Book of the day > Anthony Hernandez: Beach Pictures, 1969-70. Published by Silas Finch. Signed by the Photographer. " The first photographic project undertaken by Hernandez, this series includes 22 photographs taken at various beaches in Southern California and New York between 1969 and 1970. Printed in tritone on Mohawk Superfine uncoated paper, the book features cloth end sheets and printed chipboard front and back covers."
Book of the day > Cristina de Middel: Muchismo. Published by La Fábrica. "Invited to mount an exhibition at the Teatro Fernán Gómez in Madrid, Spanish photographer Cristina de Middel dug around her studios and chose to display all her images in exactly the way she has them stored—in colossal, gorgeous chaos. The result is Cristina de Middel: Muchismo, a unique display of the photographer’s entire oeuvre, constrained by neither a curator nor any apparent organizing order.
Varied and entertaining, at times playful and bizarre, Muchismo gives de Middel a chance to interrupt the normal operating rules of the art market, presenting her photographs not as collectible objects but as constituent parts of the larger story she has been telling with her work. With Muchismo, de Middel’s latest hotly anticipated publication, the award-winning photographer continues her exploration of the forms and limits of the medium."
Only 8 weeks to go until Season 3!!! Books of the day > Angelo Badalamenti's Soundtrack from Twin Peaks 33 1/3 #120 (published by Bloomsbury Academic) & Damn Fine Cherry Pie: And Other Recipes from Twin Peaks (published by Harper Design). " When Twin Peaks debuted on the ABC network on the night of April 8, 1990, thirty-five million viewers tuned in to some of the most unusual television of their lives. Centered on an eccentric, coffee-loving FBI agent's investigation into the murder of a small town teen queen, Twin Peaks brought the aesthetic of arthouse cinema to a prime time television audience and became a cult sensation in the process. Part of Twin Peaks' charm was its unforgettable soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti, a frequent and reoccurring collaborator of film director and Twin Peaks co-creator David Lynch. Badalamenti's evocative music, with its haunting themes and jazzy moodscapes, served as a constant in a narrative that was often unhinged and went on to become one of the most popular and influential television soundtracks of all time." And, of course, recipes from RR Diner, the Great Northern , and cocktails from One Eyed Jack's (including "Audrey Horne's Cherry Twist").
Book of the day > Nathalie Du Pasquier: Big Objects Not Always Silent. Published by Sternberg Press. "Nathalie Du Pasquier was one of the founding members of Memphis, the groundbreaking Milanese design and architecture collective. During her time with the group she designed patterns for textiles and carpets as well as objects and furniture. Since 1987, however, her main focus and passion has been painting. The title of this publication describes the main focus of her work: the still life. Her distinct influences are visible here: travels to Africa, the ornamentation of the Wiener Werkstätte, the art of Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant, and Novecento painting by Giorgio de Chirico and Giorgio Morandi. This publication consists of an artist’s book by Du Pasquier with drawings, photographs, and reproductions of her paintings, and a book with photographs by Delfino Sisto Legnani of works from the past decades (2 books in one!). Texts by writers and artists and an interview with Du Pasquier provide an informative and subjective view of her artistic practice."
