Book of the day > Jason Fulford: The Medium Is A Mess. Published by Studio Blanco. ” In the autumn of 2017, Studio Blanco (@studioblanco.it) invited photographer Jason Fulford (@mushroom_collector) to Reggio Emilia, Italy, to take pictures of the ateliers of Reggio Children. He spent a week in the city with the aim of documenting and celebrating the creative process globally known as the Reggio Emilia Approach. This book features photographs by Fulford in the ateliers and streets of the city, as well as pictures previously taken in Japan, Korea, and the United States.

“Our task, regarding creativity, is to help children climb their own mountains as high as possible.” Loris Malaguzzi In Reggio Emilia, the first public nursery school was created in 1945 with funds from the sales of a military tank, three trucks and six horses left behind by fleeing German soldiers. The school was managed by a group of volunteers, since the role of a professional teacher for pre-schoolers did not exist yet according to the Italian law. Twenty years later, a teacher and psychologist named Loris Malaguzzi took inspiration from those first educational efforts to set up a pioneering educational system, which was tested in a new preschool called Diana. It lay in the middle of the city’s main park. It had a square at its core, three classrooms, two small gardens, a kitchen and an atelier. It was full of light, because most of its walls were just big windows.  Today the Reggio Emilia Approach has become globally renowned: all year long, delegations of teachers flock to this small city to learn about it. Malaguzzi based it on a few basic ideas: the families’ participation, the fact that teachers should work together, the presence of a kitchen and an atelier inside the school and, most importantly, the conviction that the child should always be at the centre of her own development, that she should be let free to express herself in the “hundred languages” that humans can use. This book is a tribute to this approach. In it, shapes and colours from the ateliers are juxtaposed to urban details. Every now and then, some children’s faces peek from a page, as if they were busy making sense out of what they were seeing in order to finally assemble all those elements. Layer after layer, new meanings emerge. We are tempted to grab them, crystallize them, and jot them down but they only last the time of a blink, before being reshuffled with what is coming next and what is still to come. Let’s not worry about it. Isn’t this the experience of growing up, after all?"

Book of the day > The Swimming Pool in Photography. Published by Hatje Cantz. " The Swimming Pool in Photography invites readers to dive into the cultural history of swimming pools. As long as 5,000 years ago, the allure of the sea inspired humans to recreate its essence in miniature artistic forms, such as public baths where ancient rituals would take place. Since then, swimming pools have become status symbols and a source for a gamut of purposes from athletics to the simple pleasure of just being in water. It is no wonder, then, that filmmakers and photographers constantly return to the swimming pool as a subject and setting. Reflections of water and light are captured in countless unique ways in the more than 200 compelling images of pools and swimmers that comprise this catalog. The Swimming Pool in Photography includes works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gigi Cifali, Stuart Franklin, Harry Gruyaert, Emma Hartvig, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Joel Meyerowitz, Martin Parr, Paolo Pelligrin, Mack Sennett, Alec Soth, Larry Sultan, Alex Webb, and many others." 

Book of the day > Making America Modern: Interior Design in the 1930s by Marilyn F. Friedman. Published by Bauer And Dean. “The designers of the 1930s had a determination to forge a contemporary style, rejecting the revivalism that had defined American design during the nineteenth century. They drew their inspiration from diverse sources, such as Art Deco, the Bauhaus, the Viennese Secession, Shintoism, and streamlining, and they embraced new concepts in construction, materials, and style. Over the course of the decade they developed a framework for modern interior design that was faithful to core principles of simplicity, practicality and comfort, a conceptual framework that continues to define American modern interior design today. A valuable resource for design professionals, historians, and enthusiasts, this book chronicles the development of modern interior design in the United States in the 1930s. With detailed descriptions and more than 200 archival images, design historian Marilyn F. Friedman presents more than 100 interiors by 50 designers and architects, including work by design luminaries Donald Deskey, Paul T. Frankl, Cedric Gibbons, William Lescaze, Tommi Parzinger, Eugene Schoen, Walter Dorwin Teague, Joseph Urban, and Kem Weber. Friedman also draws attention to lesser known male and female designers, including Joseph Aronson, Virginia Conner, Freda Diamond, Robert Heller, and Eleanor Le Maire. Interiors include private commissions, model homes, and exhibition displays that spanned the economic spectrum, from those created for wealthy patrons, such as Walter Annenberg and Abby Rockefeller Milton, to those designed with affordability in mind.”

Book of the day > Lorna Simpson: Collages. Published by @chroniclebooks. “’Black women’s heads of hair are galaxies unto themselves, solar systems, moonscapes, volcanic interiors.’ —Elizabeth Alexander, from the Introduction Using advertising photographs of black women (and men) drawn from vintage issues of Ebony and Jet magazines, the exquisite and thought-provoking collages of world-renowned artist Lorna Simpson explore the richly nuanced language of hair. Surreal coiffures made from colorful ink washes, striking geological formations from old textbooks, and other unexpected forms and objects adorn the models to mesmerizingly beautiful effect. Featuring 160 artworks, an artist’s statement, and an introduction by poet, author, and scholar Elizabeth Alexander, this volume celebrates the irresistible power of Simpson’s visual vernacular.”

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."

Shaniqwa Jarvis’ first book Shaniqwa Jarvis presents one hundred and sixty pages of editorial and personal work spanning two decades drawn from the photographer’s archive. This lovely hardbound volume published by Baque Creative features an introduction by photographer Ryan McGinley accompanied by a meticulous selection of pictures from her favorite personal series such as “Bathroom Portraits” - shot in the toilets of bars in the early 2000s - along with editorial work for clients like The Gap, The New York Times, Supreme, Billboard, and Riposte that includes portraits of SZA, Lee Scratch Perry, George Condo, Cardi B, and a few requisite selfies.

Ms. Jarvis’ work is known for blending the aesthetics of modern fashion photography with the sensitive, unfiltered emotion of art portraiture. In some of her best-loved imagery she captures vivid reality across a wide variety of subjects that always appear to be an extension of herself. The images speak to raw, disparate feelings imbued with a deep sparkling optimism. The photos in this collection are an invitation to join Jarvis on a journey to see the world from her vantage point - one that is female, black, tirelessly hardworking, and brimming with raucous, positive vibrations. These are images of celebrities who seem like best friends, vintage shots of downtown New York notables in their heyday, children, loved ones in all colors of the rainbow, and delicate landscapes and travel souvenirs. Here is sorrow and joy commingling in pictures, many of them highly autobiographical, all representing a progressive and optimistic world.

So join us Saturday, June 9th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM to meet Ms. Jarvis and celebrate the arrival of this fabulous new book! If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a copy of Shaniqwa Jarvis signed by the photographer, please place your order here or call us at 310-458-1499.

Click here to read more about Ms. Jarvis in the New York Times.

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

David P. Earle

Emily Joyce