Book of the day > Stanley Kubrick Photographs: Through a Different Lens. Published by @taschen. "Before becoming the critically acclaimed filmmaker responsible for such iconic films as Dr. Strangelove and The Shining, Stanley Kubrick spent five years as a photographer for Look magazine. The Bronx native joined the staff in 1945, when he was only 17 years old, and shot humanist slice-of-life features that celebrate and expose New York City and its inhabitants. Through a Different Lens reveals the keen and evocative vision of a burgeoning creative genius in a range of feature stories and images, from everyday folk at the laundromat to a day in the life of a debutant, from a trip to the circus to Columbia University. Featuring around 300 images, many previously unseen, as well as rare Look magazine tear sheets, this release coincides with a major show at the Museum of the City of New York and includes an introduction by noted photography critic Luc Sante. These still photographs attest to Kubrick’s innate talent for compelling storytelling, and serve as clear indicators of how this genius would soon transition to making some of the greatest movies of all time."

Book of the day > Bodys Isek Kingelez. Published by the Museum of Modern Art. “The sculptures of Bodys Isek Kingelez are imagined architectural propositions and improbable structures for a fairytale urban landscape. Comprised of paper, commercial packaging and the stuff of everyday life, his “extreme maquettes” transform these materials into fantastic visions that encompass civic buildings, public monuments and private pavilions. Born in the Belgian Congo, Kingelez gained international renown following his participation in the landmark 1989 exhibition Magiciens de la Terre at Centre Georges Pompidou and the Grande Halle of the Parc de la Villette, and since that time, his work has been included in numerous global surveys and in several solo presentations. Published to accompany the first retrospective of his work, this volume traces the span of Kingelez’s three decade career, from never-before-exhibited early works to sculptures that launched his career in 1989 and the complex and multifaceted cities of later decades, bringing his rarely seen, distinctive oeuvre to international audiences. Featuring stunning new photography of his work, this serves as the most comprehensive volume on the artist to date.”

Book of the day > Andreas Gursky. Published by Steidl . "An encyclopedic, dizzying vision of globalism: the definitive Gursky survey. Andreas Gursky  has been widely celebrated for his monumental, extraordinarily detailed pictures, often exploring contemporary global themes. This comprehensive book takes a fresh look at the artist’s iconic images from the past four decades.

In a landmark conversation between two of the most significant figures in contemporary photography, Gursky talks to Jeff Wall about the sources for his photographic vision, while an essay by Hayward Gallery director Ralph Rugoff explores important but often neglected areas of the artist’s work. Essays by art historian Gerald Schröder and writer-curator Brian Sholis provide new insight into key pictures, and artist Katharina Fritsch offers personal snapshots of her Düsseldorf colleague, creating a portrait of the artist in the round. Presenting the artist’s best-known works―including “Paris, Montparnasse” (1993), “99 Cent” (2001) and “Chicago Board of Trade III” (2009)―as well as new, previously unpublished photographs, this is an indispensable survey of 40 years of work from one of the world’s most influential artists.

Regarded as one of the most important photographers of our time, Andreas Gursky is known for his large-scale, often spectacular pictures that portray emblematic sites and scenes of the global economy and contemporary life. From the work of the late 1980s, produced after Gursky had graduated from Bernd Becher’s class at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, through to his most recent photographs which continue to push the boundaries of the medium, Gursky’s art has been driven by an interest in forms of collective existence. This includes depictions of massive man-made structures and huge gatherings of people in nightclubs, factories, arenas and vast landscapes, which together provide a sweeping visual record of our age. Steidl has published Gursky’s Andreas Gursky (2015) and Bangkok (2012)."

Book of the day and book signing / discussion tomorrow (5/26, 4-6) > Jason Lee: A PLAIN VIEW. Published by Film Photographic in collaboration with RF Book Co. "A PLAIN VIEW is the most recent chapter in Jason Lee's ongoing photographic exploration of rural America that began more than a decade ago with large format Polaroid films on the back roads of California. This lavishly produced lay-flat softbound book is comprised of one hundred and eleven color images made throughout Texas over the course of twenty-five days between January and April of 2017 using expired Kodak 4 x 5 color films and a Graflex Speed Graphic view camera. It is accompanied by a text by Will Gillham, the Head of Publications at The Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth. Says the author "Having relocated to Texas from California in 2015, I felt it important to explore my adopted state more extensively than I had in the past as a visiting photographer. A PLAIN VIEW is the result of that exploration." Please join us TOMORROW! Saturday, May 26th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM at Arcana as we host a very special conversation between Jason Lee and Aline Smithson @alinesmithson of @Lenscratch followed by a book signing. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy of A PLAIN VIEW signed by Mr. Lee, please place your order on our website or call us at 310-458-1499. #aplainview #4x5film  #filmphotographic

D IS FOR DIGGING IT!  

