Another Book Idea

Another photobook that is kind of related to what I’m doing…kind of. This is Middle by Gábor Arion Kudász. It documents a period of time when he and his wife were pregnant with their child. The photographs are juxtaposed with excerpts from a diary that his wife (Bogi) kept. What I initially liked about the book was the cover. The brown cover and rounded edges give it the feel of a notebook, and that adds a layer of intimacy to the work. It is wrapped with a poster, which can be removed.

I like how the words are used too. This resonates with me because I am using personal sms exchanges in my photobook as well. I also like how this is adapted to the format. In the book, the lines of text (with dates attach) span across the pages, and sometimes go over to the next page. They are placed at different heights. This is emulated on the website, as the lines of text run along the bottom of the images, layering on top of each other and stretching across as the viewer continues to look. Both function like a timeline, in function and in form.

Here is an except from a PDF on the artists work, in which he comments on the lines of text.

“Bogi records notes of every smallest event that often seem to exclude what I
consider important. Of course, I do not write a diary and consequently only have
my blurred memory of how our everyday life proceeds. During the years of work
on Middle it quickly became almost impossible to place any photograph on a
timeline. When Bogi offered her diary to match the dates with the photographs,
I was expecting to discover embarrassing or deeply personal details but, to my
greatest surprise, her notes follow the flow of daily routines with an almost
unbearable considered objectivity that very rarely dares to express emotion.
Looking at our life together in retrospect, given the telegram-style texts, it is as
if we could have experienced any number of parallel lives that had no regard for
the actual chronological order of events. So here we are.” - Gábor Arion Kudász

(1) Arion Kudász, G 2005-11, Middle, photographic series, viewed 21 May 2020, <http://arionkudasz.com/middle.html>

(2) Arion Kudász, G 2020, Gábor Arion Kudász ⎪ Middle, video, viewed 21 May 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riRwJ7wwhOA&feature=youtu.be>