The Frieze Art Fair is the London artworld’s largest, annual contemporary art event. This year the 8th edition of the Regent’s Park show includes 173 galleries from 29 countries, along with an enormous sculpture park, films, music, workshops, talks and special commissions from Stephen Sutcliffe, Elizabeth Price and Jess Flood-Paddock.
The fair runs from October 14 through October 17.
Thanks to reader Jeff Hill for this post.
New York City born, Dallas-based artist Matthew Cusick creates these ethereal images using maps, atlas pages, books, acrylics, coffee, wood and aluminum.
Fiona's Wave
Chasing The Dragon
Red & Blue (detail)
Colony
Located just a block east of the historic New York Public Library at Bryant Park, the new D’Espresso coffee bar takes the comforting library environment and flips it on its side. Anurag Nema and his design team at nemaworkshop created tiles printed with sepia-toned photographs of bookshelves from a NYC bookshop to line the floor, wall and ceiling.
The back wall is covered in herringbone-patterned dark oak flooring. And globe lighting juts out horizontally from backlit glass panels that look like skylights. It all lends the coffeeshop a slightly hallucinatory ambiance.
D’Espresso, at 317 Madison Avenue, is the second store of a projected 10-shop chain. The owner, Eugene Kagansky says that he plans for the next coffee bar to be “upside down”.
Lighthouses were often time located in remote areas and as such had no access to city services such as libraries, bookshops, entertainment, etc. that most people enjoyed who lived in a town or city. As light keeping was a lonely profession, in most cases supplies were brought to them by lighthouse tender ships. One of the items the tender supplied was a library box on each visit as pictured above. Library boxes were filled with a variety of genres and switched from station to station to supply different reading materials to the families.
In 1876 portable libraries were first introduced in the U.S. by Light-House Establishment and furnished to all light vessels and inaccessible offshore light stations with a selection of reading materials. These libraries were contained in a portable wooden case, each with a printed listing of the contents posted inside the door. Proper arrangements were made for the exchange of these libraries at intervals, and for revision of the contents as books became obsolete in accordance with suggestions obtained from public library authorities.
The books were carefully selected to be family appropriate. While largely fiction, other classes of literature were included in reasonable proportions including technical books when requested. The books and periodicals contained in the libraries remained the property of the Light-House Establishment and each was marked in the front with the official Light-House Establishment bookplate. The beautiful 3″ x 4 ½” bookplate label bears a wonderful image of an iron pile lighthouse and Minot’s Ledge Light, and a lightship and bears the words “The Property of the Light House Establishment”.
Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans on October 11, 1925, so is celebrating his 85th birthday next week. In
the 1950s, he wrote western novels and short stories, and finished his first crime novel, The Big Bounce, in 1969. In 1984, La Brava was voted the best novel by the Mystery Writers of America. In 1995, Get Shorty was made into a hit movie, which further spread the word about Leonard. He’s won 14 major literary awards; and his work has been made into 21 feature films, seven television movies and three TV series, including the current hit FX’s Justified (starring Timothy Olyphant). He’s been on the New York Times bestseller list 17 times, and with William Morrow’s publication of Djibouti (his 44th novel) on October 12, 2010, it will be 18.
You can help celebrate “the Dicken of Detroit’s” birthday by sending him a birthday card from a special Harper Collins website.
Liverpool launches a John Lennon Tribute Season on what would have been his 70th birthday, October 9, with the unveiling of a new peace monument, titled “Peace & harmony”, in Chavasse Park, a five-acre city center park overlooking the River Mersey. The monument, by American artist, 19-year-old Lauren Voiers, was commissioned by the California-based Global Peace Initiative after Lennon’s son Julian had seen some of Voiers’ peace-themed work.
The John Lennon Tribute Season culminates December 9, the day after the 30th anniversary of Lennon’s death, with a giant charity concert at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. The two month program will include exhibitions, walking and taxi tours, poetry competitions, gigs, concerts and a range of cultural events. One event we particularly like the look of is the Bed-in at the Bluecoat – 62 days and 62 occupiers of the bed – commemorating Lennon’s 1969 bed-ins for peace.
