photo-eye | BLOG: May 2010

Exploration of the America landscape has always fascinated me. Whether through photography or literature, the American landscape has been portrayed in every thinkable manner and more often than not, has been defined by the people living in the landscape. Swiss photographers Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs's book The Great Unreal takes a whimsical look at the American frontier, often using illusion and manipulation of their images to investigate a land that has itself been manipulated by the people living in it.

Innovative landscape photography is never easy, especially in a country that has such a rich history in the medium. Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs are pushing the idea of the contemporary landscape, and the images in The Great Unreal have certainly pushed my notions of what a landscape photograph can offer conceptually and aesthetically. I highly recommend taking a serious look at this work, as it is rare to see America portrayed in such a unique way.

While Katharine Harmon's The Map As Art is an anthology consisting of every medium from photography, sculpture, painting, collage, body art, etc, etc... and although doesn't fall directly into the photography paradigm, it is certainly worth note. I added this book to my collection several months ago and continually get sucked into the visual landscape that exists on almost every page. Published by Princeton Architectural Press, The Map As Art explores concepts of visual cartography from the meaning and use of contemporary maps to more heady themes, such as explorations of the mind and issues of presence and absence.

Anyone who is interested in conceptual art, or is in search of an aesthetically pleasing sensory overload should take a look through the pages of this book. The essays provided by Gayle Clemans are of equal interest to those in search of scholarly pursuit.

Thanks to Mario Algaze for letting us know that PhotoEspaña just announced the winners of its prestigious book awards for the 2010 festival. His book Portfolio was among the 100 some winners selected from over 400 titles. We will have signed copies of his book in just a few weeks.

Also, included on this list are many books that photo-eye has promoted over the past year and many more that we hope to acquire. Of this list, there are some particular books of note that I have seen and hoped to write about on this blog. This gives me the opportunity to do so now.

From Happy Tonite

One of print images by Liu YiQing from Happy Tonite*

Verso of one of prints by Liu YiQing from Happy Tonite*

Happy Tonite is a new book edited by Ed Jones and James Welch and published by Archive of Modern Conflict who also published the award-winning Nein, Onkel and The Corinthians. This book is surrounded by shiny green PVC boards and stamped "Happy Tonite" in hot pink ink on the front cover in a sexy disco font. The images range in subject matter and feature the work of Chinese artists Liu YiQing, Cai Hongshuo, Chang He, Zeng Han, Yang Changhong, Bai Chuan, Dustin Shum, Chang Qing, Fang Er, Feng Li, Luo Dan and Jiang Yiming. Folded neatly into a tri-fold page is one of three limited edition prints (one of which is shown here recto and verso*) by Liu YiQing. It is chicly presented giving even more of an edgy stylishness to the images selected.

From Die Bewohner

Although I do not usually collect books on vernacular photography, it is a very popular genre in contemporary collecting and publishing. The new book Die Bewohner (The Residents) published by Patrick Frey with photographs from the collection of Elmar Mauch stands out in this genre. In the chapters, Der Fels (the rock), Die Bewegung (the movement), Die Bewohner (the residents), Die Abwesenden (the absent), Die Wehrhaften (the armed), Meins (mine) and Epilog (epilogue), Mauch has curated images from his collection that sometimes loosely relate to these themes allowing for a malleability of meaning within this forced context and structured format. The Japanese binding is a nice touch giving a little extra thickness to the pages and creating a feeling not unlike holding a family photo album. Read more about this book on Mrs. Deane.

*Please note that we are not taking requests for specific images.

A small selection of other great books from the list of the winners:

Agonie by Antoine D'Agata (Also picked as a Best Book 2009 by Martin Parr)
Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s and 1970s (picked as a Best Book 2009 by Ed Templeton and Richard Gordon)
Summer Nights, Walking, Robert Adams
I Have a Room with Everything by Melanie Bonajo (picked as a Best Book 2009 by Lesley A. Martin)
Books on Books (no. 5-8)
Asor by Graciela Iturbide

All the award winners can be viewed on the PhotoEspaña Book Awards page. Email us at orders@photoeye.com if you want to inquire about any of the titles listed.

As a wise friend, oh, let's call him David Bram, once told me, "just tell me if I should buy the book." Although I do believe in the value of lengthy reviews -- in fact, we offer many in the photo-eye Magazine -- there is something to be said for brevity. I have hoped for years to have a platform for the staff to make recommendations for the books that we like, or even love, and want to tell the world about it. We see and hold many books that most of our clientele do not have opportunity to view. For this reason, we are offering picks from some of our staff. We hope this will foster a relationship with the author and help you make selections based on common tastes. So far, our viewers have seen the selections by Antone Dolezal and Melanie McWhorter and as others from our staff are inspired by a book that has just arrived or one that has been around for years, we hope to make this known through our new blog.

Welcome to the photo-eye Blog! Being my first entry, many of you may not know that I am obsessed with book as object. I like a well-crafted art book that speaks just as much as its visual content. For those of you who I have not spoken with in the photo-eye Bookstore, by email or phone making my suggestions of books that I love to hold, here is the first sampling of my photobook tastes.

Ed Templeton's Drinking the Kool-Aid published by Morel Books has just arrived in the shop today. Templeton is very popular lately and his work, both photographic and mixed media, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Being that this is the case, publishers are clamoring to get his images in print. Deformer was a great addition to photobook publishing and was a modest tome of his work -- although in no way a retrospective. The new smaller, but smartly designed book Drinking the Kool-Aid, was designed by Templeton and showcases his photos and mixed media work with horizontal and vertical fold-outs -- the center spread even opens up into a small poster-sized reproduction of a mixed media portrait. The saddle-stitched book is surrounded by a full color glossy belly band modeled after a strip of 35mm film. It is indeed, as the publisher notes, "an original piece of work."

Find out about Ed Templeton's other recent publications and read a great interview in Huh Magazine. Signed copies of many of his books will be in stock in about 2-4 weeks.

Lee Friedlander has a new Limited Edition set for publication at the end of May! America by Car, published by D.A.P. & Fraenkel Gallery, features approximately 190 photographs taken over the last decade from the seat of Friedlander's car (often a rental) with the interior window existing as the photographic frame. The photographs are a documentation of Friedlander's American landscape, as well as a documentation of an era. A series of fragmented juxtapositions, this work reflects Friedlander's signature style, but also showcases his ability as a progressive artist who is still viewing the world with a fresh approach.

The limited Edition is an over-sized 13.5x15" signed and numbered edition of 1000. Click here for more info.

Phil Underdown's new Limited Edition 'Grasslands' has appeared in the photo-eye bookstore! This beautiful 4x6" artist book (limited to 50 copies) is the 5 year documentation of the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, which once existed as an airstrip. It now exists, as Underdown puts it, "in a hybrid state. Like an imitation of a natural landscape, it attempts to be something that it never was, and can't be without constant intervention."

This little hardbound consists of 23 full page illustrations. There is much to contemplate regarding Underdown's new Limited Edition, stay tuned for my up-coming review in photo-eye Magazine.

You can also find additional information and a purchasing price by clicking here.

Social Media