was a "cosmic urban legend." [http://youtube.com/watch?v=PMy-Bj2H-eI Iker Jiménez se excusa a su manera.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

At least one Web page states "The Mexican magazine "Luna Cornea", Number 14, January/April 1998, p. 58, already displayed the photos and tragic story of the [Soyuz 2] mission as the unalloyed truth." [Wade, Mark. [http://www.astronautix.com/astros/istnikov.htm Ivan Istochnikov Phantom cosmonaut.] "Encyclopedia Astronautica". Retrieved 1 July 2008.] However:
* The director of the magazine was Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, who edited a 1985 book for which Fontcuberta wrote the introduction. [Ortiz Monasterio, Pablo, editor. "Josep Renau, fotomontador". México: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1985. ISBN 9681621158.]
* Under Ortiz Monasterio's direction, the magazine had earlier published an article about Fontcuberta's "Fauna" project that stated that the animals were "imaginary." [Molina, Mauricio. The reinvention of fauna. "Luna Córnea" 1996 September/December;10:92-97,168-169.]
* The excerpt from "Sputnik" in question is accompanied by a paragraph that begins "The Catalan photographer and researcher Joan Fontcuberta, in whose work the truths -- or lies -- of images have been placed at the service of natural history, has sent "Luna Córnea" his most recent finding, 'Sputnik.'" [Muraveinik, Piotr. Tras las huellas del Soyuz-2 / On the trail of the Soyuz-2 [translated by Jennifer Clement] . "Luna Córnea" 1998 January/April;14:58-65,148-50.]

Hemograms (1998)

Fontcuberta wrote about this series: "The idea was to invite friends and people close to me to provide a sample of their blood... [on] a piece of transparent film.... Immediately afterward, I make an enlargement on photographic paper using the blood as a negative...." [Fontcuberta, Joan. Hemograms. "Aperture", Spring 1999, no. 155, pages 50-55.] The photographs have been described as "exploring identity through blood and its self-expression as abstract art." A review of some photographs from the series stated that they caused the writer to "imagine anonymous blood donors, laboratory procedures, and the possibility of AIDS, or cancer." [Westbrook, Lindsey. [http://www.eastbayexpress.com/artsculture/playing_god__like_scientists/Content?oid=285925 Playing god, like scientists. A thought-provoking exhibit considers human modifications of animals.] "East Bay Express", 24 September 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

irens (2000)

This series consisted of the installation of fake fossils of mermaids in the Réserve Géologique de Haute-Provence in Digne-les-Bains in southern France, which were then photographed. [Cotton, Charlotte. "The Photograph as Contemporary Art". London: Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 0500203806.] [Passamar-Gomez, Nadine. [http://www.musee-gassendi.org/publications/fichiers/art/fiches/sirenes.pdf Les sirènes de Digne.] Digne-les-Bains, France: Musée Gassendi. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Torres, Cristina. [http://www.ua.es/dossierprensa/2001/04/24/12.html Fontcuberta desafía a la arrogancia de la ciencia en 'Contranatura.'] "Periodico de Alicante", 24 April 2001. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Fontcuberta created a story about how the "Hydropithecus" (water-monkey) fossils were discovered by a "Father Jean Fontana" whose face resembles Fontcuberta's. [ [http://www.latalaia.net/eng/tribuna.asp?art=224 The Digne sirenians.] [http://www.latalaia.net/fotos/14fontcuberta1.jpg(Separate link to "Father Fontana" photograph.)] "La Tailaia", Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Subsequently the fossils have "become a permanent feature of the park." [ [http://www.lyc-luynes.ac-aix-marseille.fr/disciplines/svt/hydrop/index.htm A la découverte de l'Hydropithécus sp.] Lycée Georges Duby. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

Pin Zhuang (2001)

