Best of
Art-And-Photography

2011

The Empire of Death: A Cultural History of Ossuaries and Charnel Houses


Paul Koudounaris - 2011
    For centuries, religious establishments constructed decorated ossuaries and charnel houses that stand as masterpieces of art created from human bone. These unique structures have been pushed into the footnotes of history; they were part of a dialogue with death that is now silent.The sites in this specially photographed and brilliantly original study range from the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Palermo, where the living would visit mummified or skeletal remains and lovingly dress them; to the Paris catacombs; to fantastic bone-encrusted creations in Austria, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and elsewhere.Paul Koudounaris photographed more than seventy sites for this book. He analyzes the role of these remarkable memorials within the cultures that created them, as well as the mythology and folklore that developed around them, and skillfully traces a remarkable human endeavor.

The Suffering of Light


Alex Webb - 2011
    Gathering some of his most iconic images, many of which were taken in the far corners of the earth, this exquisite book brings a fresh perspective to his extensive catalog. Recognized as a pioneer of American color photography since the 1970s, Webb has consistently created photographs characterized by intense color and light. His work, with its richly layered and complex composition, touches on multiple genres, including street photography, photojournalism, and fine art, but as Webb claims, "to me it all is photography. You have to go out and explore the world with a camera." Webb's ability to distill gesture, color and contrasting cultural tensions into single, beguiling frames results in evocative images that convey a sense of enigma, irony and humor. Featuring key works alongside previously unpublished photographs, The Suffering of Light provides the most thorough examination to date of this modern master's prolific, 30-year career.The photographs of Alex Webb (born 1952) have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times Magazine, Life, Stern and National Geographic, and have been exhibited at the International Center of Photography, New York; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He is a recipient of the Leica Medal of Excellence (2000) and the Premio Internacional de Fotografia Alcobendas (2009). A member of Magnum Photos since 1976, Webb lives in New York City.

Francesca Woodman


Corey Keller - 2011
    In 1972, the 13-year-old Woodman made a black-and-white photograph of herself sitting at the far end of a sofa in her home in Boulder, Colorado. Her face is obscured by her hair, light radiates from an unseen source behind her out at the viewer through her right hand. This photograph typifies much of what would characterize Woodman's work to come: a semi-obscured female form merging with or flailing against a somewhat bare and often dilapidated interior. In an oeuvre of around 800 photographs made in just nine years, Woodman performed her own body against the textures of wallpaper, door frame, baths and couches, radically extending the Surrealist photography of Man Ray, Hans Bellmer and Claude Cahun and creating a mood and language all her own. In the 30 years since her untimely death, Woodman has gained a following among successive generations of artists and photographers, a testament to her work's undeniable immediacy and enduring appeal Amid a renewed intensification of interest in Francesca Woodman, this volume is published for a major touring exhibition of her photographs and films at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim. Containing many previously unpublished photographs, it is the definitive Francesca Woodman monograph.Francesca Woodman (1958-1981) was born in Denver, Colorado, to the well-known artists George and Betty Woodman. In 1975 she attended the Rhode Island School of Design, and in 1979 she moved to New York, to attempt to build a career in photography. In 1981, at the age of 22, she committed suicide.

The French Cat


Rachael Hale McKenna - 2011
    The result is The French Cat, a stunning exploration of the country and its felines. Remarkable French landscapes, both urban and rural, are populated with cats brimming with personality—whether languidly strolling in a quaint village or regally perched on the doorstep of an elegant château. Rachael also tells the story of her new life in France with her husband and new baby in tow. This heartwarming narrative—along with engaging quotes from famous French cat lovers and literary greats—accompanies the images, making the eclectic and lushly illustrated record of Rachael’s journey an all-around delight for Francophiles and cat lovers alike. Praise for The French Cat: “A gorgeous love letter to her adopted country . . . these are evocative, beautifully composed landscapes and interiors that just happen to feature the small, inquisitive face of un petit chat.” —Publishers Weekly

Drew Struzan: Oeuvre


Drew Struzan - 2011
     This sumptuous hardcover edition, with a foreword by George Lucas, features over 250 pieces of artwork, including all of Drew's most iconic movie images, as well as other highlights from his career, including album, book and comic book covers, stamps, trading cards, promotional artwork and very personal original works. The book comes right up to date, including exclusive San Diego Comic-Con poster art produced for The Walking Dead (2010) and Cowboys & Aliens (2011), with text by his wife Dylan, providing an intimate look at the man and his legacy. The definitive collection of Struzan's work; this is an absolute must-have for any movie buff and an unrivalled slice of both art and cinema history.

