Renato D'Agostin's Tokyo Untitled is a beguiling book. At first glance, I wanted to dismiss it. The second time through it, some of the images drew me in with their formal simplicity and high contrast, but others appeared only to be exercises in design and contrast.

Simple direct images, like a large collection of pine cones that become shimmering shapes of high contrast, bring me back into the book. In another double page spread an official of some sort waits in a deep shadow. I linger over the detail of his checked shirt and hat. These brief moments of clarity make me want more clarity in the book. This book though, is not about clarity. It is about being lost and cut off from the constant flow of chaos in a foreign land.

D'Agostin's style is intentional. It reminds me of Michael Ackerman's book Fiction where grain, blur and abstraction dominate. D'Agostin has been working in this method of contrast and confusion since 2007. It adds to the sense of detachment and aloneness he builds into his frames. The moments of clarity that bring me back into the book are the images that standout because of their sharpness. For my tastes, D'Agostin is loading the front of the images with too much blur or out of focus space.



Tokyo Untitled is about an emotional place, not a physical one. There are a number of photographers documenting Japan in sharp, deep focused color pictures. This is not one of those books. D'Agostin found his lonely space in which to create his world of blackness, which is punctuated by sharp white circles and lines. Most of the time he is able to add depth to the abstract, which gives the viewer a hook to grab on to. At other times we are treated to his ability to create complex designs out of black and a dab of white. It all adds up to a bit of a mixed bag. I applaud the approach, but the editing and pacing is a tad off, too much emptiness and not enough loneliness. —Tom Leininger