Book of the Day Posted Mar 12, 2015

Book of the day > Architecture/Astrology: By Dan Graham and Jessica Russell

Book of the day > Architecture/Astrology: By Dan Graham and Jessica Russell. Koenig Books. “Artist Dan Graham and writer Jessica Russell's playful Architecture/Astrology considers some of the most important and innovative figures in the world of architecture from an angle few would expect: their star signs. Originally published as a column for Domus magazine, Graham and Russell's book integrates critical analysis with astrology and mythology to offer alternative perspectives on the work and personalities of artist/architects including Frank Gehry (a restless, dreamy Pisces), Frank Lloyd Wright (a romantic Gemini with one foot in the past and the other in the future), Eero Saarinen (a dynamic, dramatic Leo) and Le Corbusier (a logical, balanced Libra). With accompanying illustrations by Mieko Meguro, Architecture/Astrology itself resembles the best sort of architect, one who is at once rigorous and whimsical, with his feet on the ground and his head in the clouds.”
Book of the Day Posted Mar 11, 2015

Book of the day > On Kawara — Silence

Book of the day > On Kawara — Silence. Guggenheim. “Because of his recourse to language, photography and systems of information, On Kawara is often described as a key figure in the history of Conceptual art. Yet his work stands apart in its devotion to painting and its existential reach. On Kawara — Silence is published in conjunction with a major exhibition of Kawara's post-1964 work at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Like the exhibition itself, the structure of the book was devised in close collaboration with the late artist. The exhibition catalogue contains essays on Kawara's work by leading scholars and critics in various fields, including art history, literary studies and cultural anthropology. It also includes substantial, authoritative descriptions of every category of his production—the first time such comprehensive information has appeared in print. Richly illustrated, On Kawara — Silence reproduces many examples of the Date Paintings (Today), calendars (One Hundred Years and One Million Years), postcards (I Got Up), telegrams (I Am Still Alive), news cuttings (I Read), maps (I Went) and lists (I Met) that comprised the artist's practice beginning in the mid-1960s. Among other groups of works, the book includes images of the 97 Date Paintings (accompanied by their newspaper-lined storage boxes) that Kawara produced during a three-month run of daily painting in 1970. The catalogue also contains reproductions of paintings and drawings produced in Paris and New York in the years that precede the works for which Kawara is best known, as well as rare images of materials related to his working process. “
Book of the Day Posted Mar 06, 2015

Book of the day > Fullmoon: Darren Almond

Book of the day > Fullmoon: Darren Almond. Taschen. “Lunar lens: Darren Almond’s nocturnal nature series
In Fullmoon, the conceptual meets the poetic: in more than 260 photographs, British artist Darren Almond catches landscapes around the globe, under the particular light of a full moon.
With the shutter kept open for over a quarter of an hour, rivers, meadows, mountains, and seashores are illuminated almost like daybreak, but the atmosphere is different: a mild glow emanates even from the shadows, star-lines cross the sky, and water blankets the earth like a misty froth. The enhanced moonlight infuses the landscapes with a sense of the surreal or the sublime, and with haunting ideas of time, nature and beauty.
The series circles around the possibility of Romantic themes today: majestic American mountains, austere Arctic ice fields, picturesque rocks by the seashore in Japan, and, most intimately viewed, the nature of Britain, whose painterly subjects are closest to home.
This book covers all parts of Almond's fullmoon series from the turn of the century up until today. It features an introduction by Sheena Wagstaff, head of the Modern and Contemporary Art Department of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and an in-depth essay by writer and critic Brian Dillon.”
Book of the Day Posted Mar 05, 2015

Book of the day > Don’t Take These Drawings Seriously by Nathalie Du Pasquier

Book of the day > Don’t Take These Drawings Seriously by Nathalie Du Pasquier. powerHouse Books. “Nathalie Du Pasquier started drawing as soon as she met her husband George Sowden in 1979 in Milan. She was introduced to the world of design and shortly after, in 1981, became a founding member of the iconic postmodern design movement Memphis.
From 1981 to 1987 she didn’t stop drawing. Every day she would draw a whole new modern world, from very small items like jewelry to entire cities. This world only existed in her head but would eventually be developed into real pieces for the Memphis exhibitions. This unique book is the first and definitive compilation of all the unpublished drawings from those years, which had been sitting in the drawers of Nathalie’s studio for over 30 years.
Organized by the smallest objects to the biggest and divided into chapters, each with a text by Nathalie, the book has been carefully edited and designed by Apartamento magazine’s co-founder Omar Sosa together with Nathalie Du Pasquier. Don’t Take These Drawings Seriously is an excellent reference for future generations and a welcome document of an important period in modern design.”
Book of the Day Posted Mar 04, 2015

Book of the day > Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC – Lee Friedlander

