PHOTOBOOK REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS AND WRITE-UPS
ALONG WITH THE LATEST PHOTO-EYE NEWS

Social Media


"American Photography 25 (not to be confused with the monthly magazine of the same name) is the 25th silver anniversary edition of one of the most interesting annuals ever published. AP25 is very serious, elaborately produced, full of professional photography -- much already published in leading media outlets -- and selected by an all star print media/art jury lead by Kathy Ryan of the New York Times. It is almost all color and all sharp, and almost all commercial photography. It also includes photojournalism, self generated personal projects, still life, illustration, editorial and advertising, and a pinch of scientific photography that adds to the stew." -- from Alex Sweetman's review of American Photography 25 in photo-eye Magazine

Read the whole review of AP25 in photo-eye Magazine.
"Confronted with an essentially text-free book, I scour it for any clue to what I am dealing with. On the colophon page of Pamela Pecchio's 509, we learn that the photographs were taken in 2005 in Burlington, North Carolina. The book's title remains unexplained, and Pecchio's two epigraphs come from two radically different ends of the literary spectrum. First there is a fairly lengthy quote from Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space, providing the project its intellectual bona fides. The next is pure hoakum courtesy of the poet Edgar A. Guest, "It takes a heap o' livin in a house t' make a home."" -- from Charles Dee Mitchell's review of 509 with photographs by Pamela Pecchio

Read the whole review of 509 in photo-eye Magazine.


Last week when I announced the Publisher's Showcase for Seems, I had hoped to announce that we had added Little Brown Mushroom to the list as well. I like to include the mission statement and as LBM's did not appear on their blog or website, I emailed requesting a this info from Charlie or Carrie at the office of the imprint. They deferred this request to founder and photographer, Alec Soth. Soth, in his candid and humorous style, emailed me this in response:

"Little Brown Mushroom is a DIY affair that blessedly doesn’t have to define itself or, for that matter, make money. LBM is our lemonade stand. It is mostly an excuse to enjoy the pleasures of making and sharing something cool."

The lack of capitalistic motivations at LBM has allowed them the freedom to print affordable books for the insatiable photobook crowd. The new series that LBM is publishing is modeled after the Little Golden Books, but marketed more as storybooks for adults. The first in the series, Trent Parke's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, was released in June and sold out in less than a week after the public announcement. LBM's publications are affordability and quality in one sweet little package.

Lost Boy Mountain by Lester B. Morrison

Fantom Magazine, Spring 2010 issue

Also available from LBM is Lester B. Morrison's Lost Boy Mountain which combines Morrison's haiku and collage in a staple bound, color offset zine. More info on Morrison can be found in the Spring 2010 issue of Fantom Magazine. In this issue, Soth talks with Morrison about his art, philosophies and ongoing work in progress -- The Big Manual (a manual for the average man). At the bottom of the interview, Soth notes that Steidl plans to publish Morrison's The Big Manual some time in the future. Keep an eye out for that one.

"'No photographer in their right mind had ever meticulously brought back home a sample of stinky Coney Island trash,' write Sophie and Bruce Gilden in their slim wax paper catalogue (written in French and English) for Baptiste Lignel and Johnny Miller's evocative Coney Island. Coney Island, which won a prize at this spring's New York Photo Festival, is like the real Coney Island - vivacious, brazen and decidedly unsanitized (and maybe even unsanitary!)." -- from Joscelyn Jurich's review of Coney Island with photographs by Johnny Miller and Baptiste Lignel.

Read the whole review of Coney Island in photo-eye Magazine.

"Exquisitely printed and bound, A Particular World contains twenty-four pigment ink prints of William Clift photographs made between 1987-2007 and includes a mixture of portraits and still lifes. It is as richly subtle as those familiar with Clift's work would expect. The book, quarter-bound in leather and housed in a cloth-covered slipcased, is full of remarkable and quiet little masterworks, beautifully seen and detailed, rendered in the lovely Polaroid color palette. Highly recommended."- Rixon Reed

"It sometimes seems miraculous that compelling photographs can be made anywhere on earth, even in the most unpromising environs. It may even seem so to the photographer making the photographs, that a place and its people may remain visually recalcitrant despite all one's skills and will. Just when you think the world's visual riches have all been tapped, and every strategy applied and reapplied to the most mundane and lifeless subjects, along comes this surprisingly gratifying collection of photographs of a remote town in Australia with an ungainly name-Wyalkatchem, or Wylie for short." -- from George Slade's review of Silence with photographs by Brad Rimmer.

