Book of the Day > Godless Utopia: Soviet Anti-Religious Propaganda. Published by Fuel. “Throughout the Soviet period the USSR waged war against religion of all denominations. This book is the first to tell this story through the vivid propaganda used against ‘the opium of the people’, from immediately after the 1917 revolution to the eventual fall of communism in 1991. Drawing on the early Soviet atheist magazines Godless and Godless at the Machine, and post-war posters by Communist Party publishers, author Roland Elliott Brown presents an unsettling tour of atheist ideology in the USSR. Here are uncanny, imaginative, and downright blasphemous visions from the very guts of the Soviet atheist apparatus: sinister priests rub shoulders with cross-bearing colonial torturers, greedy mullahs, a cyclopean Jehovah, and a crypto-fascist Jesus; Russian cosmonauts mock God from space while vigilant border guards nab western Bible smugglers.”

Book of the Day > Michael Jang: Who is Michael Jang. Published by Atelier Editions. "San Francisco–based photographer Michael Jang spent nearly four decades working as a successful commercial portrait photographer. Unbeknownst to the world, however, he was simultaneously assembling a vast archive of thousands of remarkable images documenting, variously: college days, Hollywood celebrities, would-be weather presenters, San Francisco street scenes, his family, Bay Area punks and adolescent garage bands. Jang revealed nothing of his ever-expanding, eclectic archive for almost 40 years until 2001, when he submitted a number of images for consideration to San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. Jang’s work attracted immediate acclaim, and for the past decade he has continued to unveil his considerable oeuvre in national and international exhibitions and monographs. The photographer’s first major monograph, Who Is Michael Jang? highlights Jang's most important bodies of work. Introduced by his longtime collaborator and SFMOMA curator emerita of photography, Sandra Phillips, this volume offers readers a long-overdue introduction to Jang’s incredible images."

We wholeheartedly encourage you to stop in tomorrow afternoon, October 5th 4-6,  to meet and great the semi-reclusive Mr. Jang, and immerse yourself in his wry images of a kinder, gentler California of yore that includes the likes of Jack Lemmon, Peggy Lee, 'Ol Blue Eyes, David Bowie, The Ramones, Devo, The Sex Pistols, David Hasselhoff, Jerry Brown, Harvey Milk, John Baldessari, Lee Friedlander, and many, many more. "Who is Michael Jang?" was just shortlisted for the Aperture 2019 Photo Catalogue of the Year. In addition we will have a limited supply of the deluxe Michael Jang rarity "College". If you cannot attend, you may never really know who Michael Jang is, but you still may buy a signed copy of either or both of these gems by placing your order here, or by calling us at 310-458-1499. If you would like to pre-order a signed copy to pick-up at Arcana, please use the discount code PICKUP10 at checkout to remove the postage charge.

Book of the Day > Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses by Dominic Bradbury. Published by Phaidon. “A groundbreaking global survey of the finest mid-20th-century homes - one of the most popular styles of our time. A fascinating collection of more than 400 of the world's most glamorous homes from more than 290 architects, the Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses showcases work by such icons as Marcel Breuer, Richard Neutra, Alvar Aalto, and Oscar Niemeyer alongside extraordinary but virtually unknown houses in Australia, Africa, and Asia. A thoroughly researched, comprehensive appraisal, this book is a must-have for all design aficionados, Mid-Century Modern collectors, and readers looking for inspiration for their own homes.”