Earlier this week I told you about the changes in point-of-view, production models and consumer trends in the world of photo and art books. Citing questions from both the muchly read Livebooks Resolve photo book discussion ("How Should Photobook Creation Evolve in the Next Decade?"; "How Should Photobook Consumption Evolve in the Next Decade?"; "How Should Photobook Funding Evolve in the Next Decade?") and the recent colloquium on the subject in Lausanne, Switzerland, we examined both the alarm of traditional publishing models at changes in consumer trends and funding for production, as well as the liberty and opportunity to be found by other publishers small and large to be explored during this moment of flux.

We left off with the following rhetorical question:

So what's an art-loving bibliophile to do? Or even more to the point, what are you as a photographer to do, if you've got a book to publish and you're not a Robert Frank, with eccentric foreign publishers willing to stake a fortune on an extremely limited edition art runs of sybaritic proportions?

Today we'd like to take a look at what some of our favorite artists have been working on that directly addresses this issue.

Do all photographic books actually have to be books? Bound between two covers? Photographer Shen Wei doesn't believe so: he's released a limited-edition book entitled Almost Naked, and the clamshell book contains an embossed title page, an artist's statement, a certificate of authenticity, 25 individual images and an index page. All images are printed on matte paper, and the title and text pages are on Conqueror paper.

Almost Naked, limited edition artist's book by Shen Wei

The photographs show a wide breadth of the American demographic that can be found in New York City, and the tone of images are startlingly intimate, yet simultaneously reserved. While obviously drawing on the traditions of provocateurs like Nan Goldin, Wei also takes intimacy and nakedness to mean more than just being literally stripped bare: it's also a make-shift altar on a windowsill; the way that two dogs tied to trees might look at you in an alleyway; or a dinner table with a vinyl tablecloth that's set for four with blue plastic disposable plates and cups, plus one very "real" wineglass that's mostly empty.

Stranded Dog, 2005 from Almost Naked by Shen Wei

Shen Wei's Almost Naked is a limited edition of 215, and can be bought online via Paypal right here.

In addition to re-envisioning the concept of "book," another method that artists have been employing is to redefine the traditional path to publication. Chicagrapher Jonathon Gitelson is using the innovative Kickstarter project site to source funding streams for his new publishing venture Scavenger Hunt. The project's concept all stems from a found "to-do" list that Gitelson recovered in the city streets. He then set out to find, or re-interpret where necessary, all of the items on the list and make an art book out of his findings.

inset page from Scavenger Hunt, by Jonathon Gitelson

The books, one-of-a-kind and in a limited-edition of 50, cost Gitleson roughly $250 to produce. His initial Kickstarter goal was to crowd-source fund the publication of five copies of Scavenger Hunt, which are to be presented at Kehrer Art Books of Heidelberg this summer. Being the savvy and likable person that Jonathon is, he has already met his initial Kickstarter goal for the five copies, and now everything else is going towards funding the remaining forty-five copies.

As an incredibly forward-thinking incentive to contribute to his end goal, Gitelson is offering participants a 3-tier prints-for-donations buy-in: For a donation of $25 or more, he is offering an 8"x10" signed print of a page of your choosing from his book. For $50 or more, you can choose a 2-page signed print of any spread from the book. And for the kindest contributors of all who give $450 or more, you get one of the actual limited-edition books.

Scavenger Hunt by Jonathon Gitelson

Among also making video, installation, photographic work and performance art, Gitelson has been creating artist's books for years. Ranging from the obsessively-compulsive autobiographical (I Wave in Front of Every Apartment I've Ever Lived In Except One) to the sweetly whimsical (If I Had a Girlfriend) to the smartly wicked (Dream Job), his books answer, in a beguiling array of permutations, the open-ended question, "I wonder what would happen if..."

Gitelson's books have been purchased by an impressive roster of institutions: Allen Library, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Rhode Island School of Design Library, Providence, RI; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England among many others.

Visit his Kickstarter page to learn more, watch his video or make a donation.

In the realm of Making Your Own Luck, there is always and finally the DIY method: photographer Chad Muthard has a new three-volume artist's book available on his site, the whole series is titled Any Fool Can Take A Picture With a Camera Like That.

inset page from Dialogue with a Self-Portrait, from the series Any Fool... by Chad Muthard

Each of the three books takes a critical look at what Muthard tasks as, "three dilemmas that are inherent in the medium of photography from a contemporary stand point." Attractively priced at $8.00 a piece and again accessibly available through Paypal, supporting artists and their new projects has never been easier. Chad Muthard's books are available for purchase through his website.

Briefly worth mentioning are a few other tomes that some of our most beloved artists currently have a for-sale shingle on:

Austin Kleon (artist, poet, cartoonist) has a new collection of poetry for sale in a volume entitled Newspaper Blackout. You can purchase the book, a very hip t-shirt, or any of our 20x200 editions of his prints from the store on his site.

Artist and recently much-gossiped about William Powhida has a print-on-demand Blurb book of a recent solo show, The Writing is on the Wall. You can preview the entire book and purchase it if you so desire at the blurb bookstore.

Lastly, if you're still in the need of guidance through this whole create-make-publish process, our friend and current 2010 HHS! juror Darius Himes has some pearls of wisdom for you in his forthcoming book (co-authored with artist Mary Virginia Swanson), simply and aptly titled Publish Your Photography Book. From the Princeton Architectural Press release:

Industry insiders Darius D. Himes and Mary Virginia Swanson survey the current landscape of photography book publishing and point out the many avenues to pursue and pitfalls to avoid. This expert guide is organized in six sections covering the rich history of the photo book; an overview of the publishing industry; an intimate look at the process of making a book; a close review of how to market a photo book; a section on case studies, built around discussions and interviews with published photographers; and a final section presenting a wealth of resources and information to aid in the understanding of the publishing world.

Publish Your Photography Book has an expected release date of January 2011 (get started on that New Year's Resolution to make a book early!). Watch Darius Himes' blog for more information.