I was completely unaware of this interview, which happened on Feb 6, 2014 during the TLV1 weekend edition.
Little less than a year ago Sipur Pashut Bookstore, located at Shabazi 36, Neveh Tzedek, Tel Aviv, kindly accepted my diptych book series with the Tel Aviv street photographs - Color and Oly and
Shira Levy from the store spoke about them on the literature section of the TLV1 weekend cultural program. Seven minutes of great review I highly recommend to hear. I also attach the textual transcript below.
Little less than a year ago Sipur Pashut Bookstore, located at Shabazi 36, Neveh Tzedek, Tel Aviv, kindly accepted my diptych book series with the Tel Aviv street photographs - Color and Oly and
Shira Levy from the store spoke about them on the literature section of the TLV1 weekend cultural program. Seven minutes of great review I highly recommend to hear. I also attach the textual transcript below.
Transcript
[host]- Soo, new book of photographs that you have in your book store..
[SL]- These are actually two small books of photographs with the same name - "The photographs from the streets of Tel Aviv" and they are by a young artist called Denis Kopylenko...
[SL]- And they are both very interesting - one is with the black and white photographs and the other one is with color photographs and there he captures very interesting moments and scenes from the streets of contemporary Tel Aviv, ..
[host]- And why are these two books?
[SL]- I think it was just a matter of separating the black and white from the colored images, from what I can tell
....
[host]- Soo, new book of photographs that you have in your book store..
[SL]- These are actually two small books of photographs with the same name - "The photographs from the streets of Tel Aviv" and they are by a young artist called Denis Kopylenko...
[SL]- And they are both very interesting - one is with the black and white photographs and the other one is with color photographs and there he captures very interesting moments and scenes from the streets of contemporary Tel Aviv, ..
[host]- And why are these two books?
[SL]- I think it was just a matter of separating the black and white from the colored images, from what I can tell
....
[host]- Are you supposed to buy it as one, or you can buy..
[SL]- No, you can buy them separately, but they both are called "Photographs from the streets of Tel Aviv" and they have these subtitles...
[host]- Ok, and this guy, Denis Kopylenko, is he Israeli?
[SL]- He is Israeli, he lives here at the moment, I think he is from the former Soviet Union originally and he does a very interesting work, he is relatively young, I don't think he is very well known yet and he self-published both of his books and he did a really wonderful job - they both are very professional and the printing is beautiful, it is very comfortably layed-out,...
[host]- so, what is so interesting about the streets of Tel Aviv, that he can do a whole two books about it?..
[SL]- ahh, so I..
[host]- It's kind of a rhetorical question, because.. of course, the streets of Tel Aviv are interesting, but, kind of visually, in terms of photography, what is it that he captures?
[SL]- There is really,.. really a lot going on in Tel Aviv and I think, what is interesting about these books..., what we came across in Sipur Pashut was that a lot of people, as lot of tourists come in and ask for, you know, things that they should.. books that are interesting about, contemporary things that are happening, books that they can buy for a people back home, people who want to buy a present for people who live abroad. On that level it is always very interesting to have a very different perspective.. and he is definitely very honest about the way he captures those different moments, different people in the streets of Tel Aviv, so on one hand it is very nice in this respect, but on the other, it is interesting for the people, who live in Tel Aviv, I think, definitely, it is also very interesting in terms of photography, I think, it is good photography, that gives you a different perspective on things, which you already know. It is also a good opportunity to take a little more time and figure out what's going on in the photograph.., behind the photograph, I think that this is what he does very well.
[host]- And, give us some examples of the photos... the examples, that just.. - what would one photo look like?
[SL]- ..what is interesting about the photos is that at first glance these almost look like snapshots. Like, there is a photograph of an old man, who looks like dancing and it is very interesting and you try to figure out whether there is a Greek tavern around, but it is here in Tel Aviv, so it isn't there, and there are photographs of the people on the beach, and the people sitting around, eating in the restaurants, and they seem almost mundane, like a snapshot, but when you look a little bit closer, it is interesting, because it is from an angle, that you wouldn't have noticed just walking down the street, just seeing things when going by, or when you are on the bus, or car, or something like that, but when you take the time, you start to understand how interesting Tel Aviv really is, how many different, you know, things are going on and how many different kinds of people live there, and I think that what is happening in these books give you an interesting idea or perspective..
[host]- What is the audience for these kinds of books, because I'm sure, first of all, that they must be quite expensive to make and then quite expensive to purchase, I mean, by putting a book like this in your book store how many copies do you expect to sell? Is there an audience for books about photographs of Tel Aviv?
[SL]- I think, it is true that most art books in general are relatively very expensive and especially the ones we bring from abroad, but these books are relatively small, they are not as expensive, they are around hundred sheqels each, which is still significant amount of money, but not like, you know, a major photography book, which will be even more expensive, but there are, especially in Tel Aviv, photography lovers and art lovers, and there are always people, who are interested in new things that are going on, new perspective on things, and are really trying to understand how you can do something new in this janre, in this medium, that really has so many things that has been done before and it is always interesting how it is done with the fresh eye or a fresh look and I think there are relatively a lot of people, that are interested in that
[host]- Right, so, shall people want to have a look at this book, or purchase it, where shall they go?
