Aaron Siskind 100

[Struan Gray]

I have been on an abstract kick recently, and in my background reading/surfing keep coming across recommendations to look at Aaron Siskind's work. I like what I've seen, but that's not much and I'm now teetering on the brink of buying the recently published "Aaron Siskind 100" Monograph. There's only one problem: I'm a snob about books which cost more than, oh, thirty dollars or so.

Naturally the publishers reckon it's the bee's knees, but I'd appreciate comments from anyone here who's actually seen and/or bought the book. Do the reproductions faithfully mimic Siskind's prints? Is the book well-made? Should I just stick to the Phaidon 55 and plan a trip to MOMA?

[Bill_1856]

Many books can be had at your local library, even if they have to borrow them from other sources. Check with your Reference Librarian. Of course it may take a while to get them.

[David R Munson]

I haven't seen this particular book, but one way to get past the mental block of sticker shock sometimes is to think of the book as an investment. Seriously - I swear it's not that far-fetched. For example, I paid $75 for Schatz's Pool Light back when it first came out, and now used copies are going for at least $300 (some of them $500+). No investment is a sure thing of course, but it seems that most fine photo books are bound to appreciate in value some over time.

[Gary J. McCutcheon]

I own this book. It is wonderful and the reproduction is excellent. As for the price? I paid full price and actually ordered the book before it was out for distribution. Aaron Siskind has been one of my photo heros for years, many years, and ranks up their with other greats like Stieglitz, Weston, Adams, White and on and on. This particular book covers mostly his abstract images, but don't think this is his only approach. Siskind experimented much and broke ground in many areas of photography. The Phaidon book is $9.95, paperback, and gives a more complete synopsis of his work. Aaron Siskind 100 is well worth the full price. I look at purchases like this as an investment, not in the sense that the book will appreciate in value, but that I will be enriched and educated. It's much cheaper than a quarter at college and you get to keep a physical object that continues educate and enrich. Gary, photo on.

[lee\c]

I saw the show at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson last March. It was a very big show and I did not have the moola to buy the book but would have had I been able. I loved the show and Aaron Siskind was certainly an early influence on my work.

leec

[jim Ryder]

Siskind's work really cannot be adequately translated into offset reproductions. He worked in silver, almost layering it on. His prints are thick and heavy. His images are next to nothing without his prints. Go see the real stuff to experience his craft, vision and art.

[tim atherton]

$45.00 isn't too much to pay for a photogorpahy book is it? If you can't browse in a local bookstore. Buy from Amazon - take a look for a few days and if you don't like it you can return it. You are merely out of the postage then.

[Struan Gray]

Thanks for the comments. I'm tempted to justify the question with my two well-rehearsed rants about the iniquities of the Swedish retail book trade and the baffling lack of photography books in what is supposed to be one of the country's best academic research libraries, but I'll spare you. I'll also spare you my tales of woe regarding Amazon.uk's inability to get books out of small publishers for me.

I have no problem with paying the going rate for a well-made, well-designed book, in fact I agree that compared to prints they are often a fabulous bargain. But there are too many disappointments out there: printed on single ply toilet roll, or bound with baling twine and copydex, or designed by an idiot who thinks the rule of thirds is about where to place the gutter.

I'd love to see some original prints, but it will have to wait until I next travel abroad. Siskind is too ancient or too cerebral for my local photography venues. Can anyone suggest museums or archives with decent amounts of his work on display or available for viewing in their permanent collections?

For now it's Amazon, my credit card and a prayer to St. Jude on delivery times.

[Brian Ellis]

If the price is that worrisome, and you really like Siskind, a less expensive alternative that you might consider is "Aaron Siskind - Toward a Personal Vision." This is a slim paper-back book that is more text than phootographs but you should find the text interesting and informative and together with the photographs the book provides a lot of information about Siskind's life. The book was published by the Boston College Museum of Art, ISBN: 093640153-41-5. I think I paid about $15 for it five or six years ago.

[Struan Gray]

Well, the Phaidon 55 and "Aaron Siskind 100" have both arrived and are both well worth having. There's not much to add beyond what Gary said, except the personal note that Siskind appears to be fluent in a langauge I have been vaguely muttering to myself for a while now. Lots to learn, lots to absorb, lots to enjoy.

My closest archive with Real Prints is the V&A in London, so I'll have to see if I can slope off from the family this summer as we pass through.

Gary: I tried to email you directly, but got a long-term bounce.

Brian, I'll keep an eye out for the Personal Vision book - thanks for the tip.