Book of the Day Posted Jan 06, 2021

Book of the Day > Media Burn: Ant Farm and the Making of an Image

● Purchase ● A detailed account of Ant Farm’s 1975 Media Burn performance, a legendary act of consumerist critique
 
This book examines the complex set of cultural references and art-making strategies informing Ant Farm’s seminal 1975 performance Media Burn in which a customized Cadillac, dubbed the Phantom Dream Car, was driven through a wall of burning television sets.
 
Originally conceived as a conceptual architectural practice, Ant Farm evolved into a full-service art collaborative, culminating in such notable works as House of the Century (1971-73), Cadillac Ranch (1974) and The Eternal Frame (1975).
 
In Media Burn the artists flourished in a rich tumult of ideas that engaged contemporary media theory, an oddly complicated aesthetic spectacle, textual appropriation and an all-encompassing branding effort.
 
Written by Steve Seid (Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive), and drawing upon a rich visual documentation, this book delves into the little-known critical backstory to this influential performance (and video work) involving a massive effort to mount a subversive critique of media hegemony while continually re-imagining the crux of the performance itself.
Book of the Day Posted Jan 05, 2021

Book of the Day > Andy Warhol. Love, Sex, and Desire. Drawings 1950–1962

● Purchase ● Well before Andy Warhol’s rise to the pinnacle of Pop Art, he created and exhibited seductive drawings celebrating male beauty. Andy Warhol Love, Sex, & Desire: Drawings 1950-1962 features over three hundred drawings rendered primarily in ink on paper portraying young men, many of them nude, some sexually charged, and occasionally adorned with whimsical black hearts and delightful embellishments. They lounge or preen, proud of or even bored by their beauty, while the artist sketches them, rapt. They rarely engage with their keen observer, and likewise Warhol’s focus is on their form, their erotic qualities, and unbridled sexuality. If his subjects are content to revel in their attractiveness, so too is Warhol. His confident hand illustrates a multitude of colorful characters, yet also reveals much about this enigmatic artist.
 
Warhol was already a booming commercial illustrator when he exhibited studies from this body of work at the Bodley Gallery on New York’s Upper East Side in 1956.He mistakenly saw these illustrations as his way of breaking into the New York art scene, underestimating the pervading homophobia of the time. While he never saw through his plan to publish the drawings as a monograph, he did produce more than a thousand elegant, seemingly effortless drawings from life. This volume finally brings his project to fruition by gathering his most striking images, published here for the first time in a comprehensive book and chosen by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Edited and featuring an introduction by the Foundation’s Michael Dayton Hermann, and essays by Warhol biographer Blake Gopnik and art critic Drew Zeiba. The inclusion of poems by James Baldwin, Thom Gunn, Harold Norse, Essex Hemphill and Allen Ginsberg create moments of introspection, which expand on the themes and moods present in the drawings.
 
In style, the drawings evoke the sketches of Jean Cocteau and even Matisse: highly distilled and sure of line, yet loose. The sly voyeurism, meanwhile, is entirely Warhol’s own, and even the most risqué drawings contain a kind of droll humor—a sense of ironic detachment—that would become a Warhol trademark. His confident hand illustrates a multitude of colorful characters, yet also reveals much about this enigmatic artist.
Book of the Day Posted Jan 02, 2021

Book of the Day > The Rolling Stones: Updated Edition

● Purchase ● Produced in collaboration with the band, who gave unprecedented access to their archives in London and New York, this is a book to get you infinite satisfaction. More than 450 richly illustrated pages chart the remarkable scope of the Stones’ almost 60-year history and mesmerizing on- and off-stage presence—featuring the work of legendary photographers David Bailey, Herb Ritts, Peter Beard, Andy Warhol, David LaChapelle, Albert Watson, Annie Leibovitz, Ethan Russell, Gered Mankowitz, Cecil Beaton, Anton Corbijn, and many more.
 
The kind of fame and success The Rolling Stones have achieved in their almost 60-year career is without parallel; their most famous riffs and catchiest lyrics are indelibly engraved in our collective memory. With their mesmerizing on- and off-stage presence, the Stones set the standard for how a rock band should sound, pose, pout, and behave. They were the first to instinctively understand that what you looked like was as important as the music, and that photography had a vital role in promoting that image. “The clothes and the hair are always impeccable,” describes author Luc Sante. “They were playing themselves, but with such consistent finesse you knew they were instinctively aware of the camera and how good they will look in the photos.” Unsurprisingly many of the greatest photographers in the history of the medium wanted to take their picture.
 
