World Food Books

Too Negative No. 7
January 1997

1997, Japanese
Softcover, 210 pages, 15 cm x 21 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Tom Shobo / Japan

$130.00 - Out of stock

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Too Negative No. 7 January 1997. Now rare and highly collectible, Too Negative, the "Forbidden Picture Book", was a visceral and visually explosive glossy cult arts magazine that reflected the gory-depraved-beyond salvation-bad taste expressions visible in international subculture at the height of 1990s underground publishing, a time when art was pushing the limits of taste and morality. Edited solely by legendary Japanese publisher and gallery owner Kotaro Kobayashi and published by Tom Publication Inc. between 1994—2000, each thick, glossy volume takes on the aesthetics of a vibrant fashion magazine in the great Japanese "mook" format (the magazine book) packed cover to cover with themes of Eros and Thanatos, such as fetishism, erotica, medical/autopsy photography, death journalism, Japanese bondage, grotesque and neo-surrealist art, crime scene photography, tattooing/irezumi, piercing, and all things of the mondo, macabre, bizarro realm. Frequent collaborators and featured artists were Kiyotaka Tsurisaki, Joel-Peter Witkin, Trevor Brown, Kiyoshi Ikejiri, to name a few. With a Japanese publishing lineage that may be found in earlier bounding-pushing periodicals such as the 1920s erotic grotesque magazine Hentai Shiriou (Pervert Documents), Tasuhiko Shibusawa’s incredible 1960s avant-garde journal Le Sang Et La Rose, or Fiction Inc’s SALE2 journal published from 1980—mid 1990s, Too Negative, and affiliated periodicals such as ORG, Spiral, Schizo, etc. took their subjects to another level of extremism, even by Japanese standards.

Not for the faint hearted.

This issue,  Too Negative No. 7 January 1997, features the photography of Kiyotaka Tsurisaki, Francis Bacon, photographer Andres Serrano, photographer Eric Kroll, photographer Hiroshi Yokoi, artist/photographer Joel-Peter Witkin, early 20th Century medical photography, early American mugshots, ‘Forbidden Colors’ tattoo photography, artist Hideki Sugimoto, early war medical and facial prosthetics, crime scene photography ‘The Sunset Murders', contemporary infant medical photography, crime scene photography, ‘Henry Lee Lucas’ serial killer article with photos, ‘Women En Large’ photo feature, ‘The Man Who Fell To Heaven’ gunshot wounds medical photography, and much more.

Very Good copy.

File under: Kiyotaka Tsurisaki Francis Bacon Andres Serrano Eric Kroll Joel Peter Witkin Hiroshi Yokoi Hideki Sugimoto Tom Shobo / Japan Art Eros Ero Guro / Erotic / Grotesque Fetishism / BDSM Out-of-print / Rare Periodicals Counterculture Occult / Esoterica Film / Video Japanese Photography Photography Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Transgressive / Visceral / Abject

Masahiko Enomoto
Pubes — The Secret Garden

1994, Japanese
Hardcover (w. dust jacket), unpaginated, 30 x 24 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Kaiohsha / Japan

$100.00 - In stock -

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Rare first 1994 gold hardcover edition of Japanese photographer Masahiko Enomoto's photographic celebration of female public hair. A timely honouring of the forbidden fruit, Japan authorities had recently lifted the ban on the depiction of pubic hair in print and Enomoto's book is one of the boldest and earliest examples of Japanese photographers devoting books to the new uncensored nude (Akira Gomi's "Yellows Privacy '94" and Kishin Shinoyama's "Hair" books were both issued the very same year). Hidden hair was not off the hook entirely, and only tolerated when depiction was deemed “artistic”. Enomoto’s approach was unique and confronting with his poppy pubic portrait approach. Pubes — The Secret Garden (with its wonderful debossed triangle motif pattern print covering the dust jacket and endpapers), is entirely comprised of glossy full-colour studio photography spreads of Japanese models in full nude profile with pubic close-ups on the facing pages. A lavishly designed and charming book. Pubes 2, the following year, followed the same fetish principle, only with Western models. One for the ages!

Very Good copy in VG dust jacket, minor wear.

File under: Masahiko Enomoto Kaiohsha / Japan Eros Japanese Photography Photography Out-of-print / Rare

Selling Ourselves for Dinner (+ poem print)
by Christopher Barnett

1982, English
Softcover (staple-bound + telex), unpaginated, 24.5 x 17.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by All Out Ensemble / Adelaide

$50.00 - Out of stock

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“The greatest Australian poet you’ve never heard of”—Anne Marsh

Very rare copy of Australian avant-garde poet and playwright Christopher Barnett's theatre poem, Selling Ourselves for Dinner, performed at the Adelaide Festival in 1982 with the All Out Ensemble (Nicholas Tsoutas, Peggy Wallach, etc.) in the Rundle Street Carpark. Printed at The Experimental Art Foundation in Adelaide and published by the All Out Ensemble, this hand-made publication, final drafted in December 1981, presents the entire revolutionary performance—poem by Christopher Barnett, scene for scene, along with introduction, cast credits and bios. Starring Barnett as his hero, Soviet-Russian poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky, the play opens at a reading of Mayakovsky's work at the Moscow Polytechnic in 1929. Directed by Nicholas Tsoutas, the cast of characters includes Lilya Brik, Jean Cocteau, Isadora Duncan, Alexander Fadeyev, Jim Morrison, Sergei Yesenin, etc. with visual and sound contributions from Michael Trudgeon, Derek Kreckler, Laughing Hands, Peter Cheslyn, Jacky Redgate, Ian de Gruchy, and many more.

