Calin Kruse
About
Calin Kruse studied Graphic Design. He is the founder and maker of dienacht Magazine and dienacht Publishing, director of the Leipzig Photobook Festival, and is a photographer himself. Calin is also a curator, holds guest talks, lectures, makes photobook workshops and masterclasses around the world (Berlin, Vienna, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Moscow, Lagos, Georgetown, Mexico City, Yerevan, Rangoon, etc.), and reviews portfolios for photography and photobook festivals.
Scheduled to Teach
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LACP Interviews Calin Kruse
LACP asks Calin Kruse ten questions about their background, career in and beliefs about photography.
Los Angeles Center of Photography: What is your primary focus as a book publisher?
Calin Kruse: We want to find the language of every single photo project and translate it into a book object. Each of our books has a unique language; with every new project, we start from zero and ask how the photographic series feels, what it needs in order to reach its full potential, and how we can support that through the shape of the book.
“dienacht, if correctly spelled, means “the night”, and we’re interested in everything that happens in the shadows – topics that obviously exist but are not very visible; we like looking under the surface.
LACP: How long have you been involved with book publishing?
CK: I’ve bound one of my first homeworks at 8 y.o. as a magazine, and since then, I’ve been interested in the medium. I started publishing the first issue of a biannual photography magazine called “dienacht Magazine” while studying in 2007 (until 2018) and founded dienacht Publishing in 2012. Since 2022, I’m directing the Leipzig Photobook Festival.
LACP: Where did you get your training?
CK: I studied graphic design in Germany, but I quickly got into photography and publishing, as well as curating photography and conducting photobook workshops around the world.
LACP: What have you enjoyed most about the publishing business?
CK: It’s versatile; it’s a playground for experiments with shapes, materials, papers, bindings, etc. I enjoy finding solutions for making things happen. And unlike in many other fields, publishing is something that you can actually do from home, in a small print run, and there’s a market for it.
LACP: What classes do you teach at LACP?
CK: The Photobook Process: Editing, Sequencing, and Design.
LACP: What do you love most about teaching?
CK: I enjoy supporting photographers in finding their own voice and translating it into a photobook. And again, finding solutions for difficult questions regarding the production of a book, zine, or artist book.