Book of the day > Black Cowboys by Andrea Robbins & Max Becher. La Fabrica. “In the popular imagination, the cowboy has long been identified as white--but at the height of the cattle-ranching period in the 19th century, more than one third of cowboys were African American. Black cowboy culture is still thriving today, but is little known to the general public. This marginalization stems from both official and unofficial segregation in competitive rodeos, as well as Hollywood’s commercially driven exclusion of black cowboys from Western genre films and television.  Beginning in 2008, Andrea Robbins and Max Becher set out to photograph this history and its legacy in contemporary black cowboy culture, shooting black riding clubs, black rodeo leagues and charity events across America. In this volume, Robbins and Becher document this hidden history of the black cowboy and cowgirl and, in the process, reformulate and expand the iconography of the cowboy.”

“Throwback” book of the day (only one copy available, act fast!) > Japanese Fisherman’s Coats from Awaji Island. Fowler Museum.” A lasting contribution to the study of Japanese textiles and to the cultural history of the Inland Sea region, this volume presents a historical ethnography of the fishing villages that produced the sashiko no donza, or fisherman’s coat. It provides as well an in-depth analysis of regional textile production, the sashiko tradition in the village of Hokudan, and the iconography of the eloquently stitched designs that appear on the coats.” An immaculate copy of the scarce hardbound edition. $ 225. 

Book of the day > Summer Days Staten Island by Christine Osinski. Damiani. “Taken in the ‘forgotten borough’ of Staten Island between 1983 and 1984, the photographs in Christine Osinski’s 'Summer Days Staten Island' create a portrait of working class culture in an often overlooked section of New York City. Captured on Osinski’s large format 4 x 5 camera as she wandered the island, her candid portraits of strangers, vernacular architecture, and quotidian scenes reveal an invisible landscape within reach
of the thriving metropolis of Manhattan. The neighborhoods that Osinski captured are devoid of the skyscrapers, swarms
of pedestrians, and choking masses of traffic that are a short ferry ride away. Instead, she photographed kids riding bikes
on open, empty streets, suburban homes with neatly tended yards, and the small-town feel of New York’s least populous borough.”

Book of the day > Kati Heck. Hatje Cantz. “German Expressionism and New Objectivity shine forth in the paintings of Düsseldorf-based artist Kati Heck. Her monumental paintings impress viewers with their humorous blend of styles, consisting of photorealistic figures together with graphic elements. Some sections of her collage-like works are meticulously painted in, while others are quickly executed. Like Robert Rauschenberg, Heck joins nontraditional materials and everyday objects to develop highly unusual pictorial creations. ‘She clearly, convincingly and permanently questions the art of painting,’ said curator Jan Hoet of her oeuvre. This volume explores the painting of one of the liveliest emerging artists of the present.”

Book of the day > The Smiths by Nalinee Darmrong. Rizzoli. “The definitive pictorial document of The Smiths, showcasing never-before-published photographs of one of the most influential bands of the late twentieth century at the apex of its popularity. Today, The Smiths are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the late twentieth century. The fact that they disbanded—after a little more than four years and seventy songs—abruptly and explosively on the brink of becoming megastars, only adds to the rabid, cult devotion of their fans. Photographer Nalinee Darmrong traveled with and captured the band during its peak years: Meat Is Murder and The Queen Is Dead tours 1985–1986. This volume is filled with reams of photographs of the band backstage and onstage, most unpublished; ephemera including original set lists, backstage passes, tickets, and handcrafted promo materials; personal effects such as letters and clothing, and other items. The photographs impart the frenetic energy of the band during performances, and a private, almost familial chronicle of the band offstage and behind the scenes. Equal parts intimate time capsule and a love letter to The Smiths, the book is a look at this important band during the height of its creative period.”

Book of the day > Foreigner: Migration into Europe 2015–2016. John Radcliffe Studio ( @johnradcliffestudio ). “Foreigner: Migration into Europe 2015–2016 is a photography book that documents the lives of people at various stages of their migration to Europe. The book is divided into three sections, focusing on migration to Italy from North Africa, migration to Greece and through the Balkans from the middle east, and the migrant camp in Calais known as ‘The Jungle’. Alongside the photography, written texts serve both as a context, and a means to share the stories of the people we met during the project.

The book was created in response to the imagery used in the media to discuss the issue of migration, which we felt was sensationalist, alarmist and was not giving people the time and consideration they deserved. We wanted to approach the subject from a calmer perspective, using medium format portrait photography as a means of meeting the people at the centre the crisis face to face. John Radcliffe Studio is the creative partnership of Daniel Castro Garcia and Thomas Saxby. We specialise in photography, film and graphic design and have spent the last year documenting the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe.” 
 

Book of the day > The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen & Yayoi Kusama - A Fairy Tale of Infinity and Love Forever. Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. “Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (1839), a story about a girl from the sea who followed her dreams and suffered a disastrous fate on land, is known all over the world (particularly in its animated incarnation). But the familiar story is brought to new life in this gorgeous edition, a collaboration between the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and artist Yayoi Kusama. Paired with Hans Christian Andersen’s original text, the densely patterned, undulating line drawings of Kusama’s Love Forever series conjure up storms in the roiling waves of the ocean, the Little Mermaid’s vast underwater kingdom and her longing to live in the human world. Kusama’s fertile, endlessly repeating forms are an ideal match for the poetic and disturbing universe evoked in the fairy tale; the result is a true collaboration. Kusama’s drawings both illustrate and interpret Andersen’s story, bringing it to terrifying life, and Andersen’s words lend narrative content to Kusama’s landscapes of unblinking eyes, curling tendrils and disembodied profiles.”

Book of the day > Yokainoshima: Island of Monsters by Charles Fréger. Thames & Hudson.  “In Japan, the passing of the year is marked by festivals and rituals that have gone largely unchanged for centuries. Elaborate outfits, made from textiles as well as branches, straw, and other materials plucked from the natural environment, are donned in rural, agricultural, and fishing communities throughout Japan to celebrate seasonal rites of fertility and abundance. Yokainoshima (literally “island of monsters”) explores the extraordinary crop of masks, costumes, and characters that reappear with the return of each season.” 

Book of the day > Olivia Fougeirol: DAVID. “Olivia Fougeirol’s new book DAVID represents a very unique relationship that Olivia has nurtured with a transient in Los Angeles. Her book DAVID includes a selection of images from her series created over the last five years. From the artist: “David Jones inhabits and carries around with him the wreckage of his own ship. This shipwreck is his life, and the island on which he's found himself shipwrecked is Los Angeles. He shields himself with layers of preservers, tubes, duck tape, books and bottles. With a bicycle as his raft, David Jones as castaway drifts among the vastitude of streets of L.A.”

Book of the day > Shio Kusaka: Volume 3; 2014, 2015, 2016. Blum & Poe (@blumandpoe). “Published in conjunction with the exhibition Shio Kusaka (July 2 — August 20, 2016) held at Blum & Poe Los Angeles. This catalogue is the first in an ongoing series of catalogues documenting a selection of Kusaka’s artworks, inspired by Japanese pottery reference books. This first volume focuses on works from 2014–2016.  Shio Kusaka lives and works in Los Angeles. Her work was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and has been exhibited throughout the world.”