[SL]- they can definitely come and visit us at Siput Pashut, on Shabazi 36 in Neve Tzedek, and there is always our website - SipurPashut.com
[host]- Is there a little area in your bookstore, where people can just sit and read?
[SL]- yeah, we actually have a really great patio with some benches and chairs and the store also has a very nice yard in the back, where people may sit... it is maybe a little bit cold right now, but..
[host]- haha
[SL]- but it is very nice to sit-out and..
[host]- It sounds lovely, but I'm afraid that if I sat-out in this little area, I would never buy books, because, I would just sit there all day and read.. I wouldn't be the best client, haha..
[SL]- haha..
[host]- Alright, thank you so much for sharing that book with us and I'll look forward to speaking with you again soon
[SL]- me too, thank you very much
[SL]- No, you can buy them separately, but they both are called "Photographs from the streets of Tel Aviv" and they have these subtitles...
[host]- Ok, and this guy, Denis Kopylenko, is he Israeli?
[SL]- He is Israeli, he lives here at the moment, I think he is from the former Soviet Union originally and he does a very interesting work, he is relatively young, I don't think he is very well known yet and he self-published both of his books and he did a really wonderful job - they both are very professional and the printing is beautiful, it is very comfortably layed-out,...
[host]- so, what is so interesting about the streets of Tel Aviv, that he can do a whole two books about it?..
[SL]- ahh, so I..
[host]- It's kind of a rhetorical question, because.. of course, the streets of Tel Aviv are interesting, but, kind of visually, in terms of photography, what is it that he captures?
[SL]- There is really,.. really a lot going on in Tel Aviv and I think, what is interesting about these books..., what we came across in Sipur Pashut was that a lot of people, as lot of tourists come in and ask for, you know, things that they should.. books that are interesting about, contemporary things that are happening, books that they can buy for a people back home, people who want to buy a present for people who live abroad. On that level it is always very interesting to have a very different perspective.. and he is definitely very honest about the way he captures those different moments, different people in the streets of Tel Aviv, so on one hand it is very nice in this respect, but on the other, it is interesting for the people, who live in Tel Aviv, I think, definitely, it is also very interesting in terms of photography, I think, it is good photography, that gives you a different perspective on things, which you already know. It is also a good opportunity to take a little more time and figure out what's going on in the photograph.., behind the photograph, I think that this is what he does very well.
[host]- And, give us some examples of the photos... the examples, that just.. - what would one photo look like?
[SL]- ..what is interesting about the photos is that at first glance these almost look like snapshots. Like, there is a photograph of an old man, who looks like dancing and it is very interesting and you try to figure out whether there is a Greek tavern around, but it is here in Tel Aviv, so it isn't there, and there are photographs of the people on the beach, and the people sitting around, eating in the restaurants, and they seem almost mundane, like a snapshot, but when you look a little bit closer, it is interesting, because it is from an angle, that you wouldn't have noticed just walking down the street, just seeing things when going by, or when you are on the bus, or car, or something like that, but when you take the time, you start to understand how interesting Tel Aviv really is, how many different, you know, things are going on and how many different kinds of people live there, and I think that what is happening in these books give you an interesting idea or perspective..
[host]- What is the audience for these kinds of books, because I'm sure, first of all, that they must be quite expensive to make and then quite expensive to purchase, I mean, by putting a book like this in your book store how many copies do you expect to sell? Is there an audience for books about photographs of Tel Aviv?
[SL]- I think, it is true that most art books in general are relatively very expensive and especially the ones we bring from abroad, but these books are relatively small, they are not as expensive, they are around hundred sheqels each, which is still significant amount of money, but not like, you know, a major photography book, which will be even more expensive, but there are, especially in Tel Aviv, photography lovers and art lovers, and there are always people, who are interested in new things that are going on, new perspective on things, and are really trying to understand how you can do something new in this janre, in this medium, that really has so many things that has been done before and it is always interesting how it is done with the fresh eye or a fresh look and I think there are relatively a lot of people, that are interested in that
[host]- Right, so, shall people want to have a look at this book, or purchase it, where shall they go?
[SL]- they can definitely come and visit us at Siput Pashut, on Shabazi 36 in Neve Tzedek, and there is always our website - SipurPashut.com
[host]- Is there a little area in your bookstore, where people can just sit and read?
[SL]- yeah, we actually have a really great patio with some benches and chairs and the store also has a very nice yard in the back, where people may sit... it is maybe a little bit cold right now, but..
[host]- haha
[SL]- but it is very nice to sit-out and..
[host]- It sounds lovely, but I'm afraid that if I sat-out in this little area, I would never buy books, because, I would just sit there all day and read.. I wouldn't be the best client, haha..
[SL]- haha..
[host]- Alright, thank you so much for sharing that book with us and I'll look forward to speaking with you again soon
[SL]- me too, thank you very much
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