Book of the day and book launch tomorrow! > International Signal Code Alphabet by Corita Kent. Published by Atelier Éditions. Introduction by Dr. Ray Smith, foreword by Aaron Rose. "Radical American artist, educator, and once-devout Catholic nun, Sister Mary Corita Kent’s provocative imagery has entranced audiences for over four decades. Originally completed in 1968, Kent’s 'International Signal Code Alphabet' encompasses a series of twenty-six kaleidoscopic serigraphs integrating scripture, typography, image, icon, and the maritime flags of the International Code of Signals. It features an introduction by Corita Art Center Director Dr. Ray Smith along with a foreword by noted Kent scholar, artist, and curator Aaron Rose. As 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of both the series’ completion, and the centennial of Kent’s birth, this celebratory publication reproduces this engaging body of work for the very first time in a monographic, fine art  format". Join us tomorrow to celebrate the celebratory publication - Saturday 5/19, 4-6 at Arcana. This and the Very Special Limited Edition (slipcased with 26 offset prints!) will be available for purchase. If you can't make it, no sweat -- call 310-458-1499 or order here. However you do it, get one now before these beautiful editions is sold out.

Book of the day > Emily Shur: Super Extra Natural! Published by Kehrer Verlag @kehrerverlag. "American photographer Emily Shur’s book Super Extra Natural! is a collection of images made in Japan between 2004 and 2016. What began as a one-time getaway possessing no agenda beyond experiencing something new expanded into a long-term body of work that has resulted in over 15 trips to various parts of the country. However, these images are not a documentation of a place. They are explorations of an unspoken connection; a state of mind that has become its own version of a vacation. Initially, Shur was not exactly sure what kept drawing her back to Japan, but she found a personal feeling of freedom and peace there. She says: "Everything made sense. Lines, shapes, light, and color fit together like a math equation that added up to what still feels like a supernatural high.'"

Book of the day and book signing & discussion tomorrow (5/11, 4-6)! > Vandalism – John Divola. Published by @mackbooks. “Between 1974 and 1975, the American photographer John Divola – then in his mid-twenties and without a studio of his own – travelled across Los Angeles in search of dilapidated properties in which to make photographs. Armed with a camera, spray paint, string and cardboard, the artist would produce one of his most significant photographic projects entitled Vandalism. In this visceral, black and white series of images Divola vandalised vacant homes with abstract constellations of graffiti-like marks, ritualistic configurations of string hooked to pins, and torn arrangements of card, before cataloguing the results. The project vigorously merged the documentary approach of forensic photography with staged interventions echoing performance, sculpture and installation art. Serving as a conceptual sabotaging of the delineations between such documentary and artistic practices, at a time when the ‘truthfulness’ of photography was being called into question, Vandalism helped to establish Divola’s highly distinctive photographic language.” Join us tomorrow for a discussion with Mr. Divola and the Getty’s Amanda Maddox. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy, please phone 310-458-1499 or visit our website here.

Book of the day > Handbook of Tyranny by Theo Deutinger. Published by Lars Müller. " Handbook of Tyranny portrays the routine cruelties of the twenty-first century through a series of detailed non-fictional graphic illustrations. None of these cruelties represent extraordinary violence – they reflect day-to-day implementation of laws and regulations around the globe. Every page of the book questions our current world of walls and fences, police tactics and prison cells, crowd control and refugee camps. The dry and factual style of storytelling through technical drawings is the graphic equivalent to bureaucratic rigidity born of laws and regulations. The level of detail depicted in the illustrations of the book mirror the repressive efforts taken by authorities around the globe. The twenty-first century shows a general striving for an ever more regulated and protective society. Yet the scale of authoritarian intervention and their stealth design adds to the growing difficulty of linking cause and effect. Handbook of Tyranny gives a profound insight into the relationship between political power, territoriality and systematic cruelties."

Book of the day (and mark your calendars for a book signing on 6/9!!!> Shaniqwa Jarvis. Published by Baque Creative Press, designed by Stephen Serrato. Introduction by Ryan McGinley. “Empathetic and raucous, Jarvis’ vivid portraits are coupled with images of delicate landscapes, objects from her extensive travels, and array of visceral portraits shot in her personal studio.”

Book of the day > Ed Templeton: Hairdos of Defiance. Published by Dead Beat Club Press (@deadbeatclub).  " 'An explosion of spiked fluorescent pink hair precariously balanced atop a young girl’s head, eyes painted black in the shape of an Egyptian goddess, slender neck choked by a black leather dog collar ringed with metal thorns, a ripped-up t-shirt barely concealing the flesh of her breasts: it had the same shocking effect on a family walking along London’s King’s Road in 1977 as it did on the explorers encountering the Pawnee Indians in 1541, something exotic and strange to behold. Having a punk hairstyle was a way to spit in the eye of polite society, to rebel and depart from the prevailing fashion trends. It was an emblem of non-conformity and a hairdo of defiance - until it wasn’t.' —Excerpt from "On Mohawks" by Ed Templeton (@ed.templeton).

From Disneyland to Detroit, Spokane to Scotland, Hairdos of Defiance highlights Templeton’s encounters with iconic punk-rock plumage across two decades and two continents. Shot on film, the portraits in Hairdos of Defiance track this ubiquitous expression of individuality on friends and strangers. In the accompanying essay On Mohawks, Templeton reflects on the evolution of the mohawk, from its origins in indigenous culture to its emergence as a punk identifier, to its co-option by the mainstream, to its significance in his own life as an outsider kid growing up in suburbia."