In Adelaide and Melbourne in the early 1980s the hard talking, hard living poet Christopher Barnett was a force to be reckoned with—socially, artistically, politically, not that he made these distinctions. A charismatic public performer once described by the press as "one of the most controversial figures on the Australian art scene", this self-styled “Cultural Bolshevik”—a homage to his hero, Valdimir Mayakovsky—and a key collaborator with Nicholas Tsoutas and Peggy Wallach in the All Out Ensemble, Barnett left Adelaide for Fitzroy and then in the mid 80s relocated to Nantes in France where he became notable for co-founding an experimental company, Le Dernier Spectateur, working with the disenfranchised, where he remains to this day.

This copy with inserted dot matrix printed poem, “Telec".

Very Good copy.

File under: Michael Trudgeon Derek Kreckler Laughing Hands Peter Cheslyn Jacky Redgate Ian de Gruchy Nicholas Tsoutas Peggy Wallach Christopher Barnett Christopher Barnett All Out Ensemble / Adelaide Australian Art Performance / Dance / Theater Out-of-print / Rare Fiction / Poetry Poetry Sociology / Politics Art Socialism / Communism / Capitalism Sound / Music

Women At Work
A Week of Women's Performance June 1980

1980, English
Softcover (staple bound), 40 pages, 29.5 x 21 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / average
Published by George Paton Gallery / Parkville

$70.00 - In stock -

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Very rare copy of Women At Work, an important catalogue published to accompany a week long event of performances, seminars and documentation from women around Australia held at the George Paton Gallery, Melbourne University Union, June 2—6, 1980. Includes valuable transcriptions of the seminars — 'Feminism in Performance' : An open discussion led by women from the Women's Art Movement, Adelaide (featuring: Cath Cherry, Peg Maguire, Judy Annear, Denise McGrath, Jan Hunter, Ann Marsh, Jane Kent, Shan Short, Ann Fogarty, Lorraine Bennington, Jackie Lawes, Bonita Ely, Helen Sherriff, Joan Grounds), plus a general discussion reflecting on the activities of the week (Jill Orr, Liz Paterson, Vineta Lagzdina, Anna Paci, Aleks Danko, Jan Ferrari). Heavily illustrated artist's pages with texts and performance documentation follows, featuring: Cath Cherry, Bonita Ely, Ann Fogarty, Joan Grounds, Jan Hunter, Jane Kent, Vineta Lagzdina, Jackie Lawes, Ann Marsh, Jill Orr, Anna Paci, Liz Paterson, WIMMINS CIRCUS, plus photographic documentation of the exhibition, and a detailed catalogue of the videos and slides shown.

"In 1979, Jane Kent, from the Women's Art Movement in Adelaide, had a three week installation in the Ewing Gallery. She and Ann Marsh, also from WAM suggested a weekend get together later in 1979 for Adelaide and Melbourne women artists. After discussion with Kiffy Rubbo and Judy Annear, the idea developed into a week long event of performances, seminars and documentation from women around Australia to be held June 2-6, 1980. The eventual make-up of the week was 14 performances by 12 women, plus a performance by the WIMMINS CIRCUS (courtesy Union Council). The women who performed were Cath Cherry, Jane Kent, Vineta Lagzdina, Ann Marsh, from Adelaide; Bonita Ely, Ann Fogarty, Jill Orr, Liz Paterson, from Melbourne; Joan Grounds, Jackie Lawes, Anna Paci, from Sydney, and Jan Hunter from Hobart. Documentation of performances by the above women and many others was exhibited in the gallery: this took the form of written material, videotapes, slides and installation."—Judy Annear and Aleks Danko, October 1980

Fair copy with moisture staining, damage and general tanning to extremities, rippling along spine.

