Opening: My Name in 100 Colophons

After an eventful history in recent decades, since 2005 a renaissance of the photo book can also be observed in the Netherlands. This has been accompanied by the emergence of new publishers such as Fw:Books, The Eriskay Connection and Roma Publications, as well as several design studios specializing in photo books. Vincent von Baar is one of the best-known designers in the Netherlands and photo books are his great passion. Van Baar has been teaching at the renowned KABK (Royal Academy of the Arts) in The Hague for 20 years. In his classes, among other knowledge on contemporary photography − his students learn how to create publications of their own work. His specialty is working with them to produce photo books in small quantities but looking for the highest quality. More than 200 exciting books and zines have been published in recent years, a nice selection of them can now be seen in the exhibition at FOTOHOF. This presentation in the library’s exhibition space also discusses a current trend: the traditional publishing business with large print runs and wide distribution has changed to specialized photo book fairs, often including self-publishing and distribution via the Internet. Publishers, photographers and book lovers must develop new strategies to produce, distribute, view and purchase books. Producing a good photo book is a highly complex process with many unanswered questions − to which Vincent Van Baar can provide answers in a workshop on March 16th.
Vincent von Baar (*1958) studied graphic design in Breda/NL. After graduating, he founded and worked at the legendary graphic design studio Dumbar; as art director he created designs for the Dutch government, the Dutch postal service, Telekom, the Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam, since 2004 professor of photobook design at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, works for the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. He lives and works in The Hague.