Photobooks of 2021: Alejandro Cartagena
Agata by Bieke Depoorter, Self-published
A book about doubts and questions. An honest approach to the problematic relationship between subject and photographer made into a "photographic play".
What They Saw: Photobooks By Women 1843-1999, editors Russet Lederman & Olga Yatskevich, 10 x 10
A must. I love the idea of reshaping history and this book stands strong to do it.
Encampment Wyoming - Selections From The Lora Webb Nichols Archive 1899-1948, FW: Books
Beautiful images crafted out of ordinary life. A photographer's dream book.
The way Alessandra can continue to grow this narrative is amazing. Photography capturing life and time as it manifests on her subjects' bodies.
Steel Town by Stephen Shore, Mack
Great Shore pictures but what I loved most of this book was the simplicity of the design and placement of the images on the page. The modest size of the reproductions talk about how a book commands images to work for story; a sacrifice for the purpose of storytelling.
You I Everything Else by Linn Phyllis Seeger, Skinnerboox
Ever since I saw the dummy of this book I was fascinated by how Linn had created a language within the book. Emojis, met-averse, screenshots all come together to tell a universal story of love and heartbreak.
And in it’s place another by Kovi Konowiecki , Deadbeat Club
I remember opening this book for the first time and feeling that I understood the images of the bat. The simple design and extremely beautiful printing come together to make an unexpected story. I´ve become enamored with books that complicate storytelling. A sort of indecipherable riddle.
Alejandro Cartagena is an artist and bookmaker that lives and works in Monterrey, Mexico. His projects employ landscape and portraiture as a means to examine social, urban, and environmental issues. His work has been exhibited widely and is in the collections of major international museums.
Images:
The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer by Alessandra Sanguinetti, Mack
And in it’s place another by Kovi Konowiecki , Deadbeat Club
