O Livro Falado

BOB WOLFENSON IS PROBABLY one of the most published Brazilian photographers. Some of his images became referential portraits of the characters he portrayed, helping to form and practically blending in with the public image of these people. It is no small thing that Bob has produced some images at this level of recognition, as the text by Fernanda Torres that opens this book tells so well.

When the opportunity to produce a book with Bob Wolfenson in the IOK Brazilian Photography series came up, in addition to our pleasure in being able to work with such a spectacular production, one question was inevitable: Which book to produce about Bob? It practically every aspect of his work has already been explored and published in books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs and exhibitions?

This book then began to take shape as a result of the stories that needed to be told. The backstage, the production, the briefing, the setbacks, everything that is not seen in the images, but that sheds light on the creative process and makes the episodic meaningful. These are fascinating narratives, especially in the case of Bob’s work, which inhabits somewhere between the transitory and the perennial, and which does not fit into stylistic or thematic classifications.

The big challenge was to edit and design a document book that could put images and narratives side by side, making it all work and be at the same time interesting, fun and thought-provoking. In the process, which took more than 2 years, editing and design went hand in hand. It turns out that Bob is also a good editor, an excellent writer and, more than that, someone willing to share his stories, his way of working (his “method”, as he sometimes shyly refers to it) and his worldview. All of this with a certain dose of vanity, great generosity and a priceless humor when he fearlessly recounts successes and failures, magic and chance, method and improvisations, with a self-critical sagacity that borders the limits of the fascinating as the photographer builds and deconstructs himself throughout the conversation. Perhaps from his frankness, sometimes hurtful, from his ability to relate and to understand himself and the other, reasons for Bob’s great success arise.

After these dozens of hours talking, listening to stories, discussing, thinking, laughing and choosing images, the conclusion that naturally imposed itself was to make a talking book!

João and Kiko Farkas