Sebastian Riemer - Press Paintings
This extensive publication on Sebastian Riemer’s archive collection of hand-retouched press photos adeptly makes functional and variable use of semi-transparent paper. The long plate section is printed on one side in such a way that a blank double page follows each double page containing two black-and-white images. This highly controlled rhythm punctuates the series, creating pairs of images in which the often absurd details of the manipulated photographs are brought to the fore. An essay section in three languages is set out in three parallel columns; the English column, which naturally takes up less space, contains window-like rectangular gaps through which the reference illustrations printed on the otherwise blank reverse sides can be seen. In the index section, the small reference images are regularly arranged on one side of the page, with the corresponding legends positioned on the reverse. The picture editing is excellent, and the way in which the gaps created by the press images are played with in the text is reminiscent of Hans-Rudolf Lutz’s Edmonton Journal.