The name of this work "is Chinese for 'dismantled', 'dismounted' or 'puzzle." [ [http://www.zabriskiegallery.com/exhibition.php?ex=22&page=40 Joan Fontcuberta Pin Zhuang.] Zabriskie Gallery, 16 November 2004 - 8 January 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] It was inspired by the 2001 Hainan Island incident "in which an American spy plane that crashed in China was thoroughly picked over and returned to the United States in pieces."Glueck, Grace. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2DC1E30F937A15751C1A9629C8B63 Art in review; Joan Fontcuberta.] "The New York Times", 24 December 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The exhibition, which "depict [ed] model planes carefully mis-constructed by the artist and photographed on 'flights' through outer space, was described as "haunting, poetic and thought-provoking." [Hartenstein, Susan. [http://www.rockawave.com/news/2004/1203/Columnists/019.html From the artists studio.] "The Wave" (Long Island, NY), 3 December 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

Karelia: Miracles & Co. (2002)

The intent of this series was to "de-dramatize the irrational force behind religious feelings, while exposing the accompanying economic commercialization and political manipulation."Fundación Telefónica. [http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/at/ekarelia.html Karelia: Miracles & Co. Joan Fontcuberta.] 2002. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The premise was that Fontcuberta visited a monastery in the Karelia region between Finland and Russia "to unveil the hoax" that it trains students to perform miracles.Zabriskie Gallery. [http://www.zabriskiegallery.com/Fontcuberta/2003%20Miracles%20&%20Co/Miracles%20Images.html Joan Fontcuberta. Miracles & Co.] Retrieved 1 July 2008.] For example, in the photograph "The Miracle of the Flesh," Fontcuberta is shown holding a slice of ham with an image of Che Guevara on it, and the caption states that Adolf Hitler or Osama Bin Laden can be seen on other ham slices depending on the food eaten by the pig. A 2003 exhibition in New York was called "an uncommonly clever tour de force."Glueck, Grace. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E2D8133CF93BA15751C0A9659C8B63 Art in Review; Joan Fontcuberta -- "Miracles & Co."] "The New York Times", 28 February 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

Orogenesis (2002)

In this project, also known as "Landscapes without Memory," Fontcuberta "create [d] plausible, even spectacular landscapes using Terragen, a computer program originally created for military and scientific uses that turns maps into images of three-dimensional terrain." However, instead of starting with scans of maps, Fontcuberta used "scans of historical artworks such as a Henri Rousseau painting or Gustave Le Gray photograph, as well as parts of the human body"Laster, Paul. [http://www.artkrush.com/mailer/issue25/interview/index.html Interview (Joan Fontcuberta).] "Artkrush", issue 25, 8 February 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] to produce "splendid and astonishing landscapes... (lakes, mountains, rocky deserts)". One review noted that the series suggests a "crisis in contemporary landscape art... [for example] man's emotional and psychological relationship with a rapidly vanishing natural environment." [Stathatos, John. (Review of) "Joan Fontcuberta: Landscapes without memory". "European Photography" 2006;27(79/80):109.] The works suggest that even "scientific" images are influenced by human culture. [Kouwenhoven, Bill. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_6_33/ai_n16701825 FOAM follows function.] "Afterimage" 2006 May/June;33(6). Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Ball, Philip. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7070/full/438915a.html Changing your world view.] "Nature", 15 December 2005;438(7070):915-916.] Along with Googlegrams, the Orogenesis series was said to "call into question the boundaries of representation in the information age." [Bryant, Eric. [http://www.artnewsonline.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=2457 The indecisive image.] "ARTnews", March 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

Googlegrams (2005)

