Tokyo, Moscow, Leopoldville

Lebeck was frequently to be found in that elusive terrain most photographers dream of: the right place at the right time. When he took the photo "Rapier Thief" on his tour of Africa in 1960, for instance, he captured a symbolic portrait of the end of European colonial power--an image which has since become a classic of press photography. His photographs of Japan contrast the wealth of a few with the poverty of many. And when he photographed in the Soviet Union in 1962, he demonstrated a rare understanding of its culture. This handsomely slipcased three-volume monograph gathers images from Moscow, Tokyo and Leopoldville (current-day Kinshasa). These pictures of Africa, Asia and the Soviet Union, mostly made in the early 1960s, show a world in upheaval, a world in which extremes were colliding. Furthermore, they suggests that there is much more to be considered than that which is presented in the photographic image.