Rome-based Punctum Books publishes a diverse number of titles, but also has a distinct focus on Italian related works -- whether that be books by Italian photographers like Marco Delogu and Giuliano Matteucci, whose Ecclesia is a quite and powerful monograph looking at the enduring markers of colonization through missionary-erected churches in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali -- or studies of Italy itself, currently offering a group of titles on The Eternal City.

from the book Roma, Citta Di Mezzo

from the book A Question of Time

Guy Tillim's Roma, Citta Di Mezzo is a lovely accordion fold book showing modern-day Rome depicted as a living city, not an icon. Selected as a Best Book of 2009, it was also reviewed in photo-eye Magazine by Charles Dee Mitchell, which you can read here. A Question of Time investigates Rome as a place of enduring artistic inspiration, merging photographic images of days long past with images from today. The book portrays a before and after of sorts, the present living within the past as shown through a collection of photos chosen from the American Academy Photographic Archive and images of the city taken by a number of contemporary photographers. A Question of Time highlights both the shifting and lasting features of the city, but also how we choose to see it over time. Featuring photographs by Tim Davis, Marco Delogue, Veronique Ellena, Juan Fabuel, Brad Farwell, Agnes Geoffray, Graciela Iturbide, Giuliano Matteucci, Matthew Monteith, Luca Nostri, Tod Papageorge, Leonie Purchas and David Spero, the book also contains a significant number of essays presented in English and Italian.

Opera Citta by Tod Papageorge

The forthcoming Opera Citta by Tod Papageorge began with an invitation from the Commissione di Roma 2010 and some suggestions from Marco Delogu. What Papageorge came up with was unexpected -- he deviated quickly from Delogu's concept to capture different view of Rome, a closer look at details, and without grandeur typical of depictions of the city.

Quota Mille steps outside Rome, showing a world far away from the modern city, the inhabitants of the rural Matese mountains. They are sensitive pictures, showing in saturated colors a slower way of life, quite, simple and agrarian. There is something timeless about this world, though if the deeply lined faces of the subjects of these pictures is any indication, it is, perhaps, a way of life that may be aging out. Read more about Quota Mille (and Ecclesia) in our February 19th Newsletter.

from the book Quota Mille

Several other books of note: Graciela Iturbide's El Bano de Frida, spare yet emotional resonant images of the bathroom of the great painter Frida Kahlo. Pieter Hugo's Messina/Musina continues his extensive investigation of Africa, this time focusing on this native South Africa. Musina is the northernmost town in South Africa, on the border of tumultious Zimbabwe. Recently renamed Musina to correct a colonial misspelling of the name of the people who once lived in the region, Musina, like the name, is a town in transition.

Four Equestrian Studies by Marco Delogu is an interesting take on the horse and its representation in art. The double-sided book is divided into four portions. Opened from the white side, the images start with The White Studio -- striking full-body portraits taken in a white-back-dropped studio. The Black Studio images follow, intimate close-ups of the horses long faces, their bodies lost in the blackness of the background. The book shifts at the next section, The Fresco by Cavalier d'Arpino. First depicting the entire painting, each subsequent page focuses on the rendering of the horses in the battle scene, phenomenal for their expressiveness, particularly in the eyes. The book transitions again after this series of images, switching to the Bronze Horse from Vicolo delle Palme. This portion of the book can also been the beginning of the study, and features its own cover on the reverse side of the book.

from the book Four Equestrian Studies

See books published by Punctum here.

Located in Berlin, Peperoni Books is a publisher I have just recently started paying some well-deserved attention towards. They have published some fantastic and engaging titles by Michael Wolf such as A Series of Unfortunate Events, FY, Tokyo Compression and Hong Kong Inside Outside. Older titles such as Jo Röttger’s Wilson’s World and Isadora Tast’s Mother India are worth revisiting, but here we'll highlight  several late 2010 and early 2011 publications by Peperoni.

One of Peperoni’s new titles, Einer with photographs by Fred Huning, is a deeply personal yet universal venture into love and the fear of loss.  Einer is Huning’s story of having a child with his partner – and due to past experiences, the fear of losing the child. The images weave between intimate portraits and landscapes, while also including found objects or animals left to unforeseen environmental occurrences. A frog dried up in the road is sequenced next to an image of blood on the hospital bed sheet where Huning’s partner gave birth. The sequencing can sometimes seem to stretch the contemporary aesthetic of visual story telling but each image is individauly beautiful and gives insight into a personal drama that many of us share.

from the book Einer

After writing a small commentary on Michael Wolf’s A Series of Unfortunate Events I naturally took notice of his forthcoming title FY.  Similar in concept to A Series of Unfortunate Events,  FY takes the unfortunate part maybe even a step further. The images inside of this book showcase a series of people from all ages, sexes and cultures flipping the bird…. all caught on Google Street View. While not necessarily the classiest subject to document, Wolf’s images make an interesting commentary on our current culture – people enjoy the privilege of expressing their desire to tell the unassuming camera to… well… you can figure it out.  Humorous, yes, but more importantly FY is an appropriate follow up to Wolf’s previous publication. While some unaware bystanders casually meander their way in and out of camera surveillance, others are much more aware… and a little peeved at the idea of being filmed for no good apparent reason.

from the book FY

Peperoni books are also currently publishing a series of titles by visual artist Andreas Trogisch. I wrote briefly about the artist's first two published titles, Magico and Von Ferne in the January 15th New Arrivals Newsletter. I am quite impressed with the imagery in Trogisch books and think they are worth revisiting. Well known for his graphic design, Trogisch has been relatively undiscovered as a photographer for the past 30 years. His images are now being collected in a series of six folders, limited to 100 copies each. The first folder in this series, Von Ferne, is a beautiful portrayal of everyday occurrences, focusing on engaging compositions and often laden with dark imagery. Von Ferne is a discovery, a look into a very unusual and unique view from a photographer who is sure to gain attention for the publication of this unseen work. The second folder from this series, Magico, takes the viewer further into Trogisch's surreal world. Magico is poetic in nature, relying on many stand-alone images that weave a beautifully dark encounter. The print quality in both volumes is astounding and a sure treat for those curious about this artist’s work. Four additional titles are set for publication this spring and we will keep all who are interested updated on this outstanding work.

from the book Magico

from the book Von Ferne

View all titles by Peperoni Books.

Thanks to Ed Templeton, photo-eye found out about the new Japanese publisher Super Labo in 2009. Last year, this new publisher started a series of perfect bound and saddle-stitched publications with Templeton's Coming to Grips and Joel Meyerowitz's Redheads. This year, Super Labo has expanded its catalogue with five new titles and at least one more (by Stephen Gill) coming out in the fall. The new books have arrived at our warehouse and, although modestly composed, they are rich with content. In this newest list is Alec Soth's post-Mardi Gras project Ash Wednesday, New Orleans and Hido's fabricated narrative Nymph Daughters, Kanemura's street chaos Stravinsky Overdrive, a selection of Meyeorwitz's images with a floral motif Wild Flowers and, contrary to the color palette you might imagine, mostly black, super-saturated images of snowboarding at night in Tomonori "Rip" Tanaka's Night Rider.

All of the books can be found on the Super Labo page on photo-eye's Publisher's Showcase. Click on each book for more info or to order.

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.