The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Melanie Chapman • Have you ever enjoyed a novel, or fallen in love with a painting or film, only to later learn something uncomfortable about the creator or the situation in which the work was produced? Did you find yourself rethinking your reaction based on that new information, or were you able to... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • “Where are we going?” “I wanted to show you nothing.” Coming from most people, that explanation would hardly seem appealing. But William Eggleston is not most people. “Nothing” has earned him his place as a seminal figure in modern fine art photography. When he told Harmony Korine and Juergen Teller... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • This book is about an enduring love story between two individuals, Blieke and Nicole, with a few twists. As they tell it, they met at a mental institution, as we later learn, Nicole has severe anxiety attacks, while we surmise that Blieke met Nicole while he was visiting his lover... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • It’s just a room, and a very small one at that, but there aren’t many spaces with a presence as large as the Roman Catholic confessional. S. Billie Mandle captures its seen and unseen power in Reconciliation. Mandle, a photographer based in Los Angeles and Western Massachusetts, spent ten years photographing... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • The deprivation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic knows no bounds. Consider the plight of the Los Angeles jet set. Boutiques on Rodeo Drive shuttered. Beverly Hills Hotel and Chateau Marmont deserted. Even their jets at LAX grounded and shrink-wrapped for freshness until the crisis is over. Those are the scenes... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • There’s nothing to see here. Yet photographer, artist, and photobook publisher Andy Burgess presents a captivating collection of images that remind us of what once was. Signs of Nothing delivers just what the title says — images of empty signs that once beckoned us to stores, motels, gas stations, restaurants,... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • This is one disorienting book. It deals with serious social issues — the effects of environmental pollution, institutional racism, the rise and fall of the industrial economy, and more. Yet the photos sure are beautiful. The painterly effects invite comparisons with a who’s who of modern artists. That’s a lot... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • From the first images, it’s obvious that this is a book of photographs from the war-torn Middle East. Iraq perhaps, or maybe Afghanistan. It’s hard to tell. But the desert settings, harsh desert light, and stark desert compounds make the location clear. Except that it’s not. The setting is actually... Continue Reading →
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 →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Sometimes a photobook can really get to you, with a narrative that is quite real. At the same time, while it may be full of mystery, the visual and verbal narrative that expresses the truth behind the mystery with all its unsolved challenges is so direct and insistent that it... Continue Reading →
