Novel books with a photographic voice.
SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS AND PRATT INSTITUTE, New York, NY

by Julie Elman

© Michelle Mercurio

Stitched pics: Images sewn together to create a photography book.

Under the guidance of New York-based educator Ellen Wallenstein, students are shaping their photographs into books, creating a unique experience for each individual enrolled in any of her bookbinding classes.

“I’m teaching them how to fold paper, how to glue images, how to sew pages together. So it’s sort of…a sculpture class,” Wallenstein says about her classes at the School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute, where she is an adjunct professor.

Each class is a hands-on experience, as students see and touch examples, watch demonstrations and work on their own books. Wallenstein also organizes trips to publishers like the Aperture Foundation and invites guest artists to class so that students can gain first-hand knowledge on the techniques used to publish and distribute books.

During the course, each student takes one to two weeks, depending on the complexity, to produce each book. There are seven to eight different styles of books constructed during the course: the accordion, the fan, the portfolio/simple envelope, the Japanese-style binding book, the scrapbook, the one-signature book, the two-signature pamphlet and a book redo.

“The first assignment is of at least four to eight pages using only one image,” she says. “Students have to think about an image that’s very compelling—you can change it, you can build up to it, you can reverse it, you can cut it. From the very beginning, there’s thinking about photographs outside the box.”

What students produce is evidence of that: One student printed images of electrical wires in negative form and bound them in covers of copper, “so it was almost like it was conducting itself,” Wallenstein says. Another student, an aspiring paparazzi photographer, arranged her photographs of celebrities in fan format. “The [student called it the] fan fan book, which I thought was really clever,” she recalls.

Wallenstein emphasizes the art and craft of bookbinding along with the challenges of telling a story through images. “I’m really ruthless about editing,” she says. “You may love this picture, but if it doesn’t work with the rest of the pictures, you have to throw it out. Less is more, very often.”

Frequent class critiques keep students on track, and tough questions face every book creator as the assignment is passed around: Do the images work? Do they flow? Do they tell a story? Is there visual impact? Is there visceral impact? Do you want to look at it again?

“It’s not like it’s on the wall,” Wallenstein says. “You’re holding it in your hand, and you’re turning the pages; you’re having a private experience that you don’t have to share. It’s different from going to a gallery.” She adds, “I have always loved books, and I want to pass that on to my students.”

One SVA photo major who caught the bookbinding bug is Lisa Patchem, who will graduate this year. After taking Wallenstein’s class last spring, Patchem has continued to study with Wallenstein as she works on her thesis project, a book that combines historical photographs and present-day images made at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, where the Hindenburg burst into flames.

“It has been a life-altering class,” Patchem says. “I’m really into crafts, and I kind of felt limited in the other classes I was taking. Then I took this bookbinding class and I found my peace. I think it had a lot to do with Ellen and a lot to do with the format.” Patchem adds, “The book: It just made sense to me.”

Contact Ellen Wallenstein at ellen@ellenwallenstein.com for more information about her bookbinding classes.