The Contemporary Photobook Magazine
Review by Gerhard Clausing • Photography is at its best when it arouses the viewer’s imagination. What, when, where, why – are the questions that can be of foremost concern when we, the viewers, are rattled into participatory looking and are projecting ourselves into images that are presented to us by someone else. Particularly during... Continue Reading →
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 →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • I once wrote an essay comparing learning a new language being similar to moving to a new town, a journey to get to know some new paths to achieving reasonable goals. As an outsider coming to a new place, there is always much to learn and take in, and to... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • New Bern, North Carolina, is certainly an interesting town of some 30,000 people. Named after Bern, Switzerland, it was founded in 1710 by an ancestor of the photographer. Both cities share the same bear figure as a coat of arms, with the American version lacking one anatomical detail. The internet... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • In these pandemic times, when some consider cruises and cruise ships risky leisure activities because of the sequestered environment participants are subject to (which, by the way, can also be an asset if viruses are absent because nothing new is introduced during the trip), it is heartening to see a... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • It may not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Duane Michals extensive photographic career spanning 50+ years that he is visual storyteller with a wicked sense of humor. His latest photobook of visual puns, The Idiots Delight - Plaisirs Ridicules, is a brilliant concept and complemented by an... Continue Reading →
Review by Wayne Swanson • Gaman: enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience, dignity, and silence. Shikata ga nai: it cannot be helped. For the Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during World War II, these terms defined their incarceration. For photographic artist Jerry Takigawa, whose parents and grandparents were among them, “the shadow legacy from... Continue Reading →
Review by Gerhard Clausing • An actor who challenges various norms in his performances can be expected to do the same when using photography as another outlet for his creative abundance. That’s a perfect description of Lars Eidinger – he is not afraid to devote his skills to creating characters who show us the darker... Continue Reading →
Review by Douglas Stockdale • This is another retrospective monograph of the late Henri Cartier-Bresson, frequently known as HC-B, focusing on his photographic oeuvre based on his time in Paris, a place that was his home base as well as a touch-point for the duration of his photographic career. I will admit that Cartier-Bresson’s photojournalist photobooks... Continue Reading →
Review by Melanie Chapman • A friend used to say “I don’t know if I miss New York, or if I just miss my twenties…” After looking through NEW YORKERS, the recent photobook by Sally Davies, the most likely response will be a resounding “YES!” to both. No matter your age or era, if you’ve... Continue Reading →
