“New Fashion Photography” Book From Prestel Launches With Exhibit.

The latest fashion tome from publisher Prestel, “New Fashion Photography,” had a living launch on the walls of Berlin’s CONTRIBUTED Gallery on April 12th. The gallery is displaying the best images as limited edition art works until May 18.


above: An image from Yasunara Kikuma featured in "New Fashion Photography"

The 21st century has brought about seismic changes in photography, technology, fashion, and art. At the nexus of these exciting movements is a group of fashion photographers who are breaking ground in a variety of ways, including cultural referencing, digital imaging, photo manipulation, and the use of new media. The stunningly illustrated book "New Fashion Photography" profiles 28 artists from around the world. New fashion portraiture is challenging conventional ideas of beauty by confronting us with the unexpected. The photographers explore new avenues previously off-limits, opening the art of fashion photography to thrilling possibilities.



The book, which was edited by Paul Sloman and Tim Blanks, includes images from the following photographers:
Nick Knight, Miles Aldridge, Rankin, Markus + Indrani, René Habermacher, Ruven Afanador, Chadwick Tyler, Yelena Yemchuk, Paola Kudacki, Aram Bedrossian, Daniel Sannwald, Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello, Sean + Seng, LaRoache Brothers, Alice Hawkins, Kourtney Roy, Eugenio Recuenco, Wing Shya, Bruno Dayan, Paco Peregrín, Takahiro Ogawa, Pierre Debusschere, Catherine Servel, Serge Leblon, Daniel Jackson, Sean Ellis, Daniele & Iango, Yasunari Kikuma.

All in all, more than 30 photographers are featured in a selection Sloman calls “hierarchy-free.”


above: Wing Shya is known for his work with filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai.

“The book is an exciting combination of big-name heavy-hitters that many people will recognize and a younger wave of experimental photographers who have been either inspired or nurtured by them,” said Sloman, who wasn’t in Berlin for the event.


above: An image from Takahiro Ogawa that appears in Prestel's "New Fashion Photography" book.

Famous faces include Daphne Guinness, Lady Gaga and Lana Del Rey, and a host of models like Iris Strubegger, Liya Kebede and Carolyn Murphy.


above: A photo from Sanchez and Mongielle that appears in Prestel's "New Fashion Photography" book.

“High-end fashion photography in the 21st century is creating amazing escapist worlds, but at the same time these images go very much to the heart of the way we think about ourselves,” Sloman commented.


above: Lily Cole photographed by the LaRoache Brothers.


above: An image from Kourtney Roy that appears in Prestel's "New Fashion Photography" book.


above: A photo from Spanish photographer Eugenio Recueno that appears in Prestel's "New Fashion Photography" book.


above: Newcomer Aram Bedrossian has only been shooting for a couple of years but has earned inclusion in Prestel's "New Fashion Photography" book.

The 224-page hardcover book sells for 34.95 euros in Germany and will sell for $49.99 in the U.S. But, Amazon has it available to pre-order for only $29.81

Like John Hamm? Like Puns? Look No Further, Here's the Punny Jon Hamm Coloring Book.

Created by Toronto based art and design collective, Team Art, are 14 pages of various and hilarious Jon Hamm expressions paired with the appropriate puns; Hamm and Eggs, Summer Hamm and Gianni Proscuitto to name a few.

sample pages:





Size: 4 x 5.5 inches (10 x 13.5 cm)
Handmade in Canada
Please allow subtle differences in each book as they are all individually made.


$11.48 USD, buy it here.

The Coolest Coloring Books For Grown-Ups Part III - 25 New Adult Coloring Books for 2012-2013

My previous two posts, The Top 30 Coolest Coloring Books For Grown-Ups and The Coolest Coloring Books For Grown-Ups, Part II. Twenty New Ones for 2011-2012 still receive plenty of attention (and most are still available for purchase). But hold onto your Crayolas (or colored pencils or Sharpies) because I've got a slew of new and awesome coloring books for grown-ups that range from erotic to artsy, for 2012-2013. These make fabulous holiday gifts for friends, co-workers and even for yourself.

Dogeared Design. The Folded Book Art of Isaac G. Salazar.

 

 Isaac G. Salazar is a completely self taught American book artist located in Artesia, NM. With a degree in accounting, he works as a full time accountant. Having never having taken an art class, he discovered his talent for folding the pages of books to create imagery while trying to find a hobby he could enjoy. Only recently did he begin to refer to himself as 'an artist.

  Shapes, Symbols and Logos: Isaac's work is getting more and more attention lately. His pieces have appeared in the following ad campaign for the Filigranes Librarie: The April 2012 issue of Reader's Digest' featured his work on the table of contents (below) and an interview with the artist:

   

above photo by Sam Kaplan, courtesy of Reader's Digest 

 His inspiration comes from multiple things and places - such as browsing the used book section for titles that stand out to him. He attempts to make a correlation between the book titles and the symbols he creates within their pages, such as the recycle symbol created in a book titled "A World with out Trees".

   

 By taking books that would otherwise end up in a landfill and turning them into art, he gets a sense of satisfaction that his hobby can contribute to reducing waste. Custom names and words in books with personal meaning make great gifts.

   

 He rarely uses new books, unless commissioned to. Recently he has ventured into logos and symbols and would like to pursue this area more. 

   

above: Isaac G. Salazar and his book art featuring his own surname 

 

all images courtesy of the artist. 

 His etsy store His flickr photos

Sleevefaces. Vinyl Visages That Are So Simple And Yet So Captivating.

Sleeveface is a website that showcases the illusion of people replacing their own body parts with album covers - in most cases their heads. Some of them are hilarious, others seamlessly constructed and still others compellingly bizarre (no photoshopping allowed).

While the quality of the photographs is mediocre at best (some are out of focus, others poorly lit) it doesn't detract from the amusing appeal.



Founded in 2007, the site began as an idea, then a website and now, a book

As founder Carl Morris describes it "It started with a Paul McCartney sleeve, then swiftly led to one or more persons in Cardiff, Wales having TOO MUCH fun ransacking their record shelves – from Rolling Stones to Nugent to Bowie to Cymande to Streisand. And people brandishing cameras yelling “up a bit, down a bit”. (You can view the "How to Sleeveface" video at the end of this post).

Here are some of the best (some have been cropped or altered for better visibility) :






















Sleeveface the book, a 192-page compilation of Sleeveface pictures, was compiled by Carl Morris and John Rostron with the help of friends – and talented contributors from around the world.




If you'd like to submit your own "sleeveface" you can send it to their website, join their Facebook group and upload it there or join the group pool on Flickr

How To Sleeveface:


A special thanks to Mike Yagi for bringing this to my attention.