Photobooks: Good News and Bad News

Before I get started, thank you to all of you who helped make the first day of our print sale yesterday such a soaring success. People just love those pictures and those prints is all I can say. We had a very good first day.

And get this. Without revealing details, Peter found himself on the receiving end of a bit of blowback from within the art world for selling his prints just too low. As one dealer lambasted me once, "the idea is to make art more exclusive [i.e., keep prices as high as possible], not more democratic!" Be that as it may, there's still plenty of time to get yours. I can tell ya, you'll appreciate a print you like for a lot longer than you'll keep your current camera or shoot with whatever lens you're currently jonesing for. But enough of my harangue—on to the news:

...Bad news first:
Remember that small cache of gorgeous photobook remainders from the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s I told you about, discovered in the storage rooms of a major Midwestern art museum? Well, they're here—the samples I mean—and all of them are good, and five of them are great, and two or three of them are superb. And—still in the good news column—the cache isn't so small, turns out. There is a decent supply of the most desirable of the books; there should be enough for everyone who wants one, at least if you claim yours in the first few days. And it will be very cheap for what you'll get, if all goes well.

But the bad news is that institutions move slo-o-o-o-wly—more slowly than I could have conceived—and the museum folks won't be ready to field orders until, I was told, March at the earliest. I was thinking we should have popped the cork on this project very soon—say, last Friday. In that timeframe somewhere. But then I'm a ninja and move with the stealth of a bat and the swiftness of a striking snake. (And I don't carry me no load. Heck, a blogger will pick up and move like a M*A*S*H unit bugging out. California threatened to tax Amazon affiliates and Ken Rockwell jumped clear across the country before you could say "support my growing family," and was I not hunkered in Wisc. just a few short months ago—?)

Ahem. Anyway, it's on the back burner now. We're a-takin' the long view. I just hope the museum doesn't change its mind 'twixt then and now, because if you get the chance to get your hands on 'em you are going to love these books, believe me.

And now the good news
...Which is that my luck regarding book purchases has changed recently. I sometimes order promising books and just...well, don't like them. For example. I bought Charles Harbutt's last book, called Departures and Arrivals. Charlie Harbutt died last June, and I'm a big fan of his work in general (I have a signed original copy of Travelog that is one of my treasures), but...I just didn't like Departures and Arrivals. I thought whoever made the selection was trying too hard by half to pick the frames he'd shot that were as loose and enigmatic as possible, the better (perhaps, I don't know) to establish him as art-gallery-worthy. The results is a book and a view of CH that's gassy and soft, lacking his usual sardonic edge and his "enhanced reality" darkness, and one I couldn't in good conscience commend to your attention. YMMV. [UPDATE: Actually, Chris Hunt sent me Departure and Arrivals, because it didn't suit his taste, and—as he reminded me—I wrote this post as I was waiting for it. Goes to show you I don't even remember my own blog posts.  —Mike the Egg-Faced Ed.]

Then I received Alec Soth's Songbook. Didn't like that one either, sorry to say, much as I like and approve of Soth and Co. and its various projects and peregrinations. It just had no center, and the worst pictures have that fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality that I hate, with that attitude toward subject matter like a monocled countess holding a dead rat by the tail. (Disclaimer: the foregoing sentence does not consist of approved art-critical terms, and if your name starts with Ale- and ends with -oth please ignore me.) Can't commend that one either. Won't go on my shelves next to Niagara, Sleeping by the Mississippi, and Dog Days Bogota. Seems like a touch of by-rote might be creeping into the churn as the Soth books tumble forth in their plenitude.

But my luck has changed. I received Harry Gruyaert, which Ken raved about in these pages a while back (the impression it made on Ken was like the effect Miles Davis's Kind of Blue had on jazz fans when it was new...there was one fan who loved Side One so much he was afraid for months to flip the record and listen to Side Two). I, too, love love love Harry Gruyaert (not the guy—I don't know the guy. The book. Didn't I just link that twice? I did). One of the best photo books I've accessioned in the last couple of years.

