Book of the Day Posted Aug 18, 2020

Book of the Day > Linder Sterling: Linderism

● Purchase ● A career retrospective on a punk collagist who has defied the confines of career
 
The art of Linder (born 1954) made its public debut not in galleries but in punk fanzines and as art for the sleeve of the Buzzcocks' first single, "Orgasm Addict." Accompanying the first in-depth survey of Linder’s work in the UK, Linderism reproduces works from across her career, from her punk collages to her recent work, and offers four new perspectives on her wide-ranging practice by James Boaden, Alyce Mahon, Amy Tobin and Sarah Victoria Turner.
 
The essays address Linder’s early photomontages forged in the crucible of punk and postpunk culture in the North-West of England, as well as more recent shifts in her practice encompassing spirituality, the occult and the surreal. Linderism includes extensive documentation of working drawings and research images—the materials that have long formed the basis of her practice—as well as documentation of works included in the survey exhibition.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 15, 2020

Book of the Day > Lee Miller: A Life With Food, Friends & Recipes

● Purchase ● A woman of many lives and mistress of her own re-invention, Lee Miller was a model, surrealist, fashion photographer, war correspondent, gourmet cook, and more. She did everything in her life wholeheartedly and with an imaginative flair. Though much has been written about the varied forms of her creativity, Miller’s achievement as a gourmet chef is usually relegated to the endnotes. However, her granddaughter, Ami Bouhassane, views cooking as a vastly important part of her life—her longest battle and most extraordinary personal accomplishment in every sense.
 
As a trustee of the Lee Miller Archives, Bouhassane has worked closely with the material for more than nineteen years. Coupled with her access to never-before-published manuscripts and photographs, Bouhassane’s unique insight into her grandmother’s life reveal previously unknown aspects of Miller. More than just a collection of recipes, this award-winning cookbook explores Miller’s life through the influence of food and shows us how it became the creative vehicle for which she eventually swapped her camera and used it to build bridges, heal old wounds, and empower other women.
 
Featuring more than 180 of Miller’s pictures, nearly one hundred of her recipes, an introduction by her son, Antony Penrose, and material from the cookbook that she was secretly hoping to publish at the end of her life, Lee Miller: A Life with Food, Friends & Recipes is a treasure not to be missed.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 14, 2020

Book of the Day in Memoriam > Luchita Hurtado: I Live, I Die, I Will Be Reborn

● Purchase ● The first monograph on Los Angeles legend Luchita Hurtado, whose colorful, surrealist paintings are now garnering recognition after decades on the fringes
 
At 98 years old, Luchita Hurtado (born 1929) finally gained mainstream recognition for the bright, geometric patterns and the surrealist nature scenes of her virbant paintings, but the Venezuela-born, California-based artist is no stranger to the art world. Though she once rubbed elbows with the likes of Frida Kahlo and Marcel Duchamp early on in her career, Hurtado now has the spotlight to herself, with solo exhibitions in Los Angeles and London, and this very first comprehensive, fully illustrated monograph detailing her artistic process and the prolific output of work from throughout her career.
 
In addition to reproductions of Hurtado's strikingly contemporary drawings and paintings, Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn also includes a series of vignettes penned by Hurtado's son, the artist Matt Mullican, as well as an interview between the artist and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 13, 2020

Book of the Day > Congo As Fiction: Art Worlds Between Past And Present

● Purchase ● There is no single voice of the Democratic Republic of Congo but a multitude of diverse cultures and voices, contributing to a vibrant art scene that attracts interest from around the world. Nowhere in Africa is there an art scene more varied in form, media, and material.
 
Published to accompany an exhibition at Museum Rietberg in Zurich, Congo as Fiction: Art Worlds between Past and Present juxtaposes objects collected and photographs by the German anthropologist Hans Himmelheber during his journey to the Congo from 1938 to 1939 with works by contemporary Congolese artists and essays that investigate the fictions of Congo in both African and Western imaginations. The colorful masks and richly decorated everyday objects collected by Himmelheber reflect the extraordinary creativity and innovativeness of Congolese artists of the period but also the collector’s own idea of Congo. The book links the past with contemporary artistic production, showing how for many years Congolese artists like Sammy Baloji and Sinzo Aanza have been exploring in their work the effects of colonialism and globalized trade.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 12, 2020

Book of the Day > Electronic: From Kraftwerk to the Chemical Brothers

● Purchase ● The visual culture of electronic music: how technology, design, art and fashion have contributed to its enduring power and appeal
 
With its roots in Detroit and Chicago in the early 1980s, electronic dance music was popularized across Europe through underground rave parties and clubs. Its impact on contemporary culture is still unfolding today. Containing interviews with early pioneers such as techno legend Jeff Mills, The Designers Republic’s Ian Anderson, and those pushing the political dimension of electronic music, such as ballroom dancer and DJ Kiddy Smile, Electronic bears witness to the shifting nature of the genre.
 
