Other Ways of Being — Sangyon Joo. Published by Datz Press.
This new book by Korean artist Sangyon Joo is a feast for the eyes, the mind and the heart; it is homage to the natural world we inhabit and a call to embrace it. We progress through the strategically sequenced images as we move through nature, stopping to celebrate grandeur in front of us, focusing attention on attributes of a particular plant or its blossom; then we are in motion like the clouds or a bird that enter our immediate space for mere seconds, catching fleeting glances of the elements of nature. The sparse images interspersed in the book that tie the science vision to the structure of nature remind us that the ability to see can in itself be fleeting and precious. From the feel and tonalities of the papers utilized to the placement of minimal copy into a detachable booklet entitled “Being in text” (KR/ENG), this book offers the reader an immersive, thought-provoking and self-reflective experience. The softbound book with exposed spine binding is housed within a protective cardboard dust jacket, with full colophon details printed on the interior.
Mary Virginia Swanson (Tucson, Arizona) is an author, educator and advisor to artists. Swanson co-authored with Darius Himes the acclaimed Publish Your Photography Book: 3rd Edition (Radius Books, 2023). She frequently serves as a judge on contemporary photobook competitions and lectures at on publishing photobooks today.
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