books

Barely private: by sante D’Orazio – ed ruscha

was never a ‘huge’ fan of sante’s work, but that said, this book looks rather promising. hand written notes and outtakes fill the 300 pages of this new release. a second volume of photo-diary-scrapbook, covering 1997 to 2008 with an author credit by ed ruscha, including subjects such as: kate moss, naomi campbell, claudia schiffer, diane kruger, tricia helfer, stephanie seymour, liz hurley, jay-z, mickey rourke, angelina jolie, christina aguilera, pam anderson, keith richards, axl rose, damien hirst, julian schnabel and many more. a bargain at $39.99 available at taschen. by kl

CATEGORIES: books, fashion

Waris Ahluwalia’s love letter of a book: to india with love

waris at the pierre hotel in new york for his new book “to india with love”
natalie portman, waris whluwalia

james ivory page from the book to india with love

photographer karen collins, kimberley norcott

aslaug magnusdottir, president of house of waris with ucef hanjani

my favorite room at the pierre where salvador dali spend days chasing the mocked up clouds

author tina bhojwani, president and CEO of louis vuitton daniel lalonde, designer/author waris ahluwalia and author mortimer signer

since the crash of the economy it seems like we are all attending more parties rather than pulling late nighters. that, i assume, is the silver lining in all of this. the good news is that not all parties are just to wine-and-dine new yorks newest most-needy-class. this was waris’ week. this shindig, at the newly re-opened pierre hotel (owned previously by the 4 seasons group) had something substantial behind it, an effort to remind us of not only the beauty of india, but to support the victims of mumbai’s 2008 terrorist attack.

the book is filled with memories and photographs of contributors like silvia fendi, elizabeth hurley, natalie portman, owen wilson and the like from their past visits to india. owen wilsons photo taken by his mom was one that stood out for me. unfortunately the book, published by respected publisher assouline, was rather disappointing for its lack of attention to detail and their hack-saw compositions. the love put in by waris and the gang somehow did not translate into the assouline’s team. that said, i personally bought 2 books and highly recommend a copy as the proceeds will go directly to the victims of the attack. hard cover $49.95

contributors include: Adrien Brody, Kenneth Cole, Silvia Fendi, Diane von Furstenberg, Elizabeth Hurley, Evelyn Lauder, Natalie Portman, Rachel Roy, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Williamson, among others. to learn more mumbai: we got your back. by dd

CATEGORIES: backstage, books

photographer sam haskins: exhibit at milk gallery

the unaffordable original issue of cowboy kate book by sam haskins that was almost impossible to find is now available in a reissue “directors cut” edition
if you happened to be one of the few lucky ones to make it there at the right time, you would have had the chance to meet sam and take home a signed issue.



the highlight of my day, that day, was indeed the chance of of meeting sam haskins at his show. the exhibit at milk studio was very good but unfortunately not as great as his work indeed is.

that is of course my personal opinion. the small diptychs created did not do the images justice. sam’s pictures are so amazing and simple they deserve to stand alone and in large, large, large, wall paper size formats. of course space is the key issue in nyc and i’m sure that had something to do with it. the exhibits prints were rather small making you feel like you were going through a printed book (what is the point when you can buy the book?).

that night i met sam and his son and his grandson. extremely kind and graceful. sam unfortunately had suffered a stroke recently and was not in top condition yet he was pleased to see so many young fans at the opening and happy to talk and sign my book. by dd

CATEGORIES: books, fashion, naughty stuff, perfect gift, photography

DASHWOOD bookstore

opened a few years ago and still standing there is a little bookstore on bond street. tailored with a collection of contemporary photography dashwood is a great bookstore to visit. it is located on bond street (between lafayette and bowery) in new york. by dd

CATEGORIES: books, ny places, photography

tauba auerbach’s deitch catalog



i was looking over artist tauba auerbach catalog from an exhibition she did at deitch gallery today. it’s not just a beautiful book, it’s exactly what you expect from an exhibition book.  in other words, something that continues the experience, not photos that reproduce what you’ve just seen. on top of that, the manufacturing of the book is just sublime; no printed text, only debossings, holes, black and white and “thoughts for your eyes”…everything i love! by pp’

CATEGORIES: art, books

hadi tabatabai – daruni




very nice art book featuring the latest work of artist hadi tabatabai. the book is called daruni and will turn on anybody that is into crazy meticulous artwork like sol lewitt‘s, on kawara and so on… you can order one of the limited editions of 750 books, 96 color pages with hardcover, numbered by the artist with special binding & cover and beautifully printed at a certified wind power plant on 100% post consumer recycled cover using soy based inks (produced + designed by design agency ceft and company new york) the book is available direct from the artist’s studio or at the at st.marks bookstore in NY for $80+ $6.60 (shipping) by pp’

CATEGORIES: art, earth related

can’t wait for robert polidori


i think robert polidori is my all time favorite photographer and i am reminded of this every time i see his work. i am crazy for this new book compiling all of his versailles work, although i don’t know if it’s a reprint or a rework of his first book. of course it’s published by steidl, and of course it’s a treat ($120) but whatever “quand on aime on ne compte pas“ by pp’

CATEGORIES: art, books