Illustrated with over 300 images, some published here for the first time, Electronic features Jean-Michel Jarre’s virtual studio; work by pioneer Daphne Oram of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop; audiovisual performances by musicians like Bicep and the Chemical Brothers; fashion collections by Raf Simons and Charles Jeffrey of Loverboy; iconic photography by Jacob Khrist and Tina Paul; artwork by Christian Marclay; club graphics from Peter Saville and Mark Farrow; tons of album cover designs; and iconic venues such as the Haçienda, Gatecrasher, Fabric, Berghain and the Warehouse Project.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 11, 2020

Book of the Day > Noah Davis

● Purchase ● Providing a crucial record of the painter Noah Davis’s extraordinary oeuvre, this monograph tells the story of a brilliant artist and cultural force through the eyes of his friends and collaborators.
 
Despite his exceedingly premature death at the age of 32, Noah Davis created emotionally charged work that places him firmly in the canon of great American painting. Stirring, elusive, and attuned to the history of painting, his compositions infuse scenes from everyday life with a magical realist atmosphere and contain traces of his abiding interest in artists such as Marlene Dumas, Kerry James Marshall, Fairfield Porter, Mark Rothko, and Luc Tuymans.
 
This catalogue is published on the occasion of the 2020 exhibition at David Zwirner, New York, which travels to the Underground Museum in Los Angeles, a space that Davis founded with his wife, artist Karon Davis. In her introduction, catalogue essay, and interviews with important figures in Davis’s life, curator Helen Molesworth shows how the artist’s generosity and sense of responsibility galvanized a uniquely supportive artistic community, culture, and vision. Through color illustrations and archival photographs, the book captures the intimate yet expansive spirit of a studio visit with the artist.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 09, 2020

Book of the Day > Senga Nengudi: Topologies

● Purchase ● Topologies. Published by Hirmer Verlag. “For almost fifty years, Senga Nengudi (b. 1943, USA) has shaped an œuvre that inhabits a specific and unique place between sculpture, dance and performance. Her iconic R.S.V.P sculptures – performative objects made from pantyhose and materials such as sand and stone – have been acquired by important American museums. The publication accompanies the first solo exhibition of Nengudi in Germany at the Lenbachhaus, Munich. Thanks to newly researched material that lay fallow until now, the publication will bring to light an astonishing early work by an artist who has consistently striven to expand the definition of what sculpture can be. Among the bodies of work presented in the book are the Water Compositions (1969–70), interactive vinyl and water sculptures that Nengudi understood as an organic rebuttal to the reign of Minimalism; early fabric works that Nengudi strung up in the back alleys of Harlem, New York; the suggestive R.S.V.P. sculptures (1976–today), some of which were activated in choreographed performances.”

Book of the Day Posted Aug 08, 2020

Book of the Day > Reginald Sylvester II: NEMESIS

● Purchase ● Published on the occasion of Reginald Sylvester II’s exhibition NEMESIS, the inaugural exhibition at Maximillian William, London. This fully illustrated exhibition catalogue is accompanied by a scholarly text, written by Michele Robecchi of Phaidon Press. This book is a limited edition of 300.
Book of the Day Posted Aug 07, 2020

Book of the Day > Ennio Morricone: Master of the Soundtrack

● Purchase ● The first major work dedicated entirely to the discography of the maestro Ennio Morricone.
 
Unique in its genre, Ennio Morricone: Master of the Soundtrack originates from the idea of the collector, author, and cinema expert Maurizio Baroni. Baroni draws on his own archive to give life to a rich selection highlighting over fifty years of a prestigious career, largely unseen before, which includes handwritten scores by the maestro himself, the original album and single cover sleeves from his soundtracks, and much more.
 
This book is a definite homage to this great Italian composer of film soundtracks, probably the most famous in the world. Texts by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, Liliana Cavani, Lisa Gastoni, Franco Nero, Quentin Tarantino
Book of the Day Posted Aug 06, 2020

Book of the Day > Helen Levitt: A Way of Seeing

● Purchase ● The ultimate edition of Helen Levitt’s classic of New York City street photography, with new high-quality reproductions
 
Ever since it was first published in 1965, Helen Levitt’s collection of photographs taken on the streets of 1940s New York City has been revered as a classic of its genre. Made in collaboration with writer James Agee, who provided the book’s introduction, A Way of Seeing was published twice more with modifications during Levitt’s lifetime. This volume seeks to provide a definitive edition of the book with oversight from Levitt’s former assistant Marvin Hoshino, who has taken pains to include the best available prints and negatives of Levitt’s images.
 
Returned to its original compact size, this edition contains all 50 original photographs in addition to several other images meant to represent Levitt’s later understanding of herself as an artist and visual storyteller. Levitt’s photography has stood the test of time and now provides compelling insight into the daily lives of New York’s youngest denizens long after they have grown up.
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