Transcript
Page 1: The List & Review Erik Kessels  Paul Kooiker Terribly awesome photo books

For several years, Paul Kooiker and Erik Kessels have organized evenings for friends in whichthey share the strangest photo books in their collections. The books shown are rarely available inregular shops, but are picked up in thrift stores and from antiquaries. The group’s fascination forthese pictorial non­fiction books comes from the need to find images that exist on the fringe ofregular commercial photo books. It’s only in this area that it’s possible to find images with anuncontrived quality. What’s noticeable from these publications is that there’s a thin line betweenbeing terrible and being awesome. This constant tension makes the books interesting. It’s alsoworth noting that these tomes all fall within certain categories: the medical, instructional,scientific, sex, humour or propaganda. Paul Kooiker and Erik Kessels have made a selection oftheir finest books from within this questionable new genre.

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Page 3: The List & Review Erik Kessels  Paul Kooiker Terribly awesome photo books

AYALAH, D. & ISAAC J. WEINSTOCK, ­ BREASTS. Women speak about their Breasts and theirLives. <ASIN: 0091408717>

RADEMAKERS, Jef and t'HART, Maarten Dutch Dreamgirls.

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Marianne Wex: "Weibliche" und "männliche" Körpersprache als Folge patriarchalischerMachtverhältnisse. <ASIN: 3923173008>

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Wie lebt man im Ruhrgebiet. Bewohner fotografierten.

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VELDE TH.v.d., De volmaakte vrouw. Een handleiding voor speciale lichaamscultuur. <ASIN:B0054GSEBM>

International Cloud Atlas Volume II World Meteorological Organization 1956 <ASIN: 9263124078>

The Wonder of Innocence Gina Lollobrigida 1994 <ASIN: 0810935732>

Le Concours Complet La Practique Les Champions Virginie Bruneau Laurent Gudin Lavauzelle /Equitation 1984

De Nederlandse Huisvrouw Philips Nederland 1966

Fotografie Del Borghese Luglio Decembre 1968 <ASIN: B004W4D5JI>

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Gibt es sex nach dem tode? Rosa von Praunheim 1981 <ASIN: 3922009301>

Medical Photography Clinical Ultraviolet Infrared H. Lou Gibson 1973 <ASIN: 0879850760>

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Nico het jongetje dat in een hond veranderde Andre Maurois Gerald Maurois

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Moeder wat is er mis ... met deze planeet? Een dozijn populair ­ wetenschappelijke projekten vanTheo Kley zoals verteld aan Ineke Jungschleger

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Op Zoek Hans Plomp Jean­Paul Vroom

Noi Amiamo Silvio Alberto Peruzzo Editore 2010

Ubistvo Svitania Civilne zrtve ratu u tuzli Prvo izdanje Tuzla 1996

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Woman Ajar Marcel Marien 1985

Jagdwaffen Sudwest Verlag 1970

Immer zu Zweit Peter & Tony Mackertich 1976

Rock Stars in their underpants Paula Yates 1980 <ASIN: 0907080057>

Grandpa & Me We learn about death Marlee & Ben Alex <ASIN: 087123257X>

Chimney Book Tim battle 1977 <ASIN: 0825631351>

Why Paint Cats The ethics of feline aesthetics Burton Silver & Heather Busch 2002 <ASIN:1580082718>

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Osland South carolina Platoon 137

Immer Zu Zweit Wolfgang Lummer Herald Mante 1982 <ASIN: 3881840575>

Awkward Family Photos Mike Bender Doug Chernack 2010 <ASIN: 0307592294

Figure Model Collection Cutie and Sensual Girls Holly Chain Design Company

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The Children We Remember Chana Byers Abells 1987 <ASIN: 0930494210>

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In 't Verleden ligt het Heden

Striptease Des Annees 50­60 Andre Belorgey 1986 <ASIN: B00BC0ISHE>

Bridget's Diet Cookbook Bridget 1972 <ASIN: B00072U4MA>

Bridge Babies 'I thought we were playing no trump' Dorothy W. Wilson 1961 <ASIN:B0007GSXEM>

