Joel Greenberg and Book Aesthetics

          When thinking about the ongoing food desert project, I looked to the book Urban Wilderness: Nature in New York City by Jean Gardner and Joel Greenberg. By reading many books and viewing many art books over the years, I have come to be rather specific about what styles I enjoy. I shifted through several of the photography books in the library in search of something that resonated with me, when I finally picked up Urban Wilderness and felt immediately pleased by the layout. The end papers are a soft, flecked gray, there is introductory text, and there is not a superfluous amount of title pages. What I find most aesthetically pleasing is the way in which the photos are centered on the pages with simple text accompanying them. I prefer this style over other books I have looked at that are cluttered with photographic images and text. The pages of this hardcover book are numbered and the titles are explanatory of the location in which the photograph was taken. Written before each chapter, which are separated by locations within New York City, is a few pages of text by Jean Gardner. I feel that by including introductory text and not shoving that information in with the photo plates keeps the clean aesthetic.

 

Image from Amazon.com

          Considering how each member of the class will be structuring their photographs for the class book is important to me when considering my decisions for my portion. I will most likely mimic several of the design elements used in Urban Wilderness as I feel they relate most closely to what I look for and would use in my own work if I were to make a book of my black and white photographs. I look forward to seeing what each person resonates with aesthetically and how the book will be as a whole with several different voices.