WONDERFUL BOOK by well-known German photographer Michael Wolf (1954-2019), famous for "Tokyo Compression". Michael Wolf who started his career in Germany as pupil of the legendary Otto Steinert ('Subjective Photography') in Essen. The book is showing "Earth God Schrines" in Urban Hong Kong. Signed by the artist. Signatures by this artist are very scarce. I GUARANTEE THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE SIGNATURE. WITH ORIGINAL DUSTJACKET. BOOK AND DUSTJACKET IN EXCELLENT, VERY FRESH CONDITION. Welcome to the next edition of the VERY POPULAR SINGLE-SELLER-AUCTIONS by 5Uhr30.com (Ecki Heuser, Cologne, Germany). This time with a BEST-OF-SELECTION from 1926 to 2026, so of the last 100 (!) years of photobook history. "Following the success of Hong Kong Corner Houses (2011), German photographer Michael Wolf continues with his collaboration with Hong Kong University Press to produce Small God, Big City. Michael again uses his creative eye to draw attention to overlooked objects in the visually rich urban environment of Hong Kong. This time, the object is the Earth God shrine, found commonly by the doorways of shops and homes throughout Hong Kong. Through his visually stimulating and thought- provoking photographs, Michael challenges our sensitivity to seemingly familiar everyday things. An interpretative text for the photographs is authored by two familiar names Lee Ho Yin and Lynne DiStefano, who are well-known academics and practitioners of heritage conservation in Hong Kong. The text leads readers to a better understanding of the topic and the meaning behind Michael’s photographs of Earth God shrines in urban Hong Kong. The topic of this book is timely, given the vulnerability of traditional beliefs and practices in an increasingly urbanised Hong Kong. It is hoped that Small God, Big City will provoke deeper thoughts on who we are and what we believe in, in this modern world." (from the publisher) "Michael Wolf was born in 1954 in Munich, Germany. He grew up in the United States, Europe, and Canada and studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the Folkwang School in Essen, Germany. In 1995, he moved to Hong Kong, where he studied Chinese cultural identity and complex urban architectural structure. He has published seven photobooks on Asia, including Sitting in China, Chinese Propaganda Posters, Hong Kong Front Door Back Door, Hong Kong Inside Outside, Tokyo Compression, and Hong Kong Corner Houses." (from the publisher() 5Uhr30.com guarantees detailed and accurate descriptions, 100% protection, 100% insurance and combined shipping worldwide. ‎Hong Kong University (HKU) Press. Peperoni Books, Berlin. 2013. First edition, first printing. Hardcover with dustjacket. 197 x 285 mm. 123 pages. Photos: Michael Wolf. Text in English and Chinese. Condition: Book and dustjacket excellent, very fresh and flawless condition; like new and unread. No marks, no foxing; no remarkable flaws or defects. Overall near mint, near perfect condition. Great photobook with original dustjacket by Michael Wolf - in wonderful fresh condition. 'Michael Wolf is a German-born photographer who captures the claustrophobia of city life through portraits of cramped apartments, unending skyscrapers, and crowded subway cars. The artist reveals the confluence of anonymity and individuality that exists in contemporary cities. “Does art always have to be nice? Or, to put it another way, why does the art we hang on our walls have to be nice?” the artist once mused. Born in 1954 in Munich, Germany, he was raised in the United States, Canada, and Europe before attending the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. The artist would go on to receive a degree in visual communication at the University of Essen, studying under Otto Steinert during the 1970s. He also cites photographers Eugene Smith and Henri Cartier-Bresson as major influences. Wolf worked as a photojournalist for the German based magazine Stern in Hong Kong for a number of years before focusing on his own practice. The artist currently lives and works between Hong Kong and Paris, France. His works are held in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, IL, among others.' (Artnet) 'Michael Wolf is known for capturing the hyper-density of cities, such as Hong Kong, Tokyo and Chicago in his large-scale photographs of high-rise architecture and intimate studies of the lives of city dwellers. Michael Wolf’s work on life in cities was always driven by a profound concern for the people living in these environments and for the consequences of massive urbanization on contemporary civilization. This commitment and engagement remained central throughout his career, first as a photojournalist and then as an artist. Born in Munich in 1954, Wolf grew up in Canada, Europe, and the United States, studying at University of California, Berkeley and under Otto Steinert at the Folkwang School in Essen, Germany. He moved to Hong Kong in 1994, where he worked for eight years as a contract photographer for Stern Magazine, before moving on from photojournalism in 2003 to focus on his personal work. Wolf published more than 10 books, including the critically acclaimed titles Tokyo Compression and Architecture of Density. Michael Wolf won first prize in the World Press Photo competition in 2005 and 2010 and received an honourable mention in 2011. In 2010 and 2016 he was nominated for the Prix Pictet photography award. His work features in many permanent collections, including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Museum Folkwang,Essen; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag.Michael Wolf’s first major retrospective, Michael Wolf – Life in Cities, was held in 2017, premiering at the prestigious Rencontres de la Photographie festival in Arles, then moving on to The Hague Museum of Photography (2018), the Fondazione Stelline in Milan (2018), Deichtorhallen Hamburg (2018 –2019), and Urania, Berlin (2019). His work has also been exhibited at the bienal de arquitetura, Sáo Paulo, Brazil; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Gallery of the Goethe Institute, Hong Kong, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.' (Flowers Gallery) 'Michael Wolf was a German born artist and photographer who captured daily life in big cities. His work takes place primarily in Hong Kong and Paris and focuses on architectural patterns and structures, as well as the documentation of human life and interaction in the city. Wolf has published multiple photo books, has had his work exhibited widely around the world, has permanent collections across Germany and the United States, and has won three World Press Photo Awards from 2005 to 2011. Wolf was born in 1954 in Munich, Germany, and was raised in the United States, Europe, and Canada. He grew up in a family of artists; his father was a calligraphist and his mother worked with pottery and paint. He attended the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the University of California, Berkeley. In 1976, he obtained a degree in visual communication at the University of Essen, Germany, where he studied with Otto Steinert. Wolf began his career in 1994 as a photojournalist, spending eight years working in Hong Kong for the German magazine Stern. As the magazine industry began to decline over the coming years, his photojournalism assignments became more dense, and he is quoted as saying that they were "stupid and boring." This led his career in a new direction as he strayed from photojournalism and instead began a career in fine-art photography in 2003, which is the work he is most credited for today.' (Wikipedia)