Celebrating the Publication of Susan Burnstine’s “Within Shadows”
Susan Burnstine and I met somewhat randomly at PhotoLA about 5 years ago*. She was not a known quantity in the art world at that point. After a friendly discussion about my work I asked if she had brought any examples of her own photography. She went to get a box of prints from her car and we agreed to meet outside the building. As we sat on the manicured lawn in front of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Susan opened a box of about 30 miraculous images. Dreamy and beautiful, dark and yet hopeful, her photographs were instantly unforgettable. It seemed clear that she was destined for success (not that Susan expected it — she spent half the time second-guessing the work…). But of course the imagery was remarkable. And not only were her prints interesting, but her process was as well: she photographs on film with homemade medium format cameras and homemade lenses that are primarily made out of plastic, vintage camera parts and random household objects. Effects are created entirely in-camera without any Photoshop work. She has a bunch of these cameras and names them all after her favorite musicians (James Brown was one, Johnny Cash another & John Lee Hooker is shown below).
Within the year things were well underway for Susan. The Susan Spiritus Gallery was representing her work and her prints were an instant hit with collectors. Now, a few short years later, there is a book. “Within Shadows” is her first monograph and it’s being published by the Italian imprint Charta. We have remained close friends and I’m thrilled for her success. Susan and I spoke a fair amount as the book deal came together and design got underway. She emailed me the day her first advance copy arrived and, having gone through that process myself, I thought it might be interesting to blog about the process of publishing the book. Interestingly, her reference to a kind of brief ambivalence upon the arrival of the first advance copy mirrored my own experience. I thought I would start with that moment and move backwards to the process and experience of bookmaking…
Susan, we’ve been friends for quite awhile now. You know I love your work and I know you’re proud of it. So today the first copy of your first book arrived on a plane from Italy. How did that make you feel?
When the box arrived from fed ex with my advance copies, I tried tearing it open as fast as I could—like an excited kid on Christmas morning. Looking at the books for the first time, I felt unexplainably numb. It was as if I had just received the best present ever, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it next. Here was five years of my life sitting in front of me all bound together perfectly… but still I felt numb. I suspect it had a lot to do with exhaustion from a month of a-half of meeting impossible design and text designs for the publisher. After I started talking to a few photographers about their experiences right after receiving their advance copies, it became clear that this post-partum photo book publishing effect was a widespread phenomena amongst photographers.
What is it called and why?
Within Shadows for a multitude of reasons. Most importantly, it refers to Carl Jung’s theory of The Shadow and how it relates to the individual dream world. The three series that comprise the body of work Within Shadows, On Waking Dreams, Between and Flight, were born from my own personal nightmares and dreams…. I should back up here and explain that I suffered from debilitating night terrors as a child, which frequently caused me to walk around unaware if I was dreaming or awake. My reality often became skewed during this period, which literally, caused me to live within the shadows between my waking and unconscious existence.
How many images are in it?
45 duotones
Were you able to choose the cover image?
Absolutely. I designed the cover.
Can you talk about your cameras?
A friend gave me a Holga and I instantly became intrigued by the idea of a simple, plastic camera being able to capture evocative images on film with some of the worst optics known to mankind. I enjoyed the Holga briefly, but became more in tune with the Diana and spent many months shooting straight toy camera work.
Toy cameras are technically limited, so I started modifying them to shoot macro, telephoto, etc. I was able to obtain a number of interesting effects with close up and telephoto filters then started thinking more about how to control depth of field and blur in different, unique ways. But no matter how I modified these cameras, they still looked like standard toy camera shots. After discussing my dilemma with my late father, he suggested I make my own cameras and lenses since it was clear I wouldn’t get what I wanted from a prefab camera. 
It was my father’s belief that if something didn’t exist or work, it was necessary to create something yourself. And being that my father was a former engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and all around handyman who would constantly build, fix or create something for our home, the genetic predisposition was there. His motto was that if it didn’t exist, build it. My brother and I both inherited that inventive spirit as Keith (my brother) is constantly dreaming inventions up for his musical supplies and daily life. Whereas I have my cameras.
Back to the book. What images in “Within Shadows” do you consider essential to someone seeing your work for the first time?
