Utopia

Joel Sternfeld, from Sweet Earth: Experimental Utopias in America

Blue Sky's bookshelves, yet another experimental Utopia in America

All the year end book talking has me indulging my own Utopian fantasies. What if there were a place where anyone could just walk in and spend an hour looking at a great photo book, or five, that they might not have access to otherwise? Here in my neck of the woods, we've got Powell's and a few other great independents, but even though they're better than most of the bookstores in the country, they still fall short when it comes to keeping up on the photo scene. Well, as I've previously mentioned, I'm on the exhibition committee at Blue Sky and among the great features of our new fancy space are these bookshelves, now only 1/3rd full at most. So, consider this: if you happen to be among the great photographers out there who have a book or two under your belt, are putting out on-demand books, or maybe just have a friend or two on the publishing side of things, consider donating, or persuading them to donate to the Blue Sky library. As Blue Sky is a non-profit, any donation would be tax-deductible, right? And if nothing else, it's building toward a great collection of photography books that puts your work directly into the hands of people who actually care about photography, accessible anytime the gallery is open. Next time you come through Portland you could spend an hour or two there yourself.