photo l.a. (Photo credit: Debe Arlook)
By Douglas Stockdale & Debe Arlook •
More than 10,000 people attended photo l.a., which was held January 30–February 2, 2020, at the Barker Hangar (Santa Monica Airport) in Santa Monica, California. The opening reception that about 3,000 attended was on Thursday evening, January 30th.
The annual photographic exhibition includes photobook publishers and the featured photobooks of photographic galleries. There were also a number of artist talks, such as Open Show L.A., which featured photographers whose photobooks were in the process of being released; a featured presentation by Anthony Hernandez, who has a number of intriguing photobook publications; and a photobook panel discussion hosted by FOCUS.
So not in any alphabetic order:
_____
Nazraeli Press
A well-known West Coast publisher of excellent and collectible photobooks. Chris Pichler, Publisher, shows a boxed set of four books from the One Picture Books Two series. Nazraeli is releasing a new set of eight books in 2020 with each one focusing on a different photographer. A signed, original print is included in each book. (Photo credit: Alaina Dall)
____
Photo-eye
Although known for its Santa Fe, New Mexico bookstore, Photo-eye was primarily featuring their gallery artists. Nevertheless, they had a few photobook gems and recently released books. The photobook Peru (1984-2010): Photographs by Linda Connor, is shown being featured by Rixon Reed, owner of photo-eye Bookstore in Santa Fe, NM. This edition of 100 was published in 2019 in Seoul, Korea. (Photo credit: Alaina Dall)
____
21stEditions
An East Coast publisher that is in the midst of a transition. 21stEditions presented the works of Wesley Channell in a project that applies artists and concepts to the notion of the body as canvas, resulting in a collaborative effort with the models painted and photographed, and involving the viewer who reacts to the works against a rich background of multiple meanings. The work has been published in book form, Human Canvas, which is in the process of being reviewed in the PhotoBook Journal. (Text and photo credit: Gerhard Clausing)
____
Marshall Contemporary
Douglas Marshall of Marshall Contemporary, holding the photobook entitled Where Ravens Cry by Jakob de Boer. The book is a limited-edition production of 500 copies that became available in December 2019 and is published by Nazraeli Press. Judith Stenneken’s intimate 2017 self-published book Illuminate Naturally in Darkness has 24 gatefolds that combine a mixture of poetic text and rich imagery offering multifarious, interpretive views. (Photo credit: Alaina Dall)
____
The LEM HQ and Jeffrey Sklan
Jeffery Sklan created a series of black and white portraits of Los Angeles painters, who are presented in a leporello artist book that provides a broad look at the artists who work and impact the art scene in Southern California. (Photo credit: Douglas Stockdale)
____
Timothy Yarger Fine Art
Although not exactly a stack of photobooks, nevertheless an interesting take on the appeal of books as graphic objects, created by Pancho Luna at the Timothy Yarger Fine Art. Luna recreates books on shelves using lucite blocks that refract images and light. (Photo credit: Wayne Swanson)
____
Galerie XII
Though predominantly showcasing gallery artists, the gallery hosted a book signing with Mona Kuhn, acclaimed for her contemporary and intimate depictions of the human form. “She Disappeared into Complete Silence,” published by Steidl in 2017, is hard bound with the tops of the pages covered in gold leaf. (Photo credit: Debe Arlook)
____
19th Century Rare Book & Photography Shop
Another discovery was the work of Marcel Sternberger, a 20th century photographer who had a psychological approach to portraiture and knew some of the most prominent members of society. The collection of iconic portraits and important intellectual contributions was recently discovered and is being curated by Jacob Loewentheil. (Text and photo credit: Gerry Clausing)
____
Marquand Editions
Produces museum quality photo books and handmade art books. They highlighted handmade books employing a variety of special printing techniques, especially unique prints by analog methods and derived processes. They showed collector books of museum quality that are amazing. (Text and photo credit: Gerry Clausing)
_____
Veritas Editions
Jim Fitzgerald exhibited special hand-made carbon transfer prints bound into a book edition. (Photo credit: Gerhard Clausing)
____
Events: Open Show, Photo Book Panel
____
Open Show – Saturday
photo l.a.’s FOCUS – Winter 2019’s grand prize winner (and five-time finalist), Jamie Johnson, presented her project focusing on the lives of Irish Traveller children who grew up in caravans on the side of the roads and in fields. Jamie gives us a look into a community that has faced racism and discrimination spanning a history hundreds of years. The book, Growing Up Travelling, is in its final design stage and will be published by Kehrer Verlag (Germany) (Photo credit: Gerhard Clausing)
____
Photo Book Roundtable Panel Discussion
A panel of photographers and printers discussed the importance of timing, connecting with a photo community, nurturing a following, financial resourcing, guidance with design and marketing, the amount of effort it takes to make and sell a book, and the importance of timing. The panel included Sarah Hadley, Lost Venice; Mark Edward Harris, (veteran of six books: Wanderlust, Inside Iran, North Korea, South Korea,The Travel Essay and The Way of The Japanese Bath); Bootsy Holler, (Treasures and an in-process Rock’n Roll journal of her time in the Seattle music scene); and Khodr Cherri, Creative Director of A&I Fine Art & Photography. (Photo credit: Debe Arlook)
____
Contributors to this article include: Debe Arlook, Wayne Swanson, Alaina Dall, Gerhard Clausing and Douglas Stockdale
Alaina Dall, PhotoBook Journal, interviewing Douglas Marshall, Marshall Contemporary (Photo credit: Douglas Stockdale)
PhotoBook Journal 