Review by Gerhard Clausing • An old ‘craftsman-style’ house and recollections of times spent there – these are the ingredients of this photobook. Photographer George Katzenberger weaves a very appealing narrative around a place he documented a long time ago, which still has meaning for him even now. The old house that once stood at... Continue Reading →
Niko J. Kallianiotis – America in a Trance
Review by Gerhard Clausing • It’s been more than half a century since Robert Frank stirred things up with his first major work, The Americans. Some of what he, the outsider, observed in regard to racial inequality and strife, economic hardships, and political swagger are still in need of improvement even as these lines are... Continue Reading →
Gian Butturini – LONDON
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Having recently reviewed the contemporary street photography of Allen Wheatcroft, Body Language, and also having heard about the controversy surrounding the work of Butturini, I was certainly curious to take a closer look at this photobook as well. The book is marked “Edited by Martin Parr” on the cover, and... Continue Reading →
Hannah Kozak – He Threw the Last Punch Too Hard
Review by Gerhard Clausing • One error in judgment, a lifetime of suffering … In this book, the courageous Hannah Kozak allows us to share her struggles with her mother who left her first husband and five children, including Hannah, for an abusive drinker who in a final blow caused her permanent injury, including brain... Continue Reading →
Charles Rozier – House Music
Review by Madhu Joseph John • Art book critics generally use criteria such as contents and caliber of images, layout, production niceties, such as quality of paper, design, and above all, the originality of the subject matter to analyze books they wish to review. In House Music, a photobook by Charles Rozier, many of these... Continue Reading →
Valery Faminsky – Berlin Mai 1945
Review by Gerhard Clausing • 75 years ago, in April of 1945, Berlin was at the end of being the citadel of an authoritarian “empire” that lasted twelve years. As the Red Army was marching in, Hitler was ending his life, and the city was in physical and psychological shambles. Among the troops was a... Continue Reading →
Allen Wheatcroft – Body Language
Review by Gerhard Clausing • We expect contemporary street photography to go beyond what was traditional, which often sought out dingy and dreary locations and moments to show the lesser side of things. We expect contemporary street photographers to capture the dynamic nature of city hustle and bustle, people unobserved and interactively pursuing their business,... Continue Reading →
Jordanna Kalman – Little Romances
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Let’s forget preconceived notions projected onto images of the female body. Yes, I know, we live in a callous time in which some politicians have been elected or appointed to high positions even after engaging in or advocating misogynous crudities from within the stereotypical outmoded repertoire of “old white men.”... Continue Reading →
Nuno Moreira – ERRATA.
Review by Gerhard Clausing • What’s life all about? When all is reversed – the real seems fake, the fake seems real – what can we still count on? What does a reality full of errata (printed errors) look like, and how are we to function? Are we like a book, with old pages, as... Continue Reading →
Photobook Highlights at Photo LA’s Virtual Collect and Connect
By Gerhard Clausing • Even though we are somewhat isolated due to the coronavirus situation, we certainly can still share our work. It can be a more personal experience to virtually visit with our fellow photographers and authors and to hear and see them tell about their projects in an atmosphere of comfortable professionalism. To... Continue Reading →