New Book (Not a Zine): Jonnie Craig

Jonnie Craig

I love the concept of democratic books and the love the realization even more. Years after photographers like Ryan McGinley shocked many with his "lifestyle" images, young photographers like Jonnie Craig are continuing to document what they see and experience. Morel books, who has produced Someone's Life by Gerard Malanga and My Shit is God by Paul Herbst and the sold out Nothing in Particular by Jonnie Craig, are now offering Untitled by Jonnie Craig. This new book is available from Morel Books with 25% offer for my blog readers only. Click here for the offer.

Review Santa Fe: Jesse Burke

Jesse Burke images from Platform Gallery

Jesse Burke's portraits are mostly of men. Men who normally would seem to be guarded, but Burke is able to make these men appear vulnerable. Vulnerability is often associated with the feminine gender, but wrongly so. Men are forced to give up the public display of this emotion as a child. Usually, the small boy left to his own without cultural influences will have to work through his sensitive phase allowing his parents, if they are so inclined, to coddle and console him. As males reach toward adulthood they often outgrow, or hid, this side. In Burke's earlier series Intertidal, he approaches the average beer-drinking, sport-loving man at a moment of defenselessness. Each is unguarded. Continuing on this them in his newest series, Low, Burke photographs men who are impoverished, homeless or overlooked or unaccepted in some way by society. Each man is exposed in glowing light. The body language that Burke captures in this subjects, including gaze and posture, says much about the photographer and the photographed.

Intertidal is also available as a book of from Decode Books.

New Hassla Book: Tree Zone by Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard

New Hassla Book available-- Tree Zone by Nicolai Howalt and Trine Søndergaard.

Freakin' Fantastic Gift for Photo Nerds, um, Historians

The History of Photography in Pen & Ink (abridged study guide) with illustrations by Charles Woodward hits all the high points of photo history 101. Originally produced for just that reason, Woodward started making the drawings to help him with his own 19th and 20th century photo history classes. The little book starts with an engraving from 1646 of Athanasius Kircher in a large portable camera obscura, then to Nadar's portrait of Charles Baudelaire, Weston's Cabbage Leaf, Lange's migrant workers and finishing with the Becher's Blast Funaces and one of Struth's Museum Photographs. It is funny, educational and affordable (only $10).

Fraction Magazine launches third issue

© John Mann

© Holly Lynton

Fraction Magazine has just launched their third issue with the work of Donna Ferrato, Bill Schwab, Holly Lynton, John Mann and Samuel Porters and a review of Bill Wood's Business by myself.

Books for all

From In Transition by Jens Olof Lasthein

From At Home by Jirka Ernest

A few years ago, I discovered a not-for-profit bookmaker that just publishes online PDF books called Democratic Books. Any photographer can apply for free and any viewer can download a PDF version of the book for free (they even include the instructions and recommendations on how to print). Each book reaches 4500 subscribers. Here are the photographers that they have published so far:

Steven Benson
Henk Braam
Andrew Buurman
John Darwell
Dirk Gebhardt
Marcus Haydock
David Klammer
Petra Paulina Kohl
Jörg Loeffke
Reiner Riedler
Mary Shaw
Rivka Young
Wolfgang Zurborn
Julian Thomas
Stuart Isett
Susana Paiva
Bela Doka
Dan Nelken
Daniele Mattioli
Jens Olof Lasthein
Sabine Wild
William Palmer
Jirka Ernst
Jacob Carter
Elisabeth Blanchet
Ono Ludwig

Interview with Hassla Books publisher, David Schoerner

I am delighted to present the first in my yet unnamed series of small publisher interviews with a discussion with David Schoerner, founder of Hassla Books. Schoerner started Hassla Books in January 2007 in Amherst, New Hampshire. The first publication, David Schoerner, was released in March 2007. He followed his first publication with a 20-page booklet titled Drawings 2007 by Dan McCarthy in April 2007 and three photographic publications-- The Beginning by Ola Rindal, Streets and Trails by Bernhard Fuchs and just released, Love and Before, Green and After by Marcelo Gomes. Hassla Books is now based in New York.

Images shown here from top center: ©Rindal, Gomes and Schoerner, respectively.