File under: Cath Cherry Jane Kent Vineta Lagzdina Ann Marsh Bonita Ely Ann Fogarty Jill Orr Liz Paterson Joan Grounds Jackie Lawes Anna Paci Jan Hunter Peg Maguire Judy Annear Denise McGrath Shan Short Lorraine Bennington Helen Sherriff Joan Grounds) Aleks Danko Jan Ferrari George Paton Gallery / Parkville Australian Art Australian Photography Conceptual Art Feminism Film / Video Performance / Dance / Theater Art Out-of-print / Rare Group Shows / Collections Curatorial Sociology / Politics

The Antipodean Manifesto : Essays in Art and History
by Bernard Smith

1976, English
Softcover, 222 pages, 21.5 x 13.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / good
Published by Oxford University Press / Melbourne

$100.00 - Out of stock

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First edition of this important and now very scarce volume of essays by Australian art historian, Bernard Smith (1916—2011), The Antipodean Manifesto : Essays in Art and History, published by Oxford in 1976. The book centres around the controversial title essay "The Antipodean Manifesto", first published on the occasion of the Antipodean group's only exhibition, held in Melbourne in August 1959. The Antipodeans were a group of Australian modern artists (Charles Blackman, Arthur Boyd, David Boyd, John Brack, Robert Dickerson, John Perceval and Clifton Pugh) who asserted the importance of figurative art, and protested against abstract expressionism. Though they staged but a single exhibition, they were noted internationally and the manifesto provoked strong reaction. Smith was a lecturer and then a senior lecturer in the University of Melbourne's Fine Arts Department (1955–1967) during this time. Smith's collection continues with texts on Perceiving the Australian Suburb, William Morris, Whitlam government arts funding, Coleridge and Cook, the Myth of Isolation, and much more.

"This book contains a selection of essays and articles written by Bernard Smith during the past thirty years. They have been written in the belief that art is concerned more with what it is to be human than with aesthetic, formal or monetary values, though such factors do play a part, often too great a part, in the evaluation of works of art. Bernard Smith has always been an outspoken commentator on controversial issues, and many of the hard-hitting articles he has written over the years are still very relevant today. His views on the 'myth' of Australia's isolation from the influence of the mainstream of Western art, for example, and on the dubious value of a National Art Gallery in fostering an appreciation of the arts, are stimulating and incisive. Also included here are essays on the work of individual artists such as William Dobell and Henry Moore; on issues peculiar to Australian art and on more general matters, such as Government support for the arts, art and history, art and the industrial society, art and romanticism; and finally Professor Smith's long and fascinating paper which reveals that Coleridge's poem The Ancient Mariner was almost certainly based on Cook's second voyage around the world."—book blurb

Bernard William Smith (1916—2011) was an Australian art historian, art critic and academic, considered the founding father of Australian art history, and one of the country's most important thinkers. His book Place, Taste and Tradition: a Study of Australian Art Since 1788 is a key text in Australian art history, and influence on Robert Hughes. Smith was associated with the Communist Party of Australia, and after leaving the party remained a prominent left-wing intellectual and Marxist thinker. Following the death of his wife in 1989, he sold much of their art collection to establish the Kate Challis RAKA, one of the first prizes in the country for Indigenous artists and writers.

Good copy with tanning to spine and edges, general wear.

File under: Charles Blackman Arthur Boyd David Boyd John Brack Robert Dickerson John Perceval. Clifton Pugh The Antipodeans William Morris William Dobell Henry Moore Bernard Smith Clark Coolidge Oxford University Press / Melbourne Australian Art Art Painting Out-of-print / Rare Theory / Essay Group Shows / Collections

Broken Music

1989, English / German / French
Softcover (w. flexi-disc), 280 pages, 26 x 21 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Daadgalerie / Berlin Gelbe Musik / Berlin

$280.00 - In stock -

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Rare first 1989 edition of Broken Music, an essential compendium for records created by visual artists. Complete with original flexi-disc. The publication was edited by Ursula Block and Michael Glasmeier and published in 1989 by DAAD and Gelbe Musik, Berlin. Broken Music focuses on recordings, record-objects, artwork for records, and record installations made by thousands of artists between WWII and 1989.

It also includes essays by both editors as well as Theodor W. Adorno, René Block, Jean Dubuffet, Milan Knizak, László Moholy-Nagy, Christiane Seiffert, and Hans Rudolf Zeller, as well as a flexi disc of the Arditti Quartet performing Knizak’s “Broken Music.” The centerpiece of the publication is a nearly 200-page bibliography of artists’ records.

Works chosen for the publication revolved around four criteria: (1) record covers created as original work by visual artists; (2) record or sound-producing objects (multiples/editions/sculptures); (3) books and publications that contain a record or recorded-media object; and (4) records or recorded media that have sound by visual artists.