Vogue: The Covers


Dodie Kazanjian - 2011
    Vogue: The Covers chronicles the extraordinary images that have reflected—and transformed—the world of style for more than 120 years. More than 300 of the most beautiful, provocative, and fashion-forward covers ever produced are highlighted alongside the history and stories behind the covers themselves. Organized in chronological order by decade, Vogue: The Covers begins with the illustrated covers from the magazine’s inception in 1892 and spans the 20th century to the present day, charting the evolution of fashion, art, culture, and photography for the past 120 years. Featuring the work of influential artists—Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, and Mario Testino—the book is a stunning celebration of the magazine and its unparalleled influence.

Illuminance


Rinko Kawauchi - 2011
    In the years that followed, she published other notable monographs, including "Aila" (2004), "The Eyes, the Ear" (2005) and "Semear" (2007). And now, ten years after her precipitous entry onto the international stage, Aperture has published "Illuminance," the latest volume of Kawauchi's work and the first to be published outside of Japan. Kawauchi's photography has frequently been lauded for its nuanced palette and offhand compositional mastery, as well as its ability to incite wonder via careful attention to tiny gestures and the incidental details of her everyday environment. As Sean O'Hagan, writing in "The Guardian" in 2006, noted, "there is always some glimmer of hope and humanity, some sense of wonder at work in the rendering of the intimate and fragile." In "Illuminance," Kawauchi continues her exploration of the extraordinary in the mundane, drawn to the fundamental cycles of life and the seemingly inadvertent, fractal-like organization of the natural world into formal patterns. Gorgeously produced as a clothbound volume with Japanese binding, this impressive compilation of previously unpublished images is proof of Kawauchi's unique sensibility and her ongoing appeal to lovers of photography.

Marilyn Manson & David Lynch: Genealogies of Pain


Marilyn Manson - 2011
    It is less well known that Manson has been painting pictures since 1999. "Genealogies of Pain" presents 30 of his paintings, executed over the past ten years. Manson's portraits of cartoonish characters are rendered in delicate pastel colors, but the subject matter accords with his notoriously morbid aesthetic: one figure gnaws off his own fingers, another wears a gas mask. This volume pairs Manson with filmmaker David Lynch, who has also made a living out of mining mankind's darkest carnal fears. Included here are stills from four of Lynch's early short experimental films, "Six Men Getting Sick," "The Grandmother," "The Amputee" and "The Alphabet," which employ similar themes of physical and psychological trauma. An interview with Manson explores his techniques and relevant art historical traditions.

Femina & Fauna: The Art of Camilla d'Errico


Camilla d'Errico - 2011
    Her handiwork captivates admirers around the world, and some of herbest-known creations are these, her studies of beautiful women and their animalcompanions. Playful and flamboyant, exotic and enigmatic, the women who inhabitthese striking paintings embody a fascinating array of contradictions . . . anda hint of something sinister lurks behind their eyes. They dwell in a fantasticworld - a circus of color and impossibility - where nothing is quite as itseems.Perfect for fans of pop art, fine art, manga, and anime, thisdeluxe hardcover is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Camilla'swork to date!

Powerful Watercolor Landscapes: Tools for Painting with Impact


Catherine Gill - 2011
    Each chapter focuses on a specific strategy for tackling tough challenges, complete with inspiring examples, hands-on demonstrations and instructional diagrams to make these strategies easy and fun to learn. Following this guide's masterful visual instruction, you'll learn how to:See beyond "what you see" to develop strong foundations in every compositionAvoid repainting, overworking and frustration by focusing on a composition's unifying elementsBecome decisive with your values for heightened interest and impactQuickly and easily mix a huge range of clean, rich colors--including vibrant grays and greens--with no more mud!Put it all together following detailed step-by-step demonstrations of complete paintings from start to finishWhether you're new to watercolor painting or not, this guide will empower you to push shape and color into exciting new territory. Experience the satisfaction of painting with "power tools" and enjoy immediate results in your work.

