This volume highlights the value of the photobook in contemporary visual culture and proposes a reinterpretation of the history of photography through the photobook and photographs printed in books. Nine curators, key figures in the photobook movement, share their various visions.
Photobook Phenomenon pays homage to those photographers who have considered the book to be the ideal place for their photographs to acquire meaning. It examines the influence of essential publications such as William Klein's New York, protest photobooks, vernacular photography, the vision of the collector, the libraries of great masters, and a sampling of the most creative works by contemporary authors.
The authors of the selection of works are precisely some of the central protagonists of this movement, figures of the stature of Martin Parr, Gerry Badger, Horacio Fernandez, Ryuichi Kaneko, and Markus Schaden. With its wide range of subject matter and fully engaged approach, the volume offers an indispensable, multifaceted introduction to the world of the photobook.