Edited by Carol McCranie, Javier Magri. Introduction by Debbie Harry. Text by Carol McCranie. Designed by Nick Vogelson.
Drawn from an archive comprised of 1,500 separate pieces, including 600 original drawings, color Xeroxes, swatch references and inspiration materials, Stephen Sprouse: Xerox/Rock/Art presents a revelatory look at Sprouse’s design work from the mid-1970s through the late 1980s--a period characterized by the artist/designer’s participation in and connection to the glamorous studios of Bill Blass and Halston and his embrace of New York City’s edgy East Village/ Bowery vibe. The works on paper included here reveal Sprouse’s unmistakable energy: his facile and powerful inked lines, his use of the Xerox machine which, in the spirit of Andy Warhol, allowed Stephen to vary gouache color applications. Sprouse’s fashion designs and sketches unmistakably capture the era of disco and punk. Inspirational muses represented here include Jackie Onassis, Patty Hearst, Patti Smith and Debbie Harry of Blondie. In 1978, Harry famously wore an off-the-shoulder creation in a concert that signaled Sprouse’s public debut and the two star talents collaborated for years (Harry also provides the introduction to this volume). Though he was recognized at the tender age of 14 as a design prodigy, Sprouse’s commercial success alternately soared and stalled, but his assuredness of vision and unique concepts have made legendary contributions to the world of fashion. The intimacy of the sketches and designs collected here give the viewer a rare opportunity to draw closer to Stephen Sprouse the artist and his frenetic career.
Stephen Sprouse (1953–2004) launched his first collections in the early 1980s to immediate critical acclaim, selling in venues such as Henry Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman. In the late 1980s, Sprouse opened stores on Wooster St in New York and at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. In 2001, Louis Vuitton incorporated Stephen’s designs into their product line. Sprouse died of heart failure, following a diagnosis of lung cancer, at the age of 50.
Featured image is reproduced from Stephen Sprouse: Xerox/Rock/Art.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Elle Magazine
Noah Silverstein
This 208-page compendium of sketches, drawings, and copy machine art paints a vibrant portrait of an incredibly prolific member of Warhol's infamous factory.
New York Journal of Books
Jeffrey Felner
What is most commendable about this “snapshot” of Sprouse’s work is that there is very little text involved, which allows the reader to focus on the designer’s work rather than any expository explanation of it.
DuJour
Meaghan Hartland
Some of late fashion designer Stephen Sprouse’s work—like those graffiti-style bags for Louis Vuitton—are unforgettable. But some of the work the New York-based designer did has never been seen before. Until now.
Hyperallergic
Alexander Cavaluzzo
this more intimate affair lets us delve deeply into Sprouse’s creative process, dreams, and aspirations. With scans of fabric swatches and cryptic notes flanking glorious marker and pencil sketches, readers get a peek into the glam god’s xeroxed world.
STATUS: Out of stock
Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.
"I’m glad Stephen Sprouse’s drawings and ideas were found and now are being presented in a book," Debbie Harry writes in the Foreword to Stephen Sprouse: Xerox/Rock/Art, Damiani's highly-anticipated collection of the late designer's Xeroxed fashion drawings from the 70s and 80s (which were infamously rescued from a dumpster in front of his former apartment several years ago). "Some of my best times were spent hanging around with Stephen. We giggled and laughed a lot. One of my favorite things to do with him was just to watch him draw with his fluid hands and wrists. The fashions seemed to flow right out of the pen or marker (whatever he was using) almost like an animation. Fascinating. He was always drawing. Fortunately I have some of his work, which he gave me so many years ago.
It was through his drawings that Stephen communicated to me his ideas for combining accessories, pants, jackets, boots, dresses, jewelry and other things for my tours. He would make sketches of which things would go together but also gave me license to mix it up if I was so inspired. So I could open my suitcase and the drawings were there first thing. I think one of the first dresses Stephen gave me was sewn by Joanne, his mother, and the second may have even been made in the Halston studio.
The fact that all of the material included in this book was found in a dumpster on 14th Street in New York City in front of the loft where Stephen lived does not speak well of the landlord who had him evicted from the building. It does not speak well for the way the arts are considered generally by the public or for the care New York City extends to the people who create these works. I am glad that Carol and Javier saved all this material and were in the right place at the right time. Sadly, they could only save as much as they found. This archive could have easily sailed away on a garbage barge down the mighty Hudson and from there I couldn’t say." continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.5 x 11 in. / 208 pgs / illustrated throughout. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $67.5 ISBN: 9788862083706 PUBLISHER: Damiani AVAILABLE: 5/26/2015 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: Out of stock TERRITORY: NA LA
Stephen Sprouse: Xerox/Rock/Art An Archive of Drawings and Ephemera 1970s -1980s
Published by Damiani. Edited by Carol McCranie, Javier Magri. Introduction by Debbie Harry. Text by Carol McCranie. Designed by Nick Vogelson.
Drawn from an archive comprised of 1,500 separate pieces, including 600 original drawings, color Xeroxes, swatch references and inspiration materials, Stephen Sprouse: Xerox/Rock/Art presents a revelatory look at Sprouse’s design work from the mid-1970s through the late 1980s--a period characterized by the artist/designer’s participation in and connection to the glamorous studios of Bill Blass and Halston and his embrace of New York City’s edgy East Village/ Bowery vibe. The works on paper included here reveal Sprouse’s unmistakable energy: his facile and powerful inked lines, his use of the Xerox machine which, in the spirit of Andy Warhol, allowed Stephen to vary gouache color applications. Sprouse’s fashion designs and sketches unmistakably capture the era of disco and punk. Inspirational muses represented here include Jackie Onassis, Patty Hearst, Patti Smith and Debbie Harry of Blondie. In 1978, Harry famously wore an off-the-shoulder creation in a concert that signaled Sprouse’s public debut and the two star talents collaborated for years (Harry also provides the introduction to this volume). Though he was recognized at the tender age of 14 as a design prodigy, Sprouse’s commercial success alternately soared and stalled, but his assuredness of vision and unique concepts have made legendary contributions to the world of fashion. The intimacy of the sketches and designs collected here give the viewer a rare opportunity to draw closer to Stephen Sprouse the artist and his frenetic career.
Stephen Sprouse (1953–2004) launched his first collections in the early 1980s to immediate critical acclaim, selling in venues such as Henry Bendel and Bergdorf Goodman. In the late 1980s, Sprouse opened stores on Wooster St in New York and at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. In 2001, Louis Vuitton incorporated Stephen’s designs into their product line. Sprouse died of heart failure, following a diagnosis of lung cancer, at the age of 50.