Beneath Cold Seas: The Underwater Wilderness of the Pacific Northwest


David Hall - 2011
    . . . Hall has everything right in this book. There is nothing extraneous, and nothing missing. This is a complete and moving immersion in the breathtaking underwater world of the Pacific Northwest.For more information: http: //www.beneathcoldseas.com

Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style


Jerome Gautier - 2011
    Her clothes and accessories have remained perennially chic, and her legendary fashion house continues to exert a powerful sway over today's designers. Jérôme Gautier tells the story of Chanel's iconic style through hundreds of images, many taken by the leading lights of fashion photography, including Richard Avedon, Gilles Bensimon, Patrick Demarchelier, Horst P. Horst, Annie Leibovitz, Man Ray, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and Ellen von Unwerth. This innovative volume pairs classic and contemporary photographs, placing fashion plates from Chanel's time alongside those by the house's designer-in-chief, Karl Lagerfeld. For instance, Cecil Beaton's portrait of Chanel appears alongside Lagerfeld's image of Cate Blanchett emulating her, and a classic plate by Henry Clarke flanks an arresting shot by Juergen Teller. Through these dazzling photographs, Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style identifies key elements that have defined Chanel's style for generations, such as jersey and tweed, formerly considered menswear fabrics, and the little black dress, which transformed a hue previously reserved for mourning into a statement of elegance. Pearls were her staple, and she often embellished outfits with her signature camellia. Eleven chapters compare the original forms of these enduring trademarks with their later expressions over the years and to the present day, letting the vocabulary of Chanel's style speak for itself.

David Gandy by Dolce&Gabbana


Peter Howarth - 2011
    Originally from suburban London and a self-professed car fanatic, he got into modeling by chance through a contest. Since then, he has taken the fashion world by storm, working with top photographers and stylists. This photographic homage traces Gandy’s career from early photo shoots to the acclaimed advertising campaign for the Dolce&Gabbana fragrance Light Blue, which captured the world’s imagination and transformed him into a global icon of virility, sex appeal, and charm. The Light Blue campaign alone garnered over eleven million online hits, and his image has been featured in a fifty-foot poster towering over Times Square in New York. This book includes photographs by Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Giampaolo Sgura, and Mariano Vivanco, among others.

Final Thoughts: Eternal Beauty in Stone


John Thomas Grant - 2011
    View 68 cemeteries in 170 beautiful photographs that breathe life into existence of those who have passed before us, and who are now enshrined for eternity in landscaped paradises. Within each placid scene and through heartfelt words displayed upon markers, join photographer John Thomas Grant in his one-of-a-kind study of an American tradition.

...i listen to the wind that obliterates my traces: Music in Vernacular Photographs, 1880-1955


Steve Roden - 2011
    Dust-to-Digital's marvelously titled I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces compiles music, photographs and literary excerpts that reflect on or present music itself as subject matter, from the earliest days of the phonograph. Culled from artist Steve Roden's collection of thousands of vernacular photographs related to music, sound and listening, the many gems to be found in this book (and its accompanying two CDs) include accounts of the Barnum-esque Professor McRea ("Ontario's Musical Wonder" ) and anonymous African-American guitar players, and an amazing trove of photographs of early phonographs. Other images range from professional portraits to accidental double exposures, via photographic formats such as tintypes, ambrotypes, cdvs, cabinet cards, real photo postcards and albumen prints. The two CDs bring together a variety of recordings, including one-off amateur recordings, regular commercial releases and early sound effects records. An array of contemporaneous quotations on music and early music technology from writers such as Knut Hamsun, Vladimir Nabokov and Pär Lagerkvist, as well as an essay by Steve Roden, bind the volume's conception into a unique meditation on recorded music's earliest consciousness of itself.

