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THE MEXICAN SUITCASE (8/30/11) From Lee
Those lucky enough to attend the
International Center of Photography’s extraordinary exhibition
devoted to “The Mexican Suitcase” are aware of the enigma of
this amazing trove of photographic negatives taken during The
Spanish Civil War. “In late December 2007, three small cardboard
boxes arrived at the ICP from Mexico City after a long and
mysterious journey. These tattered boxes - the so-called Mexican
Suitcase - contained the legendary Spanish Civil War negatives
of Robert Capa. Rumors had circulated for years of the survival
of the negatives, which had disappeared from Capa's Paris studio
at the beginning of World War II. Cornell Capa, Robert's brother
and the founder of ICP, had diligently tracked down each tale
and vigorously sought out the negatives, but to no avail. When,
at last, the boxes were opened for the eighty-nine year old
Cornell Capa, they revealed 126 rolls of film—not only by Robert
Capa, but also by Gerda Taro and David Seymour (known as "Chim"),
three of the major photographers of the Spanish Civil War.
Together, these roles of film constitute an inestimable record
of photographic innovation and war photography, but also of the
great political struggle to determine the course of Spanish
history and to turn back the expansion of global fascism. The
three were among the first photographers to go into battle with
their small, handheld cameras and photograph the bombing and
fighting as it unfolded. They were partisan photojournalists,
committed to the Spanish Republican cause and the importance of
educating people about the growing threat of fascism through the
picture press. They photographed in Spain throughout the war -
Taro was killed in action there. Their partisan engagement
helped them get closer to their subjects and consequently make
powerful images”.
Our friend, curator and filmmaker Trisha Ziff has completed a compelling new documentary on this fascinating aspect of photographic history entitled “The Mexican Suitcase” that will be screening over the next week as part of the “Docuweeks” festivals in both New York (The IFC Center) and Los Angeles (Laemmle’s Sunset 5). Please see the film’s website for details – we urge you to show your support and check it out! Also available is the awesome two volume set of the same name published ICP and Steidl which can be purchased from us for $98.00.
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THE MEXICAN SUITCASE Edited by Cynthia
Young; Essays by David Balsells, Simon Dell, Kristen Lubben,
Michel Lefebvre and Bernard Lebrun, Paul Preston, Brian Wallis,
and Cynthia Young
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BOOK OF THE DAY (8/4/11) Sorry it's been so long It's finally here!!!! LA MAISON by Koto Bolofo. 11 hardcover books, bound in craft paper with a tipped-in-photo, foil embossing on spine, housed in a slipcase. Koto Bolofo is the first photographer to have been granted unlimited access to the secret workshops of Hermès, the house famous for its leather goods, scarves and other beautiful objects. La Maison, itself an elaborate object comprising eleven volumes and the result of seven years' work, showcases Bolofo's painstaking documentation of the Hermès universe. Bolofo's photos explore every facet of Hermès craftsmanship, from the manufacturing of saddles, silk scarves and and the famous Kelly Bag, toready-to-wear, shoes and perfume. Bolofo left no stone unturned: even the private Hermès museum is revealed, a treasure trove hidden in Hermès headquarters on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The story of how the La Maison project began became part of Hermès history. In 2002 Bolofo met the chairman of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas. Says Bolofo: "Mr Dumas asked me where I came from and I said Lesotho in South Africa. He was shocked and excited, explaining that his great great grandfather was a missionary, and how the Sothos - my tribe - had protected him. Mr Dumas welcomed me as his cousin and gave me carte blanche to photograph what I liked at Hermès."
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 LA MAISON by KOTO BOLOFO
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 FRANCESCO VEZZOLI PRESENTS BALLET RUSSES ITALIAN STYLE (THE SHORTEST MUSICAL YOU WILL NEVER SEE AGAIN) Gagosian Gallery, 2011 Hardback, 48 pages $50.00 sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499 |
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BOOK OF THE DAY (UPDATE) (2/4/2011) from Whitney: Here are some of the books we've chosen as Book of the Day recently (see below, or on Facebook, for more).
