The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Why do some still consider war a useful method of dealing with conflicts? Armed encounters between groups of people, whether within a country or between countries, do not seem like a very sophisticated way of solving problems, or of improving the human condition. Where are the boundaries between “necessities” and... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • It could be argued that every painting has an element of theater as to how the various elements of composition have been carefully chosen to represent something factual or conceptual. Even the most contemporary abstract expressionistic painting has an underlying theatrical process taken into consideration at the time of the... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • In this photobook the documentary photographer Tomas Wüthrich provides us with a visual glimpse into our own past, into a world without supermarkets that supply us with our meat, fruits, and vegetables. It is a fascinating journey into the disappearing world of the Penan people of Borneo, who were discovered... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Is trying to explain Garry Winogrand’s photographs an interesting challenge or a fool’s errand? After all, Winogrand repeatedly rebuffed attempts to philosophize about his work with statements like “You’re talking about meaning. I want to talk about the pictures.” Nevertheless, Geoff Dyer gives it a shot in this big book of... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Overcoming the past is a prerequisite for a better future. While we cannot change any of the things our predecessors have done, our obligation is to open ourselves to an honest assessment of the past and to bring about improvements. An honest acknowledgment of historical events and of cultural shifts... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Charlie Koolhaas likes to see the world and share her observations in photographs and in writing. She was born in London, is of Dutch origin, has also been educated in the United States, and has lived in a number of countries for extended periods of time. Thus she is truly... Continue Reading →
Review by Steve Harp • One of the few things – perhaps the only thing – I remember from high school chemistry is the teacher referring to water as “the universal solvent.” That concept or image has stuck with me, the idea that if left in water long enough, everything will dissolve, fade away, disappear.... Continue Reading →
Welcome! It's another month as we continue our different "reopening" phases during the days of COVID-19, although there appears to be changes slowly occurring. I continue to hear of the issues and problems encountered by self-publishing artists, small publishing imprints, indie bookstores and even the larger publishing groups have been impacted. This has been a really... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • We are not all the same, and it would be naïve to expect others to be or to become exactly like ourselves and to share identical visions. So the notion of what is represented by the concept “masculinity” also requires many diverse responses; hence the title of this retrospective of... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • There’s a classic Irish short story in which a child in a village asks an Irish Traveller girl “Do you never tire of the road?” The girl’s quick response is “Do you never tire of being fettered?” That pretty much sums up the world views that divide mainstream society from the... Continue Reading →
PhotoBook Journal 