Category: Books / Magazines

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Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art by Carlo McCormick and more

It looks like Taschen is about to publish the first street art book to seriously compete with Cedar Lewisohn’s Street Art. Ignoring an irrelevant cover image, Cedar’s book provided an overview of street art’s history and considered the art with the same level of seriousness that you might see in a book on Renaissance art. Now, Carlo McCormick (arguably the world’s foremost street art expert) has teamed up with Marc and Sara Schiller of Wooster Collective to write Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art. The book brings together what they consider to be four generations of street artists (150 artists in total). That means Trespass will have to go back to the artists seen in Allan Schwartzman’s Street Art book from 1985 (also an essential book for fans of street art history) like Gordon Matta-Clark and Jenny Holzer and then tie that to the present with artists like Blu. This is the street art book that I’ve been waiting for. Oh, and the book has an introduction by Banksy, so that’s pretty unique.

You can already check out some of Trespass on Taschen’s website, including Banksy’s hilariously ironic introduction which disses marketing.

Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Urban Art will be available sometime in September (Wooster will be hosting a launch party in NYC on the 28th)

Via Wooster Collective

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Signed books for sale from Faile and Kaws

There are three big book releases coming soon that I should be talking about. Today I want to just mention two of those.

KAWS’ 250+ page monograph actually won’t be released until November, but The Aldrich Museum (site of his recent solo show) is already selling an signed edition of the book for $45. UNFORTUNATELY, I think you have to live in the USA to purchase anything from The Aldrich’s online store. If you are living in the USA though, you can buy the book now for $45 and it will ship in November.

And there is a similar book coming out from Faile. Faile: Prints and Originals 1999-2009 is pretty much what it says in the title. I recently had a very brief chance to flip through a copy of this book, and it is just about the most comprehensive catalog of Faile’s work you can imagine. So, if you like Faile, it’s a must have, but if you don’t this obviously won’t be for you. This book should be available in stores or online any day now, but the one place you can definitely go already is Paper Monster. They are selling a “studio edition” of the book today for $69. This version of the book comes signed, stamped and embossed by Faile. But as much as you may want to go out right now and buy this book from Paper Monster, there’s something holding me back. Paper Monster notes that Faile will be releasing an “artist edition” of the book sometime in September, and that will be limited to 200 copies (no word on how many copies the “studio edition” is limited to).

Via The Art Collectors and Hi-Fructose

Photo courtesy of Papermonster

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Poster Boy Book and Street Art Legal Defence Fund Launch

It’s had like a million views at this point (and I’m not exaggerating) so you’ve probably seen this video already, but it’s still fun to watch. If you’re a fan, you can support the Poster Boy movement, the new Poster Boy book, The War of Art and the new street art/graffiti legal defence fund K.A.R.A.T.E. (about time we had one of these) in four different cities on Saturday night:

Pure Evil in London, 17 Frost in NYC or AE District in Miami.

Or come hang out with the incredible writer of this post at Carmichael Gallery in LA.

– Elisa

Video by Keith Haskel, who also made the fantastic video the four galleries will be screening on the night.

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Kid Acne’s Stabby Women fanzine

Kid Acne‘s “stabby women” have been found all around the world. Of course, I’m most familiar with them in London, but I’ve also found them in cities like New York and Barcelona. These women are some of the most interesting pieces of street art to come across. From the day they are pasted until they are completely rusted through, these seemingly simple characters inhabit space in such an interesting way.

Now, Kid Acne has made a fanzine devoted to his women. Like a true fanzine, this isn’t some overproduced art book, but a labor of love. In the zine, Kid Acne has documented some of his best stabby women from around the world. Maybe it’s just because I’m still decorating my college dorm, but, for me, the best part of the zine were the series of postcards that come with it (not that the zine isn’t fun too). I’ve stuck most of the postcards on my wall and I’m sure I’ll be mailing the rest. The stabby women fanzine and postcards are available online now for £15.

I think I’ll end this post with a quote from SheOne, found in the stabby women zine:

She called me over with a wink, head tilted, smiling, sword drawn, in a doorway in Brooklyn.

I leaned close, and through wispered detail unveiled her warrior status, paper crusader, leader of a beautiful army. Right there I was sleign.”

You can find the limited edition zine as well as some limited edition stabby women shirts at Kid Acne’s online store.

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Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine

This week, I read a very different sort of street art book. In fact, I’m not sure it should be considered a “street art book.” Against The Wall by William Parry is a book about the separation walls in being built by Israel. In the street art world, the wall is known for the Banksy-organized Santa’s Ghetto event in 2007 where he and a number of other street artists painted the wall, but, of course, that’s really not what the wall is famous for and there’s a reason that Santa’s Ghetto took place in Bethlehem. As Banksy has said, “The wall is illegal under international law and essentially turns Palestine into the world’s largest open prison.”

In Against The Wall, Parry has revisited the wall after all the world-famous artists have left. Parry documented not only the artwork painted by Banksy and his cohorts, but the mostly-anonymous art and political graffiti that covers much of the wall. The artwork in Against The Wall is of similar historical importance to the art on the Berlin Wall. The art may help to bring the wall down, but when that finally happens, it’s going to disappear and Parry’s photos will remain as probably the best documentation of the art so far.

But this book isn’t just about art. After all, most of the art on the wall isn’t just for the sake of art. So most of the book is actually about the wall and how it has changed the lives of the Palestinians it has been created to oppress. There are probably a dozen better books on this same topic that go into much more detail, but I doubt you can read any of those in an afternoon. Parry tells powerful personal stories and uses photos to tell the collective story of how the wall is affecting the Palestinian people, and he keeps the entire book down to under 200 pages.

If you have a heart, if you think that art can change the world or if you just want to learn more about the struggles of the Palestinian people for basic human rights and dignity, you should get a copy of this book.

Against The Wall is available from Pluto Press for much of the world. Unfortunately, the book isn’t available in the USA yet, but it should be published here by Laurence Hill Books in the spring.

I should add that while, like on most Vandalog posts, I’m allowing comments here, I’m personally not going to get involved in any political debates on this issue. Maybe that’s lazy or one-sided or whatever, but I don’t really care. Internet flame wars have never changed anyone’s mind about this sort of thing. That’s what art and books like Against The Wall are for.

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VNA Issue 12 launches next week

Very Nearly Almost issue number 12 is launching next week at the Pure Evil Gallery in London. This issue of VNA features M-City, Buff Monster, Mr. Jago and more. Oh and then there’s the cover: Roa. I did the interview with Roa, but I think the most interesting part of that feature is going to be the photos. I haven’t seen the finished version yet, but it’s going to be something a bit different. I won’t spoil what makes that bird on the cover so unique, but you may be able to figure it out for yourself with some clever googling.

At the launch party, you’ll be able to buy a special edition of VNA with a screenprinted cover. Plus Mr. Jago will be there doing some painting. So make sure to stop by Pure Evil Gallery on Thursday the 12th from 6-9pm and let me know what you think.

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The Broken Casket: Faro’s first zine

New York’s Faro has just put out his first zine. It’s a 24 page overview of Faro’s drawings and graffiti in black and white. Faro is one of New York’s up and coming graffiti/street artists, so who knows, maybe this zine will be a collectible one day like Neckface’s book Satan’s Bride. But more importantly, it looks like it’s full of fun content and plenