27/3/2013
Books&Foam
&Foam, Amsterdam
Books &Foam will be placing a large selection of books in the spotlight with special presentations to shed light on the design process, with installations, book signing sessions and an exceptional selection of the best recent international photo books.
At the end of March, &Foam - Foam's shop annex project space in the Vijzelstraat - will acquire a photo book theme for the next two months. Both Dutch photography and work by Dutch graphic designers have a good international reputation - so it's no surprise that many of the world's best photography books come from the Netherlands.
Books &Foam will be placing a large selection of these books in the spotlight with special presentations to shed light on the design process, with installations, book signing sessions and an exceptional selection of the best recent international photo books. A variety of special events will be held in &Foam up until the end of May for Books &Foam, such as the world premiere of the WAITS/CORBIJN '77 - '11 book on 5 May (Anton Corbijn will be present to sign the book), the launch of the 'Dummy Issue' of Foam Magazine and an extraordinary evening on 18 May as part of the Das Magazin Festival.
The realisation of a photo book
Visitors will gain insight into the design process of six yet-to-be-published photo books. Showing the first ideas and sketches, email correspondence between photographer and designer, dummies and test prints provide an associative view into the design process. Since the books chosen have not yet been published, this is more of a pre-publication preview than a world premier. The six publications are extremely diverse and range from the first book by Rinko Kawauchi & Hans Gremmen, and the latest publication by Johannes Schwartz & Experimental Jetset, to the new book by Marnix Goossens, designed by Remco van Bladel.
Foam Magazine
In addition to these not-yet-published books, Foam Magazine will be bringing out a 'Dummy Issue' of its magazine with the same theme: so-called dummy publications. Photographers and graphic designers have created a physical design for their unpublished photo books, and eight of these models will also actually be produced. The final eight individual dummies will be presented in a specially designed box, a true collector's item. This dummy issue of Foam Magazine will be launched during the opening of Books &Foam.
Curated bookshelves
Foam has invited eight Dutch and international experts from the world of photography to provide a 'curated bookshelf', containing their choices for the five best photo books of 2012. Martin Parr and Alec Soth are two of the eight experts who have contributed to this fascinating selection on the curated bookshelf. The books from this selection are available for sale at &Foam.
Independent work
A variety of photographic projects and/or works will be presented in the Books &Foam space, all having to do with the world of books. Work by young talents such as Peter Puklus and Sara Cwynar will be placed here, as well as work by well-established names. Erik Kessels and Paul Kooiker present a completely unique vision of the photo book in the form of an exceptional display, titled Terribly Awesome Photobooks. Joerg Colberg, known for the well-read photography blog Conscientious, shows a projection in which he discusses photo books and The One Minutes present a new themed selection of one-minute videos about books.
New books on offer
The shop offerings at &Foam will comprise the best recent photo books: from special limited editions to whimsical books for a modest budget, including books published by MACK and Dashwood Books. Also on offer is the unique series of seven monographs of new or previously unpublished work by artists such as Robert Maplethorpe, Nikolay Bakharev and Motoyuki Daifu. And it's not only in these books that work by well-known photographers can be found - Foam Magazine publishes work by both well-known and emerging photographers too. Also the publication Country of the Rising Sun by Shinji Otani, winner of the first Unpublished Dummy Award 2012, will be launched. There's plenty of choice at &Foam for every lover of photography, book fan or anyone interested in graphic design.
5 May: world premiere of book by Anton Corbijn and Tom Waits
On May 5th, WAITS/CORBIJN '77 -'11, a new book by Anton Corbijn and Tom Waits will be presented for the first time at &FOAM . To celebrate the release of this collaborative work, Anton Corbijn will be present to sign copies of the limited edition photo book ahead of its May 8th worldwide release. There will be an exhibition of unique material on display; giving an insight into the book's creative process and how this collaboration came to fruition. As well as this, music of Tom Waits will be performed by Orkater / The Sadists.
Books &Foam partners
With thanks to Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Eizo, Epitaph, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Igepa, Lex Lijstenmakerij, Oschatz Visuelle Medien, Photoeye, Sony, The One Minutes, Vandejong and X+L.
&Foam
Vijzelstraat 78, Amsterdam
Opening hours &Foam
Mo, Tue. Closed
Wed. 10.00-18.00
Thu. 10.00-21.00
Fr - Su 12.00 - 18.00