In the News
Posted Feb 02, 2015
Events
Posted Jan 29, 2015
Printed Matter's 2015 LA Art Book Fair + Ed Templeton Book Signing!
It's time to join us for the Printed Matter Los Angeles Art Book Fair! The first two years have been outstanding in terms of attendance, energy, and sheer volume of amazing stuff for sale under one gigantic roof; and this one promises to be the best yet.
We'll be downtown again this year with another enticing assortment of rarities including Pop and Conceptual artists’ books and catalogues, (maga)’zines, artworks + multiples, and an array of coveted posters, announcements and ephemera. It's a unique opportunity to shop many of the exquisite, inspiring, and rarely-seen items from the Arcana: Books on the Arts hidden-recesses and flat files. See you there!
While you're at the fair, be sure to check out: The Templetons - Books and Zines. Our pals at Boo-Hooray are hosting a not-to-be-missed exhibit, curated by Johan Kugelberg, Clint Woodside and Ed & Deanna Templeton, devoted to their zines, books and related artworks.
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."
Events
Posted Jan 29, 2015
Printed Matter's 2015 LA Art Book Fair
Fresh from the flat files to the LA Art Book Fair.
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 21, 2015
Book of the day > Alec Soth Songbook
Book of the day > Alec Soth Songbook. MACK.
“Known for his haunting portraits of solitary Americans in Sleeping by the Mississippi and Broken Manual, Alec Soth has recently turned his lens toward community life in the country. To aid in his search, Soth assumed the increasingly obsolescent role of community newspaper reporter. From 2012-2014, Soth traveled state by state while working on his self-published newspaper, The LBM Dispatch, as well as on assignment for the New York Times and others. From upstate New York to Silicon Valley, Soth attended hundreds of meetings, dances, festivals and communal gatherings in search of human interaction in an era of virtual social networks.
With Songbook, Soth has stripped these pictures of their news context in order to highlight the longing for connection at their root. Fragmentary, funny and sad, Songbook is a lyrical depiction of the tension between American individualism and the desire to be united.”
“Known for his haunting portraits of solitary Americans in Sleeping by the Mississippi and Broken Manual, Alec Soth has recently turned his lens toward community life in the country. To aid in his search, Soth assumed the increasingly obsolescent role of community newspaper reporter. From 2012-2014, Soth traveled state by state while working on his self-published newspaper, The LBM Dispatch, as well as on assignment for the New York Times and others. From upstate New York to Silicon Valley, Soth attended hundreds of meetings, dances, festivals and communal gatherings in search of human interaction in an era of virtual social networks.
With Songbook, Soth has stripped these pictures of their news context in order to highlight the longing for connection at their root. Fragmentary, funny and sad, Songbook is a lyrical depiction of the tension between American individualism and the desire to be united.”
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 20, 2015
Book of the day > Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1
Book of the day > Creeping Death from Neptune: The Life and Comics of Basil Wolverton Vol. 1. Fantagraphics. “This is the first of two volumes reprinting copious amounts of comics stories and recounting the career of cartoonist Basil Wolverton. Based on his correspondence and journals, the biographical portion of the books follows Wolverton from childhood to adult day-to-day life as freelance cartoonist, itinerant handyman, persistent contest enterer, and local pastor of the Radio Church of God. Wolverton lived and worked in the Pacific Northwest, unique among the first generation of comic book pioneers. In the precious period before the industry calcified into a commercial institution, Wolverton was free to work under the radar to explore in detail his weird tales of the future. All of Wolverton's non-humorous comic book stories are be presented in full, along with prime examples of his humorous comics and dozens of pages of unpublished art, including editorial drawings, advertisements, caricatures, pulp illustrations, rejected comic book covers, and unsold features.”
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 17, 2015
Book of the day > Mike Brodie: Tones of Dirt and Bone
Book of the day > Mike Brodie: Tones of Dirt and Bone. Twin Palms. “The images in Tones of Dirt and Bone were made between 2004 and 2006, with a Polaroid camera and Time Zero film. Brodie used the characteristics and limitations inherent to this type of camera and film to his advantage. The portraits he made are further enhanced by the peculiar color palette of the film. Due to the restriction of manual focus and expensive film, that came only ten sheets to a box, each image feels deliberate and precious. ‘Maybe I’ve just become obsessed with dirty cloth and dull rags, objects that have been touched by a million different hands then set back down – right there – just for me. Things that are made by chance or found on the side of a road, rather than bought or sold… The photos? I just want people to see them just as I want to tell someone a good story.’”
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 15, 2015
Book of the day > Crap Taxidermy
Book of the day > Crap Taxidermy. Ten Speed Press. “A relaxed toad enjoying a smoke and a brew. A cat with eerily flexible front legs. A smiling lion with receding gums. Whether you choose to laugh or cringe at these spectacularly bad attempts at taxidermy, you won't be able to tear your eyes away from the curiosities inside. This volume brings together the very best of the worst, showcasing the most perverse yet imaginative anatomical reconstructions of the animal kingdom you'll ever see.”
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 13, 2015
Book of the day > Bruce Davidson In Color
Book of the day > Bruce Davidson In Color. Steidl. “This volume presents Bruce Davidson’s personal selections from his lesser-known color archive. Ranging from a period of fifty-six years and counting, these images are representative of the photographer’s color career. Assignments from various magazines (Vogue, National Geographic, Life magazine) and commercial projects led him to photograph fashion (early 1960s), the Shah of Iran with his family (1964), keepers of French monuments (1988), the supermodel Kylie Bax (1997), and college cheerleaders (1989). He photographed in India and China, but also at home in New York, in Chicago, and along the Pacific Coast Highway. In 1968, Michelangelo Antonioni invited him to document the making of his film Zabriskie Point. Davidson also continued to pursue personal projects, e.g. photographing the Yiddish writer and Nobel Prize laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer (1972–75), the New York City subway (1980), and Katz’s Delicatessen (2004). Often staying on in a country after an official assignment, he documented Welsh coalfields, family holidays in Martha’s Vineyard, and traveled through Patagonia and Mexico.”
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 03, 2015
Book of the day > Dust and Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting
Book of the day > Dust and Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting. "This is the second and revised edition to Eilon Paz's 436-page coffee-table book that illuminates over 130 vinyl collectors and their collections in the most intimate of environments-their record rooms. With a foreword by the RZA, compelling photographic essays are paired with in-depth interviews to illustrate what motivates record collectors to keep digging for more records. Readers get an up close and personal look at a variety of well-known vinyl champions as well as a glimpse into the collections of known and unknown DJs, producers, record dealers, and everyday enthusiasts. The book is divided into two main parts: the first features 250 full-page photos framed by captions and select quotes, while the second consists of 12 full-length interviews that delve deeper into collectors' personal histories and vinyl troves."
Book of the Day
Posted Jan 02, 2015
Book of the day > Ed Templeton: Wayward Cognitions
Happy New Year! Kicking 2015 off with a bang, setting the bar high, we’re thrilled to share book of the day > ED TEMPLETON: WAYWARD COGNITIONS. Um Yeah Press / ArtBook|DAP.Booksigning with Ed at the LA Art Book Fair (1/30-2/1)! Stay tuned for details. "Wayward Cognitions is a collection of photographs by Ed Templeton (born 1972), chosen from his archives spanning 20 years. For this volume, Templeton selected photographs 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 (as in his book The Seconds Pass). 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."