In Picture: Gerhard Steidl. © Markus Jans

(SINGAPORE, 21 January 2020) – The World Photography Organisation is delighted to announce printer and publisher Gerhard Steidl as the recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography 2020 at the Sony World Photography Awards. This is the first time in the Awards’ history that the Outstanding Contribution to Photography will be presented to someone other than a photographer. Steidl will be honoured at the Awards’ ceremony in London on 16 April for his work with photographers and the significant impact of his photobooks.

Established in 1968, Steidl’s publishing house launched its own photobook programme in 1996 and within a few years grew it to what is today; the largest list for contemporary photography worldwide. His remarkable catalogue of photobooks features renowned practitioners including Joel Sternfeld, Nan Goldin, Bruce Davidson, Robert Frank, Berenice Abbott, Robert Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Karl Lagerfeld and Juergen Teller, to name a few. His publications encompass the entire history of photography, from early masters to today’s leading photographers, and represent the diverse spectrum of photographic expression – from art and fashion to documentary and street photography.

One Love, One Book: Steidl Book Culture. The Photobook As Multiple

To celebrate his achievements, a presentation of Steidl’s bookmaking process and approximately 80 of his most acclaimed publications will go on display as part of the Sony World Photography Awards 2020 exhibition at London’s iconic Somerset House. Titled One Love, One Book: Steidl Book Culture. The Photobook as Multiple, will frame the photobook in the tradition of artists’ multiples, in which a series of identical objects made or commissioned by an artist is priced affordably for the wider public to access. A special event in collaboration with David Campany will take place during the exhibition; Ask Steidl Any Dumb Question About Making a Book will invite visitors to take apart in a Q&A session with the publisher.

Further developing the idea of the democratic art object, Gerhard Steidl has conceived the exhibition as a means to communicate his vision and expertise for others to follow. The exhibition space will be set up as a visual workshop divided into four sections: Artist, Concept, Design and Print. Each object on display will be accompanied by a detailed commentary and will offer visitors insights into Steidl’s book culture and step-by-step guidance to his bookmaking craft; starting with initial correspondence with the artist and editorial deliberations, to examples of various technical elements such as fonts, paper and binding materials.

Highlights will include The Japanese Box (2001): published under the Steidl imprint Edition 7L, a collaboration between Karl Lagerfeld and Gerhard Steidl, this black-lacquered collector’s box contains facsimile re-prints of six rare photo publications from Japan’s influential Provoke era. Another Edition 7L publication on display will be Andy Warhol’s Interview: The Crystal Ball of Pop Culture (2004), a seven-volume facsimile of the best from the first decade of Warhol’s famous Interview magazine, all packed in a custom-made wooden trolley.

In addition to noted publications, Steidl will showcase photographs from a selection of artists with whom he has cultivated long-standing relationships. These include brand-new images from Nobel-Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk’s upcoming photography title Orange (2020). The book comprises photographs of Istanbul’s seemingly neglected backstreets and alleyways all washed in the warm orange haze of old streetlights that are quickly disappearing from the city in favour of modern white lights. Also shown will be images from Dayanita Singh’s Museum Bhavan (2017), a travelling exhibition in which prints are placed in folding expanding wooden structures and can be interchanged at the artist’s will. A miniature version of the exhibition was produced by Steidl in book form, consisting of nine individual ‘museums’ for viewers to install and curate as they wish in their own homes.

Alongside Singh and Pamuk will be images from Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura’s book Vanished Spain (2016), featuring photographs taken during Saura’s journey through Andalusia and central Spain in the 1950s. This compelling collection of landscapes, bullfights and daily life  sought to challenge the propaganda imagery of the Franco regime to show the real Spain. Also due to go on display are original silver gelatin prints from Ed Ruscha’s On the Road (2009), in which Jack Kerouac’s classic novel is accompanied by black-and-white photographic illustrations that Ruscha has either taken himself, commissioned from other photographers, or selected from found images to refer closely to the details and impressions that the author describes.

