When did photography and photobooks become art?
Photography, since its upstart as an art form, has been widely accepted in the US for many years, but wasn’t so in Europe until some breakout photographers put their work out there and opened the door for photographers to be recognized as the artists they clearly are.
This came about in the 1970s with pioneers such as Sally Mann and Robert Mapplethorpe whose works demonstrated the artistic quality of photography to the critics of Europe’s art scene and allowed for photographers to take their place at the table as great artists and their photographs as the art it truly was.
That realization has led to photographs being featured in fine art galleries, magazines, and photobooks over the years.
Photobooks come in many varieties and to many tastes. They run the spectrum from city skylines to snowcapped mountain peaks, to animals in the wild. Color prints or black and white, a photography book contains it all between its pages.
As you can imagine, the hunger for these books and the treasures they contain is high and many are only in print for a short time which can make them rare and pricy.
The rise of the Internet has allowed for this art medium to be revolutionized by websites, blogs, club and online store to reach the consumer.
The Digital Age has ushered in a new era for photography and allowed it to reach even more people which also drives up demand for photobooks by collectors all over the world.
This will continue for years to come and with that so will the demand for photobooks as collectors will veer for a way to collect the art they are so hungry for.
The photography book will solicit this need by being a physical medium that allows for collectors to own the art they love and treasure so much.
Photos by: Mike Wilson, Dimitri Popov, Natalie Collins.
