Steidl is Gerhard Steidl who runs the Steidl-Verlag press, offering up expensive art books. But more than that, he’s also the publisher, hence the travel, and the long conversations with Sternfeld, whose iDubai is a collection of surreptitiously-taken cell phone photos, hence the seemingly flummoxing scene in which Sternfeld compares the light of the photography on the paper to the photos themselves on his iPhone. It also forms a funny scene in which Steidl watches the test printing while Sternfeld scrolls quickly through the photos on his iPhone.
The one thing that makes Steidl a formidable publisher, printer and businessman is the equivalent of the conductor of a fine symphony orchestra: Close attention to all detail. He could have 50 things coming at him at once and he would calmly, meticulously see to each one and then move on to the next one, never becoming overwhelmed by all there is to do. That kind of calm is almost otherworldly, but it’s necessary. It also sharpens his convictions, and keeps him on a steady footing when he’s hashing out the details of Sternfeld’s book with Sternfeld, who disagrees with him on many points, but Steidl knows what would look best, no matter that they were photos taken on a cell phone.
The process of printing a book with Steidl is fascinating, as he works to figure out what’s best for each book. There’s no standard format with him; every book has different needs and he gives each one just that individual attention. In a way, it’s as if Willy Wonka were to sit you down and explain how he came up with an Everlasting Gobstopper or a Scrumdiddlyumptious Bar. Granted, Steidl’s process isn’t so secretive, but here he is, in what he calls his laboratory, much like Willy Wonka would be in his own work. Leather for the cover? What color for the spines? Every question and ensuing consideration of that question matters. A book may have Sternfeld’s name on it, or Ed Ruscha and his take on Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, but it’s also Steidl’s book. The evidence is on every page, as well as traveling to find out what his varied authors and artists and photographers want and how they might best get it by Steidl’s methods.
Alive Mind Cinema, courtesy of Kino Lorber of course, presents a bare-bones DVD with nothing more than text rightfully heralding what Alive Mind Cinema is all about. That’s really all that can be done, because after an hour and 31 minutes of Steidl’s passion and livelihood, what other questions can there possibly be? There’s nothing the filmmakers could done with an onscreen essay or an interview that would have added more to what’s already here. They’ve done fine work here and if you pay close enough attention, you can see their various filmmaking techniques at work, including one shot inside a car, passing by a bunch of houses, and when the sun hits the window just right, you can see the reflection of a lens.
Steidl’s books are pricey ($11,000 for each of the 230 copies printed of Ed Ruscha’s On the Road) and relatively cheap ($38 for iDubai). For us average folk, here is a priceless examination of one man who loves books and especially loves contributing to the publishing world his ideas of books. As advances in technology make the world seem even more faster-paced, we can take comfort in knowing that it’s not unfashionable to be caring and careful in your work. Time is never wasted when you’re doing what’s right for you.
