BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS OF 2018 : ROUND-UP PART I

SALLY MANN  A Thousand Crossings

Photograph © Sally Mann

SALLY MANN  A Thousand Crossings
Photographs by Sally Mann
Text by Sarah Greenough and Sarah Kennel
Contributions by Drew Gilpin Faust, Hilton Als and Malcolm Daniel
Produced by the National Gallery of Art and the Peabody Essex Museum (Abrams, New York)

For more than 40 years, Sally Mann (b. 1951) has made experimental, elegiac, and hauntingly beautiful photographs that explore the overarching themes of existence: memory, desire, death, the bonds of family, and nature’s magisterial indifference to human endeavor. Organized into five sections—Family, The Land, Last Measure, Abide with Me, and What Remains—and including many works not previously exhibited or published, A Thousand Crossings is a sweeping overview of Mann’s artistic achievements.

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MONA KUHN  Bushes + Succulents

 Photograph © Mona Kuhn

As a photographer, my female gaze highlights an unfiltered admiration for the female form and the works of other women such as Lee Miller and Georgia O’Keeffe. – Mona Kuhn

 

MONA KUHN  Bushes + Succulents
Photographs by Mona Kuhn. Poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks
(Stanley/Barker, London)

Bushes + Succulents is Mona Kuhn’s artistic response to the ongoing currents in contemporary feminism. "Reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe’s floral paintings, your eyes wander around the graceful lines, not knowing exactly what you are looking at. The images are a celebration of the female essence — confident, raw and elegant, yet confrontational and unapologetic. The solarization process reveals human imperfections. 60 silver and color illustrations."

I'm always impressed by Mona Kuhn's methodology when embarking on a new series.  I spoke with her about her inspiration with these alluring botanicals. Read our Interview here

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 TOD PAPAGEORGE  

Dr. Blankman's New York

 Photograph © Tod Papageorge

I’d like to think that, in Dr. Blankman´s New York, you’ll find a persuasive account of what it meant for me to be free with a Leica in the streets of my newly adopted home of Manhattan, a record drawn with Kodachrome film and its rich, saturated colors." —Tod Papageorge

Photograph © Tod Papageorge

TOD PAPAGEORGE Dr. Blankman's New York
Photographs by Tod Papageorge. Text by David Campany
(Steidl/Pace/MacGill Gallery) 


Tod Papageorge: Dr. Blankman´s New York "documents a brief but critical moment in the photographer's early career, the two years Papageorge shot in color in New York in the late 1960s. Black-and-white  photography was still the "serious" medium, and color reserved for commercial applications; Papageorge--25 years old and newly arrived in New York City--was encouraged by his fellow photographers to seek paying magazine work by developing a body of work in color..." continue reading here

Listening to my photography professor, Tod Papageorge, late '60's

Photo: Alan Kleinberg

Tod Papageorge (born 1940) picked up photography for the first time as a student at the University of New Hampshire. He is the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships. From 1979 to 2013 Papageorge served as Yale University’s Walker Evans Professor of Photography and Director of Graduate Study in Photography.

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EMILY SHUR  Super Extra Natural!

Imperial Palace Gardens with Wall, Tokyo
Photograph © Emily Shur

 Super Extra Natural!  Vimeo link

Emily's "Baroness" in their shipping department via Instagram

EMILY SHUR  Super Extra Natural!
Photographs and text by Emily Shur
(Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg)

I first met and fell in love with the work of American photographer Emily Shur at CENTERS 2009 Review Santa Fe! Her book Super Extra Natural! is a collection of images made in Japan between 2004 and 2016. "What began as a one-time getaway possessing no agenda beyond experiencing something new expanded into a long-term body of work that has resulted in over 15 trips to various parts of the country. Shur says, “Everything made sense. Lines, shapes, light, and color fit together like a math equation that added up to what still feels like a supernatural high.”

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TODD HIDO  Bright Black World

 #11389-3087 from the series Bright Black World

Copyright © Todd Hido

#11755-2192 from the series Bright Black World

Copyright © Todd Hido

TODD HIDO Bright Black World
Photographs by Todd Hido. Text by Alexander Nemerov
(Nazraeli Press, Paso Robles, CA).

"Exploring the dark terrain of the Northern European landscape and regions as far as the North Sea of Japan enchanted Hido, calling him back on several occasions. This newest publication highlights the artist’s first significant foray extensively photographing territory outside of the United States, chronicling a decidedly new psychological geography." read more here for Bright Black World

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 VIVIAN MAIER  The Color Work

   

Vivian Maier: The Color Work

VIVIAN MAIER  The Color Work
Photographs by Vivian Maier.
Text by Joel Meyerowitz and Colin Westerbeck
(Harper Design, New York)

"Photographer Vivian Maier’s allure endures even though many details of her life continue to remain a mystery. Her story—the secretive nanny-photographer who became a pioneer photographer—has only been pieced together from the thousands of images she made and the handful of facts that have surfaced about her life. Vivian Maier: The Color Work is the largest and most highly curated published collection of Maier’s full-color photographs to date."

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 YUKARI CHIKURA  Zaido

 Zaido (Steidl)

Photograph © Yukari Chikura

 Zaido (Steidl)

Photograph © Yukari Chikura

I first met Yukari Chikura at Houston's Fotofest Portfolio Review.

YUKARI CHIKURA Zaido
Photographs by Yukari Chikura.
(Soon to be published by Steidl, Germany)

This book is Yukari Chikura’s record of the 1,300-year-old Japanese ritual festivity known as Zaido. "Following a series of tragedies, including her father’s sudden death, her own critical accident and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Chikura recalls how her father came to her in a dream with the words: “Go to the village hidden deep in the snow where I lived a long time ago.” With camera in hand she set off on a pilgrimage to northeast Japan. There, Chikura discovered Zaido, where inhabitants from different villages gather on the second day of each new year and conduct a ritual dance to induce good fortune. The performers dedicate their dance to the gods and undergo severe purifications." read more

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 TOM CHAMBERS  Hearts and Bones

The Trickster Photograph © Tom Chambers

 Vineyard Blush Photograph © Tom Chambers

TOM CHAMBERS  Hearts and Bones
A Retrospective of Tom Chambers' Photomontage Art
Photographs by Tom Chambers. Foreword by Elizabeth Avedon
(Unicorn Publishing Group, Chicago)
 

Hearts and Bones is the first comprehensive collection of Chambers' work. More than one hundred color photomontages are included in this volume, spanning his entire career. 

"Chambers uses photomontage to present unspoken stories that illustrate fleeting moments in time and are known for being extremely evocative, eliciting feelings ranging from tranquility to turbulence—and all the points in between. Through his intentional use of magical realism, Chambers' photomontages look believable, but improbable. Each, in fact, has been carefully constructed, using both planned images and ones that unexpectedly enhance the story he wishes to tell. Through such techniques Chambers moves beyond documentation of the present in order to fuse reality and fantasy into musings about the possibilities of the future"

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 The Best of LensCulture, Vol. 2

 Austin, Randy and Justin, Nevada © Robin de Puy  
Juror’s Pick, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017

BEST OF LENSCULTURE, VOL 2 (Schilt Publishing)

  The Bass Family ©  Kremer/Johnson
1st Place, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2018
BEST OF LENSCULTURE, VOL 2 (Schilt Publishing)

  Lost Family Portraits © Dario Mitidieri
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017, Finalist
BEST OF LENSCULTURE, VOL 2 (Schilt Publishing)

The Best of LensCulture, Vol. 2  
(Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam)

Here are 162 award-winning photographers you should know. These exciting contemporary photographers come from 38 countries on 5 continents, and they are making remarkable work right now in diverse cultures around the world. It’s fresh, inspiring, insightful and thought-provoking. This book celebrates excellence in the visual language of photography in all genres: documentary, fine art, photojournalism, portrait, street photography, abstract, landscape, architecture, nature, alternative process, experimental, poetic, personal, and more. Anyone who is serious about the current state of photography around the globe will be delighted to discover the rich variety of photographers and their imagery presented in these pages. The Best of LensCulture, Vol. 1 and 2 here

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 JANELLE LYNCH 

Another Way of Looking at Love

“…full of delicate hope!” -Charlotte Cotton 

 JANELLE LYNCH
Another Way of Looking at Love
Hardcover, Accordion fold

JANELLE LYNCH
Another Way of Looking at Love

JANELLE LYNCH  
Another Way of Looking at Love
Photographs by Janelle Lynch. Essay by Darius Himes
(Radius Books, Santa Fe)

