Humble editors select standouts in 2018 (online) photography writing

In his essay in Blindspot’s 2006 issue #32, Tim Davis wrote “people never read book introductions…,” a statement that, written more than a decade ago, unfortunately, continues to resound more than ever before and can be aptly applied to today’s “content” hungry landscape. We scroll rapidly through Instagram and eat listicles (like this one!) like Cheetos. Onto the next, onto the next, onto the next like an accelerated tangent of highway billboards in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. And defensiveness among countless photographers to write about their work seems ever present – just search “artist statement” into any Facebook photo group (yes we know, FB is for “old people” - go watch some YouTube "influencers," kids..) and you’ll hydrate yourself on the haterade for weeks. BUT! BUT! BUT!

But the “don’t make me think” attitude towards writing is counterbalanced by a ton of thoughtful essays, interviews and long form think-pieces on the current state of photography, its evolution and key issues that tie it to the larger cultural landscape. Below are 22 pieces on photography that moved us, in no particular order. You’ll notice that many of the pieces we selected are heavy on discussion of “the gaze,” which seems to have garnered a renewed attention in criticism and popular discussion over the past few years, and likely has been on our minds gearing up for the BlueSky Curatorial Prize this May.

Grab a couple coffees, mute Instagram for a bit, and have a read.

From Ben Alper and Joy Drury Cox’s claustrophobic photos of tourist caves to Ka-Man Tse’s photos capturing LGBTQ communities in Hong Kong, these photobooks are worth your time (and – hint-hint – money!)

As we declared last year, just like our open calls aren’t “photo contests,” this is not a “Best Photobooks" list. It’s not a competition, and with just a few editors running the Humble show, feels disingenuous and unrealistic to declare it as such. Instead, this is simply a collection of photobooks that made an impact on us in 2018.

As editors and curators with a broad spectrum of tastes, we responded to critical socio-political discussions, adventurous technical or conceptual potential, new takes on photo historical icons, or just damn beautiful image collections. As you move through this list, we encourage you to dig deeper into these photographers’ work and show your support for their careers and practice by buying a few, preferably directly from the publishers or photographers themselves. Without further ado…

PostedNovember 20, 2018

AuthorEditors

CategoriesArtists, Portfolio, Publications

Beautiful Mystery © Bubi Canal. — *Beautiful Mystery* © Bubi Canal.

In June 2016, the International Center of Photography (ICP) reopened after a two-year hiatus. Now situated in a custom-designed site at 250 Bowery in Lower Manhattan, the Center announced its intentions as a 21st-century institution with the controversial exhibition Public, Private, Secret and a rotating curatorial program. Curator Charlotte Cotton fulfilled the first Curator-in-Residency position, collaborating with ICP staff and guest contributors to present a timely exhibition that considers the implications of self-representation and visibility in a visually saturated world. Cotton spoke with Roula Seikaly about the exhibition, the Aperture Summer Open as an extension of the Photography is Magic project, and the pros and cons of independent curatorial work.

PostedAugust 25, 2016

AuthorRoula Seikaly

CategoriesExhibitions

TagsCharlotte Cotton, ICP, International Center for Photography, New Photography, Aperture Summer Open, Public Private Secret, Roula Seikaly

In the introductory essay to Charlotte Cotton’s 2015 anthology Photography is Magic, she argues that photography’s current “moment” has broken free from analog nostalgia in a move to use photographic tools – digital or otherwise – with a newfound sense of freedom. This “freedom,” embraced by photographers who came up under the spectre of digital-ness often rests on open and continuous experimentation. San Antonio-based photographer Charlie Kitchen’s – Standard View (2015) and Recent Work (2016) builds on this idea through a series of in-camera collages that weigh trial, errors, and tactility over highfalutin conceptualism. “After shooting my thesis with a 4x5 camera,” says Kitchen, “photography began to unravel itself and I began to dig deeper into the medium, rather than contemplating what I could shoot to convey any sort of feeling or concept.” While skeptics might see this as avoiding conceptual responsibility, it’s a practice that has allowed Kitchen, like many photographers today, to unearth photography’s many tools for expanding visual possibility.

PostedJuly 27, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists, Portfolio

TagsCharlie Kitchen, New Photography, Charlotte Cotton, Hannah Whitaker, Large Format Photography, In-camera collage, Dan Boardman

© Christian Hendricks — © Christian Hendricks

In 2009, while still in college, Romke Hoogwaerts started Mossless, a thoughtfully produced, no-frills blog where he interviewed a new photographer every two days. By 2012, he was putting out books, and in 2013, while concurrently working as a New York City bicycle tour guide for the summer, began editing Mossless 3: The United States with Miriam Grace Leigh, a comprehensive photographic survey which landed itself on TIME, and unsurprisingly, Humble's best-of-2014 photobook lists. Hoogwaerts latest endeavor, Public, Private, Portrait, a collaboration with Charlotte Cotton and the International Center of Photography, is a portraiture focused parallel to ICP's upcoming launch exhibition of a similar name ("Public, Private, Secret"), with a glimpse into how the genre might address some of the blurry lines between these very issues. Working with editor Jonah Rosenberg and designer Elana Schlenker, it promises to be an immaculate publication, well worth funding through their current Kickckstarter campaign. We spoke with Hoogwaerts to get a better picture.

PostedApril 25, 2016

AuthorJon Feinstein

CategoriesArtists, Publications

Tagsphotobooks, contemporary portraiture, Romke Hoogwaerts, Charlotte Cotton, New Photography, selfies, Kickstarter Photography Campaigns

Reading's Not Dead: 22 Essays, Interviews and Other Sharp (Online) Photography Writing You Should Have Read in 2018

Humble Booklist: 32 Photobooks That Dropped Our Jaws in 2018

Defying The Haters: An Interview with Charlotte Cotton

Charlie Kitchen and the Magic of Experimentation

Public/Private/Portrait Might Be The Best Not-Yet-Published Photobook of 2016