Bed-In at the Bluecoat celebrates John Lennon’s commitment to peace and pays homage to one of the actions that he and Yoko Ono carried out in 1969, immediately after they were married. Their week long bed-ins for peace, staged first in Amsterdam then in Montreal, were expressions of non-violent protest against war.
The exciting project forms part of Liverpool City Council’s John Lennon Tribute Season, which marks two crucial anniversaries; what would have been Lennon’s 70th birthday and the 30th anniversary of his assassination. The Bed-In has been endorsed by Yoko Ono, who has a long-standing relationship with the Bluecoat, where she performed in 1967 and again in 2008.
Yoko said; “‘I think it’s wonderful that they will be doing the Bed-In. There should be many lively discussions, with the visitors and the couple in the bed, just like there were at the time John and I did it. There is much to discuss in terms of War and Peace now.”
How to apply: Bed-In at the Bluecoat invites proposals from anyone who wishes to contribute to John and Yoko’s tradition of non-violent action for a better world, using the format of occupying a double-bed sited publicly at the Bluecoat.
Bryan Biggs, Artistic Director at the Bluecoat said: “We want participants to experiment with the framework of the bed-in. Actions can be serious, humorous, commemorative or provocative. John and Yoko used the bed to hold a series of conversations with the media, but they also lounged about in their pajamas, cuddled, sniffed flowers and sang.”
Other special events include the Astrid Kirchherr Retrospective of at the Victoria Gallery of Art, which features
Beatles photographs from the early 1960s and concerts at the celebrated Cavern Club .
Out-of-print and in demand
Every year BookFinder.com tracks the most sought-after out-of-print titles in America. In this, the eighth edition, several books garnered enough attention for publishers to re-print them in the near future. They also find some out-of-print mainstays which are unlikely to see a printer again despite their popularity. But above all they collected the top 100 most sought after out-of print titles in America over the past 12 months, and here they are.
Full disclosure: Bookfinder is an indirect outlet for some of my books and links to my bookstore sites.
Born Collectibles:
If bookies took bets on out-of-print books our money would be on these titles staying off the presses for good.
Sex by Madonna
This explicit collection features photos of the Material Girl, without the material, has been a collector’s item since it first hit shelves in 1992. Since Madonna is never one to do something twice, and the fact that the once highly controversial book is less edgy than it once was leads us to guess that Sex will remain out-of-print.
Promise Me Tomorrow by Nora Roberts
The Queen of Romance; Nora Roberts, has actively persuaded her loyal fan base to avoid this early novel for years. She hopes Promise Me Tomorrow is never republished. We suspect a used bookshop is the only place you will find this title.
Bound for New Life:
The following books are set to be reprinted within the following year
Old Southern Apples by Creighton Lee Calhoun
A reference guide describing over 1,800 apple varieties from The America South, both extant and extinct.
The Centurions by Jean Larteguy
Set during the First Indochina War, this classic French novel has been out-of-print in the US since 1962. The Centurions was made famous as the first novel to include “the ticking time bomb” scenario which debates whether the use of torture can be justified.
Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore
Last published in 1997, Aran Knitting is described by knitting enthusiasts as the definitive guide to the Irish Aran sweater. It includes a history of Aran knitting as well as a complete workshop in technique, pattern, and design.
Out-of-Print Book Trends:
Last year, in the wake of a massive stock market crash, we saw a rush on personal finance and banking policy books as people tried to understand what had taken place and how to recover. In 2010 manuals and do-it-yourself guides for sewing, home repair, and other productive pastimes have become more prevalent in this iteration of the BookFinder.com Report as people return to a more frugal lifestyle.
Basic Building Data: 10,000 Timeless Construction Facts by Don Graf
A compendium of tables and facts for architects, designers, homeowners, builders, and anyone with an interest in selecting the right materials, location, and layout for any size construction project; out-of-print since 1985.