Harry Gruyaert, Town of Liège, 1981. Photo courtesy Magnum Photos.

He might be a "photographer's photographer." Some of the pictures don't seem to be about much. If you "read" them in a normal way, you think, that's just a woman walking past some discarded flowers. But as page after page goes by you realize what he's really after is the feel of places and moments limned and delineated by color, and that the use of color in every picture is what he's really after and what makes each picture sing. "Town of Liège" above is really une étude en vert. The moment you realize that is when the book comes into bloom, and you "get it."

...And you should get it. (Didn't I link it twice?) Strong buy rec on that one. Especially if you shoot in color, and care about color, and respond to color, and want to learn to use color better yourself.

Book of the Year 2015
And in further news, I've found TOP's Book of the Year for 2015. No, it's not Harry, although it could be, and it's not friend Peter, although it could be. It's a black-and-white photographer, a major black-and-white photographer, who I had never heard of. Seriously. (There are not a lot of major black-and-white photographers I've never heard of.) I'll write about that one as soon as I can get the writing done. It's my favorite photobook since the miraculous Here Far Away, Pentti Sammallahti's 2012 masterpiece.

In the meanwhile, buy a print! Seriously, whatcha waiting for? Time's a-wastin', and TOP can't roll out the red carpet like this every day*.

Mike

*Speaking of days, did I miss Cyber Monday? I did, didn't I. I am completely hopeless.

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Rich: "Mike—I need to thank you for your book recommendations. Over the years I've compiled a nice collection, and the ones I haven't been crazy about I've sold at a profit. In many case one or two hundred dollars profit ! Unbelievable...and proof to my wife I don't just lose money reselling depreciated cameras." 

John Krill: "I have a real problem with your blog. It's costing me big bucks. I just ordered the Harry Gruyaert book. From the picture you have posted and the photo on the front cover of the book it looks like my money is well spent."

Peter Wright: "Now am full of anticipation! Your book recommendations are always spot on. I have the Harry Gruyaert, the Pentti Sammallahti, Crosstown by Helen Levitt, The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker and French Kiss among many others. These are full of pictures I deeply wish I could have seen and taken, and are an inspiration for me to get out and shoot. I already have the Peter Turnley print from his book cover as part of my small (but growing) print collection. Again, it's a picture I wish I could have made. My collection also includes a Ctein, a couple by an M. Johnston, and others. I tend not to put these prints on the wall, but I do get them out for viewing and they help greatly in 'calibrating' my own printing. I can't think of another web site that provides this much help. Thanks!"

Bernd Reinhardt: "I agree with you about Pentti's wonderful book, but I think it was my book of the year for 2014 if I remember correctly. My book of the year for this year is without a doubt Songbook. It is a masterpiece depicting a slice of America in a respectful and artistic way. A friend of mine knows Alec and Alec gave him a word of advice on a new project: 'Every photograph should be a little surprise.' Look at Songbook again with these words in mind, and if it doesn't change your opinion, please make me a fair offer and I will buy your copy as a Christmas present for a good friend of mine. I am being serious about this."

Mike replies: I wish I knew where mine was—I'd take another look. But it has not come out of the moving boxes yet. My new house has almost no room for books, so most of them are in boxes on the second floor of the barn.

Comments

[MarkR]

...and Ken Rockwell jumped clear across the country before you could say "support my growing family,"

BWAH-HAH-HAH! That'd totally be my new sig file, if those were still a thing.

[LeftCoastKenny]

California threatened to tax Amazon affiliates and Ken Rockwell jumped clear across the country before you could say "support my growing family,"

Ha! Great tax dodge. Based on the images on his web site he never moved from CA.

[Robert Roaldi]

"...fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality..."

