Book of the day > The Travellers by Birte Kaufmann; essay by Chris Killip. Published by Verlag Kettler. "In Ireland, around 25,000 people still live in temporary settlements in the style of itinerant workers, far removed from the amenities of Western civilization. Moving from place to place in mobile homes without electricity or running water, the largest Catholic minority of the country are faced with many prejudices. Strangely out of step with 21st-century lifestyle, they stick to their seemingly outdated traditions while also trying to find a new identity that fits in with modern society. Even in the present day, this ambiguity continues to define life for the traveller community, whose livelihood depends on horse breeding and hunting and who keep their own language alive as part of their insular culture. In 2011, the photographer Birte Kaufmann cautiously began to make contact with the travelling community, earning their trust and on some occasions living with them. For her portrayal of this unknown world, she needed to be in close contact with the families in order to capture their particular character and to avoid the usual stereotypes. Without a doubt, Birte Kaufmann's combination of reportage and documentary photography hits the right note and offers impressive insights into the Irish travellers' extraordinary world." @birtekaufmann 

Book of the day > Ed Ruscha: Metro Mattresses. Published by Sprüth Magers. "Ed Ruscha has been casting his eye across the landscapes of the American West for over 50 years, taking in everything from gas stations to swimming pools to sublime mountain ranges. With their clarity and deadpan wit, his photographs, drawings and paintings impart a mood of playful awe on everyday monuments. The motifs for his new series Metro Mattresses were found, like so many of the subjects of his work, on the streets of Los Angeles. In each of the 12 works in the series we encounter a mattress, or mattresses, isolated and in various states of neglect, all depicted against a neutral backdrop. The serial nature of the Metro Mattresses works brings to mind some of Ruscha’s earliest work, such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963) or Every Building on Sunset Strip (1966). This handsome volume collects the series, with the images beautifully reproduced on board pages."

Book of the day > YVES SAINT LAURENT: THE SCANDAL COLLECTION, 1971. Published by Abrams. "On January 21, 1971, couturier Yves Saint Laurent presented his Spring-Summer haute couture collection. Inspired by the garments of the war years, the collection included short dresses, platform shoes, square shoulders, and exaggerated makeup. The show caused an outrage among the public, the critics, and the press alike, earning it the title of 'Paris’s ugliest collection.' Nevertheless, the haute couture designs of the runway made their way to the boulevards, giving full sway to the 'retro' trend that quickly conquered the streets.

Yves Saint Laurent: The Scandal Collection, 1971 offers a behind-the-scenes look at the influential collection that 'drew fire in the fashion world'—from the collection’s inspiration to the press coverage that followed. Beautifully illustrated and documented with well-researched essays, this book is enriched with personal interviews and archival photographs of the show, the models, the designs, and the textile and print samples, as well as sketches and international press clippings."

Book of the day > PARTY IN THE BACK by Tino Razo. Published by Anthology @anthology_recs . “In Party In The Back, celebrated skateboarder Tino Razo has documented — and shredded — abandoned backyard swimming pools throughout Southern California. The resulting body of work, showcased here for the first time in Tino’s book, elevates itself beyond a bunch of thrill-seekers navigating the suburban landscape, juxtaposing renegade sessions by world class skateboarders with dramatic architectural photographs of a lost American dream. Party In The Back is a lyrical photo-eulogy for this disappearing pool culture, bathed in the golden Southern Californian light."

Book of the day > Curtis Moffat: Silver Society: Experimental Photography and Design, 1923-1935. Published by Steidl. "This deluxe monograph is the perfect gift for the fashion lover who has everything. Published by Steidl, it collects the abstract photographs and breathtaking portraits of an overlooked Modernist master of the 1920s and 30s. This is the first publication on the American modernist photographer Curtis Moffat (1887-1949), who is known for his dynamic abstract photographs, innovative color still lifes and some of the most glamorous society portraits of the early 20th century. He was also a pivotal figure in modernist interior design and furniture. Living in London throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, in the era of the "Bright Young Things," Moffat produced stylish photographic portraits of leading figures in high society, theatre and the arts, including Cecil Beaton, the Sitwells, Nancy Cunard, Lady Diana Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead and Daphne du Maurier. In 2003 and 2007, Moffat's daughter, Penelope Smail, generously donated her father's extensive archive to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This book is drawn from that archive and includes, in addition, digital reconstructions of color images from original tri-carbro process black-and-white negatives. It reveals Moffat's pioneering but hitherto little-known photography in all its depth and beauty."
 

Book of the day and book signing tomorrow (3/11, 4-6!) > Gordon B. Kaufmann (Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940). Published by Angel City Press. "Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940 is a new twelve volume series overseen by Marc Appleton, Bret Parsons, and Steve Vaught that showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects. Featuring period photographs of the work of legendary names in the region's architecture, these monographs are devoted to the period when oil barons, film industry moguls, bankers, and successful entrepreneurs who were new to Los Angeles sought to hire the most accomplished and talented architects they could find.

The premiere volume showcases Gordon B. Kaufmann, whose design for Greystone - the famed Beverly Hills domicile he created for E.L. Doheny Jr. and Lucy Doheny - catapulted him to the top of his field. Combining elements of English Gothic and Jacobean styles, the fifty-five room manor for the son and daughter-in-law of the then-richest man in the United States became the largest private residence in Southern California.

Though Kaufmann’s name and legacy have since dimmed to all but architectural historians and savvy realtors, his stamp is all over Southern California, and Greystone is hardly his only notable achievement. GORDON B. KAUFMANN includes a detailed career biography that chronicles numerous residential projects he designed, including homes for legendary Los Angeles families with names like Chandler, Janss, Adamson, Getz, and Hampshur-Jones, to name a few. In addition, Kaufmann designed Hoover Dam, the Los Angeles Times Building, Caltech’s Athenaeum, Santa Anita Park, and other important local landmarks.

