Review by Melanie Chapman • If Toulouse-Lautrec and Martin Parr had a baby, its name would be Casinoland: Tired of Winning. A dynamic collection of new color photographs by Michael Rababy, this publication from Kehrer Verlag focuses our gaze on the denizens of casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and other illustrious locales, and offers such... Continue Reading →
In Memoriam – Wayne Swanson
By Douglas Stockdale, portraits by Donna Cosentino • I just received notice of the recent passing of Wayne Swanson (1951 – 2024) on Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 after a protracted illness. Wayne was a very talented photobook reviewer, a friend and a Contributing Editor of PhotoBook Journal (2019 - 2024), whose legacy with us includes 70 succinct... Continue Reading →
Ken Graves – The Meaning of Gravity
Review by Debe Arlook • The Meaning of Gravity is the first endeavor by Luhz Press, an independent art book publisher based in Los Angeles. Helmed by Zoe Lemelson, it is also the first monograph of the late Ken Graves’ mixed-media collage. Graves (1942-2016) is a 2000 Guggenheim Fellow well known for his street photography and books from the 1960s -1970s.... Continue Reading →
Ute Behrend – Cars and Cows
Review by Gerhard Clausing • This fascinating photobook combines images of two seemingly unrelated subjects, old cars and cattle. In recent travels across the United States, Ute Behrend was struck by the ubiquitous presence of these two elements throughout the landscape. As we involve ourselves in the contents and juxtapositions found in this project, we... Continue Reading →
Joel Meyerowitz – A Question of Color
Review by Gerhard Clausing • In this day and age of easy digital switching between the black and white and color renderings of any particular image, it is hard to imagine how an early advocate of color photographs had to carry two distinct cameras for the purpose of creating both types of images. Yet that... Continue Reading →
Johannes Groht – Due Occhi
Review by Steve Harp · Due Occhi, the title of Johannes Groht’s new monograph, can be translated from Italian as “two eyes.” Before considering some of the associations triggered (to use Groht’s term from the artist’s insert included in the review copy), we might first pause to consider the “newness” of the book. Published in 2020, the book (again... Continue Reading →
Adel Souto – Ad Removal as Modern Art
Review by Steve Harp • My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. Percy Bysse Shelley, Ozymandias The first word that comes to mind to describe Adel... Continue Reading →