As a flurry of club’s popped up before Christmas I managed to loose this one and so my sincere apologies to Yoshikatsu Fujii who runs the Photobook Club Meet-ups in Tokyo. They had their first meetup just before Christmas and will be holding another next month. For all the latest events and details head to their Facebook page here.
– Matt
See below poster from more info…
Just received a message from Photobook Club NY organizer and all round photobook-force-for-good Helka Aleksdottir about an awesome event called 10X10 Japanese photobooks which is being supported by the ICP Library and the Photobook Facebook group.
In a nutshell the event is split into a physical (NYC) and virtual element, both featuring 100 Japanese photobooks recommended by 10 writers/curators/critics. What makes this event exciting is not only that those outside NYC can be involved through the 100 online suggestions but also that, for those in New York they can get hands-on and explore the books for themselves in a dedicated reading room.
The press release is linked here for a much more detailed account with addressees etc.
This past weekend the Photobook Club New York held their third meetup, this time themed around the Japanese photobook with some fantastic, rare, and fantastically rare books being shown and shared by the group. Luckily for all who could not attend, organiser Helka Aleksdóttir has a full article on the event on her Phot(o)lia blog.
And if you are interested in attending the next PBC- NY event, then sign up here.
Our third photobook meet-up took place last Saturday evening and was focused on Japan. Russet Lederman and Jeff Gutterman were our special guests and shared gems from their incredible collection of Japanese photobooks. They have been collecting photoboks for over 10 years and have a lot to share. What a great presentation and a show of books it was!
It was a rare opportunity to see first edition (1986) of Masahisa Fukase’s Karasu (Ravens), Eikoh Hosoe’s two versions of Barakei (1963/1971), Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Sea of Buddha, Ikko Narahara’s Espana Grand Tarde (1969) (and more!) and discover less known books like Jun Miki’s Samba Samba Brazil, Shuji Terayama’s Dog-God People. Russet also brought Osamu Kanemura’s book from the performance Human Noise Amplifier that took place in Tokyo, organized by Ivan Vartanian…
– Helka Aleksdóttir
Several images are shown below from the talented Mathieu Asselin, more available via the full article.
Looks like a fantastic night to be had in NY with a Japanese photobook themed evening put on by the Photobook Club New York. See below the invite for more information;
Photobook Meet-up: Focus on Japan
Saturday, 14 July 2012
6 p.m.
ResoBox, Japanese Art Gallery
“Japan in 1960s and early 1970s marks a highpoint in the history of the photobooks, another of those brief periods”. Japan is known for its print culture and many contemporary photographers present their work mostly in a book form. In recent years there has been an increased interest in Japanese photobooks. Little by little they find their way to the specialized bookstores outside Japan. Are you collecting photobooks from Japan? Or curious to know what makes them unique and different? The upcoming meet-up will focus on the Japanese photobooks.
Our special guests, Russet Lederman and Jeff Gutterman, have been collecting Japanese photobooks for over 10 years. Russet is a media artist, researcher, writer, teacher. Her articles on photobooks is a must read for anybody interested in the subject. Russet and Jeff will talk about the Japanese book culture and will share postwar books from their impressive collection.
The photobook evening will take place in RESOBOX. This beautiful space dedicated to Japanese art, is a perfect place to engage in dialogue with Japanese photobook culture.
To attend please R.S.V.P. (Facebook or email).
And, bring your Japanese photobook to share!
– Helka Aleksdóttir