NEW HORIZONS - Details of the book project
(This list is not exhaustive. You may have more questions. If so, please send us yours if you don't find it listed below, or post it on our Facebook page)Isn't € 212 a bit expensive for a book?
Shouldn't looking at the horizon be free-of-charge?Yes, it is. But for an artwork of this type, size and weight, it's actually rather inexpensive. Instead of paying € 750 for one single print (50x75cm) or even
€ 3 500 (133x200cm), you can now have access to 500 horizons at only a fraction of that price.
Also, rest assured that we intend to create an object that is worth more than € 212. By the value of its quality and ingredients (design, print, binding), but especially by the value of the experience of buying, owning, displaying or giving away a unique & numbered piece of art out of a total collection of only 2012 copies.
Finally, it may help comparing the effect of browsing through this book (= concentrated relaxation and self-reflection) to the price you would otherwise pay for a similar experience, i.e. by booking a night in a hotel or a session with a professional trainer/coach.
Also note that by ordering the book now, you will receive 50% discount on the post-production selling price.
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Why do you not use print-on-demand so you can sell the books one by one?Yes, it should be. Moreover, it IS. Take some time off and look around you. You deserve it, it's there for you and it's free. Ain't life beautiful?
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Will the book be worth more in the future?1) Because that's not a fun challenge to work on. 2) Because this is not meant to be an ongoing administrative excercise, and, most importantly 3) because the whole print run of 2012 represents one work of art with 2 012 parts to it. While the other way around, 2 012 independently produced copies cannot add up to become one work of art. It's a matter of intention. Like a sculpture causes more excitement when it's carved out of one piece.
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Who's earning money from this project?It will be more expensive after production, so you may be able to sell it at a higher price than the original pre-production purchase price. But like buying a house, you shoudn't buy it just for the sake of the investment if you do not expect to enjoy the simple fact of owning it.
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What else could I buy for € 212It is the intention to make everybody involved earn an honest share. Like with fair trade bananas or coffee. Asking them to contribute the best they possibly can, also means that they deserve to be rewarded for their expertise and effort. The project budget also grants me a modest rounding margin to cover the time I invest in this project as well as the risks involved (if it doesn't get eaten by unexpected additional costs). My main income will have to come from the sale of 750 copies remaining after production.
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How am I supposed to value a book that doesn't even exist yet?A night at the hotel whose rooftop we used, a couple of hours worth of personal coaching, a day in a sauna or spa. Little over 25% of a NEW HORIZONS art print at 50x75cm. 10 CDs. About 2 hours of me working for you on an assignment.
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What will the book teach or bring me?This book is about adventure. About seeing beyond obstacles and known excuses not to do something. The experience of pre-registering for this book fits that philosophy. You can only indirectly antipipate whether you will want to buy the book. It may be a matter of feeling excited about the whole set-up of the project. Here's some hints.
1) By browsing the image archive and deciding that such a variety of impressions is bound to make a good book. Especially if it is
2) designed by Rob van Hoesel, a reputed Dutch graphic designer.
You may also feel more secure knowing about the careful production process with prestigious partners (listed here). Or you may enjoy the book as a physical manifestation of the adventures that led to its creation. Then, you may enjoy seeing yourself as a pioneer, someone who is open to new experiences, to travelling and to living live as a legend rather than a user manual. Also, you may fare on our commitment to make this a precious and timeless piece of art that you will enjoy owning.
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What makes this book different from other books?NEW HORIZONS will not necessarily teach you anything. However, casting your view on the horizon helps asking yourself the Right Question. What that Right Question is, depends on each moment, your mood and the challenges you face. Like during a walk on the beach, browsing the book will help you defragment your brain and let them float more freely. Seeing around and beyond obstacles and impossibilities, you will be in an ideal mindset to think about how to live closer to your legend.
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If I sign up, when will I have to pay?The intention with which it was made. To be an art object in itself, in turn part of the art object of the entire print run. The book is also intended to be of outstanding quality, novel, fair-trade and unprecedented. A photo book with no text, with the story singing around it or projected onto the wealth of images by you as a reader. A photo book that deserves permament exhibition in your living or meeting room, on your piano, coffee table. Its ability to lie open flat on any page in the book helps every spread to serve as a separate composition worth showing, with something new to be seen and discovered at every glance.
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Will I get my money back if the book doesn't get produced?
