Book of the Day Posted Feb 10, 2019

Book of the Day > Maya Angelou and Jean-Michel Basquiat: Life Doesn't Frighten Me

Book of the Day > Maya Angelou and Jean-Michel Basquiat: Life Doesn't Frighten Me. Published by Abrams Books. "Maya Angelou's brave, defiant poem celebrates the courage within each of us, young and old. From the scary thought of panthers in the park to the unsettling scene of a new classroom, fearsome images are summoned and dispelled by the power of faith in ourselves. Angelou's strong words are matched by the daring vision of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose childlike style reveals the powerful emotions and fanciful imaginings of childhood. Together, Angelou's words and Basquiat's paintings create a place where every child, indeed every person, may experience his or her own fearlessness. Celebrating its successful 25 years in print, this brilliant introduction to poetry and contemporary art features brief, updated biographies of Angelou and Basquiat, an afterword from the editor, and a fresh new look. A selected bibliography of Angelou's books and a selected museum listing of Basquiat's works open the door to further inspiration through the fine arts."
 
Book of the Day Posted Feb 07, 2019

Book of the Day > Stick to the Skin

Book of the Day > Stick to the Skin: African American and Black British Art, 1965-2015. Published by University of California Press. "The first comparative history of African American and Black British artists, artworks, and art movements, Stick to the Skin traces the lives and works of over fifty painters, photographers, sculptors, and mixed-media, assemblage, installation, video, and performance artists working in the United States and Britain from 1965 to 2015. The artists featured in this book cut to the heart of hidden histories, untold narratives, and missing memories to tell stories that "stick to the skin" and arrive at a new 'Black lexicon of liberation.' Informed by extensive research and invaluable oral testimonies, Celeste-Marie Bernier’s remarkable text forcibly asserts the originality and importance of Black artists’ work and emphasizes the need to understand Black art as a distinctive category of cultural production. She launches an important intervention into European histories of modern and contemporary art and visual culture as well as into debates within African American studies, African diasporic studies, and Black British studies. Among the artists included are Benny Andrews, Bessie Harvey, Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson, Noah Purifoy, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Joyce J. Scott, Maud Sulter, and Barbara Walker."
Book of the Day Posted Feb 06, 2019

Book of the Day > Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal

Book of the Day > Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal. "Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal presents a survey of the artist’s prolific and extraordinary interdisciplinary career, with a particular focus on the work’s relationship to the photographic image and to issues of representation and perception. At the core of Hank Willis Thomas’s practice, is his ability to parse and critically dissect the flow of images that comprise American culture, with particular attention to race, gender, and cultural identity. Other powerful themes include the commodification of identity through popular media, sports, and advertising. In the ten years since his first publication, Pitch Blackness, Thomas has established himself as a significant voice in contemporary art, equally at home with collaborative, trans-media projects such as Question Bridge, Philly Block, and For Freedoms as he is with high-profile, international solo exhibitions. This extensive presentation of his work contextualizes the material with incisive essays from Portland Art Museum curators Julia Dolan and Sara Krajewski and art historian Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, and an in-depth interview between art historian Kellie Jones and the artist that elaborates on Thomas’s influences and inspirations."
 
Book of the Day Posted Feb 03, 2019

Book of the Day > Chinese Movie Magazines

Book of the Day > Chinese Movie Magazines. Published by University of California Press. "Showcasing an exotic, eclectic, and rare array of covers from more than five hundred movie publications from a glamorous bygone age, Chinese Movie Magazines sheds fresh light on China’s film industry during a transformative period of its history. Expertly curated by collector and Chinese cinema specialist Paul Fonoroff, this volume provides insightful commentary relating the magazines to the times in which they were created, embracing everything from cinematic trends to politics and world events, along with gossip, fashion, and pop culture. The cover designs reflected the diverse contents of the publications, ranging from sophisticated Art Deco drawings by acclaimed artists to glamorous photos of top Chinese and Hollywood celebrities, including Ruan Lingyu, Butterfly Wu, Ingrid Bergman, and Shirley Temple. Organized thematically within a chronological structure, this visually extraordinary volume includes many rare illustrations from the Paul Kendel Fonoroff Collection in Berkeley’s C.V. Starr East Asian Library, the largest collection of Eastern movie memorabilia outside China."
Book of the Day Posted Feb 02, 2019

Book of the Day > Men's Rings

Book of the Day > Men's Rings. Published by Gingko Press. "Over one thousand rings from Yves Gastou’s personal collection are beautifully displayed and photographed in this sumptuous book. Gastou deals in 20th century decorative arts from his Parisian gallery, but perhaps his most passionate undertaking is in building his collection of Men’s rings. His collection is as diverse as it is large; from ancient Egyptian examples to gothic masterpieces, and religious examples to memento mori, bikers’ rings to an entire chapter devoted to curiosities, Gastou has built an all-encompassing treasury. In silver or gold, set with jewels or skulls, sober or extravagant, ritual or rebellious, these pieces bear the imprint of a taste, that of the insatiable gallerist freely appropriating the different periods, it seems unlikely that another assemblage will ever rival Yves Gastou’s fabulous collection."
Book of the Day Posted Feb 01, 2019

