Review by Douglas Stockdale • I am writing and publishing this book review today on Earth Day, which I believe is a fitting subject. Interestingly, this book is not directly about climate change, per se, but speaks indirectly to what is required to support renewable natural resources, such as our forests, in this case, the expansive... Continue Reading →
Alan Gignoux – Mountain Tops to Moonscapes
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Coal mining in American is predominately in a region known as Appalachia, a divisive term applied to parts of Eastern Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia which can extend into parts of Ohio and Georgia. At one time, coal mining required deep tunneling to access the underground deposits, which since the... Continue Reading →
Nick Brandt – The Day May Break
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Nick Brandt’s latest photobook, The Day May Break, is another evolutionary step in his process of investigating the environmental and ecological issues facing the African continent that represent the greater issues facing mankind worldwide. He utilizes his extensive cinematic experience to create emotionally charged photographic portraits that juxtapose people and animals to... Continue Reading →
Abbey Hepner – The Light at the End of History: Reacting to Nuclear Impact
Review by Gerhard Clausing • In these pandemic times we are certainly being reminded that things we cannot see, such as viruses, can hurt us badly, and that our human tendency to ignore dangers we cannot visually ascertain can lead us astray. So it is with atomic energy and its flip-side, nuclear waste, some of... Continue Reading →
Karola Jansen – Un Natural Species
Review by Douglas Stockdale • Ubiquitous. The use of plastic is everywhere and has become a classic double-edged sword. Its properties enable food and beverages to last longer, while its inherent chemical structure allow it to last almost forever. While many plastics can be recycled, getting the used plastic containers to the proper destinations for... 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 →
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 →