Events Posted Feb 17, 2025

Diana Markosian: Father Book Signing + Discussion with Gabrielle J. Sirkin Saturday, February 22nd from 4:00 to 6:00 PM!

Join us Saturday, February 22nd, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to welcome celebrated photographer Diana Markosian for a book signing and what is sure to be an engaging discussion with Gabrielle J. Sirkin regarding Markosian's new Aperture monograph, Father.
 
Father is an intimate and engrossing diaristic portrayal of estrangement and reconnection, recounted through documentary photographs, family snapshots, text, and visual ephemera. It presents the photographer’s journey to another place and another time, where Markosian attempts to piece together an image of a familiar stranger - her long-lost father. The book explores her father’s absence, her reconciliation with him, and the shared emptiness of their prolonged estrangement. The images, made over the course of a decade, take place in her father’s home in Armenia.
 
In Markosian’s first monograph, Santa Barbara (Aperture, 2020), the photographer recreates the story of her family’s journey from post-Soviet Russia to the US in the 1990s. Father uses both documentary photographs and archives of objects, letters, and vernacular images to probe the fifteen years of absence and separation from the photographer’s childhood. In this voyage of self-discovery, Markosian touchingly renders her longing for connection to a man she barely remembers and who asks her, when she finds him, “Why did it take you so long?”
 
If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a SIGNED copy of Father, please place your order here.
 
Diana Markosian is at the forefront of a new generation of photographers and directors, pushing the boundaries of documentary storytelling. By encapsulating different styles and mediums, Markosian has created a unique approach to image making. Her first monograph, Santa Barbara, was published by Aperture and selected as the top book of the year by MoMA and Time. Father, was chosen as the photo book of the year by Le Monde. Markosian holds a masters degree from Columbia University, is a contributor to Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker ,and has exhibited in leading museums worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography in New York, and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Gabrielle Sirkin is a Los Angeles-based photography director and creative producer specializing in commercial and editorial photography driven to create compelling visual storytelling. She has over a decade of experience, and has worked at major publications such as More Magazine and Airbnb Magazine. Her work has earned her various awards and recognitions including Gold, Silver and Merit Society of Publication Designers (SPD) Award Winner, American Photography Winner, ADC Awards, Cannes Silver Lion Winner and an Emmy Nomination.
Book of the Day Posted Feb 16, 2025

Book of the Day: Shaniqwa Jarvis

The photographic work of Shaniqwa Jarvis is known for blending the aesthetics of modern fashion photography with the sensitive, unfiltered emotion of art portraiture. In this, her impressive first book, Ms. Jarvis presents a selection of her favorite images drawn from two decades that includes editorial work for clients like The Gap, the New York Times, Supreme, Billboard, and Riposte, "Bathroom Portraits" - shot in the toilets of bars in the early 2000s, and portraits of the likes of SZA, Lee "Scratch" Perry, George Condo, Cardi B, and a few requisite selfies. 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. With an introduction by photographer Ryan McGinley, these images speak to raw, disparate feelings imbued with a deep sparkling optimism taken from a vantage point that is female, black, tirelessly hardworking, and brimming with raucous, positive vibrations. This is the 2025, self-published, paperbound second edition of Jarvis's impressive debut monograph. Available here!
Book of the Day Posted Feb 12, 2025

Book of the Day: My Teddy Bear

TEDDY BEARS! My Teddy Bear from Decorative Arts Editions is our book of the day. From the publisher: "The immense popularity of the teddy bear, now found in every child's bedroom, conceals a paradox: how did this ferocious, wild animal become the symbol of childhood? The teddy bear was born at the same time in two different places. In 1902, the toy was invented in the United States in reference to Theodore Roosevelt - hence its Anglo-Saxon name, Teddy's bear, which became teddy-bear. In Germany that same year, Margarete Steiff marketed her first teddy bear, made from needle cushions, which was a resounding success in Europe and America. Since the first examples made of mohair and wood straw, which were heavy and rigid, the teddy bear has become softer and gentler. They have been adorned in bright or pastel colors, so that they can be transformed into cuddly toys, the transitional object studied and theorized by the paediatrician Donald Winnicott. The bear now reigns over a whole menagerie of stuffed animals, as well as children's fiction, thanks to Winnie the Pooh, Mishka and Paddington. More surprisingly, fashion designers are also keen to revisit the bear. Today, through the figures of the panda and the polar bear, the bear is the symbol of climate change and an endangered natural world. Through five essays and three thematic sections, this catalog traces the history of the teddy bear, from its first steps to its transformations and successes. It also examines our relationship with bears since Antiquity. Finally, it is supported by a rich iconography that offers a wide range of old and more recent teddy bears, compared with man's representations of bears over the centuries."
Events Posted Feb 08, 2025

