Review by Hans Hickerson · Ismail Ferdous’ Sea Beach echoes Martin Parr’s seaside photographs. Both photographers have an alert eye for human forms and foibles, zeroing in and isolating telling details, with Ferdous favoring more straight-on views and Parr wittier, busier compositions. But you will never imagine you are looking at a Martin Parr book... Continue Reading →
Matt Dunne and Callum Beany – Site Specific: Photography Exhibitions from Around the World
Review by Hans Hickerson · Looking at photobooks from well-established publishers can be disappointing. You often see safe editorial choices – large formats, cloth covers, premium printing, bankable names, portfolios laid out one picture to a spread and surrounded by expanses of white paper, and not much in the way of innovative form or content.... Continue Reading →
Helga Härenstam – Three Years of Childhood during the Era of Extinction
Review by Gerhard Clausing • This small artist book presents a large challenge. Swedish photographer Helga Härenstam has created a hand-assembled photobook of 34 images just about 4 1/2 inches square in overall size; there is no text inside, so you are dependent on your reactions to the images and on your intuitions. The title... Continue Reading →
Interesting Photobooks of 2023
Yet another year has gone by, and while the world peace we were hoping for is still further away than it was a year ago, it is nevertheless time for us to present you with our new list of interesting photobooks for the past year. Our selections feature intriguing photographic content, brilliant project concepts, and... Continue Reading →
Christian Kasners – Woodward
Review by Douglas Stockdale • The book cover for Christian Kasners recently released photographic book, Woodward, has an interesting graphic design, printed full bleed. The repetitive pattern stirs the memory until it is apparent that this is a tire tread pattern, a subtext for the location of Kasners photo-documentary of Woodward Avenue, one of the main urban... Continue Reading →
Andrew Kochanowski – The Grift
Review by Matt Schneider · The Grift begins with a short piece of reflective commentary by photographer Andrew Kochanowski. Here, he playfully describes something of a circus meets pyramid scheme. Crowds chanting now familiar phrases like, “Lock her up!” and “Build the wall!” Recurring bits about “Hoaxes, taxes, a grievance extravaganza.” Celebrity appearances from American politicians, the... Continue Reading →
Emily White – High Water
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Emily White utilizes large format photographic equipment in conjunction with alternative photographic technics to investigate an urban and its bordering natural landscapes. There is an undercurrent of mystery, as though something is being haunted, in the dark moody body of work that White exhibited in her first solo show with Candela... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal Issue #41
Welcome to our 41st Issue • The summer holidays are coming to an end, with the kids back in school in most regions of the United States. In August we provided a broad selection of artist and photographic books that we hope inspired you while relaxing next to the pool or perhaps on the beach (the latter being my favorite). We are expecting a... Continue Reading →
Douglas Stockdale – The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow
Review by Rudy Vega • In The Flow of Light Brushes the Shadow, Douglas Stockdale has produced an artist book which sets out to visually articulate his anxiety felt as a traveler. The book is part therapy, an exercise in search of catharsis. Stockdale uses the aesthetics of the photographic medium as a vehicle to navigate the... Continue Reading →
Amanda Marchand – The World is Astonishing With You In It – A 21st Century Field Guide to the Birds, Ferns and Wildflowers
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Amanda Marchand’s artist book, The World Is Astonishing With You In It - A 21st Century Field Guide to the Birds, Ferns and Wildflowers, is a slender photobook, minimalist by design, nevertheless delivering a solid punch. This body of work is an emotional response to her natural subjects, similar to her earlier... Continue Reading →