Don't sugar-coat, say what you mean. :)

[Rob]

Mike, you have cost me a lot of money with your book recommendations. I have both the Gruyaert and Sammallahti books and agree with your assessment of them. But my favorite photography book of recent years is another that you recommended highly: Alex Webb's "The Suffering of Light." As a predominantly B&W aficionado, I am amazed at his use of color. It is one of the very few books that I can open to almost any page and find an image that grabs and holds my attention.

[Richard Parkin]

"Speaking of days, did I miss Cyber Monday? " You have also missed "Giving Tuesday" according to an email I received from PayPal this morning :( .

[MikeR]

"that fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality"

Missed opportunity to use "poncy," a word I only recently encountered on the Photothunk blog http://photothunk.blogspot.com/2015/11/art-kitsch-subjectivity-and-all-that.html

[Trecento]

"...fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality..."

Yep, those words will be remembered. But it's a nice description of the deliberately alienated and alienating, detached perspective that I have seen a lot in "fine art" circles. It sells, I suppose.

My least favorite example I'll obfuscate a little, but it goes like this: there is a hobby that involves dressing up (there are many such), and thus is somewhat photogenic. (I.e. interesting images are like shooting fish in a barrel.) The photographer chose to keep their subjects at arms length, and depict them in an unsympathetic and unflattering way. And in a way that suggested they didn't know how to "read" the ethnographic context the costumes were made in.

If they didn't understand who they were photographing, or what was important to them, that's okay, we are human and have limitations. But if you can't get some kind of insight, then why not at least flatter your subjects? Isn't that one of the basic tools in a photographer's toolbox? I think there is some little room for flattery without resorting to artifice, or diluting the power of one's seeing.

Anyway, thanks for letting me natter on. I feel like there is a fruitful essay dangling from this notion of "detached photography", but I don't know that I'm the one to write it.

[Ricardo Silva Cordeiro]

I was hoping the good news was related to that Mark Surloff book that was talked some time ago ;)

Regarding the books you mentioned, it's curious but for me it was quite the contrary: I liked Alec Soth's new book, even if it had a different tone compared to his other work. Harry Gruyaert's book disappointed me a bit, I mean it was ok, but maybe my expectations were just too high.

Oh, and I'm curious about that "that fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality that I hate". This is because I have a problem with the art-world regarding photography that I can't quite explain, maybe you could elaborate a bit more on this (a dedicated post?).

[James Bullard]

I really don't get the whole pricing thing. I mean, Peter's photos are good but I have and know photographers who have photos just as good but have trouble selling any at a fraction of Peter's "too low" price. Personally, I am utterly uninterested in photos of Paris, it's a city and I don't care for cities, so maybe that enters into my view. At any rate, the whole pricing thing is a mystery to me.

RE: Books. Lately, I've been buying used Elliot Porter books through Amazon. Well, not all are used. I got a brand new copy (still in shrink wrap) of "Elliot Porter" for about $20 (Jacket price is $75) and several other used books for much less. The price on his classic "In Wildness is the preservation of the World" maintains its price well, but the others are a steal. There are several other excellent photographers whose books sell well below their value IMO I suppose because they are currently out of fashion.

[Stefan Wood]

I'll bet your book of the year is this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0300208251/theonlinephot-20

It is fantastic, well surveyed and extremely detailed.

[Mark Kinsman]

I bought Harry's book based in Ken's recommendation and agree it is a superb book. Rich in color, most likely more a photographers book as you stated. One of the best book investments this year, along with the Saul Leiter Early Black & White Steidl books, his Painted Nudes book and Ghirri's Kodachrome.

[Robin P]

Please tell, did you just have a good night's sleep, or have something special for breakfast before writing this wonderful, inspired, entertaining post?
On print prices:- I had a handful of prints in a local gallery for two months earlier this year at 80 Euros each - sold none. Then in August at a one day art market I took along a box of reject and experimental prints which I priced at 10 Euros each - sold lots.