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BOOK OF THE DAY (12/17/2010) from Brenda UNEXPECTED: 30 YEARS OF PATAGONIA CATALOG PHOTOGRAPHY. One of our most surprising and engaging new photography titles is totally below-the-radar and truly "unexpected"! You don't have to wear recycled fleece to appreciate the exuberance, joy, gumption of the wild places and wilder characters pictured here. Whoever you are, you'll want to grow up this brash & adventuresome in your next life. We're all in love with this book and the stunning view of the world that it provides. "Since 1980, Patagonia has invited customers and wilderness photographers to submit their best, most unexpected shots of life outdoors – of alpine climbing, bouldering in the desert, skiing untracked bowls, surfing secret spots, ocean crossings, first kayak descents and travel in unfamiliar places. The photos have poured in ever since, some from the famous (John Russell, Galen Rowell), others from respected photographers (Corey Rich) who had their first work published in these pages. Jane Sievert and Jennifer Ridgeway, Patagonia’s current and founding photo editor, respectively, have been calling – and culling – the shots for three decades. This is their compendium of the 100-plus most compelling photos Patagonia has published – and a celebration of wilderness and outdoor-sport photography as an art and a practice."
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BOOK OF THE DAY (12/16/2010) from Whitney
TEN TIMES ROSIE: RANKIN & THOMAS
WYLDE. An utterly ravishing collaboration between photographer
Rankin, designer Paula Thomas, stylist Maryam Malakpour, and the
dropdeadgorgeous model/muse Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. The
book's 10 chapters represent the 10 seasons (so far) of Thomas'
ultra-desirable fa...shion
line Thomas Wylde, with Rosie taking on 10 dramatic incarnations
from shamanic African Highlander to porcelain circus doll to
Mohawked punk. Arcana owner Lee Kaplan recently sat down with
Paula Thomas to talk about the book, fashion, and collaboration
-- you can read their conversation in the current issue of
Malibu Magazine:
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TEN TIMES ROSIE: RANKIN & THOMAS WYLDE |
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BOOK OF THE DAY (12/09/2010) from Whitney
Though I've never been there, I'm pretty sure I'd like to live
in The Museum of Everything, like a grown-up Claudia Kincaid in
an Art Brut wonderland. "After
its successful debut in London in 2009, The Museum of Everything
visited Italy to present a selection of works by unconventional
artists of the 20th century. Works showcased include those by
mediums, miners and mystics, self-taught artists, obsessional
and visionary artists, and artists and craft experts with
disabilities, who operate outside conventional aesthetic
standards. The collection is composed of examples of works by
the greatest artists working in this sphere. The Museum of
Everything invited more than 50 well-known figures in the world
of art and music to write about works that have inspired them.
As a result, the works are accompanied by contributions from
Peter Blake, Christian Boltanski, Nick Cave, Paul Chan, Jarvis
Cocker, David Byrne, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Pete Townsend, Ed
Ruscha and many others. The Turin exhibition includes
contributions from John Baldessari, Maurizio Cattelan, Paolo
Colombo, Marlene Dumas, Cornelia Parker and Francesco Vezzoli."
