JOHNSTONE, Charles. Thirtyfour Basketball Courts.

(No place): Charles Johnstone, 2010. First edition. Hardcover. 23.4cm by 20.9cm. Unpaginated. Introductory essay “Beyond the Arc” by Toby Jurovics, curator of photography at the Smithsonian. A striking, minimal photographic monograph documenting thirty-four basketball courts across New York City, (all images shot in 2008) as seen from center-court and rendered in a spare, typological style. The title is a clear reference to Ed Ruscha’s Thirtyfour Parking Lots, placing the book within that tradition while applying it to a different subject. Like Ruscha, Johnstone deliberately excludes people from his images. Where Ruscha photographed Los Angeles parking lots from above, Johnstone works at ground level, documenting New York basketball courts. Shown empty, the courts are defined by their markings, surfaces, and the way light and colour fall across them. This is a very good copy in cloth boards. Stated to be a limited numbered edition [200 copies] although this copy not numbered.