June was an unusual month in the United States, regretfully for the usual reasons, which makes it a little difficult for me to discuss just photobooks. Due to continuing institutional racism and police brutality, George Floyd was murdered; inept American leadership has resulted in a runaway COVID-19 pandemic; and the person in the White House does not acknowledge evidence discovered by American intelligence officials that Russians payed bounties for American soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
There were some bright spots of hope: LGBTQ rights were upheld in employment settings, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was allowed to continue, and a restrictive Louisiana anti-abortion law was struck down by the Supreme Court. The national election polls indicate a much needed change in American leadership could occur in 2021 as long as everybody votes. So promote anti-racism, wear a mask, social distance, and vote in every election. There may be hope for us yet.
The book reviews featured in June deal with the difficulties we are facing; history and the treatment of minorities (Clark; Wüthrich), environment issues (Temkin; Wüthrich), the trauma of conflict and war (Keller), and staging versus reality (Puipa & Gintautas; Winogrand).
Please stay healthy and safe.
Douglas Stockdale
Editor & Publisher
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Book Reviews during June:
Brad Temkin – The State of Water
One of the few things – perhaps the only thing – I remember from high school chemistry is the teacher… (more)
Charlie Koolhaas likes to see the world and share her observations in photographs and in writing. She was born… (more)
Kathleen Y. Clark – The White House China
Overcoming the past is a prerequisite for a better future. While we cannot change any of the things our… (more)
Geoff Dyer – The Street Philosophy of Garry Winogrand
Is trying to explain Garry Winogrand’s photographs an interesting challenge or a fool’s errand? After… (more)
Tomas Wüthrich – Doomed Paradise
In this photobook the documentary photographer Tomas Wüthrich provides us with a visual glimpse into… (more)
Audrius Puipa & Gintautas Trimakas – Staged Pictures
It could be argued that every painting has an element of theater as to how the… (more)
Dieter Keller – The Eye of War / Das Auge des Krieges
Why do some still consider war a useful method of dealing with conflicts? Armed encounters between groups of… (more)
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