[Actually, I did have a good night's sleep last night, for once, and have had noticeably more energy (and vim, and vigor) today. Maybe that accounts for it. --Mike]

[AN]

I'm not crazy about Songbook, either (although I don't have quite the same reaction). However, I really enjoyed the LBM Dispatch project from which the Songbook images originated. The geographically themed serial newspaper-ish format with article-ish texts was really interesting and enjoyable, but somehow distilling that lively effort into a more conventional art book format sucked the life out of it (for me, at least). Still, even though Soth's individual works can be hit or miss, I really admire his enterprise as a whole, particularly the many publishing experiments.

[Dave Jenkins]

"the idea is to make art more exclusive [i.e., keep prices as high as possible], not more democratic!"

That dealer just understands money. He doesn't understand art, especially photography. The glory of photography is that it is democratic in the highest sense.

[Ann Peterson]

Just clicked on the link to the Gruyere book and seemed to have ordered it! Only 5 left apparently. Looks great. Thanks.

[Victor Bloomfield]

Thanks to your earlier post, I got the Harry Gruyaert book a few weeks ago. I echo your enthusiasm: he's one of the great color photographers, in a league with Ernst Haas, Jay Maisel, and Fred Herzog. He also does wonderful things with deep shadows, which remind me of Alex Webb.

[Jeff]

This offers a nice online tour of his work....nice viewed large on calibrated monitor...

http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2TYRYD1KJ10Q

[Richard Parkin]

"most of them are in boxes on the second floor of the barn"
I don't know your boxes or your barn but isn't that a recipe for mould? I am reluctant to offer advice on something you are probably well aware of but maybe if the barn is suitable you could put bookcases there. Dehumidifier?

[Zack S]

This is a recent book purchase that I have enjoyed a lot. It is called Ernst Haas: On Set and consists of work he did for Magnum on movie sets. It was a great addition to my book collection.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3869305878/theonlinephot-20

[Karel Kravik]

Commenting about exclusive vs democratic prices - YourDailyPhotograph.com (by Duncan Miller Gallery) regularly sells prints with prices in the same ballpark where TOP sales are, although I've no information regarding their position in the art world.

Looking forward to the Book of the Year, I've bought several books on your recommendation (including Gruyaert which I reviewed here: http://karelkravik.com/blog/2015/11/13/book-review-harry-gruyaert) and I've never been disappointed - quite the contrary :)

[blake]

I like Song Book very much.

Mixed feelings on Gruyaert. Great photos but the reproductions are inconsistent. Some are no better than posterized jpgs.

I'm guessing your favorite book is the new Dave Heath book, but I could be wrong. Curious to see your review, whatever it is.

[Chris Hunt]

Actually I believe I sent you the Harbutt book. :)

In fact it inspired this post which didn't get much attention: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2014/09/91514-the-morning-coffee-resonance.html

I wanted to pass it on because I didn't get on with it as well, and my (brief) comments hopefully didn't color your view on it, but I suspect not. I believe you captured better why it just does not 'work' more than I can or did. I, as you, just did not like it.

However, I've liked and purchased more than a few books mentioned by you and others on the site. This I consider one of the benefits of TOP, even though as some have commented, it can get costly buying all these books. Much like my experience purchasing albums from reading Pitchfork too much; a very hit-or-miss undertaking (but the hits are great). The fun's in the journey though, I suppose. Getting a copy of the Sammallahti book was a challenge, as I recall, which added to the fun.

When I do get a book that I like, it is an experience almost like no other. Take Turnley's French Kiss, for example. Going through that took a long time for me, as I just couldn't get enough of one page to bear turning to the next. I don't exaggerate; I just could not bear the simple act of flipping a single flippin' page for fear of overload. So much of a good thing there.

Anyhow, keep it up with mention of photobooks. Many thanks.

C Hunt

[Jerry Walsh]

Rich says that he has sold photography books for a profit. Would like to know his secret. I am culling my collection before I move next year and it's difficult to get much for them. Maybe there is a website that is better for selling books than eBay.