"In Another Way of Looking at Love, the landscape is explored as a metaphor to consider the personal, societal, and environmental consequences of disconnection, and simultaneously, our yearning to be connected. From 2015-2018, Janelle Lynch (born 1969) has used an 8 x 10 camera to create still lives in the landscape that combine similar and disparate visual and biological elements." Hardcover. Accordion-fold...read more  

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SHERI LYNN BEHR  BESEEINGYOU 

I photograph the surveillance cameras that hide in plain sight. When they blend into the walls, disappear into the architecture, or become part of the decor, I make these pictures so we see them, always watching us. Do we know who is taking our picture?  – Sheri Lynn Behr
Buy it here

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 RICHARD RENALDI  "I Want Your Love”

 Richard Renaldi "I Want Your Love”

RICHARD RENALDI  
"I Want Your Love” 
(Super Labo)

Richard Renaldi's autobiographical photo book I Want Your Love navigates through the most intimate moments in a happy life. "I Want Your Love follows the arc from childhood to middle age, exploring what it means to be young and perpetually seeking, and what it means both to find and to lose the things we most deeply treasure.” In an edition of 1000. 

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BILL SHAPIRO  WHAT WE KEEP  

What We Keep: 150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning

BILL SHAPIRO WHAT WE KEEP 
150 People Share the One Object that Brings Them Joy, Magic, and Meaning (Running Press Adult)

Author / Editor Bill Shapiro is the former editor-in-chief of the iconic LIFE Magazine. "All of us have that one object that holds deep meaning–something that speaks to our past, that carries a remarkable story. Bestselling author Bill Shapiro, with Naomi Wax, collected this sweeping range of stories–he talked to everyone from renowned writers to Shark Tank hosts, from blackjack dealers to teachers, truckers, and nuns, even a reformed counterfeiter–to reveal the often hidden, always surprising lives of objects. With contributions from Cheryl Strayed, Mark Cuban, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Melinda Gates, James Patterson, and many more–this fascinating collection gives us a peek into 150 personal treasures and the secret histories behind them." What We Keep

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Don't miss 

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS OF 2018

ROUND-UP PART II

If it's in RED it's a link. Many descriptions are from the publishers promo's.

Follow Jonathan Blaustein’s Photography Book Reviews all year on aphotoeditor.com

Happy Holidays! 

Happy Holidays!

MONA KUHN: ParisPhoto 2018 | Flowers Gallery Exhibition + Book Signings

 Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents 

Photographs: Mona Kuhn

Poetry: Gwendolyn Brooks

Published by Stanley Barker, 2018

PARIS PHOTO: Under the glorious glass domed ceiling of the Grand Palais, just at the VIP entrance, you will immediately be struck by the exotic beauty of Mona Kuhn's brilliant new series, "Bushes and Succulents,” hanging in FLOWERS London Gallery, Booth (A2); several large pieces ranging in size from 30x40" to 45x60. As a long-time fan of Kuhn's work going back over a decade -  from her early black and white portraits and nudes, through her color series Evidence, Native, Bordeaux and Private, up to this most recent incredibly sensual new series, "Bushes and Succulents” now debuting at Paris Photo - I'm always impressed by her methodology when embarking on a new series.  I spoke with Mona about her inspiration with these alluring botanicals.

EA: How did this series originate for you?

MONA KUHN: Not so long ago, women would find recognition as artists mainly if they worked with botanicals and craft. So earlier this year, I thought I ought to start, sooner than later, my first botanical series titled “Bushes and Succulents”. The title offers a sensual and playful wit to the much discussed aspects of current feminism.  My contribution is to continue a conversation that probably started with Courbet's painting "L'origine du monde”.

Feminism is currently multidimensional; there is no one take or objective. As for my own work, my intention with this series is to celebrate the female form and address women’s rights to express their sexuality in a way that is both playful and provocative. My own initial intent was strongly intuitive. The plants, in this case succulents, were chosen because of their power of endurance. And the solarized process on the Bushes abstracted the images of the bodies and the process itself pushed to reveal imperfections and bring out to the surface women's struggles, their strength, and their power. 

To me, both the succulents and women have powerful alluring forms related to notion of origin and survival. As a photographer, my female gaze highlights an unfiltered admiration for the female form and the works of other women such as Lee Miller and Georgia O’Keeffe. Additionally, I am honored to include a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  I have great respect for the women who collaborated in this work and the artist women who inspired me to push myself forward.

