"Gothic Resilience" Limited Edition book out now

The edition is limited to 190 copies, individually numbered and signed by the artist. The hardcover book is in horizontal format 11.5 x 9 inches tall, printed on beautiful matte surface uncoated paper; 84 pages with 69 photographs printed in black and white, sepia and color. Notes and essays by Colin Winterbottom are also included. A custom dust jacket featuring the photo "Ribs and Spine" wraps the volume in an embrace that plays off the symmetry and detail of that photo. The book was printed in the studios of Conveyor Arts in Newark, New Jersey -- an independent US printer specializing in small runs of fine art photography books; Colin printed the dust jacket. Thanks to Mimi McNamara for exceptional graphic design.

NOTE I have very few copies of this book left so am no longer selling copies online.  I may make limited numbers available at Open Studio events.  Email with me if you have questions.

Colin's comments on release of this book:

After two decades photographing DC’s historic architecture—often from restoration scaffold—the opportunity to make these photos at National Cathedral felt like the perfect fit. As the series grew and I exhibited early work, many people from the Cathedral and others who knew my work urged me to make a book of it. Publishing in the old-school way is pretty rough these days—it’s always challenging to find backers and the few publishers left out there can drop their commitments pretty lightly these days. Even the best scenario can take years to finish and involve numerous creative compromises – and they always want to find the cheapest quick-job printers in some untested print shop overseas. The best way I could find to make a book consistent with my exhibited work in terms of look and quality was to make an independent photo art book.

New printing technologies make it possible to print a small run of books with remarkable quality. I found a great printer outside New York that’s renowned for their attention to fine photos; my graphic designer Mimi McNamara and I chose a great, uncoated matte paper that has a perfect texture for the photos. And the richness and details of the photos really pleased me – these pages really capture the tones and feel I reach for when I make my own fine prints. It wasn’t an inexpensive way to go and I had to put quite a bit on the table to print the edition, but the great quality made it worth the gamble, I think. I’m really proud of the final piece, and having it in hand just as the major interior work is wrapping it up is remarkable.

Lovers of the Cathedral who put up with years of netting and scaffold may finally be able to enjoy what was beautiful about the project. Now everyone can understand why those of us who worked in these spaces will miss it. Glad it’s over, of course, but there were moments of striking insight in those high, scaffolded spaces that I think the book reveals.

Shortly after the August 2011, earthquake caused major damage to the Washington National Cathedral, Colin Winterbottom started an unpaid cooperative project with the Cathedral. He documented earthquake damage as well as areas of the Gothic beauty unaffected by the quake.  Perhaps most significant here, though, Winterbottom capitalizes on scaffolding erected to facilitate repairs, making dramatic images from fleeting vantages not likely to be available for decades to come--making this a rare collection indeed.  Purchase of this book helps support his continued work making fine art photographs at the Cathedral and at other sites of historic importance.

Publication of this book coincides with Winterbottom's debut museum exhibit "Scaling Washington" at the National Building Museum.  That exhibit documents earthquake restoration at the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral with a mix of fine art, documentary and technical photographs.  This book overlaps the Cathedral photos in the exhibit somewhat, but gives greater emphasis to fine art photographs made during the same project.  Washington Monument photos are not included in this volume.  Several of the photos in the book are also in the exhibit, but most are not.  More about the exhibit can be seen here; additional photos from this book are shown here.

See more at http://colinwinterbottom.com/