Produced in close collaboration with the band, this updated edition charts the Stones’ remarkable history and outrageously cool lifestyle in over 450 pages of photographs and illustrations, gathered from archives all over the world. Unprecedented access to the Rolling Stones’ own archives in New York and London adds an equally extraordinary, more private side to their story. For Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie this is their official photographic record.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 31, 2020

Book of the Day > AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People

● Purchase ● A major publication about the revolutionary art collective that defined a new Black aesthetic in late 1960s Chicago and whose influence today is stronger than ever
 
AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) was founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1968 by a group of five young Black artists. Today, it is one of the oldest continuously active American art collectives. The pronunciation—Af-FREE-co-bruh—emphasizes the second syllable, signaling the group’s central principle grounded in Black liberation: creative expression reflecting the Black experience and Black influences.
 
AfriCOBRA’s founding artists—Jeff Donaldson, Jae Jarrell, Wadsworth Jarrell, Barbara Jones-Hogu and Gerald Williams—differed in disciplines and artistic vocabularies but were brought together by the common aspiration to create work that speaks directly to Black people utilizing an identifiably Black aesthetic. This publication celebrates the fifty-year anniversary of AfriCOBRA’s founding and marks the collective’s powerful relevance today. AfriCOBRA: Messages to the People documents two exhibitions curated by Jeffreen M. Hayes, PhD: one at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, and another as an official collateral event of the 58th Venice Biennale. It features more than 80 works by the original members as well as those by Sherman Beck, Napoleon Jones-Henderson, Omar Lama, Carolyn Mims Lawrence and Nelson Stevens.
 
More than a historical overview of AfriCOBRA, this book is a response to the artists’ continuing contributions and influence, connecting their works to the contemporary moment through essays, archival photographs and ephemera, exhibition views, and contemporary photographs that celebrate the impact of this revolutionary art collective. As their name states, the artists and artworks of AfriCOBRA were as relevant in 1968 as they are today in the continued struggle for Black liberation.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 30, 2020

Book of the Day > The Best of Nest

● Purchase ● The first comprehensive collection of Nest, the magazine that revolutionized the way we look at interior space and decoration
 
The brainchild of artist and designer Joe Holtzman, Nest magazine, published from 1997 to 2004, eschewed the conventionally beautiful luxury interiors of other magazines and instead featured non-traditional, exceptional, and unusual environments. The Best of Nest, created by master bookmaker Todd Oldham, includes selections from all 26 issues in a series of portfolios featuring the work of writers and photographers such as Michael Cunningham, Patti Smith, Nan Goldin, and Derry Moore. Holtzman also contributes an essay offering a look behind the scenes of each issue.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 29, 2020

Book of the Day > Pete Thompson: ’93 til

● Purchase ● With this year’s 2021 Summer Olympics hosted in Tokyo, Japan, skateboarding will make its Olympic debut; augmenting both park and street competitions for men and women. As this book is a culmination and photographic collection of the past three decade’s growth of skateboarding throughout the US focusing in on the pivotal decade of the 1990s, the addition of this sport in the summer’s upcoming games is of considerable relevance to the skateboarding pioneers featured in this work.
 
To be a skateboarder today is a much different experience than it was for much of the 1990s. The photographs, quotes, and anecdotal text in ’93 til captures a time in skateboarding when making a livable income as a professional skater was a rare luxury and public understanding of skateboarding was at an all-time low. It was a time when skateboarding was searching for an identity, a time before Instagram and big corporate influences. Street skating was coming of age, testing its limitations and aligning itself with a new and innovative style of hip-hop culture that was emerging. Looking back, many skaters today feel as though the ’90s were the golden years of skateboarding. ’93 til is a captivating portal into a decade and a culture that is remembered with warmth and nostalgia. Much of the photography that Pete has unearthed for ’93 til was buried in boxes for close to two decades and has never been seen or published before. The 230-page book also contains several timeless images from his years shooting for SLAP and Transworld Skateboarding Magazine that will be familiar to the initiated. In addition to his stunning action shots are plenty of portraits and unguarded, candid moments that span from the late ’80s up through 2004. The book reveals a raw, unapologetic perspective of a world that no longer exists.
 
