Animal Magnetism

Luke Stephenson: An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds

Published by Stephenson Press|YES Editions.
Foreword by Michael Smith.

It all started very innocently I suppose, but then it gradually turned into an obsession .... The first inkling of this obsession came when British photographer Luke Stephenson (born 1983) met an artist who photographed pigeons--side on, against a blank background. Impressed by the simplicity of these images, Stephenson began to photograph birds. His first subjects belonged to the treasurer of the UK Budgie Society, who deemed his portraits "crap" because he had omitted the legs and tails. He subsequently developed an eye for the nuances of bird photography, and, making a specialty of photographing show birds of all kinds, developed the body of work gathered in this volume. While Stephenson's photographs depict these birds with apparent neutrality (against a variety of colored backgrounds), Michael Smith observes in his foreword to this volume that "they live in an overlap between the natural and manmade worlds, and say as much about the culture that created them as they do about nature."

PUBLISHER
Stephenson Press|YES Editions

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 6 x 9 in. / 80 pgs / 60 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 2/28/2014
Out of stock indefinitely

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: SPRING 2014 p. 89   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780957434103 TRADE
List Price: $35.00 CDN $47.50

AVAILABILITY
Not available

Show Dogs: A Photographic Breed Guide

Published by Evil Twin Publications.
Edited by Stacy Wakefield. Photographs by Kate Lacey.

The American Kennel Club recognizes over 160 breeds of dogs in seven categories: Hound, Working, Sporting, Non-sporting, Terrier, Toy and Herding. Thousands of Americans own purebred show dogs, and year round, local kennel clubs host events at which judges evaluate how closely individual dogs conform to breed standard. Ribbons and trophies are bestowed and points are accumulated. The ultimate event in a show dog's life is Westminster--held in New York every year since 1877--which attracts hordes of visitors and an international media bonanza. In 2005 Life magazine assigned photographer Kate Lacey to cover Westminster. She decided that instead of documenting the scene, she would rig up a seamless backdrop to make elegant portraits, much as Richard Avedon once captured glamorous celebrities. Though partial to poodle mutt mixes herself, on this assignment Kate became entranced by show dogs, and their exquisite grooming and acclimatization to attention made them ready subjects. After the assignment ended, she continued traveling to dog shows in a quest to photograph every one of the AKC-recognized breeds. Some of the dogs in Show Dogs are veterans of years of shows, some are champions and some are just puppies; but their achievements in the ring are not the point. With each portrait you'll just see the nickname given by the people who love them, not their official championship names, which convey their titles and lineage. The dogs in this book are like supermodels off duty, showing us a personal side in a candid moment. What we love about these dogs is not their fancy parentage and titles, but exactly what we love about every dog in our lives; their quirky and wonderful dogginess.

PUBLISHER
Evil Twin Publications

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 6.25 x 9 in. / 112 pgs / 168 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 10/31/2010
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2010 p. 174   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780976335535 TRADE
List Price: $16.95 CDN $24.00 GBP £14.99

AVAILABILITY
Not available

Sock Monkeys

(200 out of 1,863)

Published by Ideal World Books.
Photographs by Arne Svenson. Edited by Ron Warren. With contributions by Simon Doonan, Jonathan Safran Foer, Neil Gaiman, Peter Getty, Penn Jillette, M. Raven Metzner, Isaac Mizrahi, Glenn O'Brien, Dale Peck, Ingrid Schaffner.

In 1985 Ron Warren began collecting sock monkeys--those icons of American thrift and inventiveness that for generations have been hand-stitched from a pair of red-heel work socks. Years later he met photographer Arne Svenson (author of the recent popular volume Chewed) who, intrigued by the obsessive nature and growing size of the collection, began with equal obsession to document individually its more than 1,800 examples. To convey the distinct personality imbued in each monkey by its maker, Svenson photographs them in the manner of classical black-and-white portraiture: flatteringly lit, cropped at the shoulders, eyes to the camera. The first 200 of these sock monkey portraits, reproduced larger than life as full-page duotones, are assembled in this book. Invited contributors, including novelists Jonathan Safran Foer, Neil Gaiman and Dale Peck; entertainers Penn & Teller; and fashion commentators Simon Doonan and Isaac Mizrahi, have interjected short stories inspired by the subject of their favorite sock monkey photograph. The result is an engaging, humorous and at times disturbing reanimation of creatures long relegated to the attic or the back of the closet.

PUBLISHER

BOOK FORMAT
Flexibound, 8 x 10 in. / 224 pgs / 2 color / illustrated throughout.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 12/2/2002
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: SPRING 2003 p. 51   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780972211123 TRADE
List Price: $24.95 CDN $33.95 GBP £22.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available

Alexander Calder: Animal Sketching

Published by Editions Dilecta.
Preface by Arnauld Pierre.

Animal Sketching was Alexander Calder's first book, published in New York in 1926 shortly before he left for France. It is a study of about ten animals and their movements, illustrated by numerous drawings, and with short commentaries by Calder on individual species and on problems of caricature, action and pose (or lack thereof). Animal Sketching also provides some insight into his ingenious sculptural work, foreshadowing as it does his famous Miniature Circus of 1927, in which these animals achieved full dimensionality. Following the Whitney Museum's 2008 exhibit on Calder's Paris years, Éditions Dilecta here provides a facsimile of a foundational publication by one of America's most beloved artists. This edition adds a postface by Arnauld Pierre, Calder expert and member of the Calder Foundation board. Beautifully and modestly designed, Animal Sketching is a giftworthy gem that will tickle adults and children alike.

PUBLISHER
Editions Dilecta

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 6.25 x 9 in. / 104 pgs / 140 bw.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 10/31/2009
Out of stock indefinitely

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2009 p. 86   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9782916275536 TRADE
List Price: $45.00 CDN $60.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available

Catholic No.1: Cats

Expanded Second Edition

Published by D.A.P./Evil Twin Publications.
Edited by Jesse Pearson and Glynnis McDaris.

Make us something about cats. This dictum, given to the artists and writers who participated in the 2003 Catholic exhibition at Guild & Greyshkul Gallery in New York, produced--beautiful, startling, thought-provoking, sweet, disturbing--results. According to editors/curators Jesse Pearson and Glynnis McDaris, “If they said 'cats are pretty,' that was fine. If they said 'cats are stupid,' that was fine too. This is Catholic in the spirit of its neglected definition: Having varied tastes. This isn't about eating fish on Fridays... The visual art in Catholic includes photographs by Roe Etheridge, Ryan McGinley, Colin DeLand, Richard Kern, Terence Koh and Terry Richardson; drawings by artists Jim Drain, Sabrina Mansouri, Pieter Schoolwerth and Spencer Sweeney; and projects from Le Tigre's JD Samson, Built-by-Wendy's Wendy Mullen and United Bamboo. Cats also includes Steve Lafreniere's writing on his mother's cat photography, Amber Gayle on brushes with 300-pound mountain lions, Amy Kellner's diatribe on the “Hang in There, Baby” tradition and a poem from Eileen Myles's pet, Avi.

PUBLISHER
D.A.P./Evil Twin Publications

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 7.5 x 8.5 in. / 112 pgs / 80 color / 20 bw.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 5/15/2005
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: SPRING 2005 p. 41   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9781933045153 TRADE
List Price: $25.00 CDN $30.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available

James Mollison: James & Other Apes

Published by Chris Boot.
Text by Jane Goodall.

Fifty great apes--chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and bonobos, our closest biological relatives--are featured in this series of portraits by James Mollison. Photographed over a span of four years in seven ape sanctuaries (in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Germany and the United States), they are mainly orphans, victims of the illicit trade in "bushmeat." Djeke, Fizi, Gregoire, James, Koto and the others are all photographed as unique individuals, in the manner of passport photographs, while representing species whose survival is under threat. Featuring case note biographies and introduced with a powerful essay by Jane Goodall, this book celebrates the great apes. The faces that look back at us also raise profound moral and scientific questions--including what it means to define ourselves "human."

PUBLISHER

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 6.75 x 9 in. / 120 pgs / 50 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 6/30/2009
Out of stock indefinitely

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2009 p. 172   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780954689438 TRADE
List Price: $19.95 CDN $27.95

AVAILABILITY
Not available

Observing Beast, Time, Evolution

Art and Natural Science

Published by Kerber.
Edited by Sabine M. Kunz. Text by Elke Falat, Frederico Geller.

Artists including Mark Dion, Jochen Lempert and Helen Mirra use the Hildesheim Museum's geological collection to employ scientific methodology for their own fictional documentations as amateur scientists.

PUBLISHER
Kerber

BOOK FORMAT
Paperback, 6.75 x 9 in. / 128 pgs / 73 color / 9 bw.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 8/31/2009
Active

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2009 p. 144   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9783866782068 TRADE
List Price: $28.50 CDN $39.00

AVAILABILITY
Out of stock

Renate Müller: Toys & Design

Published by R & Company/Whitehaus Media.
Foreword by Evan Snyderman. Text by Reinhild Schneider.