Fontcuberta wrote about this series "The basic idea consists in selecting images that have become icons of our time. ... [The images are] refashioned using a freeware photo mosaic programme. ... the programme was connected to the Internet and used the search engine Google to locate thousands of images on the basis of search criteria determined by the user, normally images associated with one or several words. In the Abu Ghraib photograph, for example, the search engine was given the names of top officials, civilian contractors and enlisted soldiers cited in the ‘Final Report of the Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations’...." [Fontcuberta, Joan. [http://www.zabriskiegallery.com/artist.php?artist=5&page=45 Archive noise.] New York: Zabriskie Gallery, 31 January 2006. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] His intent was to "make an ironic criticism" of beliefs that people on the Internet "shar [e] an exhaustive, universal, and democratic conscience." Reviews of works in the series were mixed. [Clement, Tracey. [http://www.smh.com.au/news/arts-reviews/joan-fontcuberta-googlegrams/2007/07/26/1185339149093.html Joan Fontcuberta: Googlegrams.] "Sydney Morning Herald", 26 July 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [ [http://artswipe.blogspot.com/2007/08/death-of-affect.html The death of affect.] Artswipe blog, 14 August 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] In 2007, the Simon Wiesenthal Center objected to a Googlegram showing the wall in the Palestinian West Bank that was a mosaic of photographs of Nazi concentration camps, stating that it was "a smug exercise in banalizing the horrors of the Holocaust." [ [http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/s/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=253162&ct=4509907 Wiesenthal Centre to Frankfurt Book Fair director: "2007 fair opens as homage to Catalonia in the language of Holocaust denial."] Press release, 10 October 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [ [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104571.html Book fair accused of Holocaust denial.] "JTA News", 10 October 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [Medick, Veit. [http://www.taz.de/index.php?id=start&art=5993&id=buch-artikel&src=AR&cHash=b3d84d34a1 Antisemitismus-Streit auf der Buchmesse. Holocaust auf Sperrzaun.] "Die Tageszeitung", 13 October 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The exhibition traveled widely, including shows in Paris, Naples, and Beijing. [ [http://www.produccionesorganicas.org/rwandasmiles/g3.htm (G3=) GooGleGramas.] 10 November 2005. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] [EFE. [http://www.noticiasdegipuzkoa.com/ediciones/2008/06/08/mirarte/cultura/d08cul82.1092367.php Fontcuberta inaugura en Pekín la exposición "Googlegramas."] Noticias De Gipuzkoa, 8 June 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

Deconstructing Osama (2007)

Exhibited at the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation in Mallorca in 2007,Marí, P. [http://www.diariodemallorca.es/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=1569_9_272002__Actual-Joan-Fontcuberta-hace-Laden Joan Fontcuberta se hace Bin Laden.] "Diario de Mallorca", 22 June 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] Clar, Asun. [http://www.elmundo-eldia.com/2007/08/06/cultura/1186351226.html Joan Fontcuberta L'Agència Al-Zur Deconstruint Osama. Periodismo virtual infiltrado.] "El Mundo / El Dia de Baleares", 6 August 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] this project concerned the purported "leader of Al Qaeda's military wing Dr. Fasqiyta Ul-Junat" who "was in reality an actor and singer named Manbaa Mokfhi who had appeared in soap operas on Arab television networks and was the public face of a MeccaCola advertising campaign."Mr. Whiskets. [http://5b4.blogspot.com/2008/04/deconstructing-osama-by-joan.html "Deconstructing Osama" by Joan Fontcuberta.] 5B4 Photography and Books blog, 1 April 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] He was not actually a terrorist but instead had been "hired to play the role." After Mokfhi disappeared mysteriously, "intelligence services then invented the figure of Osama bin Laden and his associates in which to create the face of terror."

Fontcuberta himself appears as Ul-Junat / Mokfhi. Furthermore, the name "Fontcuberta, Joan" is similar to the name "Fasqiyta Ul-Junat." [http://www.photobookguide.com/review/joan-fontcuberta/deconstructing-osama/ "Deconstructing Osama" by Joan Fontcuberta.] "Photo Book Guide", 8 December 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2008.] The "in-jokes" in the project include the similarity of the names of the photographers Ben Kalish Ezab and Ben Salaad to characters in "The Adventures of Tintin", a picture of photographer Martin Parr in a keffiyeh, and the allusion of the “Office of Strategic Impact” in the project to the real Office of Special Plans of the Pentagon. [Dvorchik, Paolo Unger. [http://monkeywagun.gnn.tv/blogs/27863/Essay_on_Propaganda Essay on propaganda.] "HighImpactArt" blog, 7 April 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.]

