Ed Templeton – Random & Pointless

Ed Templeton’s recent photobook Random & Pointless is a intriguing narrative about youth, just hanging out and experiencing life as it rolls by.

The mash-up of black & white and color street photographs appear Random, as evidenced by the inclusion of various contact sheets, as the free association of street photography is frequently practiced. This is a visceral read that may appear on the surface as being Pointless, or at least irreverent, raising questions as to the underlying context of this photobook and perhaps questions about the act of photographing.

The photographs are printed to include the surrounding negative substrate that can be read to indicate 1) the photographs are uncropped images, 2) these are two-dimensional photographic images and 3) to document that the photographs were made from film and are not digital images.

This photobook is a layered and complex read. The photobook literally becomes more intimate as the many layers unfold. The random unseen events becoming visible, asking the reader the unanswered question as to what is the point?

The book has a stiff covers with a saddle-stitch binding and a double-sided printed belly band that wraps the covers. The belly band incorporates two rows of color negatives on one side and two rows of black and white negatives on the opposite side. The color variations of the Black & White photographs in the images below do closely reflect the book’s actual print colors. This is essentially an artist book with the inclusion of the six various hand-made folds incorporated into the book’s design.

by Douglas Stockdale for The PhotoBook