Vulcanites, 13 Years Later

Thirteen years ago, Vulcanites launched at Inferno Gallery with a room full of fans, friends and fellow artists. The book is still in print, and it means more now than it did then. Link to buy: Blurb (Hardcover)

Vulcan Lofts in East Oakland began life as a steel factory and became an artist live-work space: part studio, part home, and part long-running experiment in how creative people choose to live. Vulcanites documents that world in 80 detailed photographs of residents inside their spaces. Each portrait is paired with a statement the resident wrote at the time. Nowhere else is this chapter of Oakland's underground loft living and art scene captured this way, in the residents' own words and in their own rooms.

Since the book came out, we've lost some of the people who made that chapter. Gary-Paul Barbosa Prince, owner and curator of Inferno Gallery, has passed, along with several of the residents featured in these pages. When the book launched, Gary-Paul wrote this about it:

"In this beautiful book, photographer Ren Dodge examines people in their homes at Vulcan Studios aka Vulcan Lofts in East Oakland, California. A steel factory turned artists live-work space has spawned a vibrant community of artists, free thinkers and friends. The unique interior architecture and vivid personalities pose a compelling subject for documentary photography. Coupled with snippets of text written by the subjects, Vulcanites offers a portal into a not so often seen world of interesting individuals who shape the creative community in Oakland."

Thank you, Gary-Paul. Your gallery gave this book its first home.

About the price. Yes, Vulcanites costs about twice as much as a typical photo book. That's because it's printed on demand, one copy at a time, which keeps it available but isn't cheap. I make $40 on each copy, and the rest goes to the printer. I think it's worth it. This is the only place these people, rooms and words exist together, and some of them now exist only here.

Vulcanites is available on Blurb (Hardcover) or Amazon (Softcover).