Brick Stowell: Almost Famous 2011-2016 - The OFWGKTA Photographs Book Signing Saturday, February 15th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM!

Join us Saturday, February 15th, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to meet and greet photographer Brick Stowell and celebrate the availability once again of his fabulous Almost Famous 2011-2016: The OFWGKTA Photographs. Brick was the staff photographer and tour manager for Odd Future (OFWGKTA) from 2011 to 2016, capturing the collective's rise to fame.
 
Almost Famous... is a comprehensive look at Odd Future's history, featuring photos, original merchandise, music video props, outfits, and other memorabilia, documenting the cultural impact of the group. The first edition of this vital document of Los Angeles' near past featuring Odd Future members Tyler The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, Travis "Taco" Bennett, Jasper The Dolphin, Syd Tha Kid, Hodgy, and more was published to coincide with the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival last November, where it sold out immediately!
 
So, be sure to stop by on Saturday 2/15 (4-6) to hang and pick one up while you can. The first one hundred purchased in-store will be accompanied by a free Polaroid t-shirt courtesy of Mr. Stowell. One tee only per customer, and please check your decks at the door. If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a SIGNED copy of Almost Famous 2011-2016: The OFWGKTA Photographs, please place your order here.
Events Posted Feb 07, 2025

Mike Brodie Signing at La Sena Gallery (1933 S. Broadway, 12th Floor)

Please join us at The Reef at 1933 Broadway, 12th Floor, Los Angeles, on Saturday, February 15th from 5PM until 9PM to celebrate the opening of La Sena Gallery's inaugural show: Mike Brodie: Polaroids. Arcana will be there selling Mr. Brody's new Twin Palms book FAILING and the artist will be on hand to sign copies.

The book is also now available for purchase here at our site!

La Sena Gallery is a new collaboration between Setanta Books and Nazraeli Press based at The Reef LA. All are welcome!
Book of the Day Posted Feb 06, 2025

Book of the Day: Cannes Uncut

Tres chic! Tres glam! Our book of the day chronicles the bygone Golden Age of the Cannes Film Festival. Excessive celeb overload! From the publisher: "When 22-year-old Richard Blanshard arrived at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976, he had no idea that he would become an official photographer for the UK and US film industry for the next two decades. His first assignment was to photograph Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly as they promoted their movie That’s Entertainment, Part II. It was to be the first of many. Today the only images we see are from the red carpet. Smartphones and social media have made it difficult for the talent to relax, but during his time there Blanshard had unfettered access to the stars and industry greats as they worked, partied and relaxed throughout their time at Cannes. His photographs were designed to document candid, personal moments alongside glitz and glamour to create international publicity. Not only that, but they showcase the unique atmosphere of Cannes and the festival. Through his remarkable collection, spanning stars and celebrities from the Golden Age of Hollywood through to the rising talent of the era, Blanshard lifts the lid on what life was really like behind the scenes at the world’s most iconic film festival. In an age where publicists, actors and actresses are ever mindful and protective of their image and reputation, we’ll never see another collection quite like it."
Events Posted Jan 28, 2025

Book Signing with Mick Haggerty for MXWX !