Talking about his award, Gerhard Steidl comments: “I’m honoured to be the Outstanding Contribution to Photography 2020 recipient. As a printer and publisher, one of the things I love most about photobooks is that they’re a democratic medium; they bring photography to a wider audience. In this spirit I’m particularly excited about creating the exhibition One Love, One Book: Steidl Book Culture. The Photobook as Multiple at Somerset House. It’s a chance to show some of our most ambitious books, share some bookmaking secrets, and hopefully to inspire the next generation of bookmakers.”

Visitor & Listing Information

Title: Sony World Photography Awards 2020
Venue: Somerset House, London, WC2R 1LA
Dates: 17 April – 4 May 2020
Opening Times: Monday – Friday, 10am-9pm / Saturday – Sunday, 10am-8pm

 For all press enquiries please contact:

Press Department, World Photography Organisation
+ 44 (0) 20 7886 3043 / press@worldphoto.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Images are available for download at www.worldphoto.org/press

About Sony World Photography Awards

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, the internationally acclaimed Sony World Photography Awards is one of the most important fixtures in the global photographic calendar. Now in its 13th year, the free-to-enter Awards are a global voice for photography and provide a vital insight into contemporary photography today. For both established and emerging artists, the Awards offer world-class opportunities for exposure of their work. The Awards additionally recognise the world’s most influential artists working in the medium through the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Awards; previous recipients include Martin Parr, William Eggleston and Nadav Kander. The Awards showcase the works of winning and shortlisted photographers at a prestigious annual exhibition at Somerset House, London. To book tickets please visit www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards-exhibition

About World Photography Organisation

World Photography Organisation is a global platform for photography initiatives. Working across up to 180 countries, our aim is to raise the level of conversation around photography by celebrating the best imagery and photographers on the planet. We pride ourselves on building lasting relationships with both individual photographers as well as our industry-leading partners around the world. The World Photography Organisation hosts a year-round portfolio of events including the Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition, and PHOTOFAIRS, international art fairs dedicated to photography with destinations in Shanghai and San Francisco. For more details see www.worldphoto.org

About Sony Electronics (Singapore)

Sony Electronics (Singapore) is responsible for the marketing and sales of consumer products, as well as professional products and solutions in Singapore. It also handles export business for Sony products from Singapore to various parts of Asia. Since establishing our presence in Singapore in 1973, we have grown steadily over the years to become a leader in the consumer electronics and broadcast markets. For more information on Sony’s products and services in Singapore, please visit http://www.sony.com.sg/

 About Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is a creative entertainment company with a solid foundation of technology. From game and network services to music, pictures, electronics, semiconductors and financial services – Sony’s purpose is to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology. For more information, visit: http://www.sony.net/

About Steidl Publishers

Steidl is a renowned publisher of literature, non-fiction and photobooks. Among photographers, artists and experts in the art of high-quality printing, Steidl Publishers enjoys an international standing. This is partially due to Steidl’s unique structure, whereby all steps of the production process take place under one roof—from conception to image editing, from design and pre-production, to marketing and printing on Steidl’s in-house press. This approach has fostered expertise in all aspects of bookmaking as well as a large degree of flexibility. Unique to this workflow is the intimate involvement of the photographers and artists in each step of the process. Every Steidl book is distinguished by its individual design and materials. Gerhard Steidl draws on his famous passion for paper to personally chose the paper stock and book cloth for each title, and he oversees all facets of production from layout to printing—each book literally passes through his hands.

Over the years, Steidl at Düstere Strasse 4 in Göttingen has become one of the most famous printers in the international publishing community. Regardless of literature, art or fashion, Steidl’s goal is always to realise the artists’ and authors’ dreams, and to create art in book form. Steidl Publishers has always been owned, run and shaped by Gerhard Steidl. He began his career printing posters and multiples (for Joseph Beuys and Klaus Staeck among others); in 1972 the first Steidl non-fiction book was published, and in the early 1980s followed literature and selected art and photography titles. In 1996 Steidl established his own photobook program, which within only a few years grew to the largest worldwide list specialised in photography. Steidl.de

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