Artists documented in the volume include Vito Acconci, albrecht/d., Laurie Anderson, Guillaume Apollinaire, Karel Appel, Arman, Hans Arp, Antonin Artaud, John Baldessari, Hugo Ball, Claus van Bebber, John Bender, Harry Bertoia, Jean-Pierre Bertrand, Joseph Beuys, Mel Bochner, Claus Böhmler, Christian Boltanski, KP Brehmer, William Burroughs, John Cage, Henri Chopin, Henning Christiansen, Jean Cocteau, William Copley, Philip Corner, Merce Cunningham, Hanne Darboven, Jim Dine, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Fischli and Weiss, R. Buckminster Fuller, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, Jack Goldstein, Peter Gordon, Hans Haacke, Richard Hamilton, Bernard Heidsieck, Holger Hiller, Richard Huelsenbeck, Isidore Isou, Marcel Janco, Servie Janssen, Jasper Johns, Joe Jones, Thomas Kapielski, Allan Kaprow, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Cheri Knight, Milan Knizak, Richard Kriesche, Christina Kubisch, Laibach, John Lennon, Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Annea Lockwood, Paul McCarthy, Meredith Monk, Josef Felix Müller, Piotr Nathan, Hermann Nitsch, Albert Oehlen, Frank O’Hara, Claes Oldenburg, Yoko Ono, Dennis Oppenheim, Nam June Paik, Charlemagne Palestine, A.R. Penck, Tom Phillips, Robert Rauschenberg, The Red Crayola, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Gerhard Richter, Jim Rosenquist, Dieter Roth, Gerhard Rühm, Robert Rutman, Sarkis, Thomas Schmit, Conrad Schnitzler, Kurt Schwitters, Selten Gehörte Musik, Richard Serra, Robert Smithson, Michael Snow, Keith Sonnier, Strafe für Rebellion, Jean Tinguely, Moniek Toebosch, Tristan Tzara, Ben Vautier, Yoshi Wada, Emmett Walsh, Andy Warhol, William Wegman, and Lawrence Weiner.

Ursula Block is a curator living in Berlin, Germany. From 1981 until 2014, she ran gelbe Musik, a gallery and record shop in Berlin that featured work by artists at the crossroads between music and art. She was married to curator René Block.

Michael Glasmeier is a professor, writer, and editor living in Berlin, Germany. Since the early 1980s, he has curated dozens of shows that explore the intersection between the visual arts, music, film, and language.

Very Good copy all-round, light cover/corner wear.

File under: ×Vito Acconci albrecht/d. Laurie Anderson Karel Appel Arman Antonin Artaud John Baldessari Hugo Ball Claus van Bebber John Bender Harry Bertoia Jean-Pierre Bertrand Joseph Beuys Mel Bochner Claus Böhmler Christian Boltanski John Cage Henri Chopin Henning Christiansen Jean Cocteau William Copley Philip Corner Merce Cunningham Hanne Darboven Jim Dine Marcel Duchamp Max Ernst Lawrence Ferlinghetti Buckminster Fuller Fischli & Weiss Peter Fischli Peter Fischli & David Weiss David Weiss Allen Ginsberg Philip Glass Jack Goldstein Peter Gordon Hans Haacke Richard Hamilton Bernard Heidsieck Holger Hiller Richard Huelsenbeck Isidore Isou Marcel Janco Servie Janssen Jasper Johns Joe Jones Thomas Kapielski Allan Kaprow Martin Kippenberger Per Kirkeby Cheri Knight Milan Knizak Richard Kriesche Christina Kubisch Laibach John Lennon Sol Lewitt Roy Lichtenstein Annea Lockwood Paul McCarthy Meredith Monk Josef Felix Müller Piotr Nathan Hermann Nitsch Albert Oehlen Frank O’Hara Claes Oldenburg Yoko Ono Dennis Oppenheim Nam June Paik Charlemagne Palestine A.R. Penck Tom Phillips Robert Rauschenberg The Red Crayola Ursula Reuter Christiansen Gerhard Richter Jim Rosenquist Dieter Roth Gerhard Rühm Robert Rutman Sarkis Thomas Schmit Conrad Schnitzler Kurt Schwitters Selten Gehörte Musik Richard Serra Robert Smithson Michael Snow Keith Sonnier Strafe für Rebellion Jean Tinguely Moniek Toebosch Tristan Tzara Ben Vautier Yoshi Wada Emmett Walsh Andy Warhol William Wegman Lawrence Weiner Jean Arp (Hans Arp) K. P. Brehmer William S. Burroughs Theodor W. Adorno René Block Jean Dubuffet Milan Knizak László Moholy-Nagy Christiane Seiffert Hans Rudolf Zeller Ursula Block Michael Glasmeier Daadgalerie / Berlin Gelbe Musik / Berlin Art Conceptual Art Performance / Dance / Theater Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Counterculture Out-of-print / Rare Group Shows / Collections Curatorial Theory / Essay Fluxus Arte Povera Pop Art Sound / Music Dada Minimal Art Nouveau Réalisme / Zero / Kinetic Bauhaus Objects / Ephemera / A/V

$OUL — DÉCADA DEL 70 — INTERCÂMBIO ENTRE MAC E CAYC
Organised by Jorge Glusberg

1976, Portuguese
Double-sided fold-out, 4 panels, 47 x 30 cm (unfolded)
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo / São Paulo