MM: What made you want to self-publish?
DS: I've been very interested in artist books for a while. I published my book of photographs simply for the reason of wanting to have a small book to show people my work. Also, I did it hoping that I could sell enough in order to print a book of another artist's work, which is how I started hassla.

MM: Your books are small and saddle-stitched, why did you choose to produce the books in this format?
DS: By keeping the books small it allows for a more intimate view of the artists work, it also allows me to keep the prices of the books lower which makes a small edition artist book affordable for more people... that doesn't mean though that eventually I wouldn't like to be able to publish larger, hardcover books. But for now I'm happy with publishing a smaller size and lower edition artist book.

MM: Why did you select the four artists whose work you have published so far?
DS: They're all artists whose work I admire and respect.

MM: Do you accept proposals? Is so, how do you like them presented?
DS: Right now I don't really accept proposals. People send them and I usually will take a look but for right now I prefer finding a artist whose work I've come to know and understand through exhibitions, books, magazines etc. that I can work with.

MM: Who designed and printed the catalogues? How many did you print?
DS: I've designed all the books, except for the new Marcelo Gomes book which was designed by DTEstudio. All the books are editions of 500.

MM: How would you recommend a photographer get funding for his or her project aside from personal funds?
DS: Grants are always good but most are very competitive. After talking to some friends of mine who studied business they recomended friends and family. If you can find a friend or family member who supports the work you do its a much better than borrowing money from a bank or using a credit card.

MM: Who is your favorite photographer or one who has impacted your life and/or work?
DS: I don't think there is just one... Alec Soth, Tom Sandberg, Takashi Homma, Rineke Dijkstra have all had an impact on my work.

MM: In your personal work, are you influenced by other mediums other than photography?
DS: Painting

MM: What blogs do you read? Magazines?
DS: Hobo, Monocle, Capricious

MM: What is your favorite book, photo or otherwise?
DS: Right now I've really been into the two books: Tom Sandberg, Photographs 1989-2006 and Roe Ethridge, Rockaway, NY

Fraction Magazine publishes my new book recommendations

©Andy Mattern

Fraction Magazine just launched its second issue featuring work by Andy Mattern, Clay Harmon, Polly Chandler, Julia Sapir, and Tomas Richardson. This second issue also features a review of the festivities associated with the New York Photo Festival by Mary Goodwin and some of the best photo books of 2008 by yours truly.

Zine Fever

Superficial Snapshots © Allison V. Smith

University of New Mexico Graduate Catalogue

© Robert Rainey and Joseph Mougel

The Uncommon Vantage Point © Jennifer Boomer This one is almost out of print.

For clarity, I have consulted Wikipedia (the modern OED) for the definition of a zine:

A zine (an abbreviation of the word fanzine, or magazine; pronounced [ziːn], "zeen") is most commonly a small circulation, non-commercial publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier on a variety of colored paper stock.

Everyone who is someone has published his or her own zine. Not a new phenomenon of the photobook world but the trend is expanding since some publishers are not willing to foot the bill and take the risk of publishing just any work. Most of the zines are cheaper and nicer than the print on demand books I have seen. In addition to the examples show above, check out Hassla books, Farewell Books, Seems Books, Serps Press, Nieves, 12th Press and the links on all these sites. You can get lost in little book world.

And finally, Peggy Lee.

Sent a Letter

So I found a book of poetry in my local used bookstore. Normally, I am not the poetry kinda gal, but this one was a beautiful object.

It is the twenty-fifth printing of a book titled Fireflies by a man named Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel Prize winning author who I had never heard of. The book set in Linotype by Brown Brothers Linotypers with floral illustrations adorning each page. I have started to mark some of the page of the passages as they strike me. Two pages in particular, shown here with the illustrations, read:

Memory, the priestess,

kills the present and offers its heart to the shrine of the dead

past.

From the solemn gloom of the temple

children run out to sit in the dust,

God watches them play

and forgets the priest.

