Frits Giertsberg on The Dutch Photobook

Good photobooks require having good photographs. But good photobooks need more than that. Photobooks, when done well, are not merely collections of photographs. They are pieces of art in their own right, which means that the contributions of the non-photographers are crucial.

–Joerg Colberg, in his review of The Dutch Photobook (Aperture 2012)

In celebrating the Paris Photo—Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards 2012, we’re taking a look back at Aperture’s Spring 2012 celebration of the Dutch photobook with curator of the Netherlands Photomuseum and editor of The Dutch Photobook, Frits Gierstberg, joined by Jacqueline Hassink, author of the 2009 Aperture monograph Car Girls, and Dana Lixenberg, whose monographs Jeffersonville Indiana and Last Days of Sishmaref won Best Dutch Book Design in 2005 and 2008, respectively.

The Dutch Photobook (Aperture 2012), which focuses on the significant collaborations between graphic designers, printers, and photographers in the Netherlands, features selections from approximately one hundred historic, contemporary, and self-published photobook projects, including landmarks such as Hollandse Taferelen by Hans Aarsman (1989), The Table of Power by Jacqueline Hassink (1996), Why Mister Why by Geert van Kesteren (2006), and Empty Bottles by Wassink Lundgren (2007).

›› Watch the video above for a special glimpse at the evening’s hands-on viewing of contemporary Dutch photobooks, with commentary by co-editor Frits Gierstberg.
›› Buy The Dutch Photobook at a special online price