Book of the Week: A Pick by John Phelan

Book of the Week Book of the Week: A Pick by John Phelan John Phelan selects Jaunt by Lotte Reiman as Book of the Week.

Jaunt. By Lotte Reimann. 
Art Paper Editions, 2015.

This week's Book of the Week pick comes from John Phelan who has selected Jaunt by Lotte Reinmann from Art Paper Editions.

"The Shininess of Screens

I like to smell books.

This one has that new car smell.
Often imitated, never duplicated.
It’s crisp, plastic, pleasantly artificial.

But inside, the images reek of sex, burnt rubber, engine oil and body oil, sweat, hot metal.

Jaunt by Lotte Riemann is a fun, slightly sinister, super slick journey; the itinerary brilliantly mapped by Jurgen Maelfeyt, who designed and edited it. Rephotographing found photos of a swinging couple on her monitor, Reimann has repurposed them to tell a new story reflecting her own gaze.

Red-line revs:
Muscle car burnouts-smoke clouds of brake dust, hot tires carving sensual rubber S’s like Detroit hips and thighs on cracked asphalt. Familiar. You see these on the Summer roads of a 1000 backwater dump American towns like the one I grew up in.

The fetishized close-up of a woman’s foot tightly sheathed in dagger heel stabbing the gas pedal.

Rare.

Double clutch:
The centerfold opens to a pleasantly pixelated MILF, lipstick caked cadmium, nipples burnt sienna, freckled flesh stuck to vinyl upholstery. Sexy but fey, these beacons beckon but portend fates bloody for the victims of the car crashes interspersed throughout.

Downshift to rubberneck:
An SUV, rear end unnaturally raised, bobs in a muddy torrent; a red Chevy nosed dived into the opened pavement. A pile-up, literal and atmospheric, of images cinematic.

Jaunt is a joyride. Like an exhilarating drive this book packs the whole package: you can smell it, taste it, feel it.

Asked about the unique tactile nature of the pages, Reimann replied: 'It is printed on a thin regular paper which is laminated after printing. It's the same principle as if you'd coat a menu card. Easy to wipe off. Just kidding... I really like the resemblance to the shininess of screens!'"—John Phelan

Purchase Book

Jaunt. By Lotte Reimann. Art Paper Editions, 2015.

Jaunt. By Lotte Reimann. Art Paper Editions, 2015.

John Phelan is a collector living in Greenwich, Connecticut. Together with Anouk Kruithof, he created the Anamorphosis Prize which was established to promote excellence, dialogue and excitement in the field of self-published photobooks and photo-based artist books. The winner, chosen from 20 semi-finalists, will be awarded $10,000. (photo by Anouk Kruithof)









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