$45.00 - In stock -

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Very rare fold-out catalogue for the important international art exhibition surveying conceptual art, concrete poetry, experimental art, performance art, mail art ("activity with a critical view of society") in the 1970s organized by Argentine author, publisher, curator, professor, and conceptual artist, Jorge Glusberg, who was director of the Center for Art and Communication of Buenos Aires (CAYC). With text by Brazilian professor, historian, art critic and curator by Walter Zanini, director of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de Sao Paulo (MAC). With a number of the exhibited heliographic documents from the exhibition illustrated throughout, the brochure catalogues the exhibited works by participants including: Dan Graham, Lawrence Weiner, Genesis P-Orridge, Ian Burn and Mel Ramsden, Öyvind Fahlström, Július Koller, Tim Ullrichs, Luis Fernando Benedit, Jaime Davidovich, Jorge Glusberg, Víctor Grippo, Lea Lublin, Luis Pazos, Julio Plaza, Jonier Marin, Jiří Valoch, Guillermo Deisler, Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Manuel Barbadillo, MH de Ossorno, Valcárcel Medina, Felipe Ehrenberg, César Bolaños, Pawel Petasz, José Urbach, Lydia Okumura, Haroldo González, Les Levine, and many others.

Very Good copy with light wear.

File under: Dan Graham Lawrence Weiner Genesis P-Orridge Ian Burn Mel Ramsden Öyvind Fahlström Július Koller Walter Zanini Jorge Glusberg Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo / São Paulo Out-of-print / Rare Conceptual Art Concrete Poetry Art Group Shows / Collections Pop Art Collage / Mail Art / Xerox Art Performance / Dance / Theater Curatorial Film / Video Fluxus Minimal Art Nouveau Réalisme / Zero / Kinetic Painting Photography Poetry Protest / Revolt Sound / Music

Ran Akiyoshi
Illusion

2000, Japanese
Hardcover (w. dust jacket and obi strip), 48 pages, 31 x 22 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / fine
Published by Bungeisha / Tokyo

$150.00 - In stock -

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The one and only hardcover monograph dedicated to the fantastic world of artist Ran Akiyoshi (1922—1982), now rare and out-of-print. Virtually unknown and undocumented outside of Japan, Akiyoshi never held an exhibition nor sold any of his drawings in his lifetime. Much like the work of Toshio Saeki or Namio Harukawa, Akiyoshi's creations proliferated throughout the bountiful pages of Tokyo's underground, particularly SM / kinbaku, publishing scene in the 1960s—1970s. Yet Akiyoshi's phantasmagoric world of erotic fantasy is like no other, building sado-masochistic themes within unique, somewhat Lovecraftian and Bosch-esque dreamscapes populated by mythological goddesses and grotesque creatures. His peculiar fantasy drawings were highly praised by Japanese novelist and art critic, Tatsuhiko Shibusawa, an instrumental figure in the Japanese avant-garde who translated de Sade and Bataille to Japanese, and specialised in the study of medieval demonology. This lavishly illustrated hardcover volume collects Akiyoshi's many works together for the first time, surveying his entire career.

Born in Kyongsong (present Seoul), Korea in 1922, Akiyoshi was publicly schooled and self-taught in drawing. After WWII, he moved to Japan, traveled around Kyushu area and finally settled in Tokyo in 1946. Akiyoshi started working for adult entertainment magazines such as "Decameron","Fuzoku Soushi", and "Uramado" in 1950. Around 1958, he began focusing on original drawings while continuing to draw illustrations for various magazines. In the 1970s, Akiyoshi provided iconic cover and insert illustrations to a number of prominent SM magazines, including "SM King", "SM Kitan", and "SM Club". He never held an exhibition nor sold any of his drawings in his lifetime. Akiyoshi died from heart failure in 1982 at the age of 58.

Very Good—Fine copy.

File under: Ran Akiyoshi Bungeisha / Tokyo Surrealism Art Brut / Folk / Visionary / Fantastic Illustration / Graphic Art / Bandes Dessinées Ero Guro / Erotic / Grotesque Eros Drawing Painting Out-of-print / Rare Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction

Francis Picabia
1999/2000 & 391

1999, English / French / Japanese
Two-volume softcover bookset in curregated cardboard slip-case, 120 pages & 220 pages (colour and b&w ill. throughout), 18 x 25 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by APT International / Tokyo Isetan Museum of Art / Tokyo

$250.00 $160.00 - Out of stock

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First Edition of this comprehensive, beautifully produced Japanese two-volume publication on the life and work of the great French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist, Francis Picabia.

Published by APT International in 1999 for a major Japanese travelling exhibition on Francis Picabia, starting at the Isetan Museum of Art in Tokyo in 1999, then to Fukushima and Osaka throughout 1999-2000.

Two Volumes bound in french-fold wraps, beautifully kept fine volumes, both housed in protective corrugated cardboard slip-case with scarlet label wrapped around spine. Slipcase itself is now protected under plastic sleeve.

