Book of the Week: A Pick by Alec Soth Photographer Alec Soth selects the five books from oodee's POV Female Bogotá series as photo-eye Book of the Week.
 |
| Embera-chamis – ¡chao Nos Vemos! by Karen Paulina Biswell Nada Es Eterno by Guadalupe Ruiz Masked by Joana Toro Todo Se Parece a Su Dueno by Ana Maria Ruiz Ventanas by Estefania Gonzalez oodee, 2014 |
"I once met a collector who said he would purchase every photobook published in the US in any given year. Back in the day, he explained, this number could be counted on two hands. With the recent boom in photobook publishing, I’ve heard more and more grumbling in collector circles. Among the complaints are (1) there are too many books to keep up with (2) photobooks have become too expensive. While I understand the frustrations to some extent, we should be wary of succumbing to a false nostalgia for an earlier time.
When I was a student twenty-five years ago, the only place to find a photography book was at a museum and the selection was primarily made up of American men. I recently looked at one of the books I bought back then, William Eggleston’s Democratic Forest, and was surprised to see a $50 price tag.
It’s interesting to counter that with what is available now. After writing a blog post inquiring about the current status of photography in Colombia, a publisher in London (oodee) sent me five publications made by female photographers from Bogotá. Not only do all five publications have excellent photography, design and printing, they are all priced reasonably.
I feel lucky to have been exposed to this incredible work in print. I’ve been a fan of Guadalupe Ruiz’s domestic dramas for some time, but had never encountered Estefanía González’s wonderfully voyeuristic portraits or Joana Toro’s depiction of fantastically costumed ‘black cowboys.’
While nobody can’t keep track of every book being published, we are lucky for publishers like oodee that make the tent for photography so much bigger than it used to be."—Alec Soth
Purchase Embera-chamis – ¡chao Nos Vemos!
Purchase Nada Es Eterno
Purchase Masked
Purchase Todo Se Parece a Su Dueno
Purchase Ventanas
All five books are available in a limited edition box set that includes five prints. Copies are very limited. See it here.
 |
Embera-chamis – ¡chao Nos Vemos! by Karen Paulina Biswell, oodee 2014 |
 |
| Nada Es Eterno by Guadalupe Ruiz, oodee 2014 |
 |
| Masked by Joana Toro, oodee 2014 |
 |
| Todo Se Parece a Su Dueno by Ana Maria Ruiz, oodee 2014 |
 |
| Ventanas by Estefania Gonzalez, oodee 2014 |
Alec Soth (b. 1969) is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2008, Soth started his own publishing company, Little Brown Mushroom. Soth is represented by Sean Kelly in New York, Weinstein Gallery in Minneapolis, Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and is a member of Magnum Photos.
See more Book of the Week picks