Gordon Stettinius is Publishing Photo Books.

Cover of “Salt & Truth: Shelby Lee Adams” from Candela Books

Dave Anderson: So Gordon you’ve started an imprint. Is this another one of your get-rich-quick schemes?

Gordon Stettinius: Yes definitely. It is amazing the financial rewards available to anyone who can slap a few photographs and an essay or two into a book! I cannot, for the life of me, tell you what took me so long to get into this dynamic and growing field.

Actually, and I say this with fingers crossed, my first project (Gita Lenz: Photographs) has worked out pretty well. The second (Salt & Truth by Shelby Lee Adams) is generating a lot of interest and is definitely something I am proud to be a part of as publisher. So, right now I intend to keep working onone project at a time, and if I can keep my titles high in quality, I expect that I can keep this going and still lead a bit of the photographer’s life around the edges.

Cover of “Gita Lenz: Photographs” from Candela Books

Okay, backing up a bit, tell me about yourself and how you came to this point creatively.

Back in the days of yore, when most gallerists still had great big tusks, I was an art major at University of Virginia with an emphasis in printmaking and drawing. But somehow photography sort of pushed those activities out once I graduated from school. Post-college I continued to take classes, audit classes, and assist commercial photographers. I was also a teaching assistant and I worked in a university lab and retail camera store. I spent some five years at Swanstock (a fine art stock photography house) as a photo editor and researcher. I have taught classes and workshops in various places, most recently as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University…

All along, I worked in a darkroom somewhere and I cobbled together projects and concepts to show my work at various galleries and alternative spaces. 

© Gordon Stettinius http://www.eyecaramba.com/

It wasn’t until probably ten years or so ago that the art side of my undertakings had picked up any steam.  And even now, there is a lot more that I would like to get going for my own work, but the project that precipitated publishing New York photographer Gita Lenz’ book meant that I was fated to recalibrate my interests a little.

The short story:  Through a mutual friend, I met Gita about ten years ago and because there was a need for someone to step in and do something to ensure the safekeeping of her work, I found myself engaged with a project for which I had no map whatsoever. With the help of several photographer friends, and a few interns from V.C.U., I managed to evaluate and preserve some thousands of prints from the 1940s-1960s (we are still working on getting the negatives squared away today). Once we sorted out what we had, I then tried to edit and pull together the best of the work so that I might try to get New York galleries or museums to take an interest in the work.

As I became more and more attached to Gita, then well into her 90s, I think I began to project my own aspirations as a photographer onto her. I would visit her when I could and saw how much her work meant to her. I wanted to see that other people had an opportunity to experience her work as well.  It was decided that a monograph of her work was what we needed.  And I did manage a number of meetings with different publishers, but about the same time as I was shopping the project around as a book. I met Tom Gitterman of Gitterman Gallery in New York, who took an interest in representing Gita’s work. With Tom’s reputation as a gallerist and an exhibition scheduled for the Fall of 2010, we decided that the time was right for a book or catalog as well. Many issues came up along the way. We learned of Gita’s relatives at a certain point, but we were very fortunate that they responded to our project very positively and allowed us to continue our work on Gita’s behalf (though we did have to work out the legal implications of that arrangement).

So, over the past year we have in fact released a book of her work, and with Gitterman Gallery, we have mounted an exhibition of her work in New York. Very recently, I signed a contract with Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P.) to distribute Gita’s book as well as subsequent titles. I have learned plenty and look forward to smoothing out the process as I move forward.
 
Tell me about the book projects you’ve done and what’s in store. I see you’re even opening up the process a bit…

Well, of course, Gita’s book was our first project. Our second release (October 2011) will be Shelby Lee Adams’ next book, Salt & Truth. I intend to bring out one title in the spring and one in the fall. For the most part, when considering photo books that I love, I am drawn to monographs and the cohesive vision of a single artist. However, I am discussing a couple of anthology type efforts as well. And I am quietly pulling together a couple of survey or anthology ideas myself.  My third book and likely my fourth, will be monographs while these other ideas are gestating. And I am interested in seeing projects from photographers out there. I would say that I have reviewed, in person or via pdf or book dummy, maybe 30-40 book proposals. On the one hand, that isn’t that many proposals, but there have been some very good ones and I am open minded as I have to be, thinking about a couple of books ahead.  So, if a photographer is interested, please check out the guidelines on the Candela Books website.