First volume (226 page) forms a comprehensive retrospective of Picabia's life and prolific and defying work across painting, drawing, printing, poetry and film. Extensive colour and b&w reproductions of a vast collection of his painting, illustration and publishing projects are presented alongside a folio of his poems and drawings, plus photo documentation of his studio and private/social life. Also includes a biography and bibliography, as well as an insightful conversation between Olga Picabia (Francis Picabia's widow), Pierre Calté (director of Comité Picabia), Hans Ulrich Obrist (independent curator) and Stefan Banz (independent curator), about Picabia's life (text in English and Japanese). Introductory essays in Japanese and French by Beverley Calte and Arnauld Pierre.

Second volume (120 pages) "391" is a very special book made up of collated facsimiles of the 19 issues of Picabia's famous Dada periodical, "391", dating 1917-1924.
391 first appeared in January 1917 in Barcelona, published and edited by Picabia, assisted in assembling by Olga Sacharoff, a Georgian emigre residing in Barcelona. The title of the magazine derives from Alfred Stieglitz's New York periodical 291 (to which Picabia had contributed), and bore no relation to its contents. Despite Picabia's renown as an artist, it was mostly literary in content, with a wide-ranging aggressive tone, possibly influenced by Alfred Jarry and Apollinaire. There were contributions by two men new to Dada: Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. However 391 remained essentially the expression of the inventive, energetic and wealthy Picabia, who stated of it: "Every page must explode, whether through seriousness, profundity, turbulence, nausea, the new, the eternal, annihilating nonsense, enthusiasm for principles, or the way it is printed. Art must be unaesthetic in the extreme, useless and impossible to justify."

Francis Picabia (22 January 1879 – 30 November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism. His highly abstract planar compositions were colourful and rich in contrasts. He was one of the early major figures of the Dada movement in the United States and in France. His was later briefly associated with Surrealism, but would soon turn his back on the art establishment.

Very Good copy.

File under: Francis Picabia Man Ray Marcel Duchamp Arnauld Pierre Beverley Calte Francis Picabia Hans Ulrich Obrist Stefan Banz APT International / Tokyo Isetan Museum of Art / Tokyo Art Dada Out-of-print / Rare Painting Drawing Surrealism Fiction / Poetry SALE

Keizo Kitajima
1975—1991

2009, English / Japanese
Softcover, 214 pages, 21 x 25.5 cm
Flat signed by artist,
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography / Tokyo

$250.00 - In stock -

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Signed, first edition of this great out of print monograph on the work of Japanese photographer Keizo Kitajima, published by the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. Contains 189 works from 1975 to 1991, beautifully reproduced, introducing and surveying all of Keizo's incredible major bodies of work : KOZA, TOKYO, NEW YORK, EASTERN EUROPE, USSR, alongside biography, and great texts in English and Japanese. A terrific overview of a great artist.

Keizo Kitajima (b .1954, Suzaka, Nagano) is a leading figure in the rise of Japanese photography in the 1970s and 1980s, first coming to be known for his grainy black-and-white shots of people on the streets of Tokyo, at an American military base in Okinawa after the end of the Vietnam War, and in New York. Daido Moriyama, with whom Kitajima first studied photography, praised his talent as a gifted snapshooter by calling him ‘a street killer in broad daylight.’ Kitajima’s image Shop CAMP, set up in the bustling Shinjuku area in 1976 in collaboration with Moriyama, was a pioneering experimental space for photographers before the gallery system was established. In his legendary experimental series Photo Express (1979), Kitajima photographed people at bars and on the streets in Shinjuku at night right outside the CAMP, converted the gallery into a darkroom to make wallsized prints as a public performance event, and even published the images as an instant booklet. Through these processes of delivering images immediately, the artist explored the ways that time affects photography in terms of documentation, record and memory. Kitajima spent six months in New York roaming its gritty streets and hanging out in its clubs, resulting in the book New York (1982) . He presents a vision of the 1980s New York, full of energy, decadence and moments of quiet desperation. Like the city the publication is full of stark juxtapositions, flamboyant displays of outrageous behaviour are shown next to pictures of desolation and dejection. For this photo book Kitajima received the important Kimura Ihei Award in 1983. Kitajima’s work has been shown in many Japanese and international exhibitions and his publications are popular among collectors of photo books and the importance of his work has been recognised by numerous Japanese photographic awards.

Very Good copy.

File under: Keizo Kitajima Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography / Tokyo Japanese Photography Photography Out-of-print / Rare Art Signed Books

Self Service 1994-2022, The Ads

2022, English
Softcover, 376 pages, 30.1 x 23 cm
Ed. of 500,
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / fine
Published by IDEA / London

$200.00 - Out of stock

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Expanded 2022 edition of IDEA London's Self Service 1994-2022, The Ads, the quickly out-of-print heavy visual compendium of more than 300 fashion ads from 25 years of Self Service magazine, featuring iconic contemporary advertising imagery from brands such as Raf Simons, Comme des Garçons, A.P.C., Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Prada, Miu Miu, Issey Miyake, Chloé, Balenciaga, Yohji Yamamoto, Jacquemus, Hermès, Celine, Eckhaus Latta, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Viktor & Rolf, Yves Saint Laurent, Susan Cianciolo, Marc Jacobs, BLESS, Fendi, Koji Tatsuno, Gucci, Botetega Veneta, Zucca, Helmut Lang, to name a few, all packed into one exceptional reference volume.