Malibu Cheesecake: The Pinup Art of Olivia


Olivia De Berardinis - 2011
    Hardbound, Smythe sewn. Over 100 new paintings, drawings, and studies. Comments by Olivia on technique, models, and the creative process. Interviews with: Hugh Hefner Bettie Page Dita Von Teese Margaret Cho

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk


Suzy Menkes - 2011
    Published by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Abrams in conjunction with the first-ever retrospective on Gaultier, this stunning hardcover book in a slipcase explores the ties between the designer and the pop/rock music scene, film, and dance, and sheds light on his sources of inspiration, which are as eclectic as they are impertinent. The first major monograph on Gaultier brings together archival documents and over fifty interviews with Gaultier’s muses and colleagues, as well as the artists he has created costumes for: Pedro Almodóvar, Catherine Deneuve, Madonna, Helen Mirren, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Martin Margiela, Pierre Cardin, Dita Von Teese, Marion Cotillard, Kylie Minogue, Polly Mellen, and Tom Ford, to name just a few. It features many previously unpublished illustrations thanks to the collaboration of renowned fashion photographers and the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier. The publication also includes two interviews with Gaultier, one by Florence Müller, art historian, and the other by Thierry-Maxime Loriot, as well as an interview with Valerie Steele, fashion historian and director of New York’s Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). An essay written by Suzy Menkes looks at Gaultier’s fashion shows and examines their visionary reflection of society’s evolution over the past thirty-five years.

Hokusai Manga


Kazuya Takaoka - 2011
    Hokusai Manga is one of the masterpieces by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), a master of Ukiyo-e art, depicting ordinary people’s lives, animals, plants, landscapes and human figures, historical and supernatural, even demons and monsters, as if it were a visual encyclopedia, amounting to fifteen volumes. Hokusai Manga turned out to be very popular among every class of people, from feudal lords to the general public, and became a long time best-seller in the Edo period. This book selects pieces from each volume and compiles them into one charming book. The original masterpiece spread throughout Japan and flowed into Europe in the middle of the nineteenth century, where it had a striking impact on artists, including Impressionists Manet, Monet, Degas, and others. The artistic movement ‘Japonisme’ began in part due to its influence.

Wolfgang Tillmans: Abstract Pictures


Wolfgang Tillmans - 2011
    In the past decade he has pursued this tack, making wholly non-representational photographs that explore processes of exposure. From the delicate veils of color in the Blushes and Freischwimmer series, and the sculptural paper drops made of folded or rolled-up photographic paper, to the colorfully compelling works of the Lighter series, the printed object itself, divorced from its reproductive function, is always the point. "For me, the abstract picture is already objective because it's a concrete object and represents itself," Tillmans says; "the paper on which the picture is printed is for me an object, there is no separating the picture from that which carries it. That's why I like to show photographs sometimes framed and sometimes not, just taped to the wall." Designed by the photographer, and with 275 color reproductions of these works, Abstract Pictures impressively demonstrates how fruitfully Tillmans has mined this terrain.Wolfgang Tillmans (born 1968) began his career in photography documenting Hamburg's rave scene in the late 1980s. His earliest images were printed on digital copiers, and in the mid-1990s, living in London and then New York, Tillmans began to foreground the lo-fi properties of his printed images by exhibiting them pinned or taped to gallery walls. In 2005, at an exhibition at Maureen Paley gallery titled Truth Study Center, he further extended this approach by exhibiting photographs alongside newspaper cuttings, pamphlets and other kinds of printed matter, on custom-made wooden vitrines. This installation also brought to the fore more political themes in Tillmans' photography. In 2011 he traveled to Haiti to document reconstruction efforts following the previous year's earthquakes.