Blikken of Blozen Adrie & Geert van Oorschot

Kinderbilderbuch Jesper Hom & Sven Gronlykke 1976

Zum Wohnsystem T. Niggl K. Bohrmann Francoise Blondel Hazel E. Hazel 1971

A Bachelors Guide to Amsterdam uncencored and unashamed Gerald Paine 1973 <ASIN:B004B0NNHM>

Erotoscope Raymond Abiged Jean­Claude Peretz 1970 <ASIN: B006GFYKGS>

Candy Sex Rapport Deel 1 Masturberende vrouwen

Aus dem Tagebuch eines Pin­Up Fotografen Mit den schonsten Fotos des bekannten FotografenFrank G. Quade 1965

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Review: Terribly Awesome Photobooks by Erik Kessels and Paul Kooiker by Joerg ColbergFeb 14, 2013

There is no shortage of books about photobooks, with new new additions appearingregularly. In a sense, these books have become real­world versions of Tumblr pages,where you can find collections of things under some a sometimes broad, sometimesspecific headline. The collector side of me enjoys seeing all these books (I own a fairnumber of them), but in reality I don’t really look at most of those books all that much. I mightpull one out to look something up for teaching. Just to make this clear, I don’t mean to makeit sound as if I minded having those books. Quite on the contrary.

That said, I wish there were a bit more playfulness in the approach to these kinds of books.Or maybe a better way to express what I mean would be: I wish there were more books thatweren’t so concerned with the survey side, to, instead, collect photobooks based on, yes,the editors’ whims. In an art context, people tend to prefer the term “curating” for “selectingbased on criteria that are entirely subjective (while, possibly, pretending to be objective).”

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But you get my point, even though you might heartily disagree with me.

With Paul Kooiker and Erik Kessels’ Terribly Awesome Photobooks things have now got abit more interesting (btw, do yourself a favour and click on Erik Kessels’ website linkrepeatedly). I don’t know whether the title is in part inspired by what could be Tumblr (Givenit’s somewhat juvenile, it might well be). The publication itself is based on actual meet­ups:“For several years, Paul Kooiker and Erik Kessels have organized evenings for friendsin which they share the strangest photo books in their collections. The books shown arerarely available in regular shops, but are picked up in thrift stores and from antiquaries.The group’s fascination for these pictorial non­fiction books comes from the need to findimages that exist on the fringe of regular commercial photo books.” (quoted from thepublisher’s blurb)

The publication itself comes in newsprint form. The central spread contains a visualoverview of the featured books, with basic information (authors, titles, etc.) provided. Thereis no additional information given beyond that. Each book is then featured in the form ofone example spread across (and centered on) two pages. To see the full book spread, theviewer has to disassemble Terribly Awesome Photobooks. Alternatively leafing throughthe publication shows two partial spreads paired up ­ in itself an interesting way to look atthese books, since the combinations are often quite interesting (it’s quite obvious thelayout of the publication was carefully planned).

Whether the books in question are terribly awesome or just terrible or awesome, of course,depends on one’s taste. People will probably find it easy to agree on the fact that Kooikerand Kessels managed to unearth quite a few very unusual photobooks (I’m expecting a runon these books now…), some of which are terrible and awesome at the same time. Here’sthe thing, though. Regardless what you think of these books here, Terribly AwesomePhotobooksmakes it obvious that photobooks needn’t be only thought of the onespublished by the usual publishers (Steidl, Aperture, Mack, Hatje Cantz, etc.) or byphotographers themselves. Photography has been used in books for a long time, and thereis a huge world of interesting books out there ­ often surprisingly simple and easy to find,as long as you’re not just looking for what you already know.

Terribly Awesome Photobooks; edited by Erik Kessels and Paul Kooiker; 64 pages; ArtPaper Editions; 2013

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