SOUND OFF » Books

CHINA: Portrait of a People

darlamarks — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:06:11 +0000

China has a population of over 1 BILLION people (*said with Dr. Evil pinky*). Internationally-published freelance photographer and travel writer Tom Carter has traveled extensively throughout the 33 provinces of China documenting the 56 wide-ranging ethnic groups that compose the vast nation, collected in his book CHINA: Portrait of a People. This book is the most comprehensive collection of imagery of conteporary China ever published by a single author. From Mongolian wrestlers to prostitutes and Tibetan monks, Carter gained the trust of the subjects, sometimes putting his life at risk, capturing the many fascinating faces that make up the overwhelmingly diverse nation.

Currently, Carter is traveling across the nation of India, photographing his next book, INDIA: Portrait of a People. I can only imagine the beauty that will be bound in that book.

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Remember Paper

darlamarks — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:39:49 +0000

There’s nothing like the smell of a book from the library (as Carrie Bradshaw says), or admiring a good magazine from cover to cover, reading every article (even when you have to skip to the back for the continuation), and soaking in every ad or pictorial. With the world being heavily technology-driven, we’ve almost forgotten what printed matter on ACTUAL PAPER is like. We forget how powerful and impactful it can be. Brooklynite Chris Thomas’ blog Remember Paper pays homage to the printed form exploring words and imagery, ironically, all on a Tumblr blog. Whether a magazine spread, a classic hard-bound book, or a Cracker Jack box, Thomas brings to light a new found respect for print.

And coming soon, a collection of inspirational pieces he’s found, you guessed it, in a book. Full. Of. Paper. Stay tuned.

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Bird

darlamarks — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:32:49 +0000

Whatever your opinion is on birds (personally, they freak me out), you have to appreciate the work in Andrew Zuckerman‘s “Bird” series. They’re beautiful, colorful pieces of our feathered friends/foe. But what’s most shocking and interesting about these pieces is that they are 100% real photographs, not paintings or digital creations. The colors are so vivid, the textures so rich and backgrounds so stark, it’s extremely hard to fathom that they’re actual photos. With the help of his 1/8000th of a second shutter speed on his camera, Zuckerman is able to capture the bird in flight with their wings and colors fully extended.

Still hard to believe? Pick up a copy of his 2009 coffee table book, Bird, which features 200 photographs of nearly 75 different species. It’s totally “fly.”

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Pop-Up NYC

darlamarks — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:53:04 +0000

I don’t know about you, but as a kid, I dug pop-up books. It was the moment of surprise on each page, and the curiosity of “How’d they do that?” that got me. As an adult, a kid at heart, and a former New York resident, I can definitely appreciate Daisy Lew‘s Pop-Up NYC, a series of pop-up books inspired by NYC icons - the Big Apple, Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty and the almighty Yellow Cab. Each spread visualizes respective icons when viewed from the top, then also represents the cityscape when viewed from the side.

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Book Art

darlamarks — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 23:37:18 +0000

Artists are visual people, not wordsmiths. So it was natural for Hawaii-based artist Jacqueline Rush Lee to create art out of discarded books. Shes bakes them in kilns, dyes them and intricately forms them to make sculptures with incredible texture. Some literary nuts may see her art as sacrilege, others, amazing art. She chooses used books as her medium because of the symbolic qualities they possess. “They come with their own histories of use and meaning and how they serve as potent vehicles of expression. With the idea of working with them as my canvas or building block, I transform the books into sculptures that explore and redefine the book as familiar object, medium, and archetypal form. By scrambling the formal arrangement of the book and transposing its material and conceptual qualities, I aim to create evocative art forms that suggest an alternative narrative.” Ok, so this artist is a bit of a wordsmith.

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Indie Rock Coloring Book

kimboalice — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:59:21 +0000

Haven’t you always wanted to color on your fave indie rock bands?? Yeah I know you totally have been! Well you are just sooo lucky cuase now there is such a thing! yellowbirdproject.com just came out with an indie rock coloring book featuring some of your abso-fave artists including: Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene, Little Boots, Metric, Ra Ra Riot, Rilo Kiley, The Shins, Wolf Parade and more. So get out your crayons and start coloring on Bon Iver cause I totally know you want to. Did I mention all proceeds go to charity??

Engrave Your Book

darlamarks — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:04:26 +0000

You know a Moleskine notebook when you see it. That simple, black, legendary notebook has collected the thoughts and ideas of writers, intellectuals, artists and travelers alike for two centuries. From gifted artists Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh, to poet and leader of the surrealist movement André Breton, to Ernest Hemingway, considered the most influential writer of the last century, to famous travel writer Bruce Chatwin. These notebooks have proven they can withstand the trials of travel and abuses that ensues from normal use. This is the one true trusted travel journal. But not only can you pen your thoughts in the inside of the Moleskin, now you can express yourself on the outside too. Oregon-based company, Engrave Your Book, specializes in translating artwork and images onto hand-crafted leather Moleskine covers, with their goal of bringing art into your everyday life.

The designs are laser-etched with remarkable precision on all-natural, vegetable-tanned cowhide. Details include an inner card pocket and an elastic closure strap. The slip-on covers feature a growing collection of works by various talented artists and illustrators, available in their artist series collection. As a contemporary component to an old-school product, Engrave Your Book takes it one step further by letting you create a custom case with your own uploaded images.

Express yourself. Inside and out.

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Hello, My Name Is

darlamarks — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:59:18 +0000

Martha Cooper is best known for documenting the New York graffiti and hip hop scene beginning in the late 1970′s. Her famed photography has given her legendary status when it comes to street art and the culture that comes along with it. In her latest book, Name Tagging, Cooper takes a mundane nametag sticker that was once used primarily in the corporate environment, and displays it as a blank canvas for the ”smallest kind of graffiti.” The result is a dizzying array of “Hello, My Name Is” stickers adorned with tags, the origin of graffiti and today’s street art cultures. These photographs document how artists, famed and anonymous, take advantage of the accessibility and practicality of an ordinary nametag sticker. Cooper’s camera has captured the artistry and audacity of these artists and their distinctive tags. Name Tagging is the follow-up to Going Postal, a book where Cooper documented postal stickers adorned with some of the best-known street artists’ work.

Pre-order Name Tagging here.

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David Choe Zine

babysmash — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:12:34 +0000

Name taken from David Choe’s recent show, “Nothing to Declare” is also a zine based on several painting by David Choe, story written by Jason Jaworski.

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Dennis Hopper, Photographer

babysmash — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:47:46 +0000

On May 29th, 2010 the ever multi talented Dennis Hopper passed away. Known mostly for his legacy of movies such as Rebel Without A Cause, Giant, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet and so many more, little is it talked about how he himself was both a painter, and a rather good photographer. In his earlier years he photographed many a movie star and even went to Alabama to photograph the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr. Here’s a small sample of his works:
Andy Warhol’s factory 1963

Brian Jones 1965

Jane Fonda 1965

Paul Newman 1964

Tuesday Weld 1965

Alabama 1964

Coming to the MOCA in Los Angeles, July 11th-September 26th will be a retrospective of his work, currated by Julian Schnabel who was inspired by Hopper’s fusion of works. For more info visit the MOCA website.

As well there are several books out and about of Dennis Hopper’s works. Available here.

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