New Photographic Pleasures

Vesko Goesel – Limited edition book, 2009

This was a gift from my friend Peter. Its a signed and numbered (35/100) collection of:

“Drawings about the present state of photography, supplemented with collected images from the web”.

Vesko Goesel, born in the former GDR, now living in Köln, is more of a conceptual artist than photographer, but the processes and social relevance of image making are at the heart of his smart and witty constellations.

The book is modeled after the 1855 publication “Photographic Pleasures” drawn by the englishman Cuthbert Bede, which was also a response to the state of photography, albeit 155 years ago.

Many of the “comics” are in german, but it doesn’t matter as anyone who has ever splashed around in a darkroom understands the power in an image which shows the artists darkroom in its present state, namely neatly packed into 4 sturdy cardboard boxes. The book reminds me a lot of Michel Compeau’s book Darkroom. In fact this book would be a great shelf companion to Darkroom, not only by the similar cover design, but in its subtle comment on the current state of a medium we all love and the aspects (some of us) miss.

The book:

64 pages, color

24×17 cm

500 signed and numbered copies

18 $

you can get them at Schaden, König or directly from Vesko hier.