American Photobooth [Hardcover]

Nakki Goranin (Author), David Haberstich (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2008

A fascinating history of an American institution that includes an extraordinary collection of photobooth images.

"That a perceptive, dedicated, and sensitive artist like Näkki Goranin has rescued from oblivion so many amazing self-portraits created by amateurs confronting themselves in the fleeting privacy of humble photobooths is yet another miracle for which we can be grateful."—from the foreword by David Haberstich

Generally relegated to the realm of kitsch, the history and cultural importance of the photobooth has long been overlooked. Here, Näkki Goranin documents the invention, technological evolution, and commercial history of the photobooth with extensive illustrations culled from twenty-five years of collecting. Complementing this history is a powerful collection of heartbreaking, funny, and absolutely beautiful photobooth images. These often solitary figures—seeking freedom, confession, a thrill—are evocative of a lost time and place. Haberstich writes, "For anyone who assumes that photobooth pictures are perfunctory, utilitarian records at best, the range of emotions and moods portrayed by the subjects of [this] collection is a revelation." Over 200 color and black-and-white photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Like many other American inventions, the DIY photo-portrait machine was the brainchild of immigrants, each of whom approached slightly differently the challenge of putting a developing and printing lab, along with a good camera, in the same box with a sitting studio and making the whole shebang percolate at the drop of a quarter. Goranin briefly recaps the careers of those inventors, as well as notable exploiters of the technology once it was in production. They’re such an interesting lot that one wishes she had applied that last bit of polish to her prose (she is addicted to dangling modifiers). For many, the fact that the photo booth is still made, however modified, and gainfully employed will be the text’s big revelation. Meanwhile, the gallery of photo-booth portraits Goranin has amassed, and, as a photographer, contributed to, constitute the book’s big attraction. These faces of six decades are everything their autoportraitists could have hoped they would be—silly, joyous, friendly, loving, frank, naughty, honest—and charming besides. Spellbinding. --Ray Olson

Review

"That a perceptive, dedicated, and sensitive artist like Nakki Goranin has rescued from oblivion so many amazing self-portraits created by amateurs confronting themselves in the fleeting privacy of humble photobooths is yet another miracle for which we can be grateful." David Haberstich" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton; 1 edition (February 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393065561
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065565
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.9 x 10.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history. Visual goldmine!!! February 29, 2008

By Bibliomaniac

Format:Hardcover

The title of this book is perfect. What American hasn't had that moment in a photo booth waiting for the
flash of light, deciding second to second what pose to strike with or without accomplices? And then...
the wait for the magical strip of photos.

It's fascinating to find that this seemingly American invention was not invented by an American.
Even the history of the photobooth is filled with photos and ephemera about this "American" institution.
American Photobooth addresses this sociological phenomenon in a concise and fascinating way.
Who knew the depth of history to the everyday photobooth?

A great read and visual feast. A fabulous collection of photos, evoking the human spirit, its highs and lows.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The ultimate pedestrian art." March 5, 2008

By Luan Gaines HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Aside from the nostalgia of this collection, American Photobooth is a fabulous coffee table book, a varied collection of black and white and color images from the photobooths that have contributed to this country's collective photographic history- literally the faces of friends, strangers, couples, service men and their girls soon off to World War II, a stunning compilation reproduced on high quality paper, the images prefaced with a detailed history of the photobooth.

It all began with the 1894 invention of a Parisian vending machine. Once the concept of the coin-operated vending machine was embraced by an evolving popular culture, these booths became a favorite pastime, "the ultimate pedestrian art". Over the years the concept developed, along with techniques to streamline the process, photo strips available to customers for twenty-five cents. A number of entrepreneurs contributed to this emerging art form that could be found in storefronts, department stores and virtually any place one of these booths would fit. The technology progressed with the times, from a "plumbless" machine that no longer required a water supply to various chemical paper treatments that allowed quick-drying, cost-efficient results.

Over the years, booths were refined redesigned and updated under a series of names: Photomaton, Phototeria, Mutoscope Photographics, Photo-Me USA, Tru-Photo and Photo-Dome, through a number of innovative family-owned enterprises appearing everywhere, including the Depression. By the 1970s color strips arrived; by the 80s chemical photobooths were nearly phased out. The first art promoter to use the photobooth, Andy Warhol made the images part of the American artistic lexicon. But for those of us who ever posed with a friend, inserted a quarter and received a strip of four pictures, this book is a reminder of simpler days. Although "this American tradition stands on the brink of extinction". Goranin's wonderful collection offers a trip to the past, from the early 20th century, page after page of smiling faces hoping to capture a moment in a fast-moving world. Luan Gaines/ 2008.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Implied Truths December 29, 2009

By Ed C. Fields Jr.

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Consider what is implied in these marvelous photos. First, note that there are many formal portraits of Blacks. There was no portrait studio in their part of town and 'White' studios did not want their business. Also, since the 'photographer' was a machine, the 'subject' did not have to worry about bigotry on the part of the of the person behind the camera. They used the only resource they had to record themselves. Also, since the 'photographer' was a machine and the photobooth resembled a confessional, the person inside was, one could say, in a state of grace and totally in the moment. You could do or be whatever you chose-which is why the doors were replaced by curtains-and only a select audience would see the results, but you only had thirty seconds to decide what to do or be-which called for spontaneity. One could write a book on the sociological, psychological, historical, etc. layers in these photos or one can simply marvel at them and consider the mysteries contained in these do-it-yourself masterpieces. The subjects got the best of both worlds. They have been preserved for posterity but with their anonymity intact.