I think it was in one of Alec Soth’s youtube videos where he was talking about the notion of there being too many pictures (photographs) in the world. And his response was that he compares photographs to flowers in the world; vast fields of wildflowers. Nobody ever complains about there being too many flowers in the world.

And that was basically my reaction to the exhibition currently on view at The International Center of Photography, Photobooks USA 2000-25. It is basically a room full of books displayed on various tables and display case with a few books having accompanying page turning videos and captions. The photobooks all share the theme of “American”. They all explore various aspects of the American experience and more importantly I think these experiences are viewed through a wide range of gazes. From Alec Soth’s, Sleeping By The Mississippi, which set down the parameters for the modern landscape/portrait treatment of place in photobooks to Nona Faustine’s White Shoes, a collection of self portraits taken in various sites in New York City of slave auctions, burial grounds and coastal locations where slave ships docked.

It is not really a history of the photobook in the past 25 years but more a presentation of the variety of viewpoints, themes, authors, forms and subjects that the photobook can take. Look at all the different wildflowers it seemed to say. And just like what I do when I am in a field of beautiful wildflowers I meandered with no real destination; looking and flipping pages and admiring all the variations and all of the voices. I did find myself going to several of my favorite photobooks and flipping the book opening to my favorite spreads. The nice thing of collecting photobooks since at least the late 1980’s is that I have quite a few of the books on display.

By the way, I am on Instagram (@minorleiter) if you are interested. If I am not here I am there posting all sorts of silly and experimental things.