Chris Boot, a former editorial director of Phaidon Press and a former director of the New York and London offices of Magnum, the international photo cooperative, has been named executive director of the Aperture Foundation, the Manhattan-based photographic resource center and publishing house. Boot’s appointment will become effective in January 2011 and he succeeds Juan García de Oteyza, who has been executive director of Aperture for the last two years.
For the last eight years Boot has directed Chris Boot Ltd., a London-based exhibition producer and photographic publishing house. While at Phaidon, Boot edited such works as Robert Capa, the Definitive Collection by Richard Whelan and the Phaidon 55 series, which included volumes on such photographers as Nan Goldin, Mary Ellen Mark, Shomei Tomatsu, Dorothea Lange and W. Eugene Smith.
Boot said “I’m really excited about the new job, and all the challenges and opportunities ahead.” He also said that his assistant Maxwell Anderson will takeover management of Chris Boot Ltd., which "will not initiate any new projects from now on.” Boot said his company will continue “to manage its catalogue of books in print, special editions, prints and rights. Our books will continue to be available in bookshops, distributed by DAP in USA/Canada, and Thames and Hudson everywhere else.”
Celso Gonzalez-Falla, chairman of the Aperture board, praised Boot’s experience in the field. “His vast experience working in photography in a variety of positions, including as editor and publisher, and his passion for and knowledge of photography, makes him uniquely qualified to set Aperture’s course for the future as Aperture gears up to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2012.”
