Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Nan Goldin - The Ballad of Sexual Depencency


Flatsigned by Goldin to titlepage. Nan Goldin's masterpiece. Cited in Roth, Parr, The Photobook, The Open Book, Hasselblad Center, M. + M. Auer etc. "Nan Goldin's The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is a visual diary chronicling the struggle for intimacy and understanding between friends, family, and lovers—collectively described by Goldin as her “tribe.” Her work describes a world that is visceral, charged, and seething with life. Her lush color photography and candid style demand that the viewer go beyond the surface to encounter a profound intensity. As Goldin writes: “Real memory, which these pictures trigger, is an invocation of the color, smell, sound, and physical presence, the density and flavor of life.” Through an accurate and detailed record of her life, Ballad reveals Goldin’s personal odyssey as well as a more universal understanding of the different languages men and women speak, and the struggle between autonomy and dependency. Over the past twenty-five years, the influence of Ballad on photography and other aesthetic realms has continually grown, making the work a contemporary classic. Nan Goldin’s story of urban life on the fringe was the swan song of an era that reached its peak in the early eighties." Scarce signed and in such good condition.

Comme des Garcons 1975-1982


This is the one. Has all the pre Paris collections, from the first campaign in 1975 running to the first years in Paris (1981/1982). Numerous Japanese photographers such as Kazumi Kurigami, Hajime Sawatari (!) and Daiho Yoshida, but the surprise is Bruce Weber, Deborah Turbeville and Sarah Moon. Also has the very early Lindbergh work. Just over 200 pages of brilliance. One of the most sought after (and rare) fashion photography/reference books ever produced. A beautiful object.

Justine Kurland - Spirit West


Surprisingly (for such a recent book) very scarce. Rather surreal and almost Fauconesque (well maybe not) landscapes populated by teenage girls. Kurland came to prominence in the show 'Another Girl, Another Planet ' with tableau landscapes of the wastelands at the edges of suburbs, populated by unsupervised children and teenagers. All of the work here was developed with a similar idea in mind, albeit on a much larger scale. "I'm always thinking about painting: nineteenth-century English picturesque landscapes and the utopian ideal, genre paintings, and also Julia Margaret Cameron's photographs. I started going to museums at an early age, but my imagery is equally influenced by illustrations from the fairy tales I read as a child." A superb work of what Kurland calls the "Degraded Sublime". Pretty magic.

Paolo Roversi - Secrets (signed)


Sold out immediately! Which came as a surprise to me, but is is probably his nicest book so far, beautiful production and such a beautiful, delicate object. Some commercial and personal work, a beautiful selection. A very personal book, really sums up his practice. This copy is also signed!