Events Posted Sep 11, 2025

Susan Meiselas's "Nicaragua" is Our Book of the Day! And a Talk and Signing!

🚨reissued masterpiece alert … and a talk and a signing 🚨 Originally published in 1981, Susan Meiselas’ Nicaragua is a modern classic - a seminal contribution to the literature of concerned photojournalism that forms an extraordinary narrative of a nation in turmoil. Starting with a powerful and chilling evocation of the Somoza regime during its decline in the late 1970s, the images trace the evolution of the popular resistance that led to the insurrection, culminating with the triumph of the Sandinista revolution in 1979.

A brand new 2025 Aperture third, updated edition of this essential book is now available here from Arcana, AND ALSO… As the highlight of PAC LA‘s Year of the Woman programming initiative, in partnership with Eastman Museum Los Angeles and American Cinemateque, there will be an afternoon with the acclaimed documentary photographer and president of Magnum Foundation, Susan Meiselas. Susan’s talk will center around her Nicaragua work over multiple decades and the various forms it has taken, as a book, exhibition, and film, tracing the lives of her images as they have circulated and been repatriated, shifting their meaning over time.

MS. MEISELAS WILL BE SIGNING COPIES FOR ARCANA ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th AT SANTA MONICA’S AERO THEATER BETWEEN 2:00 AND 5:00 PM. RSVP HERE
 
If you can't make it but would like to buy a signed copy of Nicaragua you can do so here.
Events Posted Sep 10, 2025

Book Signing + Discussion with David Alekhuogie and Awol Erizku 9/20/25!

 

 

PLEASE JOIN US ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER  20th, 4-6PM TO CELEBRATE
DAVID ALEKHUOGIE: A REPRISE

BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION WITH AWOL ERIZKU!
Events Posted Aug 18, 2025

Arthur Jafa Book Signing and Discussion at Arcana 8/23

Please join us this Saturday, August 23rd, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM as we welcome Los Angeles' own renowned Arthur Jafa to celebrate the release of his new publication Live Evil. In addition to signing copies, he will engage in a discussion of the book and his work with art historian Julian Myers.
"Having worked in film and music for decades, American artist Arthur Jafa garnered acclaim in the art world in 2016 for his video work "Love is the Message, the Message is Death." Composed of found images and videos, his oeuvre revolves around Black American culture, the history of slavery, and ongoing structural and physical violence against Black Americans. As Jafa put it in his 2003 text “My Black Death”: “The central conundrum of black being (the double bind of our ontological existence) lies in the fact that common misery both defines and limits who we are. Such that our efforts to eliminate those forces which constrain also function to dissipate much which gives us our specificity, our uniqueness, our flavor by destroying the binds that define we will cease to be, but this is the good death (boa morte) to be embraced." Bringing together affective memories that touch on US history, violence, repression, modalities of survival and how these exist in the production and dissemination of images, music, sound and time-based media, Jafa reflects on the ontology of race and Blackness.This richly illustrated catalog reproduces key works from Jafa's wide-ranging oeuvre and explores the philosophical, historical and artistic implications of his practice, featuring essays and a series of conversations between Jafa and key practitioners working in the fields of cinema, arts and theory."
 
 
Due to a limited supply of books being air freighted to us for the event, we have had to cease taking pre-orders. If you would like us to let you know if we have signed copies left after the event, please email us. Books will be available at the event, one per person, first come - first served. Thanks for your understanding!
 
Events Posted Aug 16, 2025

Todd Hido Book Signing and Discussion with Marina Luz Saturday 8/16!

Please join us Saturday, August 16th, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM as we welcome iconic photographer Todd Hido to celebrate the release of his updated and expanded Aperture monograph Intimate Distance.
 
In addition to signing copies, he will engage in a discussion of the book and his work with fellow Bay Area artist Marina Luz.
 
 
"Well known for his photography of landscapes and suburban housing and for his use of detail and luminous color, acclaimed American photographer Todd Hido casts a distinctly cinematic eye across all that he photographs, digging deep into his memory and imagination for inspiration. Newly revised and expanded, Intimate Distance: Over Thirty Years of Photographs, A Chronological Album includes ten years of new work since the book’s first publication, including breathtaking new images from his travels to Iceland, Norway, and Japan, where he brings both a familiar eye and an expansive new vision.
 
Though Hido has published many smaller monographs of individual bodies of work, this volume gathers his most iconic images along with many unpublished works to provide the most complete and comprehensive monograph charting his career to date. The book is organized chronologically, showing how his series overlap in exciting ways. David Campany introduces the work and looks at the kind of cinematic spectatorship it demands. Katya Tylevich muses on the making of each of Hido’s major monographs: 'The photographs lead as far as human-made roads go. They reach the periphery of utility wires, footprints, and paths already taken.' From exterior to interior, surface observations to subconscious investigations, from landscapes to nudes, from America and beyond, this midcareer collection reveals how Hido's unique focus has developed and shifted over time, yet the tension between distance and intimacy remains.”
 
Events Posted Aug 07, 2025

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Please join us for these upcoming events at the store (and beyond it)!
All events are free, no purchase required, and open to all. No RSVP needed.
 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
TODD HIDO: INTIMATE DISTANCE
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION WITH MARINA LUZ

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23rd, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
ARTHUR JAFA: LIVE EVIL
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th, 2:00 - 5:00 PM
SUSAN MEISELAS: NICARAGUA
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION 
**AT THE AERO THEATER IN SANTA MONICA**
IN CONJUNCTION WITH PAC-LA

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
DAVID ALEKHUOGIE: A REPRISE
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION WITH AWOL ERIZKU

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
LAURI GAFFIN: MOVING STILL
BOOK SIGNING

 

Events Posted Jul 12, 2025

Book Signing 7/26/25: RICHARD MISRACH: CARGO!

