2016 Best Books: Larissa Leclair

Books Larissa Leclair: 2016 Best Books Larissa Leclair Selects We Didn't See Each Other After That, J.B. about men floating in the air, and One Sun, One Shadow as the Best Books of 2016

Larissa Leclair

Larissa Leclair is the Founder of the Indie Photobook Library now at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University.

We Didn't See Each Other After That.  
By Ashley Gates. Self-published, 2016.

We Didn't See Each Other After That
Photographs by Ashley Gates

I came across this title while jurying photobooks for the INFOCUS exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. We Didn’t See Each Other After That reminds me of Deanna Dikeman’s 27 Good-byes (self-published, 2009) where the photographs transport you out of the physical form. The nuances of bookmaking choices are irrelevant. The photobook is memorable from the experience alone. These found photographs of people in their kitchens are profoundly nostalgic. Gates’ photobook is a print-on-demand cult classic for just $7.

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J.B. about men floating in the air. By Julia Borissova. 
Self-published, 2016.

J.B. about men floating in the air
Photographs by Julia Borissova

Julia Borissova is a self-publishing powerhouse, producing more than a handful of titles in the last few years including The Farther Shore, Running to the Edge, DOM, Address, and Dimitry. She also works with other photographs in shaping their photobooks and designed Lookbook by Anastasia Bogomolova, another successful title. J.B. about men floating in the air is a favorite of mine. The whimsical photographs feed the imagination about exploration, dreams, and freedom inspired by the story of two Lithuanian-American pilots. Beautiful black and white photographs with a leporello binding.

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One Sun, One Shadow. By Shane Lavalette. 
Lavalette, 2016.

One Sun, One Shadow
Photographs by Shane Lavalette

Shane Lavalette has been a pivotal player in the contemporary indie publishing world. He crowdfunded his first publication, Lay Flat 1: Remain in Light, as an undergrad in 2009, pre-Kickstarter. Now after championing the work of others, his own photobook is finally here. One Sun, One Shadow grew out of commissioned work for the High Art Museum in Atlanta for their exhibition “Picturing the South.” One Sun, One Shadow is visually lyrical and mature.

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