Read to whole review of Silence at photo-eye Magazine.
For years now, thanks to the suggestion of Mr. Darius Himes, photo-eye has been showcasing a wonderful list of photobook publishers on the Bookstore page. This feature is appropriately called Publisher's Showcase and includes publisher’s whose books are part of our curated selection. The list includes publishers who have published more than one title and only their photobooks. We try to enter all publishers as we discover them but we occasionally miss a few. If you would like to suggest a publisher whose books we carry but who is missing from the list, please email us!

One of our newest additions that we’d like to point out is Seems. Please find their logo, mission statement and a few of the books they have published shown below.  



Seems is an independent publisher of small-run art books based in New York. Our goal is to make original art accessible to everyone. We create books that start dialog and conversation, with a high priority placed on quality and content. We publish a hybrid of zines and monographs, with each book in a solo show format: one artist with a free reign throughout. The name Seems comes from the idea that art and design are not black and white, but gray; there is no absolute; therefore they demand dialog and debate. Seems has also participated in book exhibitions in South Africa, Italy, Canada, Greece, Germany, Spain, and New York.

Covers shown above from left to right:  

We hope you will enjoy this featured section when looking for books for your library or researching publishers for your upcoming photobook.




copyright: Michael P. Bearman

Guggenheim Fellow Michael P. Berman has been navigating in between the Mexico/United States border for many years. His body of work created while wandering through the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts is enormous and intense. It is a powerful portrayal of the importance contemporary Western landscape photography still holds.

Trinity is Berman's third installment showcasing this work and his second monograph accompanied with the brilliant words of Charles Bowden. If unfamiliar with Bowden's writing, think of a contemporary Edward Abbey laced with intelligence and a savage sense of humor. Both the story and photographs could stand alone on their own, but these guys make for one dynamic team.


copyright: Michael P. Berman

I had the opportunity to hear Berman speak about his work several years ago in a lecture series sponsored by the New Mexico History Museum. His words stuck with me for some time... often heady and laced with theory, I visualized this photographer wandering through this barren landscape alone, thinking about the impact and hold this borderland has on the US politics and social values. Why is this region where few have visited hold such great importance to so many? It's an open-ended question, but the images and words in this volume certainly stir the pot.


Copyright: Michael P. Berman

On top of the importance this region and Berman's work hold, comes the simple fact that this land is beautiful, desolate and unforgiving. The plates in this monograph are printed so finely that they could be framed, but do in no way outshine Berman's work in person... it's simply fantastic! Anyone interested in the western landscape should definitely take notice of the importance of this work.

View all of Michael P. Berman's monographs by clicking here.
America by Car by Lee Friedlander, trade edition in front and limited in rear
(9.5 x 9.5 inches & 13.5 x 15 inches, respectively)

So, today the UPS truck drives up to the front of photo-eye's lovely Bookstore located in a casita just off Garcia Street in Santa Fe, NM. Our shipper, Dan Fuller, goes out to meet the driver to say hello and see if he can assist. To our amazement, Dan was informed that the entire truck was for photo-eye.

We just opened our copies of the oversized Lee Friedlander book America by Car. Now, I did not realize when I was told 'oversized' that the book would be so much more grand than the modest trade edition. Although the images are the same, it is an entirely different book. The large scale creates an immersive experience, putting the viewer in the car, steering wheel and mirrors in front of you, peering out the window. The production is very high quality, each is signed and numbered and in a limited edition of 1000 -- but the price of $350 will not stay around long. We don't yet know what the new price will be, but the publisher has confirmed that they will be increasing it at the end of the month. If you have a slight inkling to pick one up, get it now!


America by Car by Lee Friedlander boxed under photo-eye Bookstore's portal


America by Car by Lee Friedlander, trade edition in front and limited in rear
(9.5 x 9.5 inches & 13.5 x 15 inches, respectively)

For page views, more information or to place an order for the trade or limited editions, visit the America by Car page on photoeye.com





images shown clockwise from left to right, Marcia Kure, Roxy Paine, and Erica Allen
A few years ago, I was introduced to Esopus Magazine when a friend told me that a particular issue, Esopus 5, contained a poster of Richard Misrach's work. I treasure this issue among many of my favored photobooks. Like photobooks, there are many magazines to be had, but few to be kept for years and years. Esopus is one of those magazines to lock away and never give to grubby-handed kids or disease-infested doctor's office patients. That said, the newest issue, Esopus 14, does not need much of an introduction aside from how the new glorious content differs from previous issues. According to the introduction, editor Tod Lippy usually features four projects per issue, but in this one there is a chorus of twelve voices. The visual melody leads through the perfect bound book to a musical CD on the final board, which in turn reflects back to the visual arts with songs inspired by 16th-century sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, El Lissitzky, Chuck Close, Esao Andrews and songs simply titled with the artist’s name who influenced the piece. (Songs mentioned above performed by Memoryhouse, Dream Diary, Tim Fite and Suzanne van Etten, respectively.)

