presentation and book-signing EAST-WEST (paris)

at PARIS PHOTO Carrousel du
Louvre Paris Saturday, November 21, 2009


Featuring 'Time is Money' by Mauro Bottaro

The development toward a globalized world has progressed inexorably during the past 20 years – with borders blurring and countries and cultures converging. This makes it virtually impossible to identify the “Western world” anymore in any geographic sense. Is the West then only a dream? The photography book WEST looks for answers to this question, in the process revealing the multilayered facets of the phenomenon of globalization. Gathered together here are works by various photographers who set off on a quest to find the West, documenting their discoveries in disparate ways. Their investigations focus on subjects such as the myth of the cowboy, the life of Cambodian street gangs in the USA, and everyday dealings in London’s financial district. We are also given a glimpse of the world of allotment gardens in Vienna, and follow a dog named Pecorino on his travels through Europe. As a sequel to EAST, Regina Maria Anzenberger’s second volume of photographs is devoted not only to a geographic delineation of the West, but also to portraying the “Western idea” per se.

Photographers: Toni Anzenberger, Mauro Bottaro, Simone Casetta, Ulrich Eigner, Horst Friedrichs, Gianmaria Gava, Robert Haidinger, Lauren Hermele, Philipp Horak, Stuart Isett, Yadid Levy, Reiner Riedler, Richard Ross, Arabella Schwarzkopf, Annet van der Voort, Paolo Woods




TIME IS MONEY

Financial districts have been a recent annexes to modern cities in Europe and the world. Economics has been an integrated part of everyone's daily life and life span since the existence of Government and State, but as markets and production processes have become truly global and automated in every aspect so finance and “unreal” economics have stemmed out of reach.

Financial markets have truly been the heavy weights of national economies and the actors of these markets, consulting companies and corporate investment firms, have detached themselves from their surrounding environments. This is probably why all main countries in the West or First World have all given spontaneous rise to financial districts. London is the most important centre of finance and banking in Europe, and has in fact two areas where finance and the stock markets breath and are established. The traditional area surrounding the Bank of England the Stock Exchange and a more recent neighbourhood especially built to host all the world's most powerful and influential financial and banking corporations, Canary Wharf. Everyone refers to these two areas as the City, as if no other part of London would represent it more.

In these inner city's islands time is literally money and there is no other reason for people to be or go there if not to work in or in connection to the monolithic companies and banks of the City. In fact the glass buildings and impenetrable skyscrapers put the everyday City workers, who are like any other person, in a deeply contrast with what should be their environment. The contrast is overwhelming and natural as unnatural are these financial areas, which are only alive for money and creation of money in a form which is impalpable and virtual to most people. Economic gains from banking and financial instruments have proven to be virtual and borderline with reality and the real economy with the 2008 world economic crisis, where financial institutions can be said to have negatively influenced people's everyday life out of proportion. Financial districts in cities like London life a life of their own, which never stops. Their workers may have schedules and working hours, but the companies present in these environments never stop, following the markets 24 hours a day around the globe.