Principles of Knitting: Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt
Knitting circles have preached the usefulness of this book for years. Principles of Knitting goes into extreme detail on how and when to cast on, cast off, pick up stitches and anything else a personal knitting mentor would teach you.
The Lovely Reed: An Enthusiasts Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods by Jack Howell
Fly fishing is as popular as ever and this classic guide book is considered by many to be the bible for fishermen looking to build their own bamboo rods, which if you are buying artisan rods can cost upwards of $1000.
Top 100 most sought after out-of-print books in 2010
| 1 | Madonna | Sex |
| 2 | Ray Garton | In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting |
| 3 | Harry Douglas Smith | The Secret of Instantaneous Healing |
| 4 | Don Graf | Basic Building Data: 10,000 Timeless Construction Facts |
| 5 | Nora Roberts | Promise Me Tomorrow |
| 6 | Dennis Potter | Ticket to Ride |
| 7 | Luigi Serafini | Codex Seraphinianus |
| 8 | Allan D. Richter | Eve of the End |
| 9 | Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) | Rage |
| 10 | Rasiel Suarez | ERIC : The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins |
| 11 | Beatrice Farwell | Manet and the Nude : A Study of Iconography in the Second Empire |
| 12 | Anne Alexander | The Pink Dress |
| 13 | Alice Starmore | Aran Knitting |
| 14 | J Mordaunt Crook | William Burges and the High Victorian Dream |
| 15 | Ferdinand Pecora | Wall St. Under Oath; The Story of our Modern Money Changers |
| 16 | Desmond Young | Ship Ashore; Adventures in Salvage |
| 17 | José Garcia Villa | Footnote to Youth |
| 18 | Jean Larteguy | The Centurions |
| 19 | June Hemmons Hiatt | The Principles of Knitting: Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting |
| 20 | Andrew Loomis | Creative Illustration |
| 21 | Carl Sagan | Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record |
| 22 | Stephen King | My Pretty Pony |
| 23 | Ben Bova | The Star Conquerors |
| 24 | Todd S. Goodholme | Goodholme’s Domestic Cyclopedia of Practical Information |
| 25 | David Williams | Second Sight |
| 26 | Rubin “Hurricane” Carter | The Sixteenth Round: from Number 1 Contender to #45472 |
| 27 | Associated Press | The Torch is Passed: The Associated Press Story of The Death of a President |
| 28 | Kyle Onstott | Mandingo |
| 29 | George Robert Elford | Devil’s Guard |
| 30 | Norman Mailer | Marilyn: A Biography |
| 31 | Leo S. Figiel | On Damascus Steel |
| 32 | Harry Twyford Peters | Currier & Ives: Printmakers to the American People |
| 33 | Cameron Crowe | Fast Times at Ridgemont High |
| 34 | David Freedman | Brownian Motion and Diffusion |
| 35 | Charles M. Russell | Good Medicine; The Illustrated Letters of Charles M. Russell |
| 36 | Ray Bradbury | Dark Carnival |
| 37 | Derren Brown | Pure Effect : Direct Mind Reading and Magical Artistry |
| 38 | Philip K. Dick | Gather Yourselves Together |
| 39 | Elmer Keith | Hell, I Was There! |
| 40 | Glen Cook | She Is The Darkness |
| 41 | Anna Elizabeth Bennett | Little Witch |
| 42 | Tom Lea | The King Ranch |
| 43 | Jack Howell | The Lovely Reed : An Enthusiasts Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods |
| 44 | Donald Hamilton | The Big Country |
| 45 | Watt Piper | The Bumper Book; a Harvest of Stories and Verses |
| 46 | Charles M. Garnier | Legends of Ireland |
| 47 | Walt Kelly | I Go Pogo |
| 48 | Arthur Koestler | The Act of Creation |
| 49 | John Blaine | The Magic Talisman |
| 50 | Paul Gallico | Jennie |
| 51 | Laura Bannon | The Wonderful Fashion Doll |
| 52 | Ferdinand Sauerbruch | A Surgeon’s Life |
