phot(o)lia

10x10 Online Day #7 / Heidi Sanders.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #7. Heidi Sanders / 6 Decades Books

About Heidi Sanders’ selection for the 10×10 Online:

My selection is representative of the sort of artists’ books that we focus on at 6 Decades Books. In each of these titles, the artist has used photographic imagery in the process of making a book which is itself an artwork, not a book where the main point is to reproduce a series of individual images. These are all compelling photobooks, but in several cases the artists who made them are not generally thought of as photographers, or the photographic content consists primarily of pre-existing, or anonymous images. Mike Kelley and Paul Schiek, whose titles are the chronological bookends of the list, both created their works by editing and curating images, rather than making new ones. It is not great photography that interests me so much as the way an artist engages with the book as a medium, using the form to shape content and convey an artistic vision so that the book as a whole communicates in a way that no single image could.

Click here to visit Heidi Sanders’ website and check the selection:

Heidi Sanders runs 6 Decades Books, a business specializing in artists’ books and related artwork and ephemera from the 1960s to the present, with her husband, Jeremy Sanders. Previously, she was director of John McWhinnie @ Glenn Horowitz Bookseller. She received a Master of Arts in the History of Decorative Arts and Design at Bard Graduate Center.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 Online Day #6 / Philip Tomaru.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #6. Philip Tomaru / Arts & Sciences Projects

About Philip Tomaru’s selection for the 10×10 Online:

My initial excitement upon being invited was followed by moments of trepidation, as the task of reducing my selection to 10 books suddenly felt like a daunting one. From the outset, I decided to self-impose some parameters to help guide my selection process. First, I decided to focus only on books that I own. I also expanded my definition of photobooks to include photozines and other artists’ publications that use photographic content as source material. Finally, I attempted to eschew books by the “usual suspects.” After a few rounds of tweaking to avoid redundancy with the other lists, my selection represents a diverse spectrum of photobooks and photozines culled from my personal collection.Indeed, this selection reflects my own personal tastes and interests, which lean more heavily towards self-published books and independent publishers. Over the past several years, we’ve seen explosive growth in independent publishing as artists have sought direct engagement with both analog and digital technologies in the production and circulation of their work. My selection acknowledges these dynamic and vibrant efforts. These are books I enjoy in the comfort of my home while sipping a cup of coffee. These are books I discovered through direct contact with artists, at specialty bookstores, and at venues such as the NY Art Book Fair. Essentially, these books caught my eye, bring pleasure to my daily rituals, and embody aesthetic, conceptual, and technical qualities that I value.

Click here to visit Arts & Sciences Projects’ website and check the selection:

Philip Tomaru is an independent publisher of photobooks and zines. With Martin Masetto, he is co-director of Arts & Sciences Projects, a platform for artists and other collaborators to produce and disseminate work via independent publishing, an alternative exhibition space, and temporary installations and performances. Tomaru works closely with artists in the conceptual, editorial, and production phases of book publishing, and has exhibited at the NY Art Book Fair, LA Art Book Fair, and other venues.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 Online Day #5 / Matt Johnston.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #5. Matt Johnston / The Photobook Club

About Matt Johnston’s selection for the 10×10 Online:

My original introduction to the medium of photography and photobooks was through the eyes of American photographers. As I gazed at America from across the Atlantic Ocean in a pair of rather fetching rose-tinted specs, I couldn’t get enough of the road, the desert, the liquor store and the jukebox – with books on football or American college never turned down.

With time, my view of American photography broadened, but those early book purchases still resonate with me. They may not all have been deep and profound, but they were and still remain indelible books that encouraged me to look beyond the surface. I have included in my selection 10 books that have each in their own way shaped my opinions and understanding of America or photography.

Click here to visit The Photobook Club and check the selection:

Matt Johnston is a photographer and educator living and working in London and Coventry, England. In 2010, Johnston founded the Photobook Club project as a way to promote and enable discussion around the photobook format. Through the development of numerous digital resources and more than 20 international branches holding regular meet-ups, the Photobook Club actively provides access to many of the most influential photobooks.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 Online Day #4 / Tom Claxton.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #4. Tom Claxton / Claxton Projects

About Tom Claxton’s selection for the 10×10 Online:

Ten photobooks, each the work of an American photographer, published in the last ten years, and chronologically ordered by year; my selection reflects the compelling and eclectic vision of a small group of inquisitive and thoughtful American artists, and a selection that is mindful of lesser known titles and releases from independent imprints.

American culture is confident, self-assured and its influence is all consuming— but as an outsider living in the United States, it has always been the lives of those on the extremities of the American dream (and the social contradictions to this concept) that I have found most compelling. As a result, nostalgia and romanticism are largely absent from this list and although there is evidence of the American dreams and ideals, they are predominantly tarnished and unfulfilled.

However, this is not a miserable inventory of an empire’s damned and hopeless. In the exquisite beauty of Raymond Meek’s Crime Victims Chronicle, the intense exploration of gender in Collier Schorr’s Jens F, or the empathetic discovery of the everyday in Mark Steinmetz’s South Central –something more reassuring resonates from within this selection.

