‘Everything flows’ – Heraclitus // A visual poem on life’s transitory nature, told through the lens of a contemporary nomad.
Unique Multipath Photobook Structure / Shot, Edited and Sequenced over 4+ Years / Imagery, Concept and Design by Judith Stenneken / Text Art by Robert Montgomery / Essay by Timothy Persons.
Your generous contribution to this campaign will involve you in the project and directly impact the final printing and publishing of WELCOME HOME.
(Liebe deutschsprachige Community…bei Fragen bitte einfach eine Email an mich schicken:jstenneken@gmail.com. Ich freue mich von Euch zu hören ;)
// ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND WHY I NEED YOUR HELP
“All is creation, all is change, all is flux, all is metamorphosis.” Henry Miller
For this project I use metaphors of the journey, the voyager and transitory spaces (for instance hotel rooms and airplanes) to describe transitions as the sole constant in life. The concepts of departure and arrival dissolve as the traveler keeps moving – a gravity to constant change. The voyager’s home becomes the hotel room and the airplane. Spaces to pause but never to dwell.
The images in this photo book refuse to be placed in time or space. They represent moods rather than facts. This book works more like a poem that wants to be re-visited over time. And like a good poem it implies multiple ways to read and interpret it, in this case i.a. because of the unique physical structure of the book. In comparison to most photobooks, where the story is predefined by the author (due to a singular sequence), WELCOME HOME challenges you to explore its multiple beginnings, middles and ends in order to find your own story in it. You essentially become the co-author within the environment that I have established. Are you ready to take a new type of visual journey with many possible paths to explore ?
In return for your generous contribution you will be rewarded with artwork from the project (based on the amount of your contribution). Let’s make this book together!
// ABOUT THIS BOOK (ITS PROCESS AND UNIQUE STRUCTURE)
WELCOME HOME // VIDEO OF THE BOOK DUMMY
During the process of establishing the book’s multipath narrative structure I realized the importance of the dichotomy of motion and stillness, about the conflict between the longing to be still and calm (Arrival) and the urge to keep pushing, changing, moving, exploring (Departure).
Many of the images in WELCOME HOME present a calm and quiet quality to them and therefore already convey a feeling of stillness and arrival. To establish a sense of the restlessness and motion that pulls me forward to explore new environments, I sought to identify new visual navigation solutions within the process of editing and sequencing.
The resulting image groupings and multipath navigational options provide the viewer with a variety of ways to experience and interpret the work. In this new photobook model, the viewer becomes a proactive co-author / collaborator in the process of choosing a path through the book. This “interactive” structure also enables one to directly experience the transitory nature of modern life that WELCOME HOME is seeking to convey.
I love making books, because they are like a puzzles that require resolution. This book has been in the making for over three years and finally feels resolved and ready for production. I am excited to ask you to directly participate with me in the final production of WELCOME HOME.
// ANNOUNCING A COLLABORATION WITH RESPECTED ARTIST ROBERT MONTGOMERY
I am happy to announce that Robert’s text will be integrated into the final version of WELCOME HOME. I think space is an essential element in Robert’s work. His art installations always function in relationship to their surroundings. For this collaboration, I have asked Robert to look at WELCOME HOME as his landscape and surroundings, in order to establish a unique narrative text that will mirror the world he discovers.
// THE HARD FACTS
Edition of 500; Size 7” x 9″ (18x23cm) upright; Hardcover; approximately 100 pages; 25 black and white and 25 full-color photographs; printed on 120 g/m² Munken Polar; 4/4c full bleed; smyth sewn; swiss binding
All images, design and concept by Judith Stenneken; Text Art by Robert Montgomery; Essay by Timothy Persons; Printed by Longo
// WHAT FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY PROFESSIONALS SAY ABOUT THIS PROJECT
“Sailing along the edges of a nomadic, modern life, Stenneken photographs as gracefully in the intervals, the moments of pause and reflection, as she does in motion during the free-fall and chaos of life in the 21st century. This book is photographic literature of the here and now.”
– Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs at Christie’s
“Stenneken’s photographs feel like filtered realities woven together into her unique perspective on how she metamorphoses the volume of existence. It is as if they have floated out of a Raymond Carver poem.”
