Photobooks, zines, reviewed, etc...

Thomas Albdorf

From the website:

The Velvet Cell Books is an independent publisher of limited edition photography books based in London, UK. Founded in 2010, our goal is to promote the virtues of urban photography and to make art available to everyone.

Thomas Albdorf’s book is a wonderful example of what can be achieved by independent publishers. Although just 16 pages long, it contains a great series of images taken at night in what, interestingly, is a mixture of urban and rural environments.

My particular favourite is the pair of ‘Hotel’ images - I could look at those for hours and it would be great to see them even bigger. There is a certain feeling of isolation in all the photographs. The photograph is always outside or finds the road ahead blocked, and there isn’t another person to be seen in any of the photos.

Personally I’m not a fan of the ‘Objects’ series, but that’s personal taste and others may feel differently about these.

Given that this is the first book published by The Velvet Cell Books, it certainly sets the bar high for subsequent publications.

http://www.thevelvetcell.com/albdorfbook.html

We are blind people made of colors - Emma Llensa

and

Do not break in two - Lúa Ocaña

Atem Books, an independent publisher based in Spain sent over a couple of titles recently. Their books had already caught my eye with the goregously muted colours used on the cover of several titles so I was excited about receiving these.

The subtle colour palette is evident throughout We are blind people made of colors as the artist takes us on a journey through coastlines covered in intrieging rock formations and structures. The choice of colours and deliberate use of film lends a dream like quality to all the images. This suits the dream like landscapes we encounter in this book just perfectly.

This book also comes with an original print tucked inside the front cover - very nice.

Do not break in two is a series of black and white images, often in which two photographs have been overlaid to form one. Just past the centre there is an excellent series of quadtychs which in the wrong hands could have steered dangerously close to art school ‘studies of the human body’. Lúa’s approach is, happily, far removed from this.

Atem Books has an array of similarly excellent titles to choose from in their online store. I’m looking forward to future releases from this publisher.

Neuperlach Zentrum - Thomas Wieland

Thomas was kind enough to send me a copy of his book, Neuperlach Zentrum to have a look at. Before I received it I told him that it looked like my kind of thing from the photos on his site, and I’m pleased to say that the book lived up to my expectations.

His website states:

Founded on the periphery of Munich in 1967, Neuperlach is one of the big urban
settlements of post-war Germany. The aim of its initiators was not only to provide
housing for 80,000 inhabitants but to create a place for a new attitude towards urban life. The book explores this ambitious experiment in urban planning.

It’s fair to say that this experiment was not a huge success. As often happens when humans live close together in somewhat forced communities the city was soon plagued by crime and other problems. Perhaps this is due to our curious animal-like obsession with needing a space or territory over which we can exert control? Or perhaps it’s simply what happens when too many people live too close to each other.

Either way, Thomas offers a wonderful perspective of the town, showcasing intriguing architectural elements in such a way that we immediately see why problems arose.The printing is good with very vibrant colours where needed.

Copies are still available from his online shop. Don’t miss this one.

Emmett - Ron Jude

As I get older I find myself reflecting on my youth more and more. When I look back at the the time I spent growing up in the 80’s, I always relive events in that slightly fuzzy/grainy way of seeing things that VHS forced upon us.

What I love about this book is the memories of my early childhood that it evokes. This collection of Ron’s photos shows me the world of 30 years ago in the same way I see it in my mind - grainy, crazy lens flare enhanced by those star filters which were popular once, and photos of VHS movies on old TV screens.

From the publisher’s website:

…the pictures range from hazy scenes of a summertime drag race, a recurring forest in changing seasons, midnight horror films on a TV set, and a Nordic-looking teenager who appears as a specter from the artist’s past.

The Heaviest Flower - Colby Caldwell and Elijah Gowin

Elijah recently sent me a copy of The Heaviest Flower.

From the website:

Produced in conjunction with an exhibition at Urban Culture’s Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City,  this book brings together two longtime friends and colleagues Colby Caldwell and Elijah Gowin.  Tied together through their innovative inquiry of the materiality of photography—both artists use painstaking and elaborate processes for reaching their final images – the images circle around themes of anxiety, loss, and the tenuous beauty of living. Often drawing from North Carolina family snapshots and found movie footage, Colby Caldwell combines still photographs with video pieces to consider the ideas of nostalgia and memory, and how they are embedded in the practice of photography.  Elijah Gowin’s digitally constructed photographs show figures drifting in water or falling through the air, either accepting what is happening to them with grace or reacting instead with panic.  Together, both sets of artworks present a kindred search for wholeness and weighted beauty.

