A Man Holds a Fish

By Glenn Busch

Publication: August 2024
Pages: 168
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-99-107201-6 

RRP: $75

Buy A Man Holds a Fish:

Selected by the legendary photographer himself, the 79 extraordinary images in Glenn Busch’s A Man Holds a Fish cement and celebrate his reputation as one of New Zealand’s most important photographers. Almost other-worldly, and striking in their humanity and emotional effect, the images in this resonant book bear returning to again and again.

Busch’s work secured public notice in 1984 with the publication of Working Men. As art writer Peter Ireland observes in his essay, ‘In the early 1970s . . . the social documentary tradition was the reigning, respectable approach, and Busch’s work remains foundational, even after half a century retaining a vividness and force in its resistance to any tendency to idealise in his portraiture, as this book so clearly attests.’

A handsome, large-format book, beautifully designed by Seven, this book serves as both an introduction to the work of a hugely influential and widely regarded figure in photography in Aotearoa New Zealand and a celebration of his place in our art history.

Awards

• Finalist for the Best Design Awards, Editorial and Books. “A Man Holds a Fish introduces the work of Glenn Busch, a renowned New Zealand photographer known for his raw, human portraits. The design honours his candid approach, with images pressing to the page edges to echo the marginalised subjects he captured. Inspired by Glenn’s darkroom revelation, metallic silver ink adds depth, while subtle blues offset a restrained monochrome palette. The cover remains bare, typography pairs Sabon with Founders Grotesk, and exposed Smythe binding reflects the honesty of the work within. Every detail serves the photographs, creating a book that is quiet, unvarnished, and deeply respectful of its subject and its maker.”

Author interviews

• Bookenz, interviewed by Morrin Rout. (Listen on Spotify)

• New Zealand Listener, interviewed by Mark Broatch.

• RNZ Nine to Noon, interviewed by Paddy Gower.

Review highlights

• Art New Zealand, by Don Abbott. “The photographs themselves are big and breath-taking, and command a connection that is both intimate and remote.”

• PhotoForum, by Virginia Were. "Busch is notable for avoiding sentimentality and idealisation in his work, and his unflinching photographic gaze shares similarities with that of Diane Arbus who was always on the lookout for oddball and marginalised individuals. Because of their rawness, many of his photographs are seared into New Zealand’s collective visual memory."

• New Zealand Geographic, reviewed by Catherine Woulfe.

• New Zealand Listener, selected as one of the best coffee table books of 2024.

About the author

Publication: August 2024
Pages: 168
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-99-107201-6 

RRP: $75