Book picks similar to
Babe by Petra Collins
art
photography
feminism
non-fiction
Vivian Maier: A Photographer Found
John Maloof - 2014
The story of Maier—the secretive nanny-photographer who became a popular sensation shortly after her death—has only been pieced together from a small selection of the images she made and the handful of facts that have surfaced about her life. Vivian Maier: A Photographer Found is the largest and most in-depth collection of Maier's photographs to date, including her color images.With lively text by noted photography curator and writer Marvin Heiferman, this definitive volume explores and celebrates Maier's work and life from a contemporary and nuanced perspective, analyzing her pictures within the pantheon of American street photography. With more than 235 full-color and black-and-white photographs, most of which have never been published in book form, this collection also includes images of Maier's personal artifacts and memorabilia that have never been seen before. The text draws upon recently conducted interviews with people who knew Maier, which shed new light on her surprising photographic accomplishments and life.Vivian Maier: A Photographer Found is a striking, revelatory volume that unlocks the door to the room of a very private artist who made an extraordinary number of images, chose to show them to no one, and, as fate would have it, succeeded brilliantly in fulfilling what remains so many people's secret or unrealized desire: to live in and see the world creatively.With more than 235 full-color and black-and-white photographs
Hopper
Ivo Kranzfelder - 1995
After decades of patient work, Hopper enjoyed a success and popularity that since the 1950s have continually grown. Living in a secluded country house with his wife Josephine, he depicted the loneliness of big-city people in canvas after canvas. Probably the most famous of them, Nighthawks, done in 1942, shows a couple seated quietly, as if turned inwards upon themselves, in the harsh artificial light of an all-night restaurant. Many of Hopper's pictures represent views of streets and roads, rooftops, abandoned houses, depicted in brilliant light that strangely belies the melancholy mood of the scenes. Edward Hopper's paintings are marked by striking juxta-positions of color, and by the clear contours with which the figures are demarcated from their surroundings. His extremely precise focus on the theme of modern men and women in the natural and man-made environment sometimes lends his pictures a mood of eerie disquiet. In House by the Railroad, a harsh interplay of light and shadow makes the abandoned building seem veritably threatening. On the other hand, Hopper's renderings of rocky landscapes in warm brown hues, or his depictions of the seacoast, exude an unusual tranquillity that reveals another, more optimistic side of his character.
Ward 81
Mary Ellen Mark - 1979
While on set, Mark met the women of Ward 81, the only locked hospital security ward for women in the state: the inmates were considered dangerous to themselves or to others. In February of 1976, just before the ward closed (it ceased to exist in November of 1977, when it became the female section of a coeducational treatment ward), Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs, a writer and social scientist, were given permission to make a more extended stay, living on the ward in order to photograph and interview the women. They spent 36 days on Ward 81, photographing and documenting. Jacobs recalls their slow, inevitable assimilation: "We felt the degeneration of our own bodies and the erosion of our self-confidence. We were horrified at the thought of what we might become after a year or two of confinement and therapy on Ward 81." This new hardcover edition adds 10 new pictures to the original. Ward 81 is a sobering investigation into the lives and treatment of the mentally ill.
The Americans
Robert Frank - 1958
There is no question that Robert Frank's The Americans is the most famous and influential photography book ever published. It was 1959 when the book first came out: a series of deceptively simple photographs that Frank took on a trip through America in '55 and '56, pictures of normal people, everyday scenes: lunch counters, bus depots, cars, and the stangely familiar faces of people we don't quite know but have seen somewhere. They are pictures that saw the "American way of life" as we hadn't yet quite been able to see it ourselves, photographs that condensed the entire life of a nation in classic images that still speak to us today, forty years and several generations later.
Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits: Stories and Techniques from a Photographer's Photographer
Gregory Heisler - 2013
From his famously controversial portrait of President George H.W. Bush (which led to the revocation of Heisler’s White House clearance) to his evocative post-9/11 Time magazine cover of Rudolph Giuliani, to stunning portraits of Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Hillary Clinton, Michael Phelps, Muhammad Ali, and many more, Heisler reveals the creative and technical processes that led to each frame. For Heisler’s fans and all lovers of photography, Gregory Heisler: 50 Portraits offers not only a gorgeous collection of both black-and-white and color portraits, but an engrossing look at the rarely seen art of a master photographer at work. With a foreword by New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
Grapefruit: A Book of Instructions and Drawings
Yoko Ono - 1970
Back in print for the first time in nearly thirty years, here is Yoko Ono's whimsical, delightful, subversive, startling book of instructions for art and for life."A dream you dream alone may be a dream, but a dream two people dream together is a reality.""Burn this book after you've read it." -- Yoko Ono"This is the greatest book I've ever burned." -- John Lennon
The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait
Frida Kahlo - 1995
This passionate, often surprising, intimate record, kept under lock and key for some forty years in Mexico, reveals many new dimensions in the complex persona of this remarkable Mexican artist.Covering the years 1944-45, the 170-page journal contains Frida's thoughts, poems, and dreams, and reflects her stormy relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera, Mexico's famous artist. The seventy watercolor illustrations in the journal - some lively sketches, several elegant self-portraits, others complete paintings - offer insights into her creative process, and show her frequently using the journal to work out pictorial ideas for her canvases.The text entries, written in Frida's round, full script in brightly colored inks, add an almost decorative quality, making the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Frida's childhood, her political sensibilities, and her obsession with Diego are all illuminated in witty phrases and haunting images.Although much has been written recently about this extraordinary woman, Frida Kahlo's art and life continue to fascinate the world. This personal document, published in a complete full-color facsimile edition, will add greatly to the understanding of her unique and powerful vision and her enormous courage in the face of more than thirty-five operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of eighteen. The facsimile is accompanied by an introduction by the world-renowned Mexican man of letters Carlos Fuentes and a complete translation of the diary's text. An essay on the place of the diary in Frida's work and in art history at large, as well as commentaries on the images, is provided by Sarah M. Lowe.
Diane Arbus: Monograph
Diane Arbus - 1972
These landmark images now have a clarity and depth not achievable in earlier editions.
The Photo Book
Phaidon Press - 1997
The Photography Book brings together 500 inspiring, moving and beautiful images of famous events and people, sensational landscapes, historic moments, ground-breaking photojournalism, insightful portraits, sport, wildlife, fashion and the everyday.Following the winning formula of The Art Book and The 20th Century Art Book, The Photography Book is arranged in alphabetical order by photographer offering us a window on the last 150 years as it takes us on a journey through familiar and strange images by great, unknown and innovative photographers from around the world. Each image is discussed in detail, bringing it to life and offering us an understanding of this art form which plays such a large role in our everyday lives.An accessible, informative and easy-to-use guide, The Photography Book brings together an overview of this incredibly rich and diverse medium. A simple system of cross-referencing offers easy access to photographers working with a similar approach or using different means to capture the same subject. Glossaries of technical terms and movements and a directory of museums and galleries where photography is permanently exhibited are also included to provide a fully comprehensive volume.
Helmut Newton Work
Françoise Marquet - 2000
Considered shocking and provocative back in the 60s, by the climax of his career he enjoyed the reputation of a photographer who was able to imagine and visualize his subjects as women who take the lead rather than follow it; women who enjoy the resplendence and vitality of their bodies; women who are both responsible and willing. This book presents a whole spectrum of Newton's work and celebrates the long career of this outstanding and prolific photographer.
Paris
Robert Doisneau - 2005
The unprecedented scope of this collection provides the opportunity to study his more composed, aesthetically structured images alongside his snapshots, which offer a more anecdotal account of Doisneau's Paris. Organized thematically, the book leads us on an entrancing tour through the gardens of Paris, along the Seine, and through the crowds of Parisians who define their beloved city. More than 600 photographs-many rare, forgotten, and previously unpublished-are assembled in this beautiful volume to create a unique portrait of Paris. From toddlers scrambling to cross rue de Rivoli to fresh-faced accordionists, from elegant dog walkers to exuberant roller skaters, and from the indelible kiss in front of the Hétel de Ville to cyclists beneath the Eiffel Tower, the magic of Paris in black and white is a timeless treasure. The photographs, edited by Doisneau's daughter, are complemented by citations from the photographer himself, which reveal his profound fascination with the city where he lived and worked.
