Untitled, 2009 [from "Four Days in Dubai"]
© Dustin Aksland
From Dustin Aksland‘s series Four Days in Dubai.
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Photographs
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Info
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Elsewhere
Dustin Aksland: Four Days in Dubai
December 8, 2009 – 1:50 pm
BLACK PINE
December 6, 2009 – 2:38 pm
My girlfriend hand makes really nice, super simple/minimal books under the name BLACK PINE. She just launched her online shop with a blank journal that is available in two different colors – a great gift idea for the holidays (or for yourself).
Matthew Swarts
December 6, 2009 – 10:07 am
Matthew Swarts got in touch to share his work with me. He has an eclectic portfolio with some interesting and playful works, in particular the ones that are sourced from image searches for various terms such as “sex,” “love,” and “death.”
Untitled, 2004
© Matthew Swarts
Untitled, 2004
© Matthew Swarts
Untitled, 2004
© Matthew Swarts
See more of his work here.
Artist Book Database
December 4, 2009 – 11:06 am
Artist Book Database, “an online database of artist books, zines, catalogues and independent publications,” was just launched by David Schoerner (of Hassla Books). The website, which is updated daily, now has over 500 titles and 250 artists and looks to be a excellent, growing resource.
If you have a book to add to the database, write to info [at] artistbookdatabase.org
Jason John Würm: Old and New
December 3, 2009 – 2:44 pm
© Jason John Würm
Jason John Würm (previously mentioned here) just updated his website with a selection of pictures, some old and some new.
Jürgen Bergbauer: Natur I–VI
November 30, 2009 – 11:18 pm
Natur I, 2008 [from "Natur I–VI"]
© Jürgen Bergbauer
An image from Jürgen Bergbauer‘s stark Natur I–VI series, a part of his book titled Studien nach der Natur (Studies After Nature).
Review: “Guardians of Solitude” by Laura McPhee
November 30, 2009 – 4:25 pm
Guardians of Solitude, 2009
© Laura McPhee / Iris Editions Ltd.
Iris Editions Ltd., the collaborative effort of NYC-based Kristopher Graves and London-based Sergio Fernández, has released the first of what is likely to be a remarkable series of luxury edition large-format books. At a scale of about 16×20 in (41×51 cm) and beautifully bound in black cloth with her name embossed on the cover, Laura McPhee‘s Guardians of Solitude is easily one of largest and certainly among the most lavish photo books I have ever encountered.
spread from Guardians of Solitude, 2009
© Laura McPhee / Iris Editions Ltd.
spread from Guardians of Solitude, 2009
© Laura McPhee / Iris Editions Ltd.
Much like viewing an artist’s portfolio, the book is “read” by spreading it out on a table and carefully turning the oversized pages. McPhee’s photographs in the book were all made in 2008 in three canyons of the White Cloud Mountains in central Idaho, an area that just three years earlier encountered a wildfire that destroyed over 40,000 acres of forest. McPhee focuses her 8×10 camera on this forest and in particular, the somber often blackened trees that still stand amongst the re-growth. The 30 color plates in the book have been given a stunning edit and are printed with an attention to detail that makes it difficult to separate them from exhibition quality prints, perhaps one of the principal draws of the book.
spread from Guardians of Solitude, 2009
© Laura McPhee / Iris Editions Ltd.
Despite this, I can’t help wondering what is lost with the excessive scale. Might some readers find the book’s exotic format distracting? Is there a large scale that still provides intimacy? One thing is for sure: this new series of books reminds us of the uncharted possibilities of photographic monographs. They will no doubt woo collectors and captivate book lovers such as myself.
Soon to come from Iris Editions Ltd. are books by Lois Conner, David Hilliard, Abelardo Morell and Matthew Pillsbury.
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Originally published in Photo-eye Magazine, November 30, 2009.
Guardians of Solitude can be purchased here.
Johan Bergström: Smoke Signals
November 28, 2009 – 1:50 pm
New work by Johan Bergström, from his series Smoke Signals.
Alt-Haidemühl #01, 2009 [from "Smoke Signals"]
© Johan Bergström
Smoke Signals #07 (Schwarze Pumpe), 2009 [from "Smoke Signals"]
© Johan Bergström
Cottbus-Nord #05, 2009 [from "Smoke Signals"]
© Johan Bergström
See more here.
Support Lay Flat
November 24, 2009 – 10:26 am
Lay Flat is seeking donations of any size to go towards the printing and distribution of the next issue (release date TBA):
Edited by Shane Lavalette and Michael Bühler-Rose, Lay Flat 02: Meta brings together the works of contemporary photographers whose images are conceptually engaged with the history, process and conventions of the medium itself. Photographs by Claudia Angelmaier, Semâ Bekirovic, Charles Benton, Walead Beshty, Lucas Blalock, Talia Chetrit, Anne Collier, Natalie Czech, Jessica Eaton, Roe Ethridge, Sam Falls, Stephen Gill, Daniel Gordon, David Haxton, Matt Keegan, Elad Lassry, Katja Mater, Laurel Nakadate, Lisa Oppenheim, Torbjørn Rødland, Noel Rodo-Vankeulen, Joachim Schmid, Penelope Umbrico, Useful Photography, Charlie White, Ann Woo and Mark Wyse are accompanied by the textual contributions of Adam Bell (Co-editor, The Education of a Photographer), Lesley A. Martin (Publisher/Editor, Aperture Foundation), Alex Klein (Editor, Words Without Pictures), artists Noel Rodo-Vankeulen and Arthur Ou, as well as an interview with James Welling by Lyle Rexer (Author, The Edge of Vision: The Rise of Abstraction in Photography).
Please take a moment to consider the difference that your donation can make.
To make a donation online, visit www.layflat.org/donate.
Thanks everyone for your continued support.
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Are you on Facebook? Visit the official Lay Flat page to become a fan and invite your friends to check it out!
Michael Bühler-Rose: Little Indian Still Lifes
November 23, 2009 – 11:47 pm
Maps, 2008 [from "Little Indian Still Lifes"]
© Michael Bühler-Rose
Michael Bühler-Rose (guest editor of Lay Flat 02: Meta) just updated his website with more work in addition to his previously mentioned Constructing the Exotic series. I was excited to see that he shared some new images from his project Little Indian Still Lifes, about which he writes:
Beyond the beauty of the Dutch Still-life lays the evidence of Dutch colonial power: its imports of exotic spices and goods from India. You can currently purchase any of these Indian imports, plus anything else you can find in the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, or Chennai, in the “Little India” sections of various major cities of the world.
These photographs feature a mixture of contemporary and traditional items purchased in these “Little Indias,” while referencing the lighting, compositions, and scale of the Dutch still-life tradition. They create an aesthetic experience of near recognition while still allowing disorienting puncture points to come through. Although visually similar to the Dutch still-life, these pictures do not evidence Western colonial power but rather a reverse of power, of India settling the West.
For those of you in New York: AA Bronson of Printed Matter curated what looks to be a fantastic exhibition at the Institute for Art, Religion and Social Justice (where Bronson is the Artistic Director) entitled Compassion. On display will be Michael’s powerful video piece I’ll Worship You and You’ll Worship Me, which I highly recommend viewing while it’s up. A reception for this show will be held Thursday, November 19th from 6–8pm.