These photobooks all have one critical characteristic in common: insightful and intelligent artists have produced them. They are photographers who use the tools of their medium to enquire, reflect and provoke, and have produced works that compel the viewer to question both the subject documented and the social landscape of our surroundings.

Click here to visit Tom Claxton’s blog and check the selection:

Tom Claxton is a senior agent at Webber Represents, a creative agency that represents a select group of international artists. Additionally, he privately consults for many working in the fields of advertising, fashion and art, he sources photobooks for private collectors and institutions, and writes/curates the photobook website Claxton Projects (a selection of contemporary releases and out-of-print collectable titles). Tom is from England and currently lives in New York City.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 Online Day #3 / Melanie McWorter.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #3. Melanie McWorter / photo-eye Bookstore Manager

These selections are from my personal collection that is primarily focused on books that embrace the limitations and strengths of the format. They are complete objects; the book and its design create a vehicle for dialogue that exceeds those qualities in the individual images. These books are an ideal integration of image, message and object.

Visit ’s photo-eye blog to see Melanie McWorter’s selection for 10x10 American Photobooks.

Melanie McWhorter has managed photo-eye’s Book Division for over 15 years. She is a regular contributor to the photo-eye magazine and is co-founder of Finite Foto that focuses on photography in New Mexico. She has been interviewed about photography in numerous print and online publications including PDN, The Picture Show and LayFlat; has judged the prestigious photography competitions Women Photojournalists of Washington’s Annual Exhibition and Fotografia: Fotofestival di Roma’s Book Prize; has reviewed portfolios at Fotografia, Photolucida, Review Santa Fe and PhotoNOLA; and taught and lectured at numerous venues.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

Cristina de Middel.

Book signing: SPBH Book Club III, by Cristina de Middel
Location: Dashwood Books (33 Bond Street, New York)
Date: Thursday, 2 May 2013, 6 to 8

10x10 Online Day #2 / Douglas Stockdale.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #2. Douglas Stockdale / The PhotoBook

In making my selection for 10x10 American Photobooks, I believe that photobooks published over the last tweny-five years have evolved in style, design and content, as has photography. The challenge for me as a curator is to consider photobooks by American photographers within this time period that are under the radar and reflect these changes. To be under the radar, I interpret as book-objects that are not involved in active or current photobook discussions, but deserve more consideration. One example is Lee Friedlander, a prolific photobook artist, and his photobook New Mexico, which is a very interesting photobook published in collaboration with the design team at Radius Books. As a result, my selection is a very broad and diverse look at American photographers’ work from the past twenty-five years that reflect this continuing photographic and photobook evolution.

Visit Douglas Stockdale’s blog to see his selection for 10x10 American Photobooks.

Douglas Stockdale is a photographer, photobook collector, author, independent curator, and founder of the much-admired blog, The PhotoBook. Recently, he curated the traveling photobook exhibition Work for the 2012 Fotografia Festival Internazionale exhibition in Rome, Italy; and published Ciociaria (Edizioni Punctum, 2011), a photobook related to his on-going investigation of memory and its preservation. Stockdale’s photographs are in the permanent collection of Museo d’Arte Contemporary di Roma (MACRO), Rome, Italy.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!
Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road, Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 Online Day #1 / Adam Bell.

10x10 American Photobooks

As part of 10×10 American Photobooks’ NYC Sneak Preview at the Ten10 Studios, May 3-5, 2013, phot(o)lia features one critic/ writer/ blogger/ publisher a day. Each contributor suggests 10 American photobooks for 10x10 online. Join the discussion on 10x10 photobooks here.

Day #1. Adam Bell / Photographer and writer 

Who needs photobooks? Let alone another list. No photobook is truly essential to life or happiness, although any lover of them will beg to differ. While a few books often get rightful accolades, there are also many that sit quietly on the shelf, alone, improperly shelved, remaindered and unsold, waiting to be discovered. Decidedly idiosyncratic and personal, I tried to highlight lesser known books that deserve a wider audience – ones you may have forgotten, heard about on a blog, never heard of, hated and still don’t like, couldn’t afford, one you can’t even see, but just might be willing to look at again and see with fresh eyes.

Visit Adam Bell’s blog to see his selection for 10x10 American Photobooks.

Adam Bell is a photographer and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. He is the co-author and co-editor of The Education of a Photographer. His essays and reviews have appeared in afterimage, Ahorn, The Brooklyn Rail, Foam, Lay Flat and photo-eye. He is currently on staff and faculty at the MFA Photography, Video and Related Media Department at the School of Visual Arts.

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Please join us for the NYC sneak preview!

Opening reception: Friday, 3 May, from 7 to 9
Panel Discussion: Sunday, 5 May - R.S.V.P. is required
4-5 May 2013, from 12 to 8

Ten10 Studio
10-10 47th Road
Long Island City, NY
Subway: #7 Train to Vernon/Jackson Station

10x10 American Photobooks.

Russet Lederman looks at the books selected for the 10x10 American Photobooks project. Read her article Let’s Pretend! The Contemporary American Photobook.

The NY Art Book Fair 2013.

Event: The NY Art Book Fair
Location: MoMA PS1 (22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City, NY 11101)
Dates: 19-22 September 2013
Preview: Thursday, 19 September 2013