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But what if you don't manage to sell 1 250 copies?We will make sure it does get produced. We have invested too much time, energy and money ourselves to allow this project not to culminate into the book publication we intend to present. On top of that, this project is not a matter of whether it happens, but how we can make it happen.
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But what if you sell more than 1250 copies?We are committed to making this project happen, if necessary in a smaller print run than intended. The success of the funding campaign will not depend on whether we manage to sell these 1250 copies, but by when we manage to sell them. It is our intention to make present the book on 4 December 2014.
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But how about the image quality?That is not going to happen prior to production, because pre-registration closes once 1 250 copies have been sold. The purchase price guarantee of € 84.95 does not extend to copies beyond this number. Much rather, expect the price to increase to € 124.95:
1) to allow the book to be sold through intermediaries and being able to pay them market conform commissions for their efforts;
2) to allow for profits which are not incorporated into the pre-pick up sales price of € 84.95.
3) because by then you know exactly what you pay for so there is no risk left to take.
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Why should I pay for somebody else's pleasure?The images you see on the website are all compressed JPG-files, to allow for storage and display of almost 9 000 images online. All images have been recorded with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II full-frame DSLR camera in RAW-format, which allows for prints up to 2 metres wide (which is what they were intended for in the first place). The largest images in the book will measure approximately 48x33 cm and will be print from > 100 Mb-size files in extremely high quality, tested through various pre-print proofing runs.
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Who are you anyway?You shouldn't buy this book if you don't expect it to give you anything in return. You may want to buy it because your are fascinated by the horizon. By the North Sea or the beach. By living in a flat country, by having visited it or not even. By being a fan of modern art or photography.
You may want to buy it because you find this project inspiring in the way it gradually transforms from a vague idea into tangible pieces of art and an instrument to bring people and ideas together. Because you expect the book to become a collector's item one day. Or for another reason not listed here. Please also feel free not to buy it if you think the project is too slow, uninteresting or not sufficiently fashionable to meet your requirements.
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Will you sign the book for me?Bruno van den Elshout, 33 years, father of Lasse (born 2009), Dutch citizen, born, raised and living in The Hague. Studied International Business Management (The Hague, Clermont-Ferrand, Paris - 1997-2001) and Journalism (2004), worked in international trade (2001-2010) within various industries and up to corporate/strategic investment level. Spent one year travelling all 27 EU-member states to interview young Europans about their daily lives (book: Crossroad Europe, 2009). Working as a professional photographer since 2006, assignmens with KLM, NS, Cordaid, Chamber of Commerce, ANWB. Specialised in autonomous visual research projects, investigating the relation between daily environment and mental programming. More info via Twitter: @photologix, LinkedIn or Facebook.
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How are you going to manage pre-selling 1250 copies? What's the strategy?With pleasure. Let me know, too, if you want something added to the signature.
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Will this book make you famous?There is no strategy other than trying to engage and involve as many people as possible. Selling art is an art in itself. If done well. Not only is this project about adventure, this project is an adventure in itself. A path of discovery, gradually enfolding, and providing a source of new inspiration for unpredictable spin-off projects in art, commerce or otherwise. If you wish to stay updated on the progress, sign up for the 'Shared Adventures'-newsletter to stay posted.
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Which partners are involved in the project?Possibly. That would be a good sign, wouldn't it?
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How can I help make this project happen?People who are active in the book making process are listed on this page. In previous stages of NEW HORIZONS, we have received numerous contributions. Technical photographer Roelof de Vries helped design the machine that took the images. Marius Peltenburg helped assemble and install it on the rooftop. Weerhuisje.nl provided us with a weather station, Kamera Express lent us a camera for one year at no charge. Other people have been contributing programming code, like Adrian Winter. If you read 'we' on this page, that's because a whole team has worked to bring this project to where it is now and all the way to where we want it to go.
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Definitely one of the best ways is to preorder one or several copies of the book. Also, it serves as a solid statement when you tell others about the project - which is another very powerful catalyser of this project. Feel invited to share if you know people or companies who are in search for an instrument to incite inspiration and open-mindedness. Another way to help is by letting me know about speaking opportunities, I like telling about this adventure in public.
You can also help in ways that does not directly contribute to the book, but instead help me manage the rest of my life. Just granting me a paid assignment will help me big time. Here's what I can do:
- photograph your business event;
- write an article or even a book;
- distill a strategy to help you reach your business or personal goals;
- to give a lecture or moderate an interactive session;
- to tell you all about cultural diversity in Europe;
Anything left that makes you wonder? Let us know, we will be happy to hear from you!