But I thought photo books were dead…

No, I think that we are, all of us, the ones that are dead already.  We just don’t know it yet because we are too busy living.  It will be the books that might allow us a distant echo of the theatrically sexy and textured lives we are living when between interviews.

I, like many other photogs I’m sure, have fantasized about starting a publishing house. You actually have done it. Bravo! What words of wisdom would you offer to other like-minded souls?

It requires an orderly mind. There have been times in my life when I have considered myself more a worker type of person than an administrator or delegator, but as I get to know this process, I believe I can get comfortable. My passion for photo books will outpace the work-a-day details involved in bringing a quality book to market.

Can you talk about logistics — like how you design, print, ship etc and what you learned from going through the process?

I don’t want to sound like I know the way that things should be done since I have only a couple of modest accomplishments to date. But there is certainly a lot to be said for working with quality people. The design of both of Candela’s books is the work of Scout Design.

Angeline Robertson and Charley Foley are very talented individuals and have been great about helping me with the occasional tough question that has come up. These two have made my job a lot easier. We have worked on several projects together over the years and they have become very good friends. We printed the first book with Meridian Printing in Rhode Island and they are another quality outfit. I am considering a few different printers on this next job but part of that is just my desire to learn what is out there. As for distribution, I believe that working with D.A.P. puts me in the company of some of the best publishers out there. The idea that I am a small operation is helped tremendously by the fact that if I can produce something of quality, then that project will (hopefully) get as much attention as most any other projects coming out at the same time.  I think to breakdown the process in any detail, I would probably bore you to tears.  

How did you decide how many books to print?

Distribution will be my first clue as to how many books I will be printing. Once I have fleshed out my project, my distributor can give me an impression of how many books they would like to have on hand initially. As I am also able to sell books on my own through my website and physical plant, I can figure out how many I will need to meet that demand and add the two together. There is the subtle pressure to print the larger print runs because it improves the per unit cost so I am certain I will overshoot on one of my upcoming titles. I expect to learn at every turn here for a while

What parts of the process changed between the first and second books?

I have given myself a longer calendar in which to tackle all of the various details related to the book.  And, significantly to the financial aspect of the project, we are offering a limited edition of the second book, which is something that was not an option for the first book.  Since we had a finite number of vintage prints for Gita Lenz, we had to make those available in a gallery context only. Gratefully, there has been some real interest in Gita’s work, so much that we are looking into a foundation in her name. We have the idea to attach her name to a scholarship at NYU maybe or a residency at the New York Camera Club or something such. First, we need to take care of the work we have and look into possibilities of placing the work with major museums but a couple more exhibitions are likely - the next one at Candela Books’ new space in Richmond, Virginia - and if we can continue to place the work in collections we may be able to do a little more for her memory.

Would you advise others to follow in your footsteps?

I am not sure that it would be easy to do the very same thing I did. I flew a little blindly into the first project but with the help of some very knowledgeable people we managed pretty well. And I will say that I feel like we have done a very good thing by insuring that Gita Lenz’ work will be remembered. It has become a very personal project and with her passing this past January at the age of 100 years old, it feels good to see her getting some long overdue recognition. One thing that has become evident is how much easier it is to promote someone else’s work rather than constantly shilling for my own projects. It is a relief to be telling Gita’s story, honestly, because sometimes I get a little tired trying to spruce up my own career. I think many people listen to you a little more attentively when you are not self-promoting.  

So, maybe the advice would be to try to help other people along in their careers when you can. I am more of the teacher / collaborator mindset and so it seems natural to share an idea or share a common goal. And without putting it too goopily, I like to think that what goes around might come around a little bit. In the meantime, I will be working on whatever is in front of me and have one eye on the production calendar.

Any final words?

Thanks Dave.

Thanks Gordon!