© Dayanita Singh

The afore mentioned book's presence in my life just so happens to coincide with my discovery of a lovely book of photographs by Indian photographer Dayanita Singh titled Sent a Letter. This little jewel is in seven small books with a wrap around slipcase. Many of the bound accordion-fold books, based on Singh's own diaries, contain her photos from around her home country of India: Allahabad, Padmanabhapuram, Varanasi, Devigarh, Bombay, and Calcutta (Tagore's birthplace). The final book in the series is titled Nony Singh with photos of Dayanita growing up.

I am usually have an aversion to forcing meaning with words, particularly poetry, on photographs, but not always using photographs to illustrate words. Maybe these ideas are the same, but I can pick out a passage from Tagore's book and easily find the small quiet photo to illuminate the words.

Pieter Hugo book out in US.

As previously mentioned in my best books list, I wished I could look at one of the new Pieter Hugo books as one of my favorites. I had not see one until now. Prestel has just released The Hyena and Other Men in the US. Hugo's text accompanying this portfolio on his website addresses his relationship with the handlers and the reaction from viewing community, often of fascination and repulsion. Both Hugo's text on his website and that of journalist Adetokunbo Abiola in the book state that the animal rights is what initially concerns most viewers (morals aside, the handlers are licensed by the government in most regions). Both authors question such an economy that would force individuals to choose such a profession for money without suggesting that this was the motivation for the project. Hugo's use of subdued colors allow the viewer not to be overwhelmed, but to explore what Hugo has included in the frame, what he calls "the paradoxical relationship that the handlers have with their animals - sometimes doting and affectionate, sometimes brutal and cruel."

melanie's best books 2007

What better way to start off the New Year and a new photo blog that giving my humble opinion about the best photobooks of last year. Being immersed in the photobook world for over ten years now, I have developed an inclination toward the book as object. I love the overall use of design, type, and imagery to make a complete package. This year, I have selected some of my favorites mostly with this in mind.

My first selection is Bodywork by Liz Cohen. This book is bound in black matte, rounded boards with white racing font speeding across the cover. The pages are auto manual quality with color glossy inserts of a bikini-clad model posing with the car. Upon greater examination, I realized that Liz is the model and the mechanic. She purchased a Trabant in Berlin and shipped it to America to convert it to a lowriding Chevrolet El Camino. She learned to work on the car while simultaneously working with a physical trainer to pose as the model. The title Bodywork relates to both transformations. It is a magnificent conceptual book contrasting the utilitarian with the aesthetic and stereotypical role of male with the female.

Although the publisher listed the book as published in 2006, Bodywork was distributed in the US this year. Liz has two other books by this publisher (see the Bodywork link above) about this same body of work which I have not seen, but guess are just as interesting.


"Actually, the angel ought to have had his dwelling in me. But he knew only angelic truth and understood nothing about man." from Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung.


"Hiroshi Watanabe's new book I See Angels Every Day takes place in the San Lazaro Psychiartic Hospital and the surrounding town of Quito, Ecuador in 2001. Unlike the angel in Jung's dream, Watanabe's manifestations of his visions in photographs reveal an understanding of mankind's truth. As Suzuki Masufumi's states in his prelude to this book, Watanabe is willing to "situate himself within the double-mirror of the gazes" to look outward and embrace being gazed upon-to understand. The book includes 80 plates expanding the work previously seen in the self-published, Faces Vol. 1. San Lazaro Psychiatric Hospital. These photographs, along with still lifes and additional portraits, are divinely printed in monochrome.



In Almost Every Picture is the product of the quirky Dutch publisher, Kessels Kramer. The newest in the series, #6: Passport, once again uses found photos to explore the life of an anonymous sitter. This volume documents the change of one woman though her passport pictures with dates starting in 1926 as a young girl and finishing with the last photo in 1978 a mature woman in her 60s.

Just a side note, be sure to check out the links on the publishing site for KesselsKramer.com and The Other Final.



In the foreword to An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Salman Rushdie uses a quote from his novel Midnight's Children to apply to Taryn Simon's newest project, "Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence". Simon curiously takes us where most do not want to go--the Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, the U.S. War Interrogation Resistance Program, the den of a hibernating Black Bear and cubs. She allows us to see what only the privileged few have seen--a tribal member hanging from the Sacred Tree at the Lakota Lone Star Sun Dance, the Death Star model at Skywalker Ranch, uncut notes totaling over $220,800,000 at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Each of the varnished color plates includes a few paragraphs of informational text, satisfying the intellectual voyeur in all of us.