9/11: The World Speaks


Tribute WTC Visitor Center - 2011
    Many of these visitors have written their poignant reflections about the impact of September 11th on visitor cards that are collected in the Center’s final gallery. To date, the Center has collected 200,000 cards written in 48 languages by people from 120 countries. For the first time ever, this book brings together a choice selection of these cards, many of which talk about the inspiration people find in the outpouring of humanity in response to September 11th. In seeing the selflessness of first responders and ordinary citizens who rushed to help strangers and friends on that day, and in the many months of recovery that followed, adults and young people write that they have been inspired to help others in their communities and around the world. Moving us toward the future with empathy and hope, 9/11: The World Speaks is a remarkable collection of cards that include elaborate drawings, stories of personal experiences on September 11th, notes written by family members of victims, and statements by people of all cultural backgrounds decrying the use of violence. The book also features a preface from Tom Brokaw.   About the Tribute WTC Visitor Center  The Tribute WTC Visitor Center is located at 120 Liberty Street in New York City along the south side of the World Trade Center site. The Tribute Center was created by the September 11th Families' Association, a section 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, to share the personal stories of victims, survivors, rescue and recovery workers, residents of Lower Manhattan, and volunteers who responded to help in the recovery. Today, volunteers representing all of these constituencies share their stories daily with visitors to the Tribute Center and on our walking tours of the World Trade Center site. Volunteers share the authentic experiences of those most affected by the events of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. In the Tribute Center, visitors experience person-to-person accounts through videos, audios, and printed quotations. The stories recount the dynamism of the World Trade Center community prior to September 11, 2001, the day of the attacks, the nine months of recovery, and a poignant memorial to the victims where photographs contributed by their families are displayed. The Tribute Center concludes by offering visitors a place to engage in dialogue about 9/11 and share their own feelings and thoughts about the future.The Tribute Center conveys the courage, grief, and heroism of those who responded to the tragedy and the steps taken towards working for a more peaceful world by many of those impacted by the events. The Tribute Center welcomes visitors seven days a week. Please visit our website for details: www.tributewtc.org. The Tribute Center's educational materials for young people emphasize the humanity and compassion that arose in response to the attacks, www.tributewtc.org/programs/toolkit.html.   About Lee Ielpi  Lee Ielpi is a native of Great Neck, New York. Lee is a father of two girls, Anne Marie and Melissa, and two boys, Jonathan and Brendan, and grandfather of seven grandchildren. Lee volunteered with his local Great Neck Vigilant Fire Department and spent his career as a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department serving as a member of Rescue 2. Since losing his son Jonathan Lee Ielpi, Squad 288, FDNY, at the World Trade Center, Lee has dedicated himself to responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center with an eye towards making tomorrow a better day. He joined with the September 11th Families' Association in November 2001 to represent the interests of the 9/11 community. Lee has served on the Board of Directors since 2002 and has served as the Board President since 2007. In 2004, Lee along with Jennifer Adams co-founded the Tribute WTC Visitor Center. Forewordy by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Preface by Tom Brokaw.

Paris: An Inspiring Tour of the City's Creative Heart


Janelle McCulloch - 2011
    Organized by arrondissement, Paris takes readers through the city's most charming streets, revealing best-kept secrets and little gems at every turn: ateliers overflowing with notions, cafés with their neat rows of macarons, markets abundant with fresh flowers, shaded parks, and creative hotspots. Packed with vibrant color photographs that capture the spirit of Paris and packaged as a hefty flexi-bound paperback with a ribbon page marker, the book is a beautiful object in its own right. The accessible writing invites readers to dip in and out and provides history and context for each spot on the journey. Visually rich and totally inspiring, Paris is a treasure for lovers of art, style, design, food, and, of course, Paris!

No Bad Waves: Talking Story with Mickey Munoz


Mickey Munoz - 2011
    Mentored by the Malibu greats of the ’40s, and an influence on generations of surfers since, Mickey weaves the story of a California waterman using his own life and that of his friends.

The Men of Warrior


Tim Palen - 2011
    Examples of his work include the arresting imagery used to promote the Saw and Hostel horror franchises, and the iconic portraits he created on behalf of W, Precious, and For Colored Girls. As Paula Burr has written, Palen’s movie poster photography attempts “to boil [the image] down to the essence of the film. It is all about finding simplicity, a singular iconic image, something that evokes emotion.”The Men of Warrior gathers together Palen’s no-holds-barred shoot for the upcoming Lionsgate film Warrior, starring Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as two brothers who face the fight of a lifetime in the high-stakes world of Mixed Martial Arts. In these pages, Hardy and Edgerton show off their hard-earned fighting bodies and bloodied upper lips, capturing the tough and dramatic world of Warrior in a series of iconic images, all of which are poster-worthy.