First edition of Attracted To Light by Doug and Mike Starn (2003)
First impression
Large format hardback in near fine condition
Signed and dated by Doug and Mike Starn to title page
Some wear to to boards (predominantly to extremities), expected given the age of the book
Some very slight toning to extremities of pages
Otherwise, pages clean, binding firm
About
A sumptuously oversized and exquisitely produced book,Attracted to Lightshowcases the Starns extensive conceptual portrait series of the nocturnal moths mysterious journey and the seeming gravitational force that light has over them, captured in photographs and filmic video footage.
Light necessitates darkness, the shadow created by anything physical. But black is not only the lack of lightit is also the complete absorption of light. The void and reservoir of what we want, what we need; light is power, it is knowledge. When we look into the deep, velvety black eyes of moths we see both emptiness and (the absorption of) light. No one understands why moths are attracted to light. It’s neither to mate nor to eat: many moths dont eat at all; some don’t even have mouths. Like butterflies, moths are almost as light as air, but theyre the poor stupid cousins. Choosing to live their lives at night, flying from nowhere towards the end of their livesfragile, dusty wings in tatters. A moth will bounce across a ceiling, orbit a lamp, fly into a flame, or self-immolate like a Buddhist monk.
Doug and Mike Starn
