Theory of Wants

• ISBN-13: 9788862080590
• Publisher: Damiani
• Publication date: 10/28/2008
• Pages: 160
• Product dimensions: 7.80 (w) x 11.80 (h) x 0.80 (d)

For five years during '03-'08 Maiman has crisscrossed the globe, documenting his travels with his camera lens. In Theory of Wants he presents a gallery of portraits taken all over the world. From the gaze of a Muslim smoker sitting at a Western café to the eyes of a peasant met in the remotest village in Asia, Theory of Wants explores the mysterious correspondence governing people’s behaviors and feelings. The book includes over seventy photographs, presented in three sections: Wonder (2005) and Venture (2006), Theory of Wants (2007). The images examine the irresolvable issue of whether there exists a common sentiment among mankind with regard to its deepest needs.

As art dealer Carlo von Zeitschel writes in the book’s introduction, “This three part book strives to analyze what it is like to live our twenties in today’s world. In a society where everything is at one’s fingertips and people’s wants and desires seem to be growing ever more contorted, it becomes increasingly difficult to find your place in the world without the eerie feeling of being manipulated into conformity.”

Theory of Wants juxtaposes Ohad Maiman’s compelling, immediate photographs of people he encountered and befriended around the world with the artist’s own well thought out philosophical statements and existential questions about what it means to live and make the “right” choices in today’s changing society. The book is a visual coming of age story, which, while personal, withholds personal answers or judgments and instead poses questions that can be relevant to us all.