The Recession Hits Aperture

Aperture is in the process of laying off staff and cutting the number of books they publish. Here is the press release.

Realistically, we can expect this from all the other publishing houses. There will be fewer photobooks published over the next couple of years and the ones that are published, for the most part, will only be ones that are certain (by publishing standards) to be popular (and will probably be cheaply produced and priced.) As the recession drags on, or gets worse, more people will lose their jobs and will be forced to sell more things to get by. We can expect more stuff to end up on eBay, more books to appear at auction, more used books in the bookstores.

The lack of money, the fear of lacking money and the divesting of possessions will depress prices. That's the way these things go, economically.

What this means is that those books you've coveted for so long but couldn't afford will be within reach...assuming that your access to capital is secure and stays consistent and you don't get spooked by what's going on around you. You'll be able to pick up many bargains (by today's past-looking standards), fill in those gaps in the collection.

The only problem with snapping up everything within reach is that if this recession turns into a depression and hangs around, most everything you snap up will be relatively worthless for many years. Because, overall, there will be less money floating around. And we will therefore be a poorer country. Possibly, for a while.

But you know what, the books and the work they hold will intrinsically hold their value: the work will still be good, enjoyable to look at, interact with. And in the end, that's the only reason to buy art.