Also included in the book alongside Pete Thompson’s imagery are quotes and anecdotes from legends like Tony Hawk, Arto Saari, Jamie Thomas, Guy Mariano, Nyjah Huston, Geoff Rowley, Stevie Williams and others. Although still a working photographer, Pete moved on from his career in skate photography in 2004 and is currently living in Brooklyn.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 26, 2020

Book of the Day > Harvey Stein: Then and There -- Mardi Gras 1979 (Signed)

● Purchase ● In Then and There, the well-known photographer Harvey Stein documents a crucial aspect of public behavior at the 1979 New Orleans Mardi Gras. Shooting with an instant SX-70 Polaroid camera, the process allowed Stein to directly interact with his subjects, who perform, observe, and even share in the photographic process. The 47 portraits are made just feet away from each person, mostly at dusk, sharply revealed by the light of the camera’s flash bar. His subjects creatively present themselves in diverse colorful masks, makeup, and revelry. Each portrait is a glimpse into a layered and hidden personal identity made possible by the collaborative choices of the photographer and the subjects acting in front of the camera. The raw excitement of Mardi Gras flows through each portrait with the people physically filling the entire frame of the Polaroid as if the print itself were a stage just for them. Mardi Gras allows both the subject and the photographer a moment of freedom to observe a transformation into another reality of being. Stein investigates these many themes throughout the book, and captures those flamboyant moments of lightning in a bottle with each Polaroid.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 21, 2020

Book of the Day > Teenage Styles and Trends 1967–71: A Retrospect

● Purchase ● Privately printed in a limited edition of 300 copies in Switzerland, the photo book “Teenage Styles and Trends 1967–71: A Retrospect” by American diplomat and art collector Burton Yost Berry (1901-1985) drew little attention back in 1972. Close to 50 years later, though, it is a sought-after icon of early street photography, rare and expensive, not at last due to its being featured in Parr’s & Badger’s “The Photobook: A History, Volume III.” A new reprint makes this gem of a photobook available again. Grafisches Centrum Cuno in Calbe/Germany digitized the original book, retouched it with an eye for detail, and printed it using latest Ultra HD technology – achieving brilliant images thanks to intelligent dot positioning and modulation. In terms of printing quality, the reprint may easily surpass the original of 1972. The English text remains untouched except for corrections of some smaller typos. Printed on Profisilk paper, coated, 170 g/qm, which slightly stronger grammage prevents images from showing through. The reprint’s dust jacket has a poster printed on the inside and the book has been printed in a limited edition of 500 copies.
Book of the Day Posted Dec 09, 2020

Holiday Staff Picks!

The picks are in! Each one of our fabulous, eccentric, and totally individual staff have picked their top books for holiday giving, getting, and recommending. You can see them here. Check back in again as new books arrive and the list is added to! Please note: quantities are limited and our orders and deliveries from publishers continue to be greatly impacted and delayed by the Covid crisis. We are doing our best to re-stock our favorites and have them available for you in time for your holiday celebrations.

These books on this list are fantastic and as varied , but keep in mind we have over 100,000 in store, including treasures such as posters, artwork, and ephemera and we are here to help with you shopping - and your own wish lists We are open Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. If you're not comfortable coming in during business hours, we'll try to accomodate you during off-hours or by phone or video chat. We wrap and we ship around the world and can arrange for same day local delivery if you need it. Let us know what we can do for you!

And most of all, we wish you glad tidings of peace, joy, and good health for the Holidays and the New Year to come.

Love, Lee, Whitney, Russell, Emilia, Isabelle, Kevin

Image from staff favorite, re-printed and available at long last, Deana Lawson: An Aperture Monograph

Book of the Day Posted Dec 08, 2020

Book of the Day > Barbara Kasten: Works

● Purchase ● Over the past five decades, the American artist Barbara Kasten has created an impressive multimedia oeuvre, centred around her compelling photographs. Her works can be found in some of the most important museum collections worldwide (including The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Tate Modern, London, and Centre Pompidou, Paris).
 
This bilingual publication produced in close collaboration with the artist, presents a comprehensive overview of her oeuvre on more than 250 pages with numerous large-format illustrations – from early sculptures and photograms to her usually colourful, concrete photographs and the most recent video installations.
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