EA: Stieglitz and members of his circle viewed Georgia O’Keeffe’s flower paintings as an expression of her female sexuality. If you could choose what people to take away from viewing your new work, what would it be?

MK: My intention with “Bushes and Succulents” was to abstract the images while still holding on to the history of the photographic medium. I wanted to bring back attention to Lee Miller’s process of solarization. Man Ray was well known for creating solarized images, however it was Lee Miller who discovered it. Solarizing the body parts helped me abstract from straight reality and the "au naturel” or “full bush” look helped shield visually what most people prefer to keep private. As a result, I photographed an intimate segment of a woman’s body without showing much!

As a counter point, the close-up images of succulent plants evoke a much more heightened sensual emotion. The succulents embrace a sense of wonder, you no longer know what you are looking at, they are in a way reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe’s large flower paintings. This new series is about juxtaposing images and playing with how the mind brings them together, the viewer feels allured, yet nothing is quite revealed. This series plays with the power of perception.

EA: Why did you choose Gwendolyn Brooks poem “We Real Cool” for this book?

MK: Instead of an art historian or curatorial text, I was rather looking for a song or a poem that carried a similar energy. When I first read Gwendolyn Brooks “We Real Cool” poem, I was immediately taken by a few key words which resonated with what I was trying to convey visually. I like to think of women as “We”. I like the all inclusive unifying message. I also loved passages like “we sing sin” and “we thin gin” and “we lurk late” and “we strike straight”. 

I created these images with women of all shapes and ethnic backgrounds, who felt alike because they think alike and go fiercely about their daily lives. There is a sense that they own their good and bad days, that they find time to connect and have fun and that they are not ashamed or in any way apologetic for being themselves.  So the poem felt perfect.  Gregory Barker then reached out to Gwendolyn Brooks’ estate and presented my work for their consideration.  I was beyond honored when he called to confirm they had granted us permission to include the poem in this book.

And lately, as I present this series to institutions, I always save the best for the last, and finish with a recorded voice of Gwendolyn Brooks reading that poem. It gives me the chills, it is a real blessing!

 Exhibition
“Bushes and Succulents"

Flowers, London
Paris Photo. Booth A2
Grand Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris 

  

Monograph

“Bushes and Succulents"

Photographs: Mona Kuhn

Text by Gwendolyn Brooks

Publisher: Stanley/Barker, 2018

"Bushes and Succulents" is a woman’s artistic interpretation of women, endurance, freedom, and origin. The monograph has been printed using silver ink and features the poem "We Real Cool" by Pulitzer Prize winner Gwendolyn Brooks.

 

Book Signings:

 Nov 10: 2pm 

Flowers London, Booth A2 inside the Grand Palais

Nov 10: 4pm

Group Signing at Jeu de Paume, Place Concorde 

6 Artists Published by Stanley Barker 2018
https://www.stanleybarker.co.uk/

More about Mona Kuhn

PRIVATE: An Interview

MonaKuhn.com

#BestPhotoBooks2018

MONA KUHN: Bushes and Succulents

 Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

 Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents © Mona Kuhn

MONA KUHN: Bushes and Succulents

"Bushes and Succulents” is my artistic response to the ongoing currents in contemporary feminism…. Reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe’s floral paintings, your eyes wander around the graceful lines, not knowing exactly what you are looking at. When I look at the large print, I no longer know if I am floating underwater looking at corals or female parts. You enter a realm of visual pleasure and wonder…. The images titled “Bushes” are a celebration of the female essence, the au-naturel crown, confident, raw, elegant yet confrontational and unapologetic.  A celebration of the female body and its essence….The solarization process reveals human imperfections, not only in the metallic brilliance of the skin, but also brings to the surface our struggles, our strengths, our power….These plants seemed to be able to endure so much. They had a power of endurance through good and bad times. That echoed, I thought, the way women have survived through the ages. And, I couldn’t help but think to myself – the “Succulents" look like vulvas....I’m playing with the viewer because, in reality, I’m not exposing anything – Mona Kuhn

Bushes and Succulents: Mona Kuhn

The Ravestijn Gallery / Haute Photographie

Art Rotterdam 2018, The Netherlands

The Ravestijn Gallery at PHOTOFAIRS

San Francisco February 23 – 25, 2018