Independent Publishing House — Palermo
Independent Publishing House — Palermo
60,00 €
I got a call the other night on my cell phone while standing in the living room. The Golden Pond had been burned to the ground. Mikki and Joe were interrupting one another to explain how the flames climbed high into the sunset, how their eyelashes had been charred and their clothes covered in soot. The Golden Pond was not a pond exactly, but a gargantuan puddle of water that had accumulated over time out of a continuously running fire hydrant at the junkyard. At roughly two feet deep and 30 feet wide, it was a body of water. Around the corner and over a fence, there was a secondary pond, also made up of water from the leaky hydrant, but it didn’t have a name. Out of The Golden Pond grew cattails and bulrushes, high grass that swayed in the wind. It was the only bucolic corner of the junkyard, secluded and sprawling; the stage for our artistic endeavors. I met Joe while hiking around the junkyard one day in 2018, with my 4×5 camera propped over my shoulder. He was a Polish immigrant, an incredibly tall and lean sexagenarian. He came up to me and asked if I was a photographer and “Did I want to see his studio?” He then brought me, stepping gently over debris and mud, to The Golden Pond…
1. EDITION OF 89 05/2024
Text by Juliana Roccoforte Novello
Book Design by Jess Kuronen, 89books
70 pages
30 × 30 cm
32 color photographs
Softcover
Digital print
ISBN 979-12-80423-60-3
Founded by a photographer, 89books emerged from the desire to elevate the book as an artistic medium and to create opportunities for photographers at the beginning of their careers, as well as for those with little or no previous experience in photobook publishing. Book proposals may be submitted at any time, either as a completed dummy or as an invitation to collaborate on the development of a project from a larger body of photographic material. In the latter case, 89books works closely with the artist on image selection, editing, sequencing, and graphic design in order to shape the work into a carefully conceived publication.
Folio is a special series of 89books dedicated to the production of fast-paced publications distinguished by a cohesive design and a standard format (21 × 28 cm). Each edition is housed in a printed envelope, reinforcing the tactile and collectible nature of the object. With Folio, 89books aims to respond to photographers’ desire to produce limited-edition publications quickly, while maintaining a strong commitment to quality and craftsmanship. Folio is continuously open to submissions from artists and photographers with fully developed projects seeking to transform their work into a carefully conceived publication.
The 89Books AIR Program (Artists in Residence) supports professionals working in contemporary art, with a particular focus on photography and bookmaking. During the residency, residents may either refine an existing project with the aim of transforming it into a book, or develop new work in the city of Palermo intended to become part of Quaderno Palermo – a collection of impressions of the city and its inhabitants conceived in dialogue with the 89books team. The residency also seeks to question and expand the very notion of the “book,” exploring new possibilities for how photobooks can be made, structured, viewed, and experienced. Residencies typically last two weeks. Shorter or longer stays may be arranged individually. Selected candidates receive a letter of support to assist with applications for external funding covering travel expenses and per diems.
Quaderno Palermo is a special publication series dedicated to photographers’ interpretations of Palermo, a city endlessly photographed and immortalized in cinema. At once visually captivating and deeply neglected, Palermo offers a rich and layered terrain for artistic exploration. Projects may be developed independently or within the framework of the 89books Artist-in-Residence program. The intended outcome is a publication in the Quaderno Palermo series.
