Copyright Michael O'Brien 2011 courtesy of University of Texas Press Over a period from 2006 until 209, Michael O’Brien embarked on a different journey for a photographic project, picking up from an earlier self-assignment that harkened back to 1978 soon after starting his photojournalism career. Over this three years on Tuesday evenings, he photographed the... Continue Reading →
Mariken Wessels – Queen Ann. P.S. Belly cut off
Copyright Mariken Wessels 2010 courtesy Alauda Publications Mariken Wessels has again created another interesting and complex narrative based on found photographs in conjunction with borrowed memories for her photobook Queen Ann. P.S. Belly cut off. Wessels’s earlier book, which was re-published by Alauda Publications, Elisabeth – I want to eat, was an investigation into the dichotomy between... Continue Reading →
Mona Kuhn – Native
Copyright Mona Kuhn 2009 courtesy Steidl It has taken me a little longer to review Native, the third of the Kuhn titles published by Steidl (Photographs, 2004, and Evidence, 2007) as I am intrigued by her photographic books. I very interested in acquiring and reviewing her earlier work to place this book into a broader context.... Continue Reading →
Swann Galleries photobook auction – May 19, 2011
Swann Galleries Important Photobooks and Photographs catalog - May 19, 2011 For photobook collectors, the annual Swann Galleries PhotoBook auction in NYC is quickly approaching. Their illustrated catalog in and of itself is a wonderful collection of trivia, information and a pulse on the relative value of the photobooks that you are sitting in your library. The catalog is inclusive of both... Continue Reading →
Stefan Vanthuyne – From Here Into Oblivion
Copyright Stefan Vanthuyne 2010 published by Art Paper Editions courtesy of the artist I must admit, the first photobook by the Belgium photographer Stefan Vanthuyne is very cryptic, with only a quotation from Oscar Wilde to provide any hint of guidance. His color photographs depict a combination of medium distance landscapes intermingled amongst portraits of people. The landscapes are... Continue Reading →
Mariken Wessels – Elisabeth – I want to eat
Copyright Mariken Wessels 2010 courtesy Alauda Publications In 2008 Mariken Wessels self-published her small print edition photobook Elisabeth - I want to eat. This book then went on to win the Silver Medal For Books at the 2009 FotoFrafia, The Festival Internazionale di Roma. Last year, Esther Krop and Alauda Publications re-issued Elisabeth - I want to eat, which is the book that I am discussing... Continue Reading →
Himes & Swanson – Publish Your Photography Book
Copyright Darius Himes & Mary Virginia Swanson 2011 courtesy Princeton Architectural Press I had started to acquire the quarterly photo-eye Booklist (no longer in publication) founded and edited by Darius Himes after he and Mary Virginia Swanson were already well into their series of articles regarding the ins and outs of publishing a photobook. The back articles were... Continue Reading →
DieNacht – #8
Copyright the various artists 2010 courtesy DieNacht I had the opportunity to review a recent edition (#8) of DieNacht magazine, a nice compact magazine out of Trier, Germany with the accompanying text in both English and German (Deutsch). The magazine is issued twice a year by the tireless efforts of Calin Kruse, who is all things rolled into one; publisher, designer,... Continue Reading →
Camille Hervouet – Geographie Intime
Copyright Camille Hervouet 2010 courtesy Poursuite Editions What does happen when you go home again? There are usually the lingering memories of youth, but how do these memories mesh with the realities of the present day? In Geographie Intime (English translation: Intimate Geography), Camille Hervouet, who now lives in Nantes, returns to explore and investigate the geography of... Continue Reading →
Valeria Cherchi – 3centro34
Copyright 2010 Valeria Cherchi courtesy AAlphabet Libri Valeria Cherchi is providing a short and relatively dark narrative about a house that is inhabited by two individuals who do not appear to be connecting with each other. Her two subjects for this photobook are a young man and a young woman and the building tension between... Continue Reading →