Book of the Day > Black Refractions; The Studio Museum in Harlem

Book of the Day > Black Refractions: The Studio Museum in Harlem. Published by The American Federation of Arts & Rizzoli/Electa.
"An authoritative guide to one of the world's most important collections of African-American art, with works by artists from Romare Bearden to Kehinde Wiley. The artists featured in Black Refractions, including Kerry James Marshall, Faith Ringgold, Nari Ward, Norman Lewis, Wangechi Mutu, and Lorna Simpson, are drawn from the renowned collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem. Through exhibitions, public programs, artist residencies, and bold acquisitions, this pioneering institution has served as a nexus for artists of African descent locally, nationally, and internationally since its founding in 1968. Rather than aim to construct a single history of "black art," Black Refractions emphasizes a plurality of narratives and approaches, traced through 125 works in all media from the 1930s to the present.
An essay by Connie Choi and entries by Eliza A. Butler, Akili Tommasino, Taylor Aldridge, Larry Ossei Mensah, Daniela Fifi , and other luminaries contextualize the works and provide detailed commentary. A dialogue between Thelma Golden, Connie Choi, and Kellie Jones draws out themes and challenges in collecting and exhibiting modern and contemporary art by artists of African descent. More than a document of a particular institution's trailblazing path, or catalytic role in the development of American appreciation for art of the African diaspora, this volume is a compendium of a vital art tradition."
Book of the Day Posted Jan 30, 2019

Book of the Day > Boogie: Moscow

Book of the Day > Boogie: Moscow. Published by PowerHouse Books. "Welcome to Boogie’s Moscow. These are people sculpted by a brutal, concrete landscape, fighting to survive. This is a world of football hooligans, gang tattoos, boxing… Yet this is not misery porn: There is an inherent vitality in the violence–the enduring toughness–of these images. There is dynamism, there is esprit de corps, there is strength.'Raw' is a term that is perhaps overused, but Boogie’s photos truly assault the senses. But the photographer’s arresting gaze is directly returned by his subjects, and an undeniable rapport and intimacy is felt by the viewer. We are witnessing something, above all, crucially human. From the artist behind It’s All Good (Miss Rosen Editions/powerHouse Books 2006/2016), Boogie (powerHouse Books, 2007), and Belgrade Belongs to Me (powerHouse Books, 2008) comes an urban, industrial, but heart-wrenchingly humane new collection.You cannot look away."
 
Book of the Day Posted Jan 27, 2019

Book of the Day > Knoll Furniture 1938-1960

Book of the Day > In Memory of Florence Knoll (1917-2018). Knoll Furniture 1938-1960. Published by Schiffer. "In the 1940s and 1950s, Knoll Furniture became symbolic of the modern design movement. This book catalogs furniture produced by the Knoll Furniture Company of New York during its first two exciting decades. Over 270 illustrations present forms by such influential designers as Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Isamu Noguchi, George Nakashima, Jens Risom, Ralph Rapson, and others. An easy-to-use identification guide includes production dates and designer attribution. Original catalog photographs and many from the Knoll Museum Archive, a company history, designer biographies, and a revised price guide are included. This book is an essential reference for all who are interested in modern furniture design."
 
Book of the Day Posted Jan 26, 2019

Book of the Day > Helen Beard, Sadie Laska, Boo Saville: True Colours

Book of the Day > Helen Beard, Sadie Laska, Boo Saville: True Colours. Published by Other Criteria Books. "True Colours brings together the work of three emerging artists: Helen Beard (born 1971), Sadie Laska (born 1974) and Boo Saville (born 1980). Despite using paint in very different ways, the artists all share an interest in exploring the possibilities of color. Beard uses a vivid rainbow palette to create interlocking arrangements of bright primary color, which combine to describe explicit sexual encounters. Laska creates dreamlike compositions using paint and collage, evoking a rebellious post-pop aesthetic. Saville applies over 40 layers of paint to produce extraordinary large-scale abstracts, made up of flawlessly gradating shades. This fully illustrated book is available with three different cover designs and includes interviews with the artists by Polly Borland, Rachel Howard and Lizzi Bougatsos, plus essays by Michael Bracewell, Freire Barnes and Amie Corry, exploring the artists’ work within the broader context of the philosophy of color."
Book of the Day Posted Jan 23, 2019

Book of the Day > Jonas Mekas: A Dance With Fred Astaire

Book of the Day > Jonas Mekas: A Dance with Fred Astaire. Published by Anthology Editions. "A Dance with Fred Astaire covers the 94 years Jonas Mekas has spent weaving himself inextricably into the fabric of postwar culture, featuring a dizzying cast of cultural icons both underground and mainstream. Told in Mekas’ warm prose style and illustrated with rare personal materials, this is a revealing visual autobiography of a genuine culture hero."
more