Please join us on Saturday, February 1st, 4:00 - 6:00, for a book signing with Mick Haggerty for his career retrospective:  MXWX !
"MXWX" - Mick's Works - is a more or less comprehensive compendium of the various visual works imagined and fabricated by Mick Haggerty over the past half century. Moving to Los Angeles from London in 1973, Haggerty quickly established himself as a go-to record industry designer, illustrator, art director, and later music video director. He has won a Grammy for the visual packaging for Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" along with designing iconic covers for David Bowie, The Police, The Electric Light Orchestra, The Go-Gos, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Jimi Hendrix, Nazareth, Public Image Ltd., Keith Richards, and many, many more. His editorial illustration includes covers for Time, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, and New West Magazine. This beautifully illustrated tome additionally features contributions by Gary Panter and Steven Heller along with a stunning archive of Mick's personal work - much of which is reproduced here for the very first time. Produced in an edition limited to one hundred and fifty hand-numbered copies, this is sure to sell out quickly, so come join us for a fun and refreshment filled afternoon with the esteemed Mr. Haggerty. 
If you'd like to purchase a signed copy of MXWX you can do so here.
 

 

Book of the Day Posted Jan 26, 2025

Book of the Day: "Americans Seen" by Sage Sohier

From the publisher: "The photographs in Americans Seen were made between 1979 and 1986, when Sage Sohier was a young photographer living in Boston. As Sohier writes in her introduction, 'In that pre-digital and less paranoid era, families — and especially children and teenagers — used to hang out in their neighborhoods. A kind of theater of the streets emerged from the boredom of hot summer days and it was a great time to photograph people outside. Undoubtedly my own childhood afternoons, often spent in my neighbor’s basement creating theatrical productions with the four kids who lived there, helped to form my vision of the play of children as a kind of rite or performance. That our audience was comprised of our dogs never discouraged us.' Over the next seven years, Sohier made portraits of people living in Boston’s many working class and ethnic neighborhoods, as well as in the towns she visited each summer during her annual road trips: one through small town Pennsylvania via dilapidated Newburgh, New York, another to mining areas in rural West Virginia, and once to Mormon enclaves in Utah and Idaho. During long Boston winters, Sohier would head south and photograph in the citrus-producing regions of inland Florida, or through the Florida panhandle to New Orleans and Cajun country. Nazraeli Press first published Americans Seen in 2017 as part of our limited-edition NZ Library series. We are thrilled to announce a remastered trade edition, making this extraordinary body of work available to a larger audience. Sage Sohier’s work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the International Center for Photography, New York; and the Art." (Nazraeli Press, 2024)

Book of the Day Posted Jan 24, 2025

Book of the Day: Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art

Long-spoken of and profoundly admired by those in-the-know, the Los Angeles–based artist Teddy Sandoval (1949–95) now finally has his first (albeit posthumous; ain't that just the way it goes sometimes) monograph. A radically queer and Chicanx powerhouse who worked as variously as possible in many media, Sandoval brought joy, smarts, anger, and sexiness to the thick breadth of his work. This timely tome, Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art, is obviously our book of the day. (Inventory Press/Vincent Price Art Museum/Williams College Museum of Art/Independent Curators International, 2024)
Events Posted Jan 23, 2025

The Heart of LA: Memory, Resilience and the Road to Recovery By Friends Of Residential Treasures: LA

On Saturday, January 25th from 12:00 to 2:00 pm, please join Friends of Residential Treasures and Helms Design District for a public conversation about the fires and recovery for the region.
 
The event is at Central Library — Mark Taper Auditorium located at 630 West 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071 - for details and to RSVP (free) please visit here.

"We will hear testimonials and mourn our community’s losses, and have a constructive dialogue about rebuilding. We will tackle topics including short-term needs and long-term plans, the squeeze on housing supply, the role of fire insurance, and how the design community can help Los Angeles build back with wisdom and resilience.

Hear from people who have lost houses and rentals, also from architects, builders, preservationists, and other experts. Bring your voice and your questions. Speakers include Joan Barton, Adrian Scott Fine, Heather Goers, Steve Glenn, Guy Horton, Greg Kochanowski, Steven Lewis, Sam Lubell, Claire Phillips and Stephen Phillips, Chris Torres, Scott Uriu, Geoffrey Von Oeyen, Aimee Williams, and more."
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