Steidl Book Culture
“Among photographers and photography enthusiasts, Steidl’s reputation is comparable to that of Johannes Gutenberg: it is widely regarded as the finest printer in the world.”
The New Yorker, May 2017
Founded in Göttingen in 1972 by Gerhard Steidl, the publishing house Steidl is a pillar of the art publishing world. Steidl began in the 1960s as a printer and poster designer, entering the realm of contemporary art through independent curating and his collaboration with Joseph Beuys, for whom he was both publisher and assistant. In its early years, Steidl Verlag published photography as well as political essays, later adding a literature section in the 1980s. Since 1994, and increasingly so, it has focused exclusively on photography in the form of the photobook.
Steidl is an unusual, almost legendary publisher. Each of his books is treated, from conception to production, as a work of art in its own right. The process; from the choice of paper to printing, binding, and layout, is personally overseen by him, as are the vital relationships with artists. All of this takes place in Göttingen, his hometown, which he has never left. Steidl Verlag is a building that brings together production, offices, a restaurant, and a library: a workshop of printing, labor, waiting, and discovery. For Steidl, the printed book holds a unique moral and cultural force. It is a democratic yet contradictory art form: a serial object that remains deeply personal, one that has revolutionized the history of society and the world, much as photography did centuries later.
Through more than fifty years of editorial work in the art world, marked by meticulous attention to detail and a radical, forward-looking vision, Steidl has created what may be considered the most important “visual encyclopedia” of photography worldwide. His publications capture not only the photographs but also the gaze, ideas, and personalities of the greatest international photographers.
Steidl Book Culture is that encyclopedia: the complete collection of Steidl’s publications. The project originated from a suggestion by Gerhard Steidl after visiting a wine cellar. Struck by the way wineries preserve a small number of bottles from each year’s production, he began to keep a few copies of every book he published. From there came the idea of making it possible to acquire the entire collection and transform it into a true library: a center of study, culture, preservation, and beauty, now present in only five places in the world.
At Castello di Ama, this collection becomes an integral part not only of the Collection but also of the space and its daily life. Housed in the Arca – a space devoted to care and hospitality – more than 1,100 photobooks published between 2006 and 2024 are integrated into the architectural setting, forming a constellation of images, stories, visions, and multiple temporalities. They resonate with the collection of bottles in the Caveau, making the Arca a perfect embodiment of Castello di Ama, that “microcosm of time, history, nature, and art.”
Among the most renowned artists: Robert Adams, Josef Albers, Nobuyoshi Araki, Lewis Baltz, Joseph Beuys, Koto Bolofo, Louise Bourgeois, Edward Burtynsky, Sophie Calle, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Bruce Davidson, Jim Dine, William Eggleston, Mitch Epstein, Walker Evans, Dan Flavin, Robert Frank, Nan Goldin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Günter Grass, Andreas Gursky, Damien Hirst, Roni Horn, Donald Judd, Anish Kapoor, William Kentridge, Chris Killip, Karl Lagerfeld, David Lynch, Guido Mocafico, Orhan Pamuk, Gordon Parks, Martin Parr, Robert Polidori, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, Matthias Schaller, Richard Serra, Dayanita Singh, Edward Steichen, Joel Sternfeld, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Juergen Teller, Guy Tillim, Andy Warhol, Ai Weiwei, Kanye West.
Castello di Ama: Diligence and Light
A fortunate convergence of experiences and sensibilities has given rise to the book that tells the story of Castello di Ama through the masterful photographs of Aurelio Amendola, the refined words of Bruno Corà, and the invaluable editorial guidance of Gerhard Steidl.
"Castello di Ama: Diligence and light" is a volume that not only celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Collection with images that both interpret and document each work, but also evokes the very atmosphere of Castello di Ama, between its working spaces and the hamlet, its vineyards and olive groves. It highlights a defining principle of the estate: balance. A balance of nature and artifice, of production and hospitality, rooted in that art whose origin lies in making, and which at Ama finds its place.