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 THE BOOK OF EVERYTHING, #1 Mondadori Electa, 2010 Hardback, 268 pages $ 87.50 sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499 |
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BOSS'S PICK
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 BORN MODERN: THE LIFE AND DESIGN OF ALVIN LUSTIG Steven Heller and Elaine Lustig Cohen Chronicle, 2010 Hardback, 208 pages $ 50.00 sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499 |
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BOOK(s) OF THE DAY(s) (UPDATE) (12/8/2010) from Whitney:
For those of you that aren't
Facebook-ers* (I'm a fairly recent inductee/convert, myself) we're
semi-regularly posting "Book of the Day" for your
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STAFF PICK
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 THE BOOK OF JOB Job Smeets, Nynke Tynagel, Viktor & Rolf, Alessandro Mendini, Murray Moss Rizzoli, 2010 Hardback, 348 pages $ 150.00 sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499 |
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Book of the Day
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STAFF PICK (10/28/2010) from Whitney Stendhal Syndrome.... CECIL BEATON: THE ART OF THE SCRAPBOOK. This massive, stunning book in a gorgeous printed slipcase, reproduces Beaton's prolific scrapbooks. The photographer's iconic images are juxtaposed with clippings, sketches, invitations, notes, paintings to an awe inspiring effect. "To flip through the pages is to enter a fabulous and surreal party where Tallulah Bankhead rubs shoulders with a bust of Voltaire and a portrait of Stravinsky; where Beaton's first trip on the Queen Mary coincides with Queen Elizabeth's coronation. Beaton's scrapbooks allowed the artist to play with pictures he had taken (and perhaps those he wished he had) in the dreamspace of artifice that was always his favorite setting." The pages themselves are inspiring; they are witness to Beaton's process, they evoke an understanding of his eye for beauty, and they are some of the dreamiest things you'll ever see.
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STAFF PICK (10/26/2010) from Roy MONO MAGAZINE SPECIAL WORKWEAR NO. 1 The uniforms of America's 20th century agricultural & industrial workers and military personnel have become inspiration for today's fashion-obsessed societies. In particular, Japanese men have taken this passion to the next level. Dandyism has ...become the norm, with hoards of these well dressed men searching for and snatching up every piece they can get their hands on. Vintage denim, canvas and leather work boots have become treasure for these hunters, while numerous Japanese ateliers specializing in these garments are gaining international recognition. This Mono Magazine special issue explores this mania and its charismatic connoisseurs. Overflowing with vintage and contemporary images alike, this issue devoted to work wear is a superbly illustrated and beautiful resource.
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MONO MAGAZINE
SPECIAL WORKWEAR NO. 1
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DIRTY BABY (10/13/2010) from Lee “Dirty Baby” is poet David Breskin’s second elaborate collaboration of text, music and image in book form. And what a book! Nearly a decade after his elegant “Richter: 858” (with paintings by Gerhard Richter and original music by Bill Frissell) project, Breskin’s combines his own verse in the form of Arabic ghazals and two audio CDs of newly commissioned music for large ensemble by the redoubtable Nels Cline in dialogue with beautiful reproductions of sixty-six “censor strip” paintings by Edward Ruscha. Bound in two halves back to back and upside down in a die-cut slipcase, the resulting “Dirty Baby” is an elaborately designed and tour de force of the bookmaker’s art. The live performance of excerpts from the book’s text and music by Breskin and Cline accompanying Ruscha’s projected images at LACMA’s Bing Theater last week as part of the Angel City Jazz Festival was one of the most satisfying multi-media performances we’ve seen in many a moon! Even at a modest-for-its-packaging $ 125.00, it won’t be in print for long, so why not add this amazing volume to your bookshelf and music library while it’s hot!
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RECENT BOOKS OF THE
DAY (from our Facebook page)
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BOOK OF THE DAY:
POINTS BETWEEN...UP TILL NOW / ROBERT POLIDORI
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 POINTS BETWEEN...UP TILL NOW / ROBERT POLIDORI Steidl, 2010 Hardback, 239 pages $ 45.00 sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499
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THE BEAUTIFUL & THE DAMNED: PUNK PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANN SUMMA (9/29/2010) from Lee Any of you even remotely conversant with Los Angeles punk scene of the late seventies and early eighties should remember Ann Summa’s striking photographs that appeared regularly in the late, great Slash magazine. Now some thirty years later, our friends at Foggy Notion Books have just produced "The Beautiful & the Damned: Punk Photographs by Ann Summa" - a lovely hardbound volume filled with these vintage gritty and endearing images; many collected here in book form for the first time! Edited and with an introduction by Kristine McKenna, it features iconic portraits of everyone from local heroes X, Gun Club, The Screamers, The Germs, Johanna Went, and The Kipper Kids to Television, Talking Heads, The Cramps, R.E.M., The Clash, Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, Captain Beefheart, and many many more. It comes in one standard edition, and three (count 'em, three!) different limited editions with a photograph, so please see this page for all the details.