Made of beige open-weave jute with colored leather accents, Renate Müller's toy animals and shapes are some of the sweetest, most endearing and simply artistic toys that have ever been made. They were conceived in the early 1960s, as part of an endeavor launched by Helene Haeusler at the Sonneberg Technical College for Toy Design in Germany, and were designed to fulfill the need for large, brightly colored stuffed animals to enhance orthopedic exercises and balance coordination for mentally and physically handicapped children. Müller's toys debuted at the Leipzig Fair in 1967, were tested by psychiatric hospitals and clinics throughout Germany and proved a huge hit. In fact, her alligators and rhinos were so lovable, her fabric bowling pins so beautifully made, her hippos and elephants so comforting, that they quickly became coveted by design buffs worldwide, and they have remained so to this day. In 1990, Müller took over the rights to her designs and continues to hand-produce very limited quantities of these classic designs as well as new designs. Renate Müller: Toys + Design is the first monograph on Müller's work available in the United States. Coinciding with a wave of renewed interest in therapeutic toy design, and with Müller's first solo exhibition, at R 20th Century, this volume inspires and delights in equal measure.

PUBLISHER
R & Company/Whitehaus Media

BOOK FORMAT
Clth, 11.25 x 8.5 in. / 80 pgs / 40 color / 26 bw.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 3/31/2011
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: SPRING 2011 p. 170   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780970460837 TRADE
List Price: $45.00 CDN $55.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available

William Wegman: Dogs on Rocks

Published by A.S.A.P..
Edited by Marion Boulton Stroud.

Dogs on Rocks is a volume of new photographs of William Wegman's famous Weimaraners, taken while he was in residence at The Acadia Summer Arts Program in Maine or at his own home in Maine. Many of these stunning shots--of the dogs alone, in pairs or in groups--take advantage of the breathtaking vistas of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, where the program is located. Wegman's formal portraits of the animals are framed by the natural beauty and muted tones of the island's forest and rocky beach. "I don't feel lonely when I'm around them," Wegman has said about his beloved dogs, "But I love also listening to them. I always make sure I spend some time just seeing what they're really doing. Especially outside, you know, when you're alone with them. Because so many people, including myself, fill in a whole vocabulary for them that is ours and not theirs. I remember spending some time for the first time with Man Ray, my first dog. I didn't talk that day. I just listened to what he was listening to, the whole aura of smells and sounds and sights and things that he was picking up on during that day." The Acadia Summer Arts Program was founded by Marion Boulton Stroud, the founder of The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, where she is the Artistic Director.
William Wegman was born in 1943 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Though he studied painting, Wegman gradually began to develop an interest in photography and video, the mediums for which he remains known. In the early 1970s, he moved to Southern California and began a long and fruitful collaboration with his first dog, Man Ray--who endeared himself to the art world with his deadpan presence. Wegman has added several dogs to his cast in the course of his nearly 40-year career. In addition to maintaining a presence in the art world, he has published a number of children's books and has created film and video works for Saturday Night Live and Sesame Street. He lives and works in New York City and Maine.

PUBLISHER

BOOK FORMAT
Hardback, 7 x 9.25 in. / 136 pgs / 88 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 9/1/2008
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2008 p. 166   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780979764202 TRADE
List Price: $29.95 CDN $35.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available

DGPH: The Ark Project

An Illustrated Animal Bible By Artists From All Over The World

Published by IdN.

After the example of Noah, who saved the animal species in his ark for posterity, this volume, an "Illustrated Animal Bible by Artists from all over the World," aspires to rescue and house the animals among us today. Recruiting over 200 artists, illustrators and designers from every corner of the globe, each of whom was invited to select a creature (animal or species) to represent their birthplace, and add it to the Ark, the project has resulted in an amazing illustration bible that mixes styles and techniques, showing how astonishing nature is and why we should take better care of the planet and the species on it. At once fun, graphically charming and ecologically intelligent, Ark wil immediately appeal to children and design audiences. The final parade of animals is astonishing: the burrowing owl for Canada, the capybara for Uruguay, the Carey turtle for Colombia, the Caribean manatee for Puerto Rico, the nene goose for Maui, the spectacled bear for Peru... Ark also supplies a section of "Nature Facts," an illustrated tale of Noah and a list of all the artists involved--among them Allan Deas, Gustav Dejert, Drew Funk, Chris Garbutt, Kronk, Cecy Meade, Meomi, Noper, Shen Plum and Roland Tamayo.

PUBLISHER
IdN

BOOK FORMAT
Flexi, 7 x 8.5 in. / 240 pgs / illustrated throughout.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date 6/30/2010
Out of print

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2010 p. 83   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9789881847010 TRADE
List Price: $34.00 CDN $40.00

AVAILABILITY
Not available