Songbook, by Alec Soth
Why?
"Everything that fascinates me comes together: organizing chaos, the loneliness within the community, America, music."
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- Robin de Puy, Photographer
Carrie Mae Weems, by Andrea Kirsh
Why?
"I remember thinking I'd never seen another black female photographer and wanted to know everything about her. I looked at her book every time I worked and was inspired by her juxtaposition of words and images and the kitchen table series."
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- Shaniqwa Jarvis, Photographer
Treadwell, by Andrea Modica
Why?
"I always say that photography functions more like poetry than it does fiction. One of my favorite exceptions is Modica’s wildly underrated book from 1996. This book brings a mix of character, place and drama to the medium like no other book I’ve ever encountered."
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- Alec Soth, Photographer
Big Up, by Ben Watts
Why?
"This book is special to me as it reminds me of a time in photography which I hold dear. The portraits in this book have great raw energy and it has influenced my work."
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- Shaniqwa Jarvis, Photographer
Body of Work, by Bruce Connew
Why?
"Seeing his dark yet crisp detailed observations in black and white of the swollen veins, the mournful eyes, the spraying of bodily fluids, a human hand directing a stallion's penis, this book is about power relations, between human and horse; between mare and stallion."
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- Mirjam Kooiman, Curator
Subway, by Bruce Davidson
Why?
"There are many splendid moments in this book where his subjects are gazing right at you, caught in an embrace, tightly packed into a subway car. I tend to look through this book whenever I want to feel the grit of old New York."
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- Shaniqwa Jarvis, Photographer
“I admire Bruce’s commitment to his projects because they were self-motivated; it completely came from within.”
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- Cheryl Dunn, Filmmaker
In Flagrante, by Chris Killip
Why?
"Shot on medium to large format. It's just a wonderful edit. Every picture counts. Some of the rare moments where, during the week pitch and everything comes together very well".
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- Martin Parr, Photographer
Bye Bye Photography, by Daido Moriyama
Why?
"It was really about tearing up all the previous ideas about photography, and reinventing it. So it was a manifesto as much as a book. So there's dust on it. There's sprocket holes. It's completely an archaic book…"
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- Martin Parr, Photographer
The Complete Paintings, by Egon Schiele
Why?
"Technically not a photography book, but a book that every portrait photographer should see."
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- Robin de Puy, Photographer
Matter / Burn Out, by Daisuke Yokota
Why?
"Even if photography is hard to think of as a performance medium - as it always ends up having a static form – this book could be considered as a performance in itself."
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- Mirjam Kooiman, Curator
Portraits and Self-Portraits, by Francis Bacon
Why?
"I find also his colours and simple settings very powerful. All this makes for a heady concoction that when seen can ONLY be Bacon. I admire this so much."
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- Nadav Kander, Photographer
Michaél Borremans: As Sweet as It Gets, by Hatje Cantz
Why?
"It inspires me to see imagery of a person who has just dipped their hand into blue paint, seemingly for no reason other than to cause the viewer to question and go within themselves."
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- Nadav Kander, Photographer
A Way of Seeing: Photographs of New York, by Helen Levitt
Why?
"Poetry, that's all I can say about this original work of art."
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- Andre Wagner, Photographer
Centennial, By Irving Penn
Why?
"The portraits are most special to me because of the way in which Penn captures the characters of the subjects that he shoots. There is such an energy in his images."
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- Nadine Ijewere, Photographer
Pictures From Home, By Larry Sultan
Why?
"Another great example of photographic narrative, what makes Pictures From Home is the essential and brilliantly written text that Sultan wrote to accompany his pictures."
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- Alec Soth, Photographer
"For me, the confluence between a staged and documentary approach is where so much magic can occur, and it was Sultan’s work that revealed this to me."
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- Holly Andres, Photographer
La Vie en Rose, by Malick Sidibé
Why?
"The images feel like family photos, family portraits, photos taken at normal family events and parties. The images have a rawness and are relatable."
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- Nadine Ijewere, Photographer
Gerhard Richter, by Mark Godfrey
Why?
"Gerhard Richter has a way of painting a passage of time but makes it seem fleeting. As if it will never happen again. A precious time encapsulated."
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- Nadav Kander, Photographer
Fifteen Miles to K-Ville, by Mark Steinmetz
Why?
"The book is beautiful and the sequence keeps me turning pages. There's a lot to appreciate and learn from with this work."
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- Andre Wagner, Photographer
Ravens, by Masahisa Fukase
Why?
"I originally discovered the 1991 American edition of Fukase’s masterpiece in a Barnes and Noble sale bin. For me, Raven’s is the single best photographic sequence I’ve ever encountered."
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- Alec Soth, Photographer
Sentimental Journey 1971 - 2017 - (Japanese and English Edition), by Nobuyoshi Araki
Why?
"I used to have some difficulty with understanding Araki's work of erotic bondage whenever I would randomly encounter his prints at those big photography fairs, until I saw this book. . . Without words, his photographs of her while they were having sex explained everything to me about all the work he made ever after. "
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- Mirjam Kooiman, Curator