Chronicle Books
Deco landmarks; art deco gems of Los Angeles.
Schwartzman, an Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, also applies his very impressive skills as a writer and graphic designer to this collection of photographs of Art Deco gems found in and on theaters, schools, restaurants, hotels, government buildings, and practically everywhere else in Los Angeles. The 2003 exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum brought Art Deco back; this volume, if studied by scholars, designers and architects, should ensure it will never again go out of fashion. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
I am 8-bit; art inspired by classic videogames of the '80s.
This colorful volume showcases the work of 70 artists — including animators, painters, cartoonists, designers, sculptors, and illustrators — all paying tribute to their favorite videogames of the 1980s. A sampling of the visual delights: an oil painting of Donkey Kong characters sharing a beer; a sculpture that is part grenade and part Pac Man; and plush toys in the shape of mushrooms from Super Mario Bros. Oversize: 9x9 inches. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
If you find the Buddha.
This small-format book (8.5x6 inches) showcases images made by photographer Kalisher of Buddha statues or other Buddha representations observed in a variety of everyday settings where people shop, play, and work, primarily in Asia. Preceding the photos are a brief foreword by writer Jeff Greenwald and an introductory essay by Kalisher in which he explains some thoughts and feelings behind this body of work. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
My favorite place; great athletes in the great outdoors.
Paur, a journalist and frequent contributor to National Public Radio, joins Rich, an adventure sports/action photographer, to present this volume featuring favorite outdoor places — all in the US — of 14 athletes, such as surfer Lisa Andersen, cross-country skier Bill Koch, and mountaineer Ed Viesturs. Ranging from Yosemite Valley and Rock Island State Park in Tennessee, to Putney, Vermont, places are described and shown in full-page color photos, along with the photographer's notes. No bibliography or index is included. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
New chairs; innovations in design, technology, and materials.
Whimsical, sleek, practical and cheeky, the chairs featured in this beautifully illustrated text break traditional concepts about chair design and materials. The examples of inflatable and illuminated chairs show the imaginative ways manufacturing advances can be put to use. Byars (Pratt Institute and the Fashion Institute of Technology) includes drawings, prototypes, photographs of the manufacturing process, and background details. Each example also includes the designer's own words about the process of creation. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The new country style England.
Rasmussen, an interiors and travel photographer, and Grimshaw, a writer, provide a pictorial introduction to the new English country style of design, which blends modern ideas with the country tradition or updates traditional buildings for contemporary use. Many color photos punctuate descriptions of design elements, interiors, objects, and specific houses and hotels and their owners' experiences designing and decorating them. There is no index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
NorCalMod; icons of northern California modernist architecture.
The 300 color and black-and-white photographs in this text provide convincing evidence for Serraino's argument that modernist architecture flowered in California north of the San Fernando Valley. In addition to presenting examples, Serraino, an architect and author, describes the modernist movement as it unfolded in the Bay Area, delineating carefully the debates that surrounded its inception and its eventual decline. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
On this earth; photographs from East Africa.
The dramatic b&w photos of Brandt, which depict the animals and landscapes of the Serengeti, are the sole subject of this volume of plates. There is a foreword by author Alice Sebold and an introduction by Jane Goodall. Oversized: 12.25x10.25 inches. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
One is Adam, one is Superman; the outsider artists of Creative Growth.
Creative Growth is a nonprofit visual art center in Oakland, California that provides art programs to adults with developmental, physical, mental and emotional disabilities. In this volume, Borensztein offers full-page photographic portraits of more than 50 Creative Growth artists along with reproductions of their work and statements by or about themselves. Published to coincide with a major traveling exhibition of Borensztein's photography, this book is a testament to all these individuals who triumph daily against great odds to create their art. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Part Asian, 100% Hapa.
Hapa is a term used by many people whose mixed racial heritage includes Asian or Pacific Island descent. Though there are millions of Hapas — many visible in the fields of popular film, television, print, music, and sports — mainstream awareness of the Hapa population is almost nonexistent. Fulbeck (art, U. of California-Santa Barbara) presents a collection of some 125 simple head-on portraits of Hapas accompanied by brief statements in which the individuals define their Hapa identify in their own words. No subject index. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The visionary state; a journey through California's spiritual landscape.
California has long been the site of a mélange of religious subcultures that have left their marks on the social life of the state, as well as its landscape. This work surveys both, in text and color photographs, focusing on "the restless, heretical edge of the Anglo American experience." Among the profiled structures are Buddhist meditation huts, a Unitarian church in Berkeley, Hindu temples in Hollywood, homes and other buildings in Marin County's Druid Heights, and a converted Queen Anne mansion in San Francisco re-envisioned by Hare Krishnas. The structures seem to have been chosen as much for their striking visual and architectural qualities as for their relationship to California's religious visionaries. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
