Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava.
A BookMarks Special
Across space & time, everything I write in the following 2 pieces began here…Bob Haak’s Rembrandt: His Life, His Work, His Time, published by Abrams in 1969, 348 pages with 612 illustrations including 109 HAND-TIPPED color plates. Click any Photo for full size.
Art books have been a passion of mine since I was a little kid. Early on, my mother belonged to a book club and when there wasn’t anything she wanted, she let me pick a book. I always chose an Art book, some of which I still have and still refer to. A few years later, during a visit to the first real bookstore I was ever in, I saw a large 14 x 11 inch book titled Rembrandt: His Life, His Work, His Time by Bob Haak, above. I was floored. Here was Rembrandt’s entire life and, what seemed to be, with over 600 illustrations including 109 hand-tipped plates (i.e. each plate was attached to the page by hand!), his entire oeuvre. It wasn’t, but it was a great overview. Most of all, it fired my imagination as to what a truly great Art book could achieve. That, and the singular possibility of experiencing most of an Artist’s entire body of work in one book excite me every bit as much right now as they did when I was a kid.
Art books were the first way I could see and discover Art before I could drive, they remain every bit as essential to me now that museums and galleries are within walking distance. In compiling the lists of Art books and PhotoBooks that follow countless hours these past 25 years have gone in to looking at books in innumerable bookstores (including a good number that are, sadly, no longer in business), museums, galleries, libraries and virtually any place else that has them, equalled by how much thought, consideration, and living with these books has gone into this selection. All of that is built on an equal number of years before January 1, 2000 that I spent looking at Art books. All told, a long time.
As a result, no pieces I’ve written over the past 9 3/4 years on NighthawkNYC have come close to being the amount of work that has cumulatively resulted in the two pieces that follow. They represent a lifetime of looking at Art Books, and 8 years of looking intensely at PhotoBooks, condensed into 6 months of work selecting them and writing the pieces. My hope is that you will find it useful.
The Museum of Modern Art’s endless wall of Art books, as I call it, is at least 30 feet high and twice as wide. I asked to see the Yoko Ono book under the sleeping cat sculpture. They laughed.
Narrowing the focus to books published for the first time in the 21st century didn’t make the job much easier; a number of books I instinctively put on the list wound up having publication dates just before 2000, disqualifying them. Other books I have a strong personal preference for, I didn’t feel were books I’d make a general recommendation for, which is what I try to do with my NoteWorthy Book lists. Many other books are terrific in terms of the Art or Photography they contain, but lacking in other areas as books in my view.
That these lists are surprisingly long is a testament to what I’ve seen in almost half a century of looking at Art books: they’ve gotten better, especially since 2000. While there were, of course, great and important Art writers before 2000, virtually every other aspect of bookmaking has evolved, largely for the better. Acid-free paper highlight an incredibly wider range of today’s papers, better Art Photography with the increased use of color, better materials, better production processes, better distribution, and the wide-spread availability of all of these things has led to a world-wide proliferation of books on Art, and especially Photography, as countless smaller PhotoBook publishers vie with the big companies for exposure & attention.
So, WHAT’S a “NoteWorthy Art or PhotoBook of the 21st Century?”
I’ve said all along that I don’t believe “best” exists in the Arts. I use the term “NoteWorthy” in speaking about books, in this case, that I most highly recommend. I’ve endeavored to narrow these down to books that have it all- great work in a great book. At the same time, I’ve tried to keep in mind that most people don’t want large Art or PhotoBook libraries. They want to know what the most important books are. That is what I have tried to give you: The NoteWorthy Art and PhotoBooks (i.e. those I recommend most highly) released thus far in the 21st century, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, both are partially incomplete; some lack images, there are no ISBN numbers…Given my new realities, I just don’t have the time I did before. I’ve felt it was more important to spend time living with these selections to see if I really feel these should be included. Still, I have no doubt that sooner or later (probably sooner) I’ll realize I left out a book that REALLY should have been on this list. Also, for both lists, I’ve sadly decided to leave out Artist’s books that are/were published in editions so small that few can see them.
Let’s look at some books! There’s nothing like going to a great Bookstore. Where else are you actually going to get to see Artbooks and PhotoBooks-in person?
I dedicate both my Noteworthy Art & PhotoBook of the 21st Century (thus far) pieces to my fellow Art book & PhotoBook lovers everywhere, and especially to all of those who have written to me about books I’ve written about, books I should know about, or written to tell me about books I’ve written about that have impacted their lives. You’ve inspired me to get these done.
Kenn Sava.
Without further ado-
NoteWorthy Art Books of the 21st Century by Kenn Sava may be seen here.
NoteWorthy PhotoBooks of the 21st Century by Kenn Sava is coming soon.
*- Soundtrack for this piece is “Noteworthy” by Homeboy Sandman from his album Dusty, 2019.