Photobook Guide - a definitive guide to new and old publications

North Korea - Air Koryo by stephan on flickr.com

Who knew that the most reclusive nation on earth could inspire so many photo books in a single year. At least four monographs on North Korea have appeared in 2007 and there are several more in the pipeline. What do these publications tell us about North Korea? Do they tell us anything about the photo book industry itself?

The past few years has seen the international community ratcheting up political pressure on North Korea. One side effect is that the North Korean administration has made a real but nominal effort to appear open. It is actually surprisingly easy to visit the country, especially if you don't hold a US passport. You can book a 1-2 week holiday package from several different tourist agencies for not much more than an 'ordinary' holiday. Some 10,000 South Koreans are now allowed into their northern counterpart each year. Alternatively, make contact with a friendly NGO or directly approach the government and after several rounds of negotiations you can be on your way.

Copyright Olivier Mirguet

Not surprisingly the burgeoning tourism has led to a deluge of photo books showing the reclusive country. I count at least six titles so far, but the big four monographs encompass Philippe Chancel's North Korea (photos), Mark Edward Harris' Inside North Korea (photos), and Charlie Crane's Welcome to Pyongyang (photos). Patrick Swirc's DPRK (photos) will be published in the coming weeks.

As if that isn't enough Yannis Kontos will be bringing out Red Utopia (preview). Olivier Mirguet's Corée du Nord, un autre voyage (photos) hasn't made it into book format yet, but it was good enough for him to win a World Press Photo 2003 prize and be featured in Foto8. Way back in 2003 Nicolas Righetti published The Last Paradise - North Korea, a title that was apparently so badly printed I hesitate to include it here. The first photography that I saw from North Korea, however, was several years ago in a fascinating travelogue page by South Korea based American Scott Fisher. I'm glad to hear that he has now published his Axis of Evil World Tour book (photos, words).

Copyright Charlie Crane

It is difficult to know how to digest this stack of books. Viewed individually, they each appear a marvel of investigative access. I look at the astounding photos of the Arirang Mass Games, views of empty streets, photographs of the Pyongyang subway, of Myohyang Mountain, of various monuments, and pictures from inside the Children's Palace. They are all truly fascinating. But this is where my problem lies. Many of the photographs are repeated in each book with little variation. With such a narrow scope for personal vision the repetition dilutes much of the impact.

Copyright Patrick Swirc

All the photographers make it quite clear that they were chaperoned on their visits with little choice as to the itinerary or opportunity for open photography. All manage to bend the rules a little. Phillippe Chancel manages to work within these constraints to depict a sterile anti-utopian world of fake smiles. Or does he? How much of this response comes from the viewers own knowledge of the context in which the photographs were taken? Some of the photos of barren spaces look like they were taken from the pages of a Hofer or Struth, and I wouldn't usually describe those as sterile anti-utopias. Chancel's book claims to be a "totalitarian vision for a totalitarian regime [with a] chilling reality". The North Korean minders manipulate the photographers but I wonder if photographers manipulate our perception any less.

Copyright Philippe Chancel

Charlie Crane takes a more deadpan approach, depicting Pyongyang as a place out of step with time, the book acting as a 1970s travelogue to the peninsula. In a previous post, I discussed the photography of globalisation. Pyongyang is the reverse. No billboards, outside influence, evidence of foreign involvement. The lack of Drink Coke billboards becomes horribly sinister. Above all Crane manages a degree of subversion with the composition of his magnificent portraits and because of that I find myself coming back to his photographs more frequently than the others.

Copyright Mark Edward Harris

By the time I reach Mark Edward Harris's title I have North Korea fatigue. There are only so many photos of the Arirang or the Juche Tower that I need to see. Harris's photograph of an empty street is no more and no less telling than those I've already seen. I don't mean to be dismissive. His photographs are interesting in and of themselves. I'm curious to see if Patrick Swirc's DPRK will bring anything new to the genre.

With the professional photographers monographs cleared from the desk I set to considering the role of the amateur photographer. If the prime outcome of the monographs was to put a spotlight on the hermit kingdom rather than interpret it in a new context, maybe I could gain as much value from the amateur snapshotters as I did from the large format pros. I mentioned Scott Fisher's Axis of Evil World Tour but the real value in his case is the textual account. Dutch tourist Hanneke Vermeulen's account is also interesting reading. Artemii Lebedev's five pages (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) of photography from his 2006 trip to North Korea lack polish but are certainly worth a visit. He has no photo book pending.

Flickr is a planet sized hairball of mediocre photography but it comes into its own in situations like this. More than 12,000 photos have been tagged northkorea and 5000 pyongyang. There are gems amongst them, which I've posted below. Suddenly the boulevards and subway aren't nearly as empty as I had been led to believe, nor the locals frozen expressionless.

TV cover in Pyongyang Hospital by pinkie girl on flickr.com

Streets of Pyongyang by bryanh on flickr.com

Arirang Mass Games by Last Known Location on flickr.com

Schoolgirls in Pyongyang by pinkie girl on flickr.com

North Korean Kids Posing by Matthijs Gall on flickr.com

Female Traffic Light by piappo on flickr.com

Guess what we think of you by boobootoo2 on flickr.com

I wonder if I learned anything more from the monographs than I did from a trawl of flickr. The power of the photobook is borne of its ability to provide a informative narrative. In the monographs most of the narrative remains state controlled, and I don't sense any great personal take on the dilemma that North Korea poses. The importance of many photo books can only be seen through the lens of time. I suspect I'll be coming back to these over the years and re-evaluating what they represent. In the meantime, I wouldn't mind seeing the Arirang Mass Games and streets of Pyongyang with my own eyes.