elected books by and about Fontcuberta

Books with Fontcuberta's work include the following:
* Fontcuberta, Joan, curator. "Idas & chaos: trends in Spanish photography 1920-1945". New York: U.S.-Spanish Joint Committee for Cultural and Educational Cooperation, 1985. ISBN 847483045X.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Herbarium". Göttingen, West Germany: European Photography, 1985. ISBN 3923283091 (hardcover) or ISBN 3923283075 (paperback) or ISBN 3923283083 (deluxe).
* Fontcuberta, Joan, and Pere Formiguera. "Dr. Ameisenhaufen's fauna". Göttingen, West Germany: European Photography, 1988. ISBN 3923283164. With a tan paper cover, this first edition "mimics the look and feel of a scientific study so well that it occasionally appears in libraries and bookstores as a zoology text." It was chosen as "one of the most important photographic publications in modern times." [Roth, Andrew, editor. "The open book: a history of the photographic book from 1878 to the present". Göteborg, Sweden: Hasselblad Center, 2004.] Other editions of the book include:
** "Fauna Secreta". Barcelona: Fundació Caixa de Catalunya, 1989.
** "Fauna". [Sevilla] : Junta de Andalucía, 1989. (Publisher also given as " [Spain] : PhotoVision" or "Seville: The Museum [Museo de Arte Contemporaneo] .") ISBN 848662004X.
** "Himitsu No Dobutsushi". Tokyo: Chikuma Shobo, 1991. ISBN 4480871543.
** "Fauna". [Utrera, Sevilla] : Photovision, 1999. ISBN 8486620155 (Spanish) or ISBN 8486620171 (French) or ISBN 8486620163 (English).
* "Història artificial: el cor i les tenebres: Joan Fontcuberta: IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez, 26 novembre 1992/24 de gener 1993". [Valencia] : Le Centre, 1992. ISBN 8448200233.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Le baiser de Judas: photographie et vérité." Arles: Actes Sud, 1996. ISBN 2742708391.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "El beso de Judas: fotografía y verdad". Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 1997. ISBN 8425214807.
* Kondakova, Olga, et al. "Sputnik". Madrid: Fundación Arte y Tecnología, 1997. ISBN 8489884005. The book was said to "recall [] the heyday of the great photobooks of El Lissitsky and Alexander Rodchenko."
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Joan Fontcuberta: twilight zones". Barcelona: Actar, 1999. ISBN 8495273152.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Joan Fontcuberta: volte face: a l'envers de la science, les leçons de l'histoire". Marseille: Images en manoeuvres: Centre d'Art, 2000. ISBN 2908445441.
* Zabalbeascoa, Anatxu, and Joan Fontcuberta. "The artist and the photograph". Barcelona: Actar, 2000. ISBN 8495273306.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Contranatura". Alicante, Spain: Museo de la Universidad de Alicante, 2001. ISBN 8495273837.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Securitas". Madrid: Fundación Telefónica, 2001, ISBN 8489884269. Also Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2001, ISBN 8425218969.
* Caujolle, Christian. "Joan Fontcuberta". London and New York: Phaidon, 2001. ISBN 0714840319.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Photography: crisis of history". Barcelona: Actar, 2002. ISBN 8495273500.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Joan Fontcuberta: landscapes without memory". New York: Aperture, 2005. ISBN 1931788790.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Datascapes: Orogenesis/Googlegrams". Sevilla: Photovision, 2007. ISBN 9788493154644.
* Fontcuberta, Joan. "Deconstructing Osama: the truth about the case of Manbaa Mokfhi". Barcelona: Actar, 2007. ISBN 9788496540903.

References

External links

* [http://www.amillionyearsoflight.com/site2/index.html Joan Fontcuberta Fotografia]
*Zabalbeascoa, Anatxu. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_n6_v31/ai_14376741 Joan Fontcuberta] - "ArtForum", February 1993.
*Galeria Virtual and Joan Fontcuberta. [http://www.iua.upf.es/~gvirtual/topofoni/topof_a.htm Topophonia: Terrestrial Music] - Barcelona: Pompeu Fabra University, February 1994.
*Fundación Telefónica. [http://www.fundacion.telefonica.com/at/fontcuberta.html Exposición Securitas] - c. 2001.