The period from 1920 to 1940 was an era of incredible homes that utilized the very best building materials available, prior to their being needed for the nation's World War II effort. Notes co-author Bret Parsons “Artisans were still crafting the best details from those remarkable materials; redwood two-by-fours still measured two-inches by four-inches”. These residences defined Los Angeles as a city whose architectural heritage was in the making. “These were the homes that made architectural history, yet few were properly documented.” 

Join us tomorrow (Saturday, 3/11, 4:00-6:00) or purchase a signed copy here.

Join us Saturday March 11th, 4:00 to 6:00 PM
for a book signing with authors
Marc Appleton, Bret Parsons, and Steve Vaught:

MASTER ARCHITECTS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
1920-1940: GORDON B. KAUFMANN

Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940 is a new twelve volume series overseen by Marc Appleton, Bret Parsons, and Steve Vaught that showcases the work of the Golden Era’s most important residential architects. Featuring period photographs of the work of legendary names in the region's architecture, these monographs are devoted to the period when oil barons, film industry moguls, bankers, and successful entrepreneurs who were new to Los Angeles sought to hire the most accomplished and talented architects they could find.

The premiere volume showcases Gordon B. Kaufmann, whose design for Greystone - the famed Beverly Hills domicile he created for E.L. Doheny Jr. and Lucy Doheny - catapulted him to the top of his field. Combining elements of English Gothic and Jacobean styles, the fifty-five room manor for the son and daughter-in-law of the then-richest man in the United States became the largest private residence in Southern California.

Though Kaufmann’s name and legacy have since dimmed to all but architectural historians and savvy realtors, his stamp is all over Southern California, and Greystone is hardly his only notable achievement. GORDON B. KAUFMANN includes a detailed career biography that chronicles numerous residential projects he designed, including homes for legendary Los Angeles families with names like Chandler, Janss, Adamson, Getz, and Hampshur-Jones, to name a few. In addition, Kaufmann designed Hoover Dam, the Los Angeles Times Building, Caltech’s Athenaeum, Santa Anita Park, and other important local landmarks.

The period from 1920 to 1940 was an era of incredible homes that utilized the very best building materials available, prior to their being needed for the nation's World War II effort. Notes co-author Bret Parsons “Artisans were still crafting the best details from those remarkable materials; redwood two-by-fours still measured two-inches by four-inches”. These residences defined Los Angeles as a city whose architectural heritage was in the making. “These were the homes that made architectural history, yet few were properly documented.”

Please join us at Arcana Saturday, March 11th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to celebrate the launch of Tailwater Press' new series with Mr. Appleton, Mr. Parsons, and Mr. Vaught. If you are unable to attend and wish to purchase a copy of Master Architects of Southern California 1920-1940 signed by all three, place your secure order on our website here, or call us at 310-458-1499. 

Book of the day > Damn Son Where Did You Find This? A Book about US Hiphop Mixtape Cover Art. Published by Koenig Books. "The first book ever to focus on the cover art of the modern US hip hop CD mixtape. From the bootleg recordings of Kool Herc in the 1970s to Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Drake’s latest opus, CD mixtapes have been and continue to be an essential part of hip hop culture. A visual world that reached unseen levels at the turn of the millennium, uncensored, unregulated and extreme, it is the most anarchic of all genres of graphic design.

To make their music stand apart from the dozens of mixtapes regularly released on sites like datpiff.com, hip hop artists rely on cover art to catch listeners’ eyes. The race for attention-grabbing covers led mixtapes to adopt a lurid movie-poster aesthetic: flashy and explosive.

Freed from label guidelines, legal opinion and moral hindrances, the five designers featured in Damn Son Where Did You Find This?—KidEight, Miami Kaos, Mike Rev and Tansta & Skrilla—created covers for the likes of Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Gucci Mane, Rick Ross, The Game, Tupac, Eminem, Raekwon, 2Chainz, Young Jeezy and A$AP. Along with 500 of these covers, interviews with the designers recount how they entered the hip hop mixtape industry, taking us through the creative process, describing how visual trends have come and gone, and how designing mixtape covers changed the trajectories of their lives. Originally published as a limited edition of 400 hand-numbered copies (which quickly sold out), Damn Son Where Did You Find This? is at last available as a trade edition."

Book of the day > Raymond Pettibon: A Pen of All Work. Published by Phaidon in association with the New Museum. " The most comprehensive monograph in print on this provocative artist, who has helped to redefine contemporary art. This thorough, multifaceted assessment of Raymond Pettibon's entire career to date includes nearly 700 images, contributions from important figures in the art-historical and cultural fields, and a recent interview with the artist. Beginning with childhood drawings, the book moves through to his mature work, which embraces both high and low culture." @phaidonsnaps @newmuseum

AARON STERN:
WE LIVE BEHIND THE MOON SOMETIMES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th, 3:00 to 4:00 PM AT OUR BOOTH (#P05)

On Saturday 2/25, New York-based photographer Aaron Stern will be joining us at 3:00 PM to sign his hot-off-the-press We Live Behind The Moon Sometimes - an edition limited edition to fifty copies each containing a 5 x 7" print. "Our memories are so often distorted to fit a narrative we create for ourselves. We replay memories the way we wish to remember and rebuild them to fit our own story. These images explore these themes as well the overarching theme in my work: love and loss, and how they relate to the landscape in our minds and around us."

The Geffen Contemporary at MoCA

152 North Central Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Can't make it on Saturday? We've got you covered - you can order can order signed copies here.