Art Photo Index Bookstore Gallery Auctions Magazine Editions Hosting
  View OrderWish ListYour Account
FEATURES
ARTICLES
REVIEWS
BLOG
ARCHIVES
BEST OF 2012
subscribef.a.q.mastheadinquiriesfeedbackadvertisenewsletter
THE BEST BOOKS OF 2012
SELECTED BY
Erin Azouz
John Gossage
Andrew Phelps
Svetlana Bachevanova
Todd Hido
Markus Schaden
Adam Bell
Anne Kelly
Aaron Schuman
Pierre Bessard
Erik Kessels
Rebecca Senf
Jonathan Blaustein
Shane Lavalette
Alec Soth
Tony Cederteg
Melanie McWhorter
Sputnik Photos
Tom Claxton
Colin Pantall
Miwa Susuda
Marco Delogu
Martin Parr
Anne Wilkes Tucker
Natasha Egan
Christian Patterson
WassinkLundgren
Rémi Faucheux
PDN Editors

Tom Claxton

Consultant / Agent / Writer / Curator

To the Past.
NOBUYOSHI ARAKI

To The Past is a reconstructed chronology that compellingly manipulates time and experience, like a journal of fading memories. It is a tenderly revealing personal journey spanning three decades of the artist's auto-dated diary work. This is a luxuriously produced object with exquisite attention to detail, an affecting and joyous experience to view.
The Afronauts.
CRISTINA DE MIDDEL

A charming, self-published photobook that playfully explores the story of Zambia's 1964 attempt to win the space race and conquer the moon. The photography, collected ephemera, and the photographer's thoughtful selections with materials and design intelligently unite to form an intimate and seductive photobook.
Coexistence.
STEPHEN GILL

Photobook production is at the core of Gill's practice and this, his most lavish title to date, wonderfully illustrates his mastery of the medium. The result of an on-site commission, Gill documents the industrial heritage of Dudelange in Luxembourg, through the study of its abandoned cooling ponds. An imaginative, layered and elegantly detailed title.
Metsästä.
ANNE GOLAZ

The wintery woodlands of Finland provide the locations for a book dominated by shadows. Fact and fiction blur as the photographer explores the Finnish people's attachment to the psychology, rituals and notions that connect them to their landscape. A wonderfully sequenced and boldly edited photobook, that enchants with every emotive layout.
The Present.
PAUL GRAHAM

The Present is an engaging and contemplative exploration of shifting narratives, a series of indecisive moments on the streets of Manhattan. Through the use of multiple images, smart sequencing, and gatefold pages, this title constantly challenges our understanding of the single moment, while the intricate design delightfully enhances the involvement with the work.
Two Thousand Light Years from Home.
PIETRO MATTIOLI

Mattioli's nocturnal meanderings in his local Zurich neighborhood, and the beauty he reveals in the objects of the everyday and overlooked, are seductively presented in this title. With inventive design (that carefully forces a slower observation of the work) and elegantly simple production values, the result is an innovative package that is unforgettably captivating.
City Diary.
ANDERS PETERSEN

This beautifully printed three-volume title is the first instalment in Petersen's open-series of gritty, candid documents from the underbelly of the metropolis. The book's design, material selection, and heavy inks (that seem to seep off the page) explicitly enhance the overwhelming potency and raw energy of Petersen's unsettling images.
Lebensmittel.
MICHAEL SCHMIDT

Schmidt's ambitious investigation of the modern industrialized European food system is an exhaustive, almost overwhelming survey. The production and processing of what we consume is relentlessly analyzed in this beautifully edited, confident and provocative photobook.
Cette Montagne C'est Moi.
WITHO WORMS

A truly compelling book that documents the man-made landscapes of European coal heaps and uses the carbon material from the locations in the book's printing process. This is a thrilling example of how an artist has conquered the potential restraints of the photobook medium, to create an object that enhances the subject with every turn of the page.
The Photograph As Contemporary Art.
MELINDA GIBSON

Gibson's debut title intricately culls the pages of curator Charlotte Cotton's (2004) seminal book of the same name. The resulting re-appropriated photo-collages challenge our understanding of the original work and their canonization in photo history– a wonderfully smart, thoughtful and beautifully constructed object.
Tom Claxton is the senior agent at Webber Represents NY — a creative agency managing the careers of an exceptional and varied roster of artists. Additionally, he privately consults for many working in the fields of advertising, fashion and art; he sources photobooks for private collectors and institutions; and writes/curates the photobook website Claxton Projects — a selection of contemporary releases and out-of-print collectable titles. Tom is from England, and currently lives in New York City.
ADVERTISEMENT
© photo-eye Magazine. This article is printed from photo-eye Magazine (http://www.photoeye.com/magazine/) and is intended for personal use. Please contact us if you would like permission to reprint this article for commercial or educational use. Text © by the author, all images © their respective owners. All rights reserved.
© photo-eye, 2013. All Rights Reserved Copyrights-Trademarks Privacy Policy Staff/Hours/Santa Fe Location 800.227.6941 info@photoeye.com