books

Halston SS2011 and don quixote

how did i get from the halston fashion show to don quixote… allow me to explain. i arrived at the halston show at the barbara gladstone gallery promptly at 7:30 as noted on my calendar, only to realize that the show was at 6:30 to 7:30 and not at 7:30. oh well, it wasn’t the first time… and besides, i don’t generally frequent the same locations as the horse lady… i’m sure i’ll see the lovely hard work tomorrow. given i didn’t have tickets to marc, i headed to the chelsea hotel bar next door, the don quixote… while we hung out there for a few glasses of wine and appetizers, i found myself lost in the many irritable versions of don quixote statuettes that lined the walls and every available surface. from porcelain figurines to marble busts, this restaurant bar must have been frozen in time since the 70’s.

once home, i had to buy the book and re-read the masterpiece that both wells and terry gilliam failed to tackle. in my search, i came across these bits and pieces… they don’t come close to my admiration for a single white, scrawny, stick figure statue of a man i saw at the door tonight, but perhaps they’ll do the trick for you… happy reading. by uh

CATEGORIES: books, clips

the most expensive book: John James Audubon’s Birds of America

having just spent days painting birds in mexico i found this book rather curious and desirable. if only i had 9 million dollars to spare, that is. a rare copy of john james audubon’s “birds of america” is heading to the auction block and is expected to fetch between $6.2 and $9.2 million. billed as the world’s most expensive book, it is one of only 119 copies in existence. the 2-by-3-foot tome consists of 435 hand-colored prints of Audubon’s famous illustrations. it comes, of course, from the collection of a british baron who died in 1955. sotheby’s, which will hold the auction in december 2010, has 8.8 million reasons to believe the audubon book will fetch a fortune. that’s how many dollars a copy sold for at a christies’s auction in just 10 years ago! wow! by uh

CATEGORIES: books, earth related

self publish, be happy

self publish, be happy is an organization founded by one of the loveliest people i know, bruno ceschel (previously at colors magazine), in 2010 in celebration of self-published photobooks. they promote the freedom of creativity in self-publishing and do what they can to spur on more uninhibited bookmaking. with technology and access to so much through the internet there really isn’t anything holding you back, so what are you waiting for? we know you have a beautiful piece of brilliance waiting to be bound. for inspirations check here for events near you. by kl

CATEGORIES: books

quelques portraits de dandys – eugene marsan



eugene marsan’s book “quelques portraits de dandys” is a little gem published by “l’editeur singulier”. it’s just a few pages about dandy’s such as maurice barrès, jules barbey d’aurevilly, charles baudelaire, honoré de balzac, stendhal and so on. the author focus on details such as press pants or the details of a cane to relate those french dandys. anyway, everything is cool in this book, from the cover to the pictures, here 9 portraits of charles baudelaire. love it! by pp’

CATEGORIES: books

the anarchy of silence: john cage, museu d’art contemporani de barcelona

with bionce crashing our party i thought why not talk about some music. like “the anarchy of silence” by john cage. now, for the record, can we please beg lady gaga here to not appropriate?

ok, so this is one of the most beautiful books i have come across in recent years. the book published by henie onstad art center is a pricey soft cover book with a lot of inspiration hidden inside it (used copies can be found on amazon for $130). i picked up my new untouched copy at st. marks bookstore in new york for under a $100 but no idea if they have any left. not much unlike his music, beautiful unobtrusive designs of text create a lovely pace between photographs and sketches of cage. the hand drawn notes are truly amazing and the book as a whole shows a lot of confidence on behalf of its creators. another franklin well spent. by dd

CATEGORIES: books

the olivier theysken book

wow! photographer julien claessens looks back at olivier theyskens’ career thus far. in this special edition book claessens shows us the results of his unprecedented backstage access to theyskens’ fashion shows. with text by everyone’s favorite vogue lady (after the september issue) sally singer the book sounds to good to be true. but go ahead and see it for yourself flick at assouline. coming soon for $120… by kv

CATEGORIES: books, perfect gift

render me stunned: the promise of the young A.R.Schricker

the “function of form” written by farshid moussavi and edited by ahmad reza schricker published by actar and the harvard university gradute school of design
above: studies by ahmad reza schricker


space design by schricker for nike, in collaboration with new york agency ceft and company


below: additional studies by the young architect

a young masters graduate of harvard university and a current member of Jacques Herzog & Pierre de Meuron‘s offices (china: birds nest) in switzerland, ahmad reza schricker’s future in architecture looks rather promising. the book “function of form” published and bearing his name coincided with his departure from the US and is a great find for archi-aficianados and MIT brains alike. we’ll be looking forward to seeing more of his work. by dd

CATEGORIES: books, design