Book of the day > Hybrid Modernism: Movie Theatres in South India by Haubitz + Zoche. Published by Spector Books. "In the period from the 1950s to the 1970s, a large number of cinemas were built in both the urban and rural areas of South India. Their architecture is an unusual mix of Western influences and local building styles. The brightly coloured façades resemble stage sets and provide a foretaste of the film experience in the auditorium, where the extravagant forms and embellishments are continued, getting the audience in the mood for the cinematic world before the opening credits roll. One might call this architectural language a kind of hybrid modernism. Many of these cinemas have been maintained in their original state. However, in the big cities, the process of converting them into multiplexes has already begun. Haubitz+Zoche’s photographs from the period 2010 – 2013 document a piece of cinema culture that has already for the most part disappeared in Europe and the USA and is being increasingly displaced in India by commercial interests." @spectorbooks
Book of the day > Pieces of a Man: Photography of Jamel Shabazz: 1980-2015. Published by Artvoices Art Books. "Like his photographic influences―James Van Der Zee, Gordon Parks, and Leonard Freed, among others―Shabazz shares the ability to extend his perception of historical time across registers: from the moment he captures his images to their sequencing in monographs through the process of sorting and presenting work out of his archive to make an argument that pushes the status quo. His practice of naming his influences and riffing on their iconic images is a sincere form of intellectual and artistic respect. Shabazz carries the mantle of his received tradition even as he adapts to shift with changes in the art form. In turn, the uses of his photographs are far reaching as well―from album covers to fashion campaigns and, most powerfully, as they take their place in museum collections such as the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. With extensive global audiences and interlocutors for his work, he also regularly connects with his admirers on social media and on trips abroad, sometimes reconnecting with the subjects of his photography from earlier decades. In these ways Shabazz’s work, while deeply concerned with the passage and organization of time, has crossed multiple borders and thus achieved a rare form of timelessness. Shabazz’s career continues to evolve as a long arc. His immense archive gains new layers of meaning through each project as he continues to document the mechanisms and movements of history. He continually produces new possibilities for historical reflection, awareness, and action. The pieces of his lifelong artistic practice cohere across time through long-established modes of connection, from encounter to encounter, image to image, and project to project. In short, through his use of photography, Shabazz shapes history.” -Excerpt from Reflecting Forward by Paul M. Farber
Book of the day > The Travellers by Birte Kaufmann; essay by Chris Killip. Published by Verlag Kettler. "In Ireland, around 25,000 people still live in temporary settlements in the style of itinerant workers, far removed from the amenities of Western civilization. Moving from place to place in mobile homes without electricity or running water, the largest Catholic minority of the country are faced with many prejudices. Strangely out of step with 21st-century lifestyle, they stick to their seemingly outdated traditions while also trying to find a new identity that fits in with modern society. Even in the present day, this ambiguity continues to define life for the traveller community, whose livelihood depends on horse breeding and hunting and who keep their own language alive as part of their insular culture. In 2011, the photographer Birte Kaufmann cautiously began to make contact with the travelling community, earning their trust and on some occasions living with them. For her portrayal of this unknown world, she needed to be in close contact with the families in order to capture their particular character and to avoid the usual stereotypes. Without a doubt, Birte Kaufmann's combination of reportage and documentary photography hits the right note and offers impressive insights into the Irish travellers' extraordinary world." @birtekaufmann
Book of the day > Ed Ruscha: Metro Mattresses. Published by Sprüth Magers. "Ed Ruscha has been casting his eye across the landscapes of the American West for over 50 years, taking in everything from gas stations to swimming pools to sublime mountain ranges. With their clarity and deadpan wit, his photographs, drawings and paintings impart a mood of playful awe on everyday monuments. The motifs for his new series Metro Mattresses were found, like so many of the subjects of his work, on the streets of Los Angeles. In each of the 12 works in the series we encounter a mattress, or mattresses, isolated and in various states of neglect, all depicted against a neutral backdrop. The serial nature of the Metro Mattresses works brings to mind some of Ruscha’s earliest work, such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963) or Every Building on Sunset Strip (1966). This handsome volume collects the series, with the images beautifully reproduced on board pages."
Book of the day > YVES SAINT LAURENT: THE SCANDAL COLLECTION, 1971. Published by Abrams. "On January 21, 1971, couturier Yves Saint Laurent presented his Spring-Summer haute couture collection. Inspired by the garments of the war years, the collection included short dresses, platform shoes, square shoulders, and exaggerated makeup. The show caused an outrage among the public, the critics, and the press alike, earning it the title of 'Paris’s ugliest collection.' Nevertheless, the haute couture designs of the runway made their way to the boulevards, giving full sway to the 'retro' trend that quickly conquered the streets.
Yves Saint Laurent: The Scandal Collection, 1971 offers a behind-the-scenes look at the influential collection that 'drew fire in the fashion world'—from the collection’s inspiration to the press coverage that followed. Beautifully illustrated and documented with well-researched essays, this book is enriched with personal interviews and archival photographs of the show, the models, the designs, and the textile and print samples, as well as sketches and international press clippings."
Book of the day > PARTY IN THE BACK by Tino Razo. Published by Anthology @anthology_recs . “In Party In The Back, celebrated skateboarder Tino Razo has documented — and shredded — abandoned backyard swimming pools throughout Southern California. The resulting body of work, showcased here for the first time in Tino’s book, elevates itself beyond a bunch of thrill-seekers navigating the suburban landscape, juxtaposing renegade sessions by world class skateboarders with dramatic architectural photographs of a lost American dream. Party In The Back is a lyrical photo-eulogy for this disappearing pool culture, bathed in the golden Southern Californian light."