Please join us on Saturday, 7/26 (4:00-6:00 PM) for a book signing with Richard Misrach for his new Aperture book: CARGO!

 

If you can't join us, you can order a signed copy for shipping or pickup here.

 

 

Events Posted Jun 08, 2025

Upcoming Book Signings at Arcana!

SATURDAY, JUNE 14th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
BOB WAYNE: REEL TO REAL TALES... NOTES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE RECORDING CONSOLE
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION
Events Posted May 28, 2025

Eric Kroll Book Signing 6/7, 4-6!

Please join us Saturday, June 7th, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM as we welcome esteemed photographer Eric Kroll back to Arcana to celebrate the release of his latest Timeless Edition publication. Hardcore: A Photo / Journal is a striking compilation of his unseen, intimate images taken during the production of Paul Schrader's 1979 cult film Hardcore - starring George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, and Dick Sargeant. The book takes you deep into the world behind the camera, the set, the atmosphere, and the cast and crew that accompanied or inspired Kroll throughout the shoot. More than a simple behind the scenes document, Hardcore includes the photographer's own reflections, commentary, and a recent interview he conducted with adult film actress Serena. In addition, the book contains a foreword by Paul Schrader along with a rare text the director penned in 1978 for a publication about the film that was never completed.

We're expecting to sell out, so be sure to arrive here June 7th at 4:00 PM sharp-ish for this unique glimpse of late seventies Hollywood history with Eric Kroll. 
Events Posted Apr 17, 2025

Luisa Opalesky Book Signing 4/26, 4-6!

EVENT ALERT! On Saturday, April 26th from 4 until 6 PM, Arcana will proudly host the photographer Luisa Opalesky in conversation with director Luke Gilford to celebrate her new book “Big City Nobody.” The talk will be followed by the chance to get your copy signed by Luisa herself!
Luisa Opalesky (b. 1987) is an artist whose practice seeks to connect with all walks of life through photography, dance, and film. Originally from Philadelphia, she earned a BFA in photography under the mentorship of George Pitts at Parsons New School for Design. She draws inspiration from her elders, multicultural background, glamour, squalor, going to the cinema three times a week, and her home downtown in New York City. Her work is consistently characterized by its vibrant color, hazard, and comedic relief.
“Big City Nobody” is Opalesky’s debut photography book. Published by Spotz Studios and featuring work created between 2020 and 2024, the photographs in the book reveal glimpses of daily life, vibrancy of nightlife, and outtakes from assignments commissioned by the New York Times and Interview magazine. The collection unfolds with a flow reminiscent of walking crosstown caffeinated and immersed in the pulse of the city. The book includes writings by Alissa Bennett, Susie Essman, Daniel Arnold, and Teardrop.
If you can’t make it IRL (bummer!), you can still purchase the book for signing and shipping here. 
Join us on April 26th for good talk, good books, and free libations. All are welcome!
Events Posted Feb 17, 2025

Diana Markosian: Father Book Signing + Discussion with Gabrielle J. Sirkin Saturday, February 22nd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM!

Join us Saturday, February 22nd, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to welcome celebrated photographer Diana Markosian for a book signing and what is sure to be an engaging discussion with Gabrielle J. Sirkin regarding Markosian's new Aperture monograph, Father.
 
Father is an intimate and engrossing diaristic portrayal of estrangement and reconnection, recounted through documentary photographs, family snapshots, text, and visual ephemera. It presents the photographer’s journey to another place and another time, where Markosian attempts to piece together an image of a familiar stranger - her long-lost father. The book explores her father’s absence, her reconciliation with him, and the shared emptiness of their prolonged estrangement. The images, made over the course of a decade, take place in her father’s home in Armenia.
 
In Markosian’s first monograph, Santa Barbara (Aperture, 2020), the photographer recreates the story of her family’s journey from post-Soviet Russia to the US in the 1990s. Father uses both documentary photographs and archives of objects, letters, and vernacular images to probe the fifteen years of absence and separation from the photographer’s childhood. In this voyage of self-discovery, Markosian touchingly renders her longing for connection to a man she barely remembers and who asks her, when she finds him, “Why did it take you so long?”
 
If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a SIGNED copy of Father, please place your order here.
 
Diana Markosian is at the forefront of a new generation of photographers and directors, pushing the boundaries of documentary storytelling. By encapsulating different styles and mediums, Markosian has created a unique approach to image making. Her first monograph, Santa Barbara, was published by Aperture and selected as the top book of the year by MoMA and Time. Father, was chosen as the photo book of the year by Le Monde. Markosian holds a masters degree from Columbia University, is a contributor to Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker ,and has exhibited in leading museums worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography in New York, and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Gabrielle Sirkin is a Los Angeles-based photography director and creative producer specializing in commercial and editorial photography driven to create compelling visual storytelling. She has over a decade of experience, and has worked at major publications such as More Magazine and Airbnb Magazine. Her work has earned her various awards and recognitions including Gold, Silver and Merit Society of Publication Designers (SPD) Award Winner, American Photography Winner, ADC Awards, Cannes Silver Lion Winner and an Emmy Nomination.
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