Quan Shen - AMC² Issue 8 - 2013
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Description from the seller
AMC2 Issue 8: Quan Shen is an extraordinary example of how a photobook can become much more than a sequence of photographs. Published by the Archive of Modern Conflict in 2013 and compiled and edited by Thomas Sauvin, the publication brings together around sixty anonymous studio portraits made in China between the 1930s and the 1980s.
The portraits, both black and white and hand-coloured, offer an intimate and fascinating glimpse into the changing face of Chinese society. Clothing, hairstyles, poses and studio conventions become subtle markers of social transformation, revealing different generations and the shifting cultural ideals that shaped their lives.
What makes Quan Shen particularly remarkable, however, is the way these photographs are presented. Rather than functioning as a conventional book, the images are mounted on individual cards arranged in a fan, housed inside a compact translucent PVC case. The object can be unfolded, handled and viewed photograph by photograph, turning the act of looking into a tactile experience. ([The Library Project][1])
There is something wonderfully enigmatic about these anonymous faces. Removed from their original contexts, they become fragments of a much larger social history, while the traces of the photographic studios themselves remain visible in the different papers, borders, colouring techniques and poses.
Quan Shen is a remarkable piece of editorial and photographic archaeology: a small, unconventional object that transforms vernacular photographs into a powerful meditation on memory, identity and the passage of time. One of the most inventive publications in the AMC2 series and a fascinating Photobook from the Archive of Modern Conflict.
The book is in very good condition, with only a couple of light lines on the Plexiglas case. Please see the last photograph.
Title: AMC² Issue 8: Quan Shen
Editor: Thomas Sauvin
Designer: Mei Shuzhi
Publisher: Archive of Modern Conflict / AMC Books
Year of publication: 2013
Series: AMC² Journal, Issue 8
Language: English
Format: Fan sampler presented in a transparent PVC box
Pages: 68
Photographs: 60 anonymous portraits
Images: Black and white and hand-coloured photographs
Dimensions: Approximately 19 × 6.6 cm
ISSN: 2048-4135
Binding: Individual cards arranged in a fan format
Subject: Studio portraiture, Chinese vernacular photography, Chinese society and history
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
AMC2 Issue 8: Quan Shen is an extraordinary example of how a photobook can become much more than a sequence of photographs. Published by the Archive of Modern Conflict in 2013 and compiled and edited by Thomas Sauvin, the publication brings together around sixty anonymous studio portraits made in China between the 1930s and the 1980s.
The portraits, both black and white and hand-coloured, offer an intimate and fascinating glimpse into the changing face of Chinese society. Clothing, hairstyles, poses and studio conventions become subtle markers of social transformation, revealing different generations and the shifting cultural ideals that shaped their lives.
What makes Quan Shen particularly remarkable, however, is the way these photographs are presented. Rather than functioning as a conventional book, the images are mounted on individual cards arranged in a fan, housed inside a compact translucent PVC case. The object can be unfolded, handled and viewed photograph by photograph, turning the act of looking into a tactile experience. ([The Library Project][1])
There is something wonderfully enigmatic about these anonymous faces. Removed from their original contexts, they become fragments of a much larger social history, while the traces of the photographic studios themselves remain visible in the different papers, borders, colouring techniques and poses.
Quan Shen is a remarkable piece of editorial and photographic archaeology: a small, unconventional object that transforms vernacular photographs into a powerful meditation on memory, identity and the passage of time. One of the most inventive publications in the AMC2 series and a fascinating Photobook from the Archive of Modern Conflict.
The book is in very good condition, with only a couple of light lines on the Plexiglas case. Please see the last photograph.
Title: AMC² Issue 8: Quan Shen
Editor: Thomas Sauvin
Designer: Mei Shuzhi
Publisher: Archive of Modern Conflict / AMC Books
Year of publication: 2013
Series: AMC² Journal, Issue 8
Language: English
Format: Fan sampler presented in a transparent PVC box
Pages: 68
Photographs: 60 anonymous portraits
Images: Black and white and hand-coloured photographs
Dimensions: Approximately 19 × 6.6 cm
ISSN: 2048-4135
Binding: Individual cards arranged in a fan format
Subject: Studio portraiture, Chinese vernacular photography, Chinese society and history
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Details
Number of books
1
Subject
Photography
Book title
AMC² Issue 8
Author/ Illustrator
Quan Shen
Condition
Good
Publication year oldest item
2013
Height
19 cm
Edition
1st Edition
Width
6.6 cm
Language
English
Original language
Yes
Publisher
Archive of Modern Conflict / AMC Books
Binding/ Material
Hardback
Extras
Slipcase
Number of pages
60
