Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective [Rilegato]

I wrote this review mainly because I read Nick's review above. One star? Ashamed to put it on display? The above review is not at all fair in my opinion.

I'm also a fan of Rineke Dijkstra. I've been following her career for over 10 year and have most of her previous books. Nick is right about one thing: this book is very different from the Schirmer Mosel/D.A.P. monograph or the LaSalle Bank monograph of recent years. It has a much more contemporary feel, which I personally love. It is board book as opposed to a traditional jacketed hardcover. It is a very light object, but yet densely illustrated. There were several papers used, which I'm sure comes at an added expense. The essays are on a somewhat lightweight and uncoated stock (hardly "toilet paper") but there is MIMIMAL bleeding.

The plate section is fantastic and the printing is GORGEOUS. They printed it at Conti in Italy, who does fantastic work when it comes to art books. I'm not sure what Nick is talking about when he refers to pixilation. Perhaps he means the video stills that are reproduced. The reason they look that way: they are video stills. There is no unwarranted pixilation in this book.

This is the most definitive book on Dijkstra' s work to come along and I think it is equally strong in terms of design, production, and content. Just because one "fan" of the artist doesn't like this book doesn't mean potential future fans should be turned off by what I feel is a very unfair review. If you are interested in Dijkstra and want a book on her, BUY THIS WITH 100% CONFIDENCE. Or try to buy a copy of her older books which are all out of print at a significantly higher cost.

This book is beautiful in content, and very unique in production. The bulk of the book (about 180 pages or so) is devoted to large reproductions of Dijkstra's work, and is printed on thick, high quality paper. I loved the beach portraits - reminiscent of Sally Mann, but with a more direct thematic approach in composition, connecting beautifully to the proceeding sequences. The flow of this book is just impeccable, which I find essential for a retrospective! The other reviewers are correct in that some of it is printed on thinner paper. But, it is by no means poor quality, and does not make up half of the book - only the first 60 pages, which are largely devoted to text. The thinner paper actually has a very nice feel and movement, which makes it easy to read. I especially enjoyed the included interview with Dijkstra herself. The mix of paper struck me as more of an aesthetic choice, allowing for some innovative variation. I imagine this mix may also account in part for the very affordable price! Sleek design, very readable, and intriguing photography - I highly recommend it!

This is my first Reneke Dijkstra book and therefore can't compare it to her others. However, I have looked at hundreds (yes, many hundreds) of photography books and can say that the production value of this one is quite lovely. If you are on this page I would assume you already know who Rinke Dijstra is and are at least somewhat familiar and probably a fan of her work. Thus I am not going to go into detail about the nature of her work suffice to say the book contains a nice selection of her various projects.

The majority of the book is printed on a decently thick sort of semi-luster paper to nice effect. Each photo is given its own page and this is just the way I like. There is also a series of people dancing oddly reproduced on cheaper and inferior paper stock. It appears out of place in the book but is not too bothersome. Thankfully there are no double page photo spreads (the bane of my existence). The reproduction quality of the prints in the book is very good for the price. I've seen plenty of books with poorer reproduction priced around the same.

While I haven't completely digested the text I can say from what I have read there is some interesting and insightful commentary inside. If you are a fan of Dijkstra and have yet to purchase a book of hers don't hesitate to start here.