The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Douglas Stockdale • A densely packed urban environment can overwhelm the senses. The noisy buzz of activity, the jostling sea of humanity amidst a vast variety of aromas permeating the air. Can a single image effectively distill this urban chaos for a viewer? As an ardent street photographer, Ellen Friedlander found that one documentary style... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 24th Issue •Wow. It has been two years since we changed our book review format and had not anticipated all of the pending social, economic and health changes we would need to weather. Fortunately the COVID vaccines are here and are quickly being implemented in the United States as many become fully vaccinated (like me).... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Sleep. A period of time that is an opportunity to refresh oneself and then to start a new day. During that time asleep, we may also dream, perhaps something delightful occurs or this evolves into a frightening experience. Frequently what is recalled upon wakening is a series of odd and mysterious... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 23rd Issue •We have a diverse range of book reviews this month: biographies of photo legends, reflections on the act of photography, an artist book and a new zine collection.Looking ahead: In conjunction with Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP), I will be leading a virtual (Zoom) Book Development Workshop over four days (two consecutive weekends), March 13... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • I will need to admit up front, I have been a long-term fan of the book artist Julia Borissova and was very intrigued with announcement that she was reimagining her artist books in a new Zine Collection. She has assembled the first five of her Zine Collections as a group... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • There are many stories related to the pervasive adaptions in response to the COIVID-19 pandemic, which has changed and impacted so many lives. Everyone has had to make numerous changes, whether travel plans, conferences, exhibitions, or art fairs due to this pandemic. It has impacted livelihoods and relationships, and sometimes... Continue Reading →
Welcome to our 22nd Issue •Wow! And we thought 2020 had been a traumatic year. Then 2021 began in the U.S. with the attempted coup at our Capitol. Thus our book review schedule was a bit disrupted by this and related events, but we're getting back on track again with a new administration that is focused on keeping our American democracy intact.Looking ahead:... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Alice Jankovic has created an introspective and poetic artist book inspired by a recently found family archive that includes a worn copy of Thoreau’s Walden. It may have been Thoreau’s book that was the inspiration for one of her early family members to make a pivotal decision to live in the... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • The title of this magnificently photographed and beautifully printed photobook is drawn from a poem by Yeats that claims that while humans are afraid of death and look forward to an afterlife, non-human creatures do neither, i.e., the supposition is that ‘animals’ do not dread death nor hope for something... Continue Reading →
As in years past, we have been providing a short list of artist books and photographic books we have found to be very interesting. These are books that we continue to return to engage with again and again. Our selection derives from books with intriguing photographic content, brilliant project concepts, and excellent book designs that... Continue Reading →