The trade version is
priced at $39.95, and we have a few copies additionally signed by
photographer Ann Summa remaining at no extra charge,
first come first served. There are also three deluxe signed,
numbered, slipcased editions limited to twenty copies each that
include a signed black and while silver gelatin print of either
John Doe and Exene, Joe Strummer, or Iggy Pop. We are the sole
retailer of these on the West Coast, and have copies of the Iggy
Pop and Joe Strummer available at the publisher's price of
The holidays are creeping up on us, and the deluxe editions are likely to be gone long before the December frost. One or all of these will be sure to please that gracefully aging, erstwhile punk in your life - maybe even yourself - so get 'em while you can! As always, do let us know if you have any further questions. You can place a secure order directly with us using PayPal here, or by phone (310-458-1499) or email (sales@arcanabooks.com) if you prefer.
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 For more information and to order, click here.
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Book of the Day: Bob Willoughby: Audrey Hepburn: Photographs 1953-1966 (9/23/2010)
Another great big beauty from
Taschen in a Tiffany-blue clamshell box, this is already
sold-out with the publisher, so if you want one, act now! The
holidays are fast approaching...
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Bob Willoughby: Audrey Hepburn: Photographs
1953-1966 To order call 310-458-1499 or click here
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BOOK OF THE DAY (7/23/2010) from Whitney:
If you "like" Arcana on Facebook
you'll know that we have been giving our "fans" a daily shot of
bibliographic manna -- Book of the Day.
oh, and...
Arcana: Books on the Arts on Facebook |
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STAFF PICK (6/23/2010) from S.S.: 24 cinematic moments presented in Wim Wenders' JOURNEY TO ONOMICHI were taken on his trip to the town where his all-time favorite film, Tokyo Story by Yasujiro Ozu, took place. A stunning masterpiece - S.S.
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WIM WENDERS: JOURNEY TO ONOMICHI
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THE SECRET PUBLIC (5/7/2010) from Lee & Whitney: Opening May 10th and running through the 23rd: THE SECRET PUBLIC exhibition by Linder Sterling and Jon Savage, curated by our colleague and pal Johan Kugelberg at his Boo-Hooray pop-up gallery in New York! The show will feature the original montages, photographs and collages from their notorious, amusingly subversive 1978 New Hormones publication "The Secret Public”, as well as other related materials. There will be a gala party on Monday the 10th from 6 – 9:00 PM featuring a DJ set by Mr. Savage himself. Boo-Hooray is located at 521 West 23rd Street (between 10th and 11th). Do make a point of stopping by to revisit your Anglo-punk leanings, and tell ‘em Arcana sent you.If you are unable to attend, we already have in stock the spiffy, fully illustrated sixty page catalogue for the show (limited to five hundred examples only) priced at an exceptionally reasonable $25.00! This is the super-cool new catalogue published in conjunction with the Johan Kugelberg curated 2010 Boo-Hooray Gallery exhibition of the punk-era collage/montage work of Jon Savage and Linder Sterling. "Jon Savage is the noted author of "England’s Dreaming" and "Teenage". Linder Sterling is a visual, performance and installation artist represented in the Tate permanent collection. Jon Savage and Linder published the art fanzine "The Secret Public" in Manchester during the first month of 1978. It was the second New Hormones product - catalogue number ORG 2 after the Buzzcocks' already iconic "Spiral Scratch" - and was distributed through Rough Trade and other independent outlets. This was followed by the portfolio "Mixed Media Montages" published in late 1978. Some of these images originally appeared as flyers and as posters for the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Magazine and Factory Records circa 1977-1980". This collects for the first time quaint reproductions of these and other contemporaneous works from the period (many not generally seen until now) along with texts by Michael Bracewell, Jon Savage, and Linder Sterling. A pristine copy of this must-have document limited to five hundred numbered copies only that is sure to disappear quickly with a copy of the opening announcement laid in! And while you're in the mood, you might also be interested in: ASK THE ANGELS: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DONNA SANTISI. Donna Santisi's self-published "Ask the Angels" from 1978 was the first book of photographs to document the then nascent Los Angeles Punk and New Wave scene. A tireless frequenter of both the live performances and backstage, her unpretentious, gritty images comprised a who's who of both local and touring practitioners such as The Runaways, Screamers, Bags, Dils, Weirdos, Go-Gos, Sparks, Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Television, Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Cramps, Sex Pistols, Damned, Jam, and too many more to mention. This brand new, oversized and expanded edition is a must have for anyone who was there, or wishes they were. EILEEN POLK: PUNK IS DEAD. Published in a very limited quantity to accompany the Bryan Ray Turcotte / Kill Your Idols curated exhibition at Art Basel Miami 2008, "Punk is Dead" is a beautiful compilation of Eileen Polk's seventies New York photographs of The Misfits, Sid Vicious, Nancy Spungen, The Dead Boys, Richard Hell, Johnny Thunders, Debbie Harry, The Clash, The Ramones, and Devo.