| 53 | Nan Gilbert | 365 Bedtime Stories |
| 54 | Salvador Dali, illustrator | The Jerusalem Bible |
| 55 | Allen Drury | Advise and Consent |
| 56 | C.S. Lewis | The Allegory of Love: A Study in Medieval Tradition |
| 57 | Kate Holmes | Too Good to Be Threw : The Complete Operations Manual for Consignment Shops |
| 58 | Clancy Holling | The Book of Indians |
| 59 | John Burnet | Platonism |
| 60 | Christine Noble Govan | The Pink Maple House |
| 61 | Paul Hoffman | To Drop a Dime |
| 62 | R.P. Hunnicutt | Stuart: A History of the American Light Tank |
| 63 | Madeleine L’Engle | Ilsa |
| 64 | Fred A. Hinchey | Vectors and Tensors for Engineers and Scientists |
| 65 | Jack S. Levy | War in the Modern Great Power System, 1495-1975 |
| 66 | Marriner S. Eccles | Beckoning Frontiers : Public and Personal Recollections |
| 67 | Ricky Jay | Cards As Weapons |
| 68 | Charles Flato | The Golden Book of the Civil War |
| 69 | Jan Wolkers | Turkish Delight |
| 70 | John K. Hahn with Harold C. Mckenney | Legally Sane |
| 71 | Arthur Guptill | Norman Rockwell, Illustrator |
| 72 | F. Spencer Chapman | Living Dangerously |
| 73 | William S. Baring-Gould, editor | The Annotated Sherlock Holmes |
| 74 | Maurice O’Connor Drury | The Danger of Words |
| 75 | A.E. Gutnov and A. Baburov | The Ideal Communist City |
| 76 | John D. Green | Birds of Britain |
| 77 | Richard P Hunnicutt | Sherman. A History Of The American Medium Tank |
| 78 | Brian Shul | Sled Driver: Flying the World’s Fastest Jet |
| 79 | Marie Simmons | Pancakes A to Z |
| 80 | Mark A. Baker | Sons of a Trackless Forest : The Cumberland Long Hunters of the Eighteenth Century |
| 81 | Laura London | The Windflower |
| 82 | James Virgil Howe | The Modern Gunsmith |
| 83 | David Grafton | The Sisters: Babe Mortimer Paley, Betsy Roosevelt Whitney, Minnie Astor Fosburgh |
| 84 | John Cage | Notations |
| 85 | Josef Koudelka | Gypsies: Photographs |
| 86 | Thomas Craven | A Treasury of American Prints – A Selection of One Hundred Etchings and Lithogrphas by the Foremost Living American Artists |
| 87 | Creighton Lee Calhoun | Old Southern Apples |
| 88 | A.C.H. Smith | Labyrinth |
| 89 | Henry W. Simon | A Treasury of Grand Opera |
| 90 | J. R. Hartley | Fly Fishing: Memories of Angling Days |
| 91 | Nicholas Guild | The Blood Star |
| 92 | Charles Thomson | The Septuagint Bible |
| 93 | Curtis Richards | Halloween |
| 94 | Cahal B. Daly | Morals, Law and Life. An Examination of the Book: The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law |
| 95 | Nicholas A. Brawer | British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 |
| 96 | Mary and Vincent Price | A Treasury of Great Recipes |
| 97 | Lynne Cheney | Sisters |
| 98 | Catherine Anderson | Comanche Magic |
| 99 | Alan Raven and John Roberts | British Battleships of World War Two |
| 100 | Johnny Cash | Man in Black |
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. There is also a series of PostSecret books published by Harper Collins, and “PostSecret Live” – a multi-media presentation by Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret. Audience members can see postcards that were banned from the books, hear the inspiring and funny stories behind the secrets, and share their secrets at the microphone. The schedule for upcoming performances (many sold out) in on the site.
You can also check-out PostSecrets on Youtube.
The daring, imaginative Bulgarian artist/graphic designer/illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov has created a terrific website to showcase his hilarious, but biting, Mapping Stereotypes.
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