You and I [ハードカバー]

So finally one of the most anticipated photo books of the last years has arrived. I was really looking forward to the book to get some of McGinley's older iconic images. As far as the image selection concerns, I am very satisfied. But as I have the two Dashwood books "Life adjustment center" and "Everybody...", I can understand the disappointment of other people, as there is not a single picture from the latter title and none of his B&W works in general.

I have read former reviews in which the paper and the printing quality are praised, so I was looking forward to seeing some of my favorite pictures in large size and great printing, but I absolutely can't agree. The paper is not bad, but just average, but I am more disappointed about the below-average printing quality: you can see the printing raster in each picture, the pictures seem blurred and some colors are unnatural. I know that the play with intense colors and deliberately blurred pictures are some of McGinley's intended stylistic traits, but comparing some of the same pictures in "Life Adjustment Center" to the printing in this book, I can clearly see quality differences. Twin Palms state on their website: "Our books are recognized for high-quality papers and printing", but I cannot agree. Just compare the paper and the whole production of the two Dashwood books if you have the opportunity, and you will realize that this is definitely not a very sophisticated production (on the other hand, the pictures in "Life..." are really small, too small, which is, at least from my point of view, not an uncommon problem, e.g. see "Early Color" by Saul Leiter, Slimane's Anthology, the Steidl reprint of Baltz' "Prototype Works" and so on).

I know that Twin Palms are able to do much better, as shown e.g. in Eggelston's "For Now", which has a larger scale, much better printing and is (was) still cheaper. But they really should try to deliver high quality constantly if they still want to be "recognized for high-quality papers and printing".

Beautiful 'best of' collection featuring photographs from the past 10 years by Ryan McGinley. I'm usually not a fan of greatest hits type books but this is an exception. The material is cohesive and provides the best look in print at the various bodies of works he has produced. Production-wise this is first class with excellent color reproductions and a quality hardcover binding. There is another McGinley 'best of' collection due this spring so it will be interesting to see how the two books compare. For the time being this is the best McGinley book published to date and highly recommended.

I have been anticipating this book for a long time and it does not disappoint. Ninety beautifully reproduced color plates, offering a comprehensive view of this young artist's exuberant work. Images included from the early the Kids are Alright, as well as Moonmilk, Life Adjustment Center, and Somewhere Place. Insightful essays by Vince Aletti and Sylvia Wolf.