Edition of 500 copies.

"This book is a gathering of more than two and a half decades* of fashion advertising campaigns as they have appeared on our printed pages, providing a fascinating testament to and a subjective barometer of fashion's evolving aesthetic and cultural norms."—Ezra Petronio, art director and founder of Self Service

*28 years, 112 seasons, 56 issues, 18,431 pages, 3,397 advertising pages, 314 brands.

Near Fine copy with light wear and light spine crease.

File under: Raf Simons Comme des Garçons A.P.C. Prada Miu Miu Issey Miyake Chloé Balenciaga Jacquemus Ezra Petronio Hussein Chalayan Alexander McQueen Hermés Céline Yohji Yamamoto Eckhaus Latta Jil Sander Calvin Klein Viktor & Rolf Yves Saint Laurent Susan Cianciolo Marc Jacobs BLESS Fendi Koji Tatsuno Gucci Botetega Veneta Zucca Helmut Lang IDEA / London Fashion Graphic Design / Typography Out-of-print / Rare Photography

Guy Bourdin
67 POLAROIDS

2004, English
Softcover, 96 pages, 12 x 17 cm
Ed. of 1000 (mostly destroyed),
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / fine
Published by Star Publishing / Paris

$600.00 - In stock -

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First edition of this exceptionally rare Guy Bourdin title. Due to a copyright restriction almost the entire print run of only 1000 copies of the book were destroyed immediately upon release, leaving only a few copies out in the wild. This is one of those few. 67 Polaroids is the most personal and behind-the-scenes of any of Bourdin's books, presenting a stunning selection of his personal polaroids, most of which were taken during the production of some of his most familiar photo shoots. Captures an intimate and moody glimpse into the creativity of Bourdin not seen elsewhere. Beautifully compiled. "These images step outside the safety of the fashion shoot, conjuring a real-life realm steeped in an ominous sexuality."

Guy Bourdin (1928 – 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with Vogue as well as other publications including Harper's Bazaar. He shot ad campaigns for Chanel, Charles Jourdan, Pentax and Bloomingdale's. He is considered as one of the best known photographers of fashion and advertising of the second half of the 20th century, setting the stage for a new kind of fashion photography. A protégé of Man Ray, Bourdin like his teacher often brought an edge of menace or discomfort to his eroticism. "While conventional fashion images make beauty and clothing their central elements, Bourdin’s photographs offer a radical alternative." The first retrospective exhibition of his work was held at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London in 2003, and then toured the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, and the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris. The Tate is permanently exhibiting a part of its collection (one of the largest) with works made between 1950 and 1955.

Fine copy.

File under: Guy Bourdin Star Publishing / Paris Eros Photography Out-of-print / Rare Fashion

Pleats Please by Issey Miyake / Issey Miyake by Irving Penn
Two-volume Exhibition Catalogue, 1990

1990, English / Japanese
Softcover (two-volume catalogue house in original printed cardboard sleeve w. invitation), 21 x 30 cm, 40 pages / 20 pages / folded invitation
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Touko Museum of Contemporary Art / Tokyo

$280.00 - Out of stock

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The incredibly rare and beautiful two-volume catalogue edition, issued in conjunction with the exhibition "Issey Miyake: Pleats Please" at Touko Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, 1990.

This is a first (only) edition printing in VG—fine condition, with additional inserted exhibition folding invitation to the private reception in 1990.

Housed in their original printed cardboard folder/pocket, these two publications, designed by Ikko Tanaka, both feature text in English and Japanese. Volume one: "Pleats Please by Issey Miyake" examines the exhibition "Issey Miyake: Pleats Please", which saw the first presentation of renowned Japanese designer Issey Miyake's new technique called garment pleating, in which the garments are cut and sewn first, then sandwiched between layers of paper and fed into a heat press, where they are pleated. The fabric's 'memory' holds the pleats and when the garments are liberated from their paper cocoon, they are ready-to wear. Miyake's pleating works were first exhibited here in 1990, three years before the launch of the famous line "Pleats Please" in 1993. The publication documents production and installation photography from the exhibitions, where the garments were set into a custom built floor system.

Volume Two: "Issey Miyake by Irving Penn", features stunning photography by the great Irving Penn, of each of Issey Miyake's first "Pleats Please" garments together with a poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa.

This is truely a collector's item for any Issey Miyake enthusiast or collector, marking the beginning of "Pleats Please" through the photography of Irving Penn. This copy has been well looked after, with both books in wonderful condition, protected by the original printed folder sleeve, which is also in preserved condition.

VG—F condition all round.

File under: Irving Penn Issey Miyake Shuntaro Tanikawa Touko Museum of Contemporary Art / Tokyo Fashion Out-of-print / Rare Photography Textiles Art

1968, Dutch
Softcover (staple-bound), 12 pages, 27.5 x 21 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Stedelijk Museum / Amsterdam

$70.00 - Out of stock

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One of the rarest of the wonderful Wim Crouwel-designed Stedelijk Museum catalogues (SM Nr. 430), published on the occasion of the Een modebeeld exhibition, showcasing the work of 4 young Dutch avant-garde fashion-designers : Alice Edeling, Berry Brun, Maarten van Dreven, Jan Jansen. Beautifully spot colour printed (including metallics) on thick raw pink card stock, the special design of the book features a fashion doll on the cover which can be dressed with fashion designs from inside by the featured designers. Includes drawings, some portraits of designers involved, biographies and notes on each designer. This was the first presentation of shoes by iconic Amsterdam shoe designer Jan Jansen.

Very Good copy, light wear/light tanning.

File under: Wim Crouwel Alice Edeling Berry Brun Maarten van Dreven Jan Jansen Stedelijk Museum / Amsterdam Fashion Textiles Out-of-print / Rare Art Graphic Design / Typography

Oskar Kokoschka: The Painter As a Playwright
by Henry I. Schvey

1983, English
Hardcover (w. dust jacket), 164 pages, 23.5 x 23.5 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / good
Published by Wayne State University / Detroit

$50.00 - In stock -

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First 1983 hardcover edition.

The Austrian painter Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980) is primarily known as an exponent of Expressionism in the visual arts, through his paintings and through his graphics. His role in the history of modern German drama has rarely been acknowledged, although he was the author of five plays, written over a period of fifty years. Murderer Hope of Women, The Burning Bush, Job, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Comenius are dramatic visual spectacles on themes recurrent in Kokoschka's paintings and graphic work.

Oskar Kokoschka: The Painter as Playwright focuses on the visual elements of the stage works, specifically on the use of color, light, and scenic imagery in their dramatic as well as their symbolic function. It pays close attention to the stylistically and thematically related pictorial works and takes account of Kokoschka's illustrations for each of his plays.

This is the first complete critical discussion of Kokoschka's dramas to appear in any language; it is also the first consideration of Kokoschka's work from an interdisciplinary perspective. Included are over fifty photographs, many of them in color. The text is based on much previously unpublished information, the result of the author's many hours of recorded interviews with Kokoschka and his extensive correspondence with Kokoschka's wife, Olda.

This study eloquently shows the paintings, graphics, and dramas of Oskar Kokoschka to be one "language of images" and identifies him as one of the foremost innovators of twentieth-century theater, the first German Expressionist dramatist.

Good—VG copy, general overall wear, small closed tear to jacket top-back.

File under: Oskar Kokoschka Henry I. Schvey Wayne State University / Detroit Out-of-print / Rare Performance / Dance / Theater Painting Drawing Art Theory / Essay

Special Make-Up in the Movie, Technique of Special Make-Up
Vol. 1 + 2

1984 / 1985, Japanese
Softcover (dust-jacket), 96 pages, 29.7 x 21 cm
1st Edition, Out of print title / used / very good
Published by Takeshobo Co. / Tokyo

$180.00 - Out of stock

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Volume 1 and 2 (the only two ever made) of the amazing Japanese SFX Make-Up manuals/fan resources Special Make-Up in the Movie (1984) and Technique of Special Make-Up (1985), published in Tokyo at the height of the home video revolution of the 1980s. Edited by writer Yoshikazu Takeuchi (creator of Perfect Blue), these collectible and visually explosive publications survey some of the finest examples of make-up and prosthetic/mechanical effects in horror and science fiction film, each volume profusely illustrated with a visual history of special make-up in the movies including colour and b/w film stills and behind-the-scenes imagery from the productions of masters such as Tom Savini, Rick Baker, Ray Harryhausen, Dick Smith, Carlo Rambaldi, Rob Bottin, Chris Walas, and many more! What makes these publications extra special though is the tutorials with step-by-step visual guides to replicating your favourite special effects moments and making your own DIY monster make-up, full-face masks, monster suits, prosthetics and mechanics, from latex casting, wiring and application right through to scripting, modelling, shooting and editing your own complete SFX movie scenes with behind the scenes illustrated guides to every step. Lots of great production and studio images and each edition closing with a reference library of journals on the subjects covered - a real treasure for any gore/horror/monster/sci-fi movie production fan.

File under: Tom Savini Rick Baker Ray Harryhausen Dick Smith Carlo Rambaldi Rob Bottin Chris Walas Yoshikazu Takeuchi Takeshobo Co. / Tokyo Weird / Speculative / Science Fiction Out-of-print / Rare Film / Video