ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Max Aguilera-Hellweg's surgical photography book reissued in French

publication · 2026-04-23

After a horse-riding accident in 1989 during a photo assignment on weekend cowboys in the American West, photojournalist Max Aguilera-Hellweg underwent major surgery. During his recovery, a magazine offered him a low-risk assignment: photograph a female surgeon at work. This became a revelation. Over the following years, he documented some sixty surgical operations. In 1997, these images were compiled into a book, whose American edition has long been out of print. Alexandre Laumonier of Kargo editions discovered the photographs on the cover of a Fantomas album and decided to launch the present French edition.

Key facts

  • Max Aguilera-Hellweg worked as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and Life for about twenty years.
  • In 1989, during an assignment on weekend cowboys in the American West, his horse threw him violently to the ground.
  • He underwent major medical intervention after the accident.
  • During convalescence, a magazine assigned him to photograph a female surgeon at work.
  • He went on to photograph about sixty surgical operations over the following years.
  • The photos were collected in a book in 1997; the American edition has long been out of print.
  • Alexandre Laumonier of Kargo editions discovered the images via a Fantomas album cover.
  • Kargo launched the French edition of the book.

Entities

Artists

  • Max Aguilera-Hellweg

Institutions

  • Rolling Stone
  • The New York Times
  • Life
  • Kargo

Locations

  • United States
  • American West

Sources