-Timothy Persons, Founder + Director of Gallery Taik Persons
“Impressionistic, open-ended images push against photographs that are tangible and finite, creating an evocative tension. The places in her photographs are transitory, expressing a sense of isolation and loneliness; she seems to be always passing through, never settling down.” (Read Elisabeth’s full essay on WELCOME HOME here)
– Elisabeth Biondi, Independent Curator, Writer and Teacher; Visuals Editor at The New Yorker (1996-2011)
// SELECTED IMAGES FOR THE PRINT REWARDS
// ABOUT ME + MY WORK
I am a German artist working in photography and video. Since 2011, I have been based in New York City, where I received my MFA in Photography, Video and Related Media from the School of Visual Arts in 2013.
My first photobook is titled ‘Last Call | Zentralflughafen Tempelhof’ and was self-published in 2010. I was honored when it won first prize in the prestigious Blurb “Photography Book Now” contest in 2010. I used my financial award to complete my MFA and carry out principal photography for WELCOME HOME in the 2012 – 2015 timeframe.
In 2011, I was named one of Photo District News (PDN) Top 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch.
Since Spring 2016 I am represented by Galerie f5,6 Munich, Germany. A solo show of WELCOME HOME was exhibited at Galerie f5,6 from May 13-July 29, 2016 under the exhibition title ‘Denn Bleiben ist nirgends’.
(For Full Bio please refer to profile section)
// COLLABORATORS
_Text Art By Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery follows a tradition of conceptual art and stands out by bringing a poetic voice to the discourse of text art. Montgomery creates billboard poems, light pieces, fire poems, woodcuts and watercolors. He was the British artist selected for Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012, the first biennale in India. Montgomery has had solo exhibitions at venues in Europe, the US and in Asia, including major outdoor light installations on the site of the old US Air Force base at Tempelhof. He received his BA and MA from the Edinburgh College of Art.
_An Essay By Timothy Persons
Timothy Persons is the founder and director of Gallery Taik Persons, Berlin, where he lives and works. He is also adjunct Professor at Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki, Finland. Persons is the principle architect behind the Helsinki School. Gallery Taik Persons is a contemporary art gallery representing established and emerging artists who use the photographic process as a conceptual tool. It is the prime gallery for those selected artists who now make up what is known as the »Helsinki School«. Persons has acted as curatorial advisor to Kulturhuset, Stockholm; KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art and The National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen. He is on the Board of Paris Photo since 2006 and has curated more than 40 international photography exhibitions, written numerous books, and exhibited his own work worldwide.
_The Printer: Longo
Specialized in creative and print solutions such as book design and production, cross media publishing as well as offset, packaging and digital printing, LONGO has been a leading partner in the field of printing for almost 60 years. The company is based in Bolzano, South Tyrol/Italy and Augsburg, Germany.
_Kickstarter Video by Malika Weeden
Malika Weeden is a film editor, director, and image maker. With a background in cinema, dance and the fine arts, Malika injects a unique rythm and perspective into each project she is a part of. Malika just finished editing, A Ballerina’s Tale, a feature length documentary about trailblazing African-American ballerina, Misty Copeland.
_YOU!! The Backers!!
Without your active support it is almost impossible for this idea to become reality. Thanks for being an essential part of this project. You rock! ;)
// THANK YOU!
My deepest gratitude for your interest in this project. I hope that you will support the campaign by becoming a backer and choosing one of the rewards as well as sharing it with others… let’s make this book!
JUDITH STENNEKEN
WEBSITE // INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // NEWSLETTER
As Kickstarter is an all or nothing platform there is no risk for you as a backer. With Kickstarter, no money changes hands until a pre-set funding goal is reached, thereby eliminating investor/purchaser risk.
The funding goal is based on the production costs for this book. When the goal is met, and production costs are covered, you receive the book you helped bring into existence and additional artist’s incentives as a reward for your support. With your financial help, we will meet the campaign goal and the book will be published and delivered by December 2016.
The version of the book you see in this campaign is a dummy version and is meant to give you an idea of what the final book will look like. Nevertheless, there will be further improvements, like the redesign of the cover, the inclusion of the texts by Robert Montgomery und Timothy Persons, as well as the addition of some more images.
December 2016 is the projected date of delivery for the book based on the production schedule. If this changes, I will be in contact.
Shipping:
– As the book is produced in Europe it will ship from Germany and not from the U.S.
– All shipments will be covered by insurance during shipping period.
– Limited Edition Prints ship separate from the book. You will encounter higher shipping costs in regards to these rewards.
-I will do my very best to refund shipping to those whose deliveries I can make in person