Hard to say since each image evokes different core memories and visceral reactions for everyone that views them. In a way, the images are all like Rorschach Tests so responses and favorites vary from person to person. But if you forced me to select a small group of my must see for the first time images, I’d probably pick Bridge To Nowhere (cover image), In Passage (first successful image in the dream series), The Approach, Circuitous, In The Midst, The Road Most Traveled, Suspend, …When?… At The Gates and Yearn. The last two images are far more dark in emotion and mood, but they are the rawest form of my ongoing nightmares.
Were there any images that others wanted to see in the book more then you did? What does it feel like when others respond to a piece of yours more then you do?
Well, Dave. What do YOU think?
(Susan then goes on to note…) If I were to be grammatically correct, I’d insert an asterisk after that last question mark, then clarify at the bottom of the page that Dave helped me with image selection and sequencing. Let the record note that HE made me add 4 images to the sequence that I had no intention of including. But viewing the finished product, I’m glad he was so insistent since these four images provide a far more effective flow to the sequence.
What are the strangest things people have told you about what a book means?
Do you mean what the book represents in regards to my career? I’m the same photographer and person as I was the day before the advance copy arrived. But from my experience in the last week (Dave note: she had just been at Photo Lucida), there’s some mysterious, invisible level of respect that emerges once you have your images all nicely packaged in once place. And you know me well Dave… I have a healthy dose of self-deprication hovering above me all the time. So to think that the work or anything else in my world is different just because I have a book is a tad off to me. But you have to ride the wave and all that.
Any sage advice for other photogs making a book based on your experience?
- Make sure you designer speaks English.
- Get an advance schedule listing all due dates (text, design, files or prints delivered, signed forms, press date, etc) from all the departments at the publishing house BEFORE you begin the design process. There’s nothing more stressful than to be out of town when someone from a department at your publishing house informs you they need seven pages of confusing legal paperwork filled out by the next day or you will get penalized for something or the other.
I was interested to hear that you were offering a very affordable limited edition. Why did you structure the pricing that way?
I can rarely afford the extravagance of buying a print at retail price at this time. Most of the work hanging on my walls are from trades with other artists. But I’ve always admired what talented artists such as Ray Meeks or Hiroshi Watanabe have offered; a book and print set that the average Joe can afford, versus a high end Limited Edition that only serious collectors can purchase since they begin around 500.00 and up. It was extremely important to me that people who want a print of mine at an affordable price could purchase one without being too taxing on the budget. So I’m offering an 8x8 print slipped into the back of a signed book starting at 150.00, edition of 125 with three prints to select from, each at an edition of 50.
You’ve moved on to a newer series. How do you feel seeing something of your past enshrined in the present? Are you “over” this work?
Do you ever get over your first love? No, I’m not over the work per se. I continue to appreciate the majority of the images. Some don’t hold up as well as others in my eyes, but I appreciate all of them. Months back, I decided to pull a few images from the website to make a tighter edit. Then wouldn’t you know it, one of the pulled images was subsequently picked up as a cover for the new Guillemots album. So that just goes to show…what the heck do I know. I should add an asterisk here to add that Dave knew, since he liked the image well enough to trade.
Are there any exhibition plans for the series to coincide with the book?
Yes. As of today, I have exhibitions at AD Galerie in Genolier, Switzerland in Sept 2011, John Cleary Gallery in Houston, Texas in October 2011, Galerie Hiltawsky in Berlin, Germany in October 2011 and several on the calendar for 2012. But I just got back from Photolucida yesterday and can safely report more exhibitions and lectures are in the works for the year to come.
Do you have any dream cities in which you’d like to have a show?
Chicago since it’s my hometown. New York because it’s NY and London because I’m crazy for that city. And why not throw in Dublin… it’s a dream of mine to go to Ireland to photograph.
Do you think you’ll make another book?
One can only hope that Absence of Being will be coming to one of your finer bookstores in the not-so-distant future. But I have to finish the series before that can be pursued.
Indeed. I feel sure we’ll be seeing that book before too long. Can’t wait.
That concludes our interview. Thanks for reading and be sure to keep an eye on Susan’s wonderful work via her website, the Susan Spiritus Gallery and her other galleries.
T H E E N D
For more on Susan, check out this profile from Fine Art TV. Here’s another from Doug Ethridge.
*friends of either of us should inquire privately about a pretty funny story involving a much better-known photographer which occurred during our initial meeting.
