*little notebook I made for writing ideas for photos*
In a world when bookstores are being closed on a daily basis, when publishing business is being restructured, when we are convinced that digital books are the future of publishing the idea that inspires me thew most is to create and self-publish a printed book. With a beginning of this year I started working on a series of photos with printed book as an outcome of the project.
Why is that so? Here are some of my reasons:
In a world of everything becoming digital and when there are so many pieces of art existing only in virtual reality printed books seem to have bigger value than ever. Printed book is a tangible, real object you can hold in your hands, feel, touch, smell. You can experience it with all your senses.
Do you ever wonder, with technology developing and changing so fast what will happen to digital files of your photos or paintings in 50 years? How about your website or a blog? Film, if stored in right conditions can last over hundred years, what will happen with .jpegs in 100+ years? I shoot digital and I color my drawings digitally so final products of my work are digital files. I love all the possibilities digital art and internet provide but I still feel a need to convert (no pun intended ) my work into something of more lasting value such is printed book which can, if handled properly, last for decades. Now, you might say it’s not really important what happens with artworks or photos in future, all we have is now, but what is created today will be a cultural heritage left to future generations, it will provide them insight into our way of life and thinking.
It seems that today everything is being converted into digital medium and it’s being easily accessed through internet and need for possessing material, tangible prints, works of art, photographs or books is declining. Having access to a lot of information, art and knowledge instantly via www is great without a doubt but I still love owning and sharing something tangible, something you can experience directly, with all your senses , such as book, or a sculpture or a painting. Besides, digital files and virtual information are so easily manipulated, censored and can be erased instantly, and if you want to censor and destroy books you still need to burn them :)
My other reasons why I intend to self-publish photo-book are of purely personal nature. I feel much more inspired when working on a big, complex project (and putting together a book certainly is one) than just working on one image at the time. Being involved in something demanding makes me more focused and I like challenge of creating images that can stand on their own but also need to be a part of a bigger project. But why not just make a series of photos that can be, let’s say, exhibited in a gallery, why a book? Well, because I’m working on a series of self-portraits and portraits that tell personal, intimate stories and I believe that the best way to experience such images is through a medium of a book, a more intimate way than just looking at prints hanging in a gallery space.
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How about you? Do you value and enjoy printed books? And if you’re an artist what’s your favorite, ideal way of displaying/sharing your works to public?