The visual artists included in this issue are Roxy Paine, John O' Connor, Barbara Probst, Marcia Kure, John Baldessari, Fernando Santangelo, Jared Flood, Juri Morioka, Suzanne Bocanegra, Judy Pfaff, two of my favorite artists, Erica Allen and Kerry James Marshall. There is really no flipping allowed with Paine's multi-fold poster, Bocanegra's perforated Recipe Cards and a multitude of other design elements lend itself to exploration quite like a photobook.

I just received this wonderful little piece of collectible ephemera from Jason Fulford, co-publisher of J&L Books and author of Crushed and Raising Frogs for $$$, announcing his Fall publication, The Mushroom Collector. Fulford is about to leave for Korea to supervise the printing of this Soon Institute publication. Fulford will be signing copies of this book as soon as published. Reserve your signed copy now.
© Images shown from left to right: Willis Lee, Jason Ordaz and Cotton Miller

On July 7th from 6:30-9:00 pm, photo-eye will host its monthly First Wednesday Salon. In July, photographers Willis Lee, Jason Ordaz and Cotton Miller will be speaking on photographic processes ranging from stereo photography to platinum prints.

Willis Lee
will be presenting a selection of work ranging from platinum prints, Polaroids and gravures, Jason Ordaz will be showing stereoscopic views of Northern Mexico, rock art and portraits and Cotton Miller will be showing his encaustic alternative process work.




© Images shown from left to right: Mitch Dobrowner, Chris McCaw and Edward Ranney

photo-eye Gallery Summer exhibition: Elemental

Three concurrent exhibitions: Mitch Dobrowner, Chris McCaw and Edward Ranney.

Opening reception Friday, July 9th, 2010 5-7 PM
Gallery exhibitions continue through September 5th, 2010.
photo-eye Gallery is located at 376-A Garcia Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501

Mitch Dobrowner will be exhibiting work from his Storm series, inspired by a ten day venture following severe weather systems. Chris McCaw will be showing his one of a kind paper negatives. In this series of work, McCaw takes long exposure during the day, allowing the paper negative to be burned by the sun. Edward Ranney will be exhibiting work from his newest monograph, Down Country - a collaboration with renowned writer and Galisteo resident Lucy R. Lippard - a selection of photographs from the historically rich Galisteo Basin.

Contact Anne Kelly, photo-eye Gallery Associate Director, for further information on the photo-eye exhibition Elemental.


Critical Mass 2010 Registration is now open through July 25th and photo-eye is pleased to announce that three of our staff are among the ever-growing list of esteemed jurors.

The complete list of jurors can be found on the left side panel of the PhotoLucida blog. The entry fee is only $75 to have 10 images viewed by over 200 top photography curators, collectors, editors, gallerists, and publicists.

The awards this year include at least one Book Award, five free slots to the Photolucida 2011 Review; one solo show hosted by Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, OR; inclusion in Critical Mass Top 50 Exhibit held at Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR; and, just this year, three complimentary VisualServer websites and portfolios on photo-eye’s Photographer’s Showcase for one year. For more info, visit Photolucida's Critical Mass website.

Copyright: David Carol

In the spirit of celebrating the self-published book, I thought I would share one of my favorite self-published titles of 2010. David Carol’s latest book All My Lies Are True is a refreshing reminder that somewhere wanders the obscure photographer, creating images of the mundane and absurd. Carol’s new title showcases the beauty that allows photography to be the means of an adventure born of travel, humor, and intelligence – a journey that ceases to end once the shutter is released, but rather continues to develop into a diary of genuine and often humorous photographs.

Copyright: David Carol

The book begins ‘A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving,’ a quotation from Lao Tzu appropriately juxtaposed with an image of a picturesque landscape, a Costa Rican mountain in the distance… accompanied by a statue of a rather large farm animal’s derriere in the foreground. This is the photograph of a well-seasoned traveler, and by God is it a beautiful print!

Copyright: David Carol

The book itself serves more as a vehicle for Carol’s photographs rather than an object produced for the object’s sake. And while there is simplicity in the book’s construction, it further exemplifies the nature of the photographs inside – visual outward appearance is irrelevant, what truly matters is imaginative honesty, along with the acceptance that the journey never quite ceases to end.

All My Lies Are True... was a winner in the 2010 Photo District News Annual for Best Book

Included in the new issue of Fraction is a feature with Darius Himes, David Bram, Andy Adams and Melanie McWhorter discussing the topic Publishing in Your Hands. For this feature, we welcomes an open discussion on the Fraction Blog. Please take a look at the piece and add your comments to this discussion. 

We here at the photo-eye Blog hope to contribute more to this discussion by featuring some examples of successful self-published books in the next few days.