THE JOURNAL
Mr Douglas Corrance, Dimitri’s Café, Greenwich Village, New York, early 1980s. Photograph by Mr Douglas Corrance, courtesy ofCafé Royal Books
We all know that the ultimate addition to any discerning homeowner’s living room is Kramer’s coffee table book of coffee tables. However, if you’re looking for literature that’s a little more illuminating to grace your shelves and surfaces this summer, consider a new or unfamiliar collection of contemporary photography with which to broaden your horizons.
To that end, we’ve pulled together a list of the six best indie art publishers today. Each celebrates the cream of contemporary talent, searching out the unseen and undervalued edges of society and art – and, in doing so, is producing photography works ranging from highly collectible zines to exquisitely crafted monographs that are works of art in themselves.
01.
Café Royal Books
Southport-based artist Mr Craig Atkinson founded Café Royal in 2005 as a way to champion the lesser-known photographic work he loved. He did so by creating weekly zines spotlighting British and Irish post-war documentary photography, all from his own home. Mostly unpublished, each of the zines (now numbering more than 500) comprises a single body of work, taking in the weird and wonderful of the UK, from idiosyncratic folk culture and rural life to musical subcultures, nightlife, protest and politics.
Through these often hyper-specific, carefully curated snapshots of life, seemingly niche subject matter (see Wrestling In The North 1980s by Mr Peter Byrne) is given a platform, highlighting the actual mundanity and universality of oddness in our shared experiences. Now expanding into international series, such as New York 1970s–1980s by Scottish photographer Mr Douglas Corrance, the Café Royal back catalogue is one to get lost in.
02.
Datz Press
Datz Press is not just an art book press. With a multi-pronged approach to its practice, the creative project extends from its Seoul publishing base and the nearby D’arkroom (a project space and bookshop that hosts lectures and workshops) to its own Datz Museum of Art based in the leafy outskirts of Gwangju.
At Datz, there is a keen focus on collaboration, education and process, and in the relationship between art, exhibition and physical book. This in turn leads to meticulously handcrafted editions that underscore the materiality of the book as object and facilitate a heightened experience of the published work.
If this sounds like a bit of you, check out Grace And Gravity by Ms Sangyon Joo, which explores the dichotomy of visceral life and transcendent experience through light, shade and natural forms. Or Finnish artist Mr Ville Kansanen’s Numen, which captures his transcendental installation and land art.
03.
Trespasser Books
Based out of Texas, this independent press is run by three photographers (Messrs Bryan Schutmaat, Matthew Genitempo and Cody Haltom), who decided to band together and do their own thing. Initially publishing their own work, they swiftly moved on to their previously unpublished artist friends and contacts, but keep their output infrequent and precisely chosen, meaning Trespasser titles are very special when they do appear. Their sleek and concise collections combine evocative landscape and portrait studies, often with a distinctly noir edge.
Mr Mark Mahaney’s Polar Night, for example, is a look at life in Alaska’s northernmost town, Utqiagvik, when the two-month-long darkness descends. Sometimes melancholic, sometimes disorientating and disquieting, the work is a hauntingly beautiful look at life lived along nature’s boundaries.
04.
STANLEY/BARKER
Publishing work from the likes of Messrs Bill Henson, Sunil Gupta, Jason Lee, Christopher Anderson and Ewen Spencer, STANLEY/BARKER isn’t a small-time press. However, husband-and-wife team Ms Rachel and Mr Gregory Barker balance an impressive roster of artists with high production values that keep things feeling special. This is made even more so by a tendency to publish in tandem with particularly beautiful special editions and fine prints.
For 2022, take a look at the recently released Belleville by Mr Thomas Boivin. It’s an intimate and personal portrait of his eponymous Parisian neighbourhood over the past 20 years, told through black and white photography that situates you right in the heart of this eclectic locality.
05.
Sturm & Drang
For the past eight years, Swiss press Sturm & Drang has been steadily building its catalogue of fine photo books, a varied list ranging from unknown gems, brand-new talent and vintage collections to reissues and recognisable names.
The name of the press itself is taken from the proto-Romantic movement in late-1800s German music and literature that focused on the expression of individual observation and emotion without constraints. It’s a clue to their ethos, which is based around valuing the irreplaceable physical experience that the book as a medium provides.
Its second book with Mr Bruno Augsburger, Gone Fishing, celebrates the joy and raw elementalism of fishing through photographs shot over a 20-year period. Perfect for city types hankering for the outdoors.
06.
Tour Dogs
Musician and photographer Mr Trey Derbes set up Tour Dogs to get his own tour and street photography out there and in front of people. In punk bands from a young age, he used his talent as a way to travel and document his experiences, in the process becoming an artist spanning two disciplines. Run since 2020 alongside fellow artist Mr Ofir Barak, Tour Dogs publish monthly zines that showcase international talent, from French photographer and cameraman Albin Brassart’s two-month long project Pax Mongolica to Mr Jiang Wang’s Another Dream World.
The instantly recognisable design and affordable price-point makes these 40-page photo essays eminently collectable. It’s an attribute that Derbes and Barak value as much as the zine format’s inherently democratic and community-focused soul and their ability to provide a curated experience that is in contrast to the immediacy of social media.
