The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Hans Hickerson · To write or not to write, that is the question photographers ask when assembling their projects into books. What do you say to accompany your photographs? What needs to be said that the photographs do not already say? Will the viewer understand what you are doing if you do not... Continue Reading →
Review by Paul Anderson • In the nineteenth century "sentimental flower books" were popular among Victorian-era women. Besides being entertaining, these books served to advance their education and standing in society. These books included information on types of flowers, their romantic meanings, associated them with poetry, and provided stylized illustrations. Using these books as inspiration,... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · Dropping jaws do not make noise, and neither do smiles. If they did, you would be able to hear people looking at Xenia Nikolskaya’s Plastic Jesus. Nikolskaya’s book is a collection of photos of religiously-themed merchandise interspersed with interior views of Egyptian Coptic Christian monasteries. In her photographs the objects... Continue Reading →
Review by Lee Halvorsen • Paolinelli’s powerful images immerse us in the artistry, mechanics, family, faith and community of Albuquerque’s Lowriders. The images are intense, a brilliant mixture of color and black and white bringing each page alive while blending perfectly into a single, heartfelt story. Many of the images are captioned with names and places... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian Arnold · The first photograph in Ruth Lauer Manenti’s new book, 4 Sides of the Table, shows two rulers placed side by side. Both enter the picture from the right, their full-length cut off by the edge of the frame. They look as though they’ve been around for decades and are chipped... Continue Reading →
Review by Olga Bubich · What if another highly advanced species doesn't arrive on Earth from outer space, but is already here, among us, challenging humanity’s status as the pinnacle of civilization? After years of studying, photographing, and enjoying the company of pet rats, Belarusian photographer Mariya Karneyenka has come to the conclusion that this... Continue Reading →
Review by Hans Hickerson · New photobooks of unpublished early work from well-established (read: saleable) photographers can be hit or miss, some justifying the hoopla surrounding their publication and others not. Martin Parr’s The Non-Conformists, a detailed, well-crafted exploration of an English village, is a thumbs up. Fresh out of university as a young photographer,... Continue Reading →
Review by Olga Bubich · Photobooks have long offered artists a field of expanded possibilities, allowing them to move beyond a single, linear narrative and challenge conventional expectations of what a book could look like. The history of the medium, with examples ranging from the canonical works such as Robert Frank’s The Americans (1958) and... Continue Reading →
Review by Lee Halvorsen • As I paged through this book it was as if I’d wrapped myself in a flannel blanket of memories…soft colors, warm textures, familiarity, and comfort. Well, not my memories, but the memories of Tilton whose work often takes her to Paris. Over several trips she’s captured the emotions and feel... Continue Reading →
Review by Brian Arnold · With Love, from an Invader – Rhododendrons, Empire, China and Me by Yan Wang Preston is a complex, layered book that explores the intersections of colonialism, botany, and personal identity. It is beautifully designed, a sort of guidebook structured around the seasonal changes in the hills just outside Burnley in... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 