Book of the day > Dressing Up: Fashion Week NYC – Lee Friedlander. Yale. “Lee Friedlander is one of the most renowned photographers of his generation. Through Friedlander’s lens, people in their everyday environments are transformed into arresting portraits, and the banal features of roadsides, storefronts, and city streets become vivid scenery. In Dressing Up, Friedlander ventures into new territory, turning his eye to the rarefied world of fashion and revealing precisely what is commonplace about it: behind the glamorous spectacle of the runway are many people hard at work.
The photographs, commissioned by the New York Times Magazine, were taken in 2006 during New York Fashion Week, when the artist spent time backstage at the Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Zac Posen, Oscar de la Renta, and Proenza Schouler shows. The resulting images, many of which are published here for the first time, depict a flurry of toiling stylists, dressers, makeup artists, photographers, and models—all of them preparing, but not quite prepared, for an image to be taken. Lovers of photography and high-end fashion will be surprised and intrigued by this inside glimpse into the world of runway design.”
Miscellany Posted Feb 25, 2015

Brenda

It's hard to imagine an Arcana without the serene elegance of Brenda Bynum, but after 25 years that day has come. Brenda will be devoting herself to her own artistic pursuits 7 days a week now, a decision which we fully support, but which will leave a gaping absence at Arcana. Brenda's deep knowledge,
terrific calm, and - of course - her beauty and style are only a few of the inimitable qualities that we and our clients love about her and we will miss terribly. We wish her nothing but the best as she follows her correct path. We love you, Brenda!
In the News Posted Feb 15, 2015

Elle China, March 2015

We're honored to be in Elle China's Los Angeles feature, selected by Stuart Vevers. Xie xie!
Events Posted Feb 13, 2015

Mona Kuhn PRIVATE Book Signing

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15th,
4:00 - 6:00 PM FOR A BOOK SIGNING

MONA KUHN: PRIVATE
For her fifth book, Mona Kuhn has entered the heart of the American desert and returned with a sequence of pictures that is seductive, enigmatic and a little unsettling. Private proposes a world in which concrete reality and the imaginary are one. Plants and animals on the edge of survival, sun-drenched landscapes and wind-sculpted earth are intercut with a series of nudes that push Kuhn's renowned sensitivity to human form into unexpected directions. The result is a book somewhere between the poetry of T.S. Eliot, the cinema of Robert Altman, and a lucid dream.
Join us in celebrating the publication of Mona Kuhn's lovely new book Private! We will also be offering a selection of her earlier Steidl titles along with a few special signed limited editions with a print.
Book of the Day Posted Feb 07, 2015

Book of the Day > Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment

Book of the Day > Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment. Both the 1952 First Edition and 2014 Steidl facsimile reprint available – pick your poison!
“Within the canon of European photography books it would be difficult to find one more famous, revered and influential as Henri Cartier-Bresson's The Decisive Moment, wrote Jeffrey Ladd in Time LightBox, in a feature on Steidl's new edition of this ultimate photobook classic. Originally published in 1952, this collection of Cartier-Bresson's best work from his early years was embellished with a collage cover by Henri Matisse. The book has since influenced generations of photographers, while its English title defined the notion of the famous peak in which all elements in the photographic frame accumulate to form the perfect image—not the moment of the height of the action, necessarily, but the formal, visual peak. This new publication—the first and only reprint since the original 1952 edition—is a meticulous facsimile of the original book that launched the artist to international fame, with an additional booklet on the history of The Decisive Moment by Centre Pompidou curator Clément Chéroux.” - Steidl.
Events Posted Feb 03, 2015

Book Signing for Ed Templeton's "Wayward Cognitions"

On Sunday AT 1:00 we'll be hosting a book signing with the immensely talented Ed Templeton for his fantastic new collection of photography: "Wayward Cognitions".

"Wayward Cognitions" is a collection of photographs by Ed Templeton, chosen from his archives spanning twenty years. For this volume, Templeton selected images that do not fit into his usual manner of organizing by theme or subject. In past publications he has arranged his work in straightforward groupings such as Teenage Kissers, Teenage Smokers, or photographs shot from a moving car. In "Deformer", he presented the photographs under the theme of suburbia. "Wayward Cognitions" represents the in-between moments that arise when shooting in the streets without theme or subject. "It's about looking, people watching, finding pleasure in the visual vignettes we glimpse each day," says Templeton. When those moments are removed from the context in which they were shot, dynamic stories can be told or imagined in book form. The photographs in "Wayward Cognitions" were printed by Templeton in his darkroom; he then created the layout and design himself, building the book from scratch in his home studio."

Please note: Priority will be given to those buying "Wayward Cognitions" from us on Sunday. Those bringing other material for Mr. Templeton to sign must wait until same-day purchasers have had their books signed. Thank you for your cooperation.
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