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JON SAVAGE / LINDER STERLING: THE
SECRET PUBLIC
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IT'S RECORD STORE DAY (www.recordstoreday.com)! (04/17/2010) from Whitney: NEW AND USED - SIGNED BY MARC JOSEPH "Growing up in Ohio in the 1970s, photographer Marc Joseph was first exposed to art, writing and music in the eccentric smaller book and record shops of downtown Cleveland. Most Saturday afternoons were spent combing through the stacks in anticipation of a major future purchase - like his first, "London Calling" by The Clash - or studying certain talismanic book covers like George Orwell's "Animal Farm" or Allen Ginsberg's "Howl". This was the beginning of Joseph's permanent fascination with books and records - both as public artworks and as formative private experiences. "New and Used" is a collection of richly detailed color photographs of hardcovers, paperbacks, LPs, CDs and cassettes, either shelved, piled, boxed and stacked in their natural environments - independent book and record shops - or individually silhouetted like artifacts pinned into shadow boxes. Together with editor Damon Krukowski, the artist has assembled a collection of short fiction, prose, poems and personal essays by writers and musicians including Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, novelists Jonathan Lethem and Lydia Davis, critic and curator Bob Nickas, poets Eileen Myles and Nick Tosches as well as Stephen Elliott, Shelley Jackson, Aaron Rose, Jeremy Sigler, Stephanie Snyder and Ian Svevonius, all of whom respond to the New and Used of their own experience". A pristine example of one of our favorite photography books SIGNED (at Arcana!) AND DATED in the year of publication by Marc Joseph in black ink on the title page.
DAVE MULLER: I LIKE YOUR MUSIC I LOVE YOUR MUSIC Pity the youth, their zeroes and ones, trapped in their devices! How will their potential friends and lovers recognize them as one of their own, or one they want to be -- by browsing their hard drives? How do you cherish that data file that you scrimped and saved to ... download? What of cover art and the liner notes? What of reading the lyrics, the credits, of wondering who mythical creatures are in the "thanks"? And if one album is complicated, pair it with the one next to it. Factor in the and the one after that and pretty soon the exponentially increased permutations become dizzying. The delightful paintings in this book are (to me) about stuff: objects, and the infinite loop of the way the objects influence us and they way we express ourselves through the objects, who we are because of what the object has given us, who we are because we chose the object. In this case, the object is music, the record album mostly, but the idea is readily commutable when considering books, which you, dear reader seem to be interested in by virtue of reading this at all. And it's good reading, too, with some choice interview morsels from conversations between Muller and various notable artists, gallerists & coolsters. There's a LOT going on here, but what I really love about this album-sized book are the paintings themselves -- no reflection required, they speak for themselves as pure delights. The work is simply fetching, its charm politely belying the wealth of complex ideas that it evokes. Just like some of the best albums.
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 MARC JOSEPH: NEW AND USED sales@arcanabooks.com or 310-458-1499
DAVE MULLER: I LIKE YOUR MUSIC I LOVE YOUR MUSIC
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