There are some really nice photos in this book. I especially like the ‘Falling in Trees’ series of images. The book itself is nicely printed, with a good weight to it.

I also like the look of Hymnal of Dreams which is available from the Tin Roof Press website. Check out the 3 books which are currently available on the website.

Brighton Bunny Boy - Carmen, Gus and Alec Soth

and

Man with Buoy And Other Tales - Seth Lower

I decided to put these two books in the same post because

a) They both came from Little Brown Mushroom Books

b) They are both storybooks with great photos

c) They are both still available (but not for long, I’m sure)

Apart from that, you could argue that they’re quite different. Man with Buoy is number two in the ‘Storybooks for grown-ups’ series. The Brighton Bunny Boy is a story written (and partially illustrated by) a child. But is it a story for children or grown-ups?

British Folk Part One - James Pearson-Howes

This arrived today.

In this short book, James begins to document some of the weird, wonderful and frankly quite odd traditions which pervade British culture and society. He has done a great job of capturing the atmosphere and dedication which goes into preserving such bizarre rituals.

The book fits nicely alongside Estelle Hanania’s fantastic work as to a certain extent they share a theme.

I hope James continues to document more and more of these folk rituals. As I look through the book I can’t help but feel how wonderful it would be to see the straw bear being paraded past!

Life Adjustment Centre - Ryan McGinley

It’s been a good year for fans of Ryan’s work.

Just over 12 months ago we saw the release of Moonmilk (now sold out in its second edition) - a series of images shot in massive underground caves and presented in both book form and as a set of huge prints.

Earlier this year Everybody Knows This is Nowhere was released. I reviewed this collection of gorgeous black and white portraits as soon as I received it and the book remains a favourite to look through, if only to soak up the fabulous studio lighting.

I haven’t updated this site for just over a week simply because I’ve had nothing new arrive. That changed earlier today when Life Adjustment Centre landed on my desk.

This new book - published by Dashwood Books - presents two distinct series of photographs. First, an extension of Everybody Knows This is Nowhere in which animals are included in the shots. If Everybody Knows This is Nowhere represented a change in direction from Ryan’s well known outdoor work, these images bring the outdoor into the studio in the form of these wild creatures.

The second series - which is intermingled with the first, as if to further emphasise the meeting of the old and the new Ryan - is a continuation of his early work taken on his infamous road trips across America. This is currently the most accessible way to get hold of this work in print and I recommend the book highly on this basis.

Dashwood have done another great job in publishing this and the staff were as friendly as always when I ordered it. The printing and finish are excellent and my only quibble is that some of the images weren’t as big as I would have liked (but this is always a problem when trying to include landscape images in a portrait orientation book).

My favourite photo in the book is Amanda (Railroad) 2010 but the whole thing is really rather good.

So Now Then

As we are mid way through the 2010 Hereford Photography Festival, it seems as good a time as any to mention this book which was published for the 2006 festival.

What I like about this book is how many connections there are between the work featured here and books which are being published right now. Even though this is 4 years old it feels very relevant.

For example, you’ve got Boris Mikhailov who has a new book coming out soon from Morel and Trent Parke whose book ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ was published earlier this year by Little Brown Mushroom Books.

This book contains a small selection of work from 14 photographers and 3 essays. It’s not the most amazing book I’ve seen, but it’s nice enough and acts as a good reference for the work of these photographers which might not be readily available elsewhere.

New York City - Squale Photos

A while back I wrote about Mauerreste - The Berlin Wall 20 Years Later, a book depicting the remnants of the Berlin Wall. Recently New York City was made available, and just like last time the book is currently free of charge.

There are some great street photos from around New York in this book. When I looked through the book I felt like I was walking to work on a crisp autumn morning with the city waking up and moving around me. Then, it felt like a walk home again with the sun setting at the end of a street.

In terms of the presentation, I particularly like the translucent cover (I can’t quite remember the name of the material unfortunately) and the whole thing has a sturdy/substantial feel to it.

This is great - well done.