VOP Issue 24: 攝影書作為方法 II Photobook As Method II

As a form of creativity, books have become the single most important topic in the field of contemporary photography. Looking back, we first spoke about the self-publishing movement that was just unfolding in the inaugural issue of Voices of Photography in 2011. Several years later, this publishing wave has been raging and leaving its mark all around the world. Even though paperback publishing is thought to have entered its dying phase in this century, the burning flames of the photobook wave shows no signs of letting up. Nowadays, small international independent publishers have sprung up all over the world and art book fairs have bloomed. Photobooks are now the centerpiece of photography festivals, expos and creative competitions, becoming a special sight unique to this journey of development of photography and redefining the role and concept of “book-making”.

This is the golden age of photobooks. We have been watching closely the reading and publishing of imagery in Taiwan and since our inaugural issue, we have done photobook features every two years, keeping a record of the photography publishing landscape in Taiwan as an observation of image culture. This time, we had put out another open call for Taiwanese photography publications from 2016. We received more than a hundred contributions, a huge jump in numbers from before, flooding our editors’ room. In this issue, we are featuring many interesting publications, and have also invited designer Chia-Hsing Ho and art critics Manray Hsu and Shih-Lun Chang for a dialogue to discuss the current developments in regards to Taiwan’s photography publications.

In addition, we are throwing an international photography party on paper as we bring together critics, publishers and collectors from all over the world – Kotaro Iizawa, Jisoo Park, Yanyou Di Yuan, Gwen Lee, Daniel Boetker-Smith, Dieter Neubert and Larissa Leclair – to share their recent favorites in photography publications. Of course, we have not forgotten to bring our readers on a trip to boisterous international art book fairs for a real feel of the book-making trend that is exploding across the world, as well as soak in the atmosphere at the book fairs. At the same time, we are introducing a new “Photobook Making Case Study” series and in the first installment, we are featuring photobook projects from Session Press, an independent publisher based in New York. Subsequently, we will introduce the different aspects of photography publication such as the editorial designing of photobooks, printing methods, and even branding and supply chain management. Do also look forward to interviews with professionals in the industry in future issues. In “On Images”, we unearthed “Reminiscences of North Formosa”, a photobook authored by Englishman George U. Price, published in 1895, just as Taiwan came under Japanese rule. This is the earliest known photobook using the name “Taiwan/Formosa” and which was published and circulated. The slick images set against the background of Taiwan’s tea industry chronicle the happenings on this island facing an uncertain future. Apart from Shih-Lun Chang’s impressive analysis of this precious historical imagery data, we have also re-compiled the entire book and included it in this issue as a supplement volume for our readers.

In this issue’s “Artist Showcase”, we are introducing new photography works by Japanese artist Miwa Yanagi while looking back at her creative journey since the 1990s. We also have a special feature on the late photographer Masahisa Fukase’s dramatic life in photography, penned by Tomo Kosuga, Director of the Masahisa Fukase Archives. In addition, we pay tribute to the late Chinese publisher De-Jian Yin, who passed away earlier this year, as we reflect on his dedication to the publication of photography.