Last year, the London-based publisher Thames & Hudson release a beautiful softbound book of director Andrey Tarkovsky's polaroids. This year, the Tarkovsky Foundation and White Space Gallery, London, have followed up this simple, quiet softbound book of 2006 with an elegant hardcover. The new book is titled Bright, bright day after a line in the included poem by Andrey's father and poet Arseniy Tarkovsky is wrapped in beige cloth and debossed on the cover with a drawing of Tarkovsky's in gold. In addition to this included text the book also has an introduction by British photographer Stephen Gill and Andrey A. Tarkovsky, the director's son, a conversation on Tarkovsky's Documentary Romanticism, and a story by Andrey Tarkovsky with accompanying photos by his friend Lev Gornung. The essays and photos are connected by the theme of memory and what Roland Barthes calls History. In Camera Lucida, Barthes states when viewing photos of his recently deceased mother, "Photography thereby compelled me to perform a painful labor; straining toward the essence of her identity, I was struggling among images partially true, and therefore totally false."


As a History major in undergraduate studies I learned, sad to say in my final year, that History is not an exact science. It is biased based on what the individual documenting the event brings as baggage and sometimes what political motivational factors might be at work. James Mollison and Rainbow Nelson's exploration of the life of Pablo Escobar published by Chris Boot, The Memory of Pablo Escobar, is a well-documented biography, of sorts, of the iconic figurehead of the Medellin drug cartel. Because of the many gaps that exist in Escobar's life because of destroyed potential evidence, Mollison and Nelson allow each archive to speak for itself. Presented as chapters, the archives display images from a newspaper, a press photographer, the police files and a few friends. The final chapters include some of Mollison's Colors-style photographs of Escobar's family, friends and acquaintances along with artifacts from his life.


Anna Clarén's new book, Holding has no text--only the supposed biographical imagery of a sad, long-lost photo album. In this album, the light is harsh and the colors are faded. Some of the same characters appear again and again, including a blond woman, who I assume to be Clarén or perhaps a model representing her. In one pictures, she stares into the camera over wine and a bland dinner; in another she closes her eyes to the camera--not allowing the viewer in. Roland Barthes (once again) explored the photograph of his mother in a chapter of Camera Lucida. He states "I want to enlarge this face in order to see it better, to understand it better, to know its truth." He flips the image, just as the reader of Holding does with the pages of this album, to delve into the papers depth, only to find the grain of the image.


Despite the fact that it is somewhat disconcerting to me that the person of the cover of Anders Peterson's book Close Distance looks remarkably like the American actor, John Goodman, I still explored farther and did not judge a book by is cover. Petersen's portraits are deep and emotional and his prints are rich, black and grainy. This book by the amazing and very influential Swedish photographer was published in 2002 by Journal, but I just discovered this year. It is worth noting, nonetheless.




Cuny Janssen's There is Something in the Air in Prince Albert, South Africa juxtaposes her landscapes of the middle of the "Great Karoo" with the richly-colored portraits. Despite the youth of many of her subjects, each individual stares in the camera with intention and wisdom creating the same feeling as looking at her photos of the ancient seabed formed millions of years ago. The book design intertwines the two by repeating partial images on the front and the back of each page creating a feeling that the land and people are forever inseparable.


Other books that I think deserving of attention this year are Alec Soth's Dog Days Bogotá, Joel Tettamanti's Local Studies, Kaylynn Deveney's The Day to Day Life of Albert Hastings, Michael Abrams' Strange and Singular, Mark Klett's Saguaros, and Max Kozloff's The Theater of Face: Portrait Photography since 1900.


A book I would love to see and can not recommend first hand is by the artist recently published in Aperture magazine, Pieter Hugo. There is an upcoming book due out in the US in February called The Hyena & Other Men, but has already been published in Europe by Prestel Verlag.



Although this blog entry is not an extension of my position as Book Division Manager at photo-eye Books, I have to acknowledge photoeye.com as a source for most if not all of the books and some of the text that I wrote for the email newsletters.