Strong Is the New Pretty: A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves
Kate T. Parker - 2017
Girls being silly. Girls being wild, stubborn, and proud. Girls whose faces are smeared with dirt and lit up with joy. So simple and yet so powerful, Strong Is the New Pretty celebrates, through more than 175 memorable photographs, the strength and spirit of girls being 100% themselves.Real beauty isn’t about being a certain size, acting a certain way, wearing the right clothes, or having your hair done (or even brushed). Real beauty is about being your authentic self and owning it. Kate T. Parker is a professional photographer who finds the real beauty in girls, capturing it for all the world to see in candid and arresting images.A celebration, a catalog of spirit in words and smiles, an affirmation of the fact that it’s what’s inside you that counts, Strong Is the New Pretty conveys a powerful message for every girl, for every mother and father of a girl, for every coach and mentor and teacher, for everyone in the village that it takes to raise a strong and self-confident person.
Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art
Carol Clerk - 2008
They are enjoying a renaissance, with graphic designers and artists creating specialty tattoos for a growing audience, unleashing a revival of interest in the bawdy vintage tattoo. Old school tattoos are being rediscovered (sometimes ironically, sometimes not) by a new generation. Originally embraced by rebels, sailors, and gangsters, these tattoos—broken hearts, naked girls, floral motifs, and maritime emblems—are now showing up on the fashion runway and in music videos. This book chronicles vintage motifs in thematic chapters interspersed with profiles of influential tattoo artists and their distinctive designs: Sailor Jerry Collins, Don Ed Hardy ("the Godfather of Tattoos"), Mike "Rollo Banks" Malone, Bert Grimm, Japan’s Horiyoshi III, and Shanghai’s Pinky Yun.
Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in That Order)
Bridget Quinn - 2017
Aligned with the resurgence of feminism in pop culture, Broad Strokes offers an entertaining corrective to that omission. Art historian Bridget Quinn delves into the lives and careers of 15 brilliant female artists in text that's smart, feisty, educational, and an enjoyable read. Replete with beautiful reproductions of the artists' works and contemporary portraits of each artist by renowned illustrator Lisa Congdon, this is art history from 1600 to the present day for the modern art lover, reader, and feminist.
Helmut Newton: Sumo
Helmut Newton - 1999
Helmut Newton (1920–2004) always demonstrated a healthy disdain for easy or predictable solutions. SUMO—a bold and unprecedented publishing venture—was an irresistible project. The idea of a spectacular compendium of images, a book with the dimensions of a private exhibition, reproduced to exceptional page size and to state-of-the-art origination and printing standards, emerged from an open, exploratory dialogue between photographer and publisher.With the physically commanding SUMO weighing in—boxed and shrink-wrapped—at 35.4 kilos, Newton created a landmark book that stood head and shoulders above anything previously attempted, either in terms of conceptual extravagance or technical specifications. Published in an edition of 10,000 signed and numbered copies, SUMO sold out soon after publication and quickly multiplied its value. This worldwide publishing sensation now features in numerous important collections around the world, including New York's Museum of Modern Art. Legendary SUMO copy number one, autographed by over 100 of the book's featured celebrities, also broke the record for the most expensive book published in the 20th century, selling at auction in Berlin on April 6, 2000 for 620,000 German Marks – approximately $430,000.Now, 10 years after the original publication, SUMO is back in a more economical edition, but one with the same DNA as its unique progenitor.SUMO established new standards for the art monograph genre, and secured a prominent place in photo-book history. This new edition is the fulfillment of an ambition conceived some years ago by Helmut Newton. He would surely be pleased that, a decade on from its first publication, SUMO—now in a format that allows for a more democratic distribution—will reach the widest possible audience.
However, proud owners of the new edition won't wrestle with their copy of SUMO. It comes with a unique stand for displaying the book at home: