Book of the Day Posted Jul 06, 2021

Book of the day > Jack Skelley: Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson

Book of the Day > (signed) Jack Skelley: Dennis Wilson and Charlie Manson. Self-published by Fred & Barney Press. ● Purchase here ●
In story and verse this chapbook explores the tragic links between the Beach Boys drummer and the cult killer. @helterskelley @brianwalsby
Book of the Day Posted Jul 03, 2021

Book of the Day > Vivienne Westwood: Catwalk

● Purchase ● Forty years of catwalk photography featuring seventy groundbreaking collections from the inimitable Vivienne Westwood—over 1,000 looks as they originally appeared in Westwood’s iconic shows “The only reason I’m in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity,’” Vivienne Westwood (b. 1941) declared early in her career. With her provocative synthesis of historic British fashion, classic painting aesthetics, and punk culture, the British designer has continuously revolutionized the fashion industry since her first catwalk collection, “Pirate,” debuted in 1981. Opening with a concise history of the house and brief biographical profiles of Westwood and her longtime collaborator Andreas Kronthaler, this spectacular volume—the seventh in the celebrated Catwalk series—documents all of Westwood’s catwalk collections from 1981 to today. Short texts illuminating each collection’s highlights and influences are accompanied by carefully curated catwalk photographs showcasing hundreds of clothing ensembles, accessories, beauty looks, and set designs, along with the top fashion models who walked the runway, including Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. With an extensive reference section, this lavishly illustrated volume provides unrivalled insight into one of the most thought-provoking and influential fashion designers in the world.
Book of the Day Posted Jul 02, 2021

Book of the Day > Los Angeles Standards

● Purchase ● Los Angeles Standards is a photographic portrait of Los Angeles which offers a way to view the city through 15 typologies which identify this unique city environment. The 1300 photographs were taken between 2008 and 2012 by French architects Caroline and Cyril Desroche during the years they live in Los Angeles. They are organized in order to compare and contrast the design archetypes that they have identified, including Mini-Malls, Billboards, Freeways, Parking Lots and Stilt Houses. Each picture is accompanied by its address for research and travel. They are organized in order to compare and contrast the design archetypes that they have identified, including Mini-Malls, Billboards, Freeways, Parking Lots and Stilt Houses. Each picture is accompanied by its address for research and travel. This book aims to identify various standard elements which visually define Los Angeles. While the city is in a continual state of flux, becoming denser and re-defining its urban landscape every day, this book is also a record of the influence of its urban history on its present identity.
Book of the Day Posted Jul 01, 2021

Book of the Day > Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction

● Purchase ● A definitive survey on the Dada participant and pioneer of abstraction between art and craft, spanning her textiles, marionettes, stained glass, paintings and more
 
Accompanying the first retrospective of Taeuber-Arp’s work in the United States in 40 years, Sophie Taeuber-Arp: Living Abstraction is a comprehensive survey of this multifaceted abstract artist’s innovative and wide-ranging body of work. Her background in the applied arts and dance, her involvement in the Zurich Dada movement and her projects for architectural spaces were essential to her development of a uniquely versatile and vibrant abstract vocabulary. Through her artistic output and various professional alliances, Taeuber-Arp consistently challenged the historically constructed boundaries separating fine art from craft and design.
 
This richly illustrated catalog explores the artist’s interdisciplinary and cross-pollinating approach to abstraction through some 400 works, including textiles, beadwork, polychrome marionettes, architectural and interior designs, stained glass windows, works on paper, paintings and relief sculptures. It also features 15 essays that examine the full sweep of Taeuber-Arp’s career. Arranged into six chapters that follow the exhibition’s sections, these essays trace the progression of Taeuber-Arp’s creative production both chronologically and thematically. A comprehensive illustrated chronology, the first essay on Taeuber-Arp’s materials and techniques, and an exhibition checklist based on new research and analysis detail the expansive nature of Taeuber-Arp’s production.
In the News Posted Jul 01, 2021

A Continuous Lean

Wow, we find ourselves in very esteemed company on the A Continuous Lean list of the 125 best stores in the U.S.!
THANK YOU, @acontinuouslean for this honor and for the fantastic list. It's primarily for menswear, but "there are some book stores mixed in (because book shops need all of the help they can get)." True words. Many thanks for your ongoing support.

 

 

Book of the Day Posted Jun 30, 2021

Book of the Day > Mark Edward Harris: The People of the Forest

● Purchase ● In The People of the Forest, award-winning photographer Mark Edward Harris focuses on orangutans, because, while the future for many species is uncertain, orangutans in the wild are hanging on by a particularly thin vine. Their populations have declined significantly due to habitat destruction in their native Sumatra and Borneo where forests give way to palm oil plantations. Long before genetic testing revealed an almost 97 percent DNA overlap between orangutans and humans, the similarities between the two species was noticed. “Orangutan” comes from the Malay word orang (people) and hutan (forest), hence the title for this book.
Book of the Day Posted Jun 29, 2021

Book of the Day > Ed Templeton: City Confessions #2: London

● Purchase ● “City Confessions #2 London is a mostly recent study on the city of London. Although some photos in this book go back over 20 years, the majority were taken over the past decade on numerous trips. Since the mid 1990’s, once or twice a year I find myself in London for a few days or weeks at a time and end up on long walks shooting photos with my Leica. The pictures in this book were chosen to highlight a particular shade of London I have always found interesting, Moments of weariness, furtive glances and subtle gestures within a densely populated city center as the swarms of people perform the ceremony of getting through another day.”
Events Posted Jun 28, 2021

Show & Tell with Jason E.C. Wright / Burnt Sienna Research Society!

Clear your schedule and tune into @arcanabooks Instagram this Wednesday (6/30), 5:00 PST we are delighted to host another monthly Instagram “Show & Tell” moderated by Jason E.C. Wright of @burntsiennaresearchsociety! You are in for a real treat so gather up your art books, design books, coffee table books or rare magazines and come nerd out with Jason!
 
Watch live for a special discount code to get 10% off any book that is discussed in this week's show & tell. If we have it in stock you can get a discount by visiting/writing/calling the shop!
 
 
Here’s how it works: Jason will be live @arcanabooks sharing some of his favorites with you. Raise your hand to share and he will tap you in. Chat about your most influential book or bookshop. Enjoy the hour, meet some interesting people, and support your local bookstore. There’s nothing like a little book fun in the middle of the week.
 
Jason E.C. Wright is the Founder of Burntsienna Research Society, a critical-thinking research consultancy for design histories, intangible culture, and reference materials. Jason is Indiana born and raised, who now considers Los Angeles home. He is an accomplished designer, researcher, writer, with 20+ years as a retail and fashion professional, who takes his love of books seriously, serving as librarian-in-residence at home in Treehouse Hollywood.
 
* You can watch the 5/26 show and tell through our instagram post here.
 
Thanks to Frances Anderton & Angela Anthony / Helms Bakery District.
Book of the Day Posted Jun 26, 2021

Book of the Day > Acne Paper

● Purchase ● Acne Paper book celebrates some of the best work from the magazine’s archive, accompanied by new essays by Sarah Mower, Vince Aletti and Robin Muir written especially for this lavishly produced 568 page edition, edited by Thomas Persson, Acne Paper’s editor-in-chief and creative director.
Book of the Day Posted Jun 25, 2021

Book of the Day > Paul Graham: Beyond Caring

● Purchase ● Originally self-published in 1985, Paul Graham’s renowned series, ‘Beyond Caring’, was made in the waiting rooms and corridors of the Social Security and Unemployment offices around the UK, documenting the long waits, queues and poor conditions of an overburdened system, to produce a powerful series of photographs conveying the hardship people experienced. Denied official permission to make the work, Graham’s photographs were taken discreetly, usually without looking through the camera, resulting in a spatial disorientation that emphasised the unmoored distress of vulnerable citizens. The work shocked many on its release – leading Magnum photographers were outraged by its use of colour in a classic documentary topic, while others celebrated how it straddled the world of activism and art (it was exhibited at both Trade Union conferences and the Museum of Modern Art, New York). Graham forged a fresh form of engaged photography, mixing elements of social documentary, ‘new colour’ and reportage to create a striking body of work that endures to this day. Many decades have passed since their making in 1984, but these images have grown not only in photographic importance, but also as a unique historic record of the mid-1980s unemployment crisis in the UK.
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