hyde or die

You know what time it is? It’s “Book I Want, Do Not Have, and Cannot Afford” time!

This week’s edition is Phaidon’s new monograph on the one and only Marina Abramovic. While this one isn’t a million dollars, $49.95 is still a pretty penny to shell out for a book at this juncture in time, and I need my margarita money. Back to the book!

• Marina Abramovic (b.1946) is a pivotal figure whose performance-based works have revolutionized visual art and continue to be embraced by the latest generation of artists, critics and art historians
• Her iconic endurance works have featured prominently in virtually every comprehensive survey of performance art
• With a career that spans more than thirty years, Abramovic continues to produce groundbreaking new work, including the acclaimed seven-day performance Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim in 2005
• As the first book in more than a decade to look at her work in its entirety, this monograph will offer a fresh take on an artist whose work is key to understanding the latest developments in contemporary art.

I can’t handle it. Now I’m depressed. Not really, but a little.

February 23, 2010, 1:25pm  

Time for my favorite and whiny feature, “Book I Want, Do Not Have, and Cannot Afford”.

What could this week’s tome be? From none other than the always luxurious Assouline comes a retrospective on Olivier Theysken’s career told through photographs of the realy behind the scenes action. The title: The Other Side Of The Picture, the photographer: Julien Claessens, the price: $120.

In the decade since, he has lent his power to two international brands, “restoring the fortunes,” as Vogue put it, of the house of Rochas, and then moving on to Nina Ricci as artistic director. His work has appeared on the cover of French, British, and American Vogue worn by Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, among other stars. Even the most casually fashion conscious consumers know his name, his striking face, and his dark, soft, and often-flattering aesthetic.

In this special edition book, photographer Julien Claessens looks back at his whirlwind career thus far. Claessens, who was given unprecedented backstage access to Theyskens’ fashion shows, beautifully captures the designer’s romantic and mysterious oeuvre. via…

February 18, 2010, 3:03pm  

In this weeks edition of my most indulgent feature, here comes “Book I Really Want, Do Not Have, and Cannot Afford”.

Taschen has come out with a collector’s edition of an extrememly covetable book of one of my fave photographers, Dennis Hopper.

During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, in diners, bars and galleries, driving on freeways and walking on political marches. He photographed movie idols, pop stars, writers, artists, girlfriends, and complete strangers. Along the way he captured some of the most intriguing moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye. A reluctant icon at the epicenter of that decade’s cultural upheaval, Hopper documented the likes of Tina Turner in the studio, Andy Warhol at his first West Coast show, Paul Newman on set, and Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. via…

Swooning for days.  However, at a robust $700, I will not be adding it to my collection…YET!!!

February 05, 2010, 3:32pm