The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Copyright 2013 Brian Griffin published by Editions Bessard At first, the cover image was vexing; why an individual might be photographed with his head “cut-off”? Then serendipity in the timing of my recent review of the Tall Poppy Syndrome by Amy Stein and Stacy Arezou Mehrfar. This individual represents a successful business leader, thus he is a... Continue Reading →
Copyright 2012 Stein & Mehrfar, published by DECODE The photobook Tall Poppy Syndrome by Amy Stein and Stacy Arezou Mehrfar utilizes metaphors to narrate their joint investigation of a subtle cultural trait in Australia. In Australia, as in some of the other regions of British cultural influence, the Tall Poppy Syndrome is a term to... Continue Reading →
copyright Douglas Stockdale I am honored to be among those who are the ten on-line curators for the 10 x 10 American Photobooks exhibition. There are another ten curators who are selecting the photobooks for the reading room exhibition, which will preview in NYC next month (May 3-5), then move to Braddock PA for the... Continue Reading →
Copyright Bernhard Fuchs 2009 published by Koenig Books In Bernhard Fuchs Roads and Paths, the vacant roads and byways of a rural region of Austria create lyrical metaphors for various aspects of life’s journey. Fuchs creates a sense of ambiguity at the moment of exposure; whereas the viewer is not certain if they are looking... Continue Reading →
Copyright 2009 Emmet Gowin, Steidl First Edition I first have to admit that I did not acquire this Emmet Gowin Steidl edition book until 2011 while I was attending the Gowin exhibition at Le BAL (Paris, FR). I had been aware of this book and a number of the now iconic Gowin photographs that are... Continue Reading →
copyright the estate of Arnold Newman published 2013 Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas Press, Austin Arnold Newman (b. 1918 NYC – 2006) is known for his numerous iconic and environmental photographic portraits that include Ed Ruscha (1985), Duane Michals (1986), Man Ray (1948), Andy Warhol (1973), Roy Lichtenstein (1976) and of course his almost... Continue Reading →
Copyright Jeff Alu 2012 published by Zero+ Publishing Jeff Alu’s book title Surrealities aptly implies that he is attempting to investigate aspects of surrealism, in which the art work may have qualities that feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur. Surrealism also looked to the analysis of dreams as a source of... Continue Reading →
Photographs copyright 2012 Pietro Mattioli published by Kodoji Press What might things look like in the dead of night as revealed in the brief moment of a camera flash? This is perhaps one of many questions that Mattioli poses to the viewer in his recent “Two Thousand Light Years from Home”. Objects are illuminated in the... Continue Reading →
Photographs copyright of the various photographers What I sometimes find useful to help me understand the thinking and concepts behind the photobooks I collect and write about here, are the occasional books that attempt to explore or describe the conceptual ideas of the photographer. Thus I wanted to share three books that have been sitting... Continue Reading →
Photographs copyright 2010 Andre Cepeda published by Le caillou bleu Andre Cepeda in his photobook titled Ontem (English translation: Yesterday) provides an interesting investigation of a specific set of places that abound around Porto, called islands. Apparently these are areas that were previously built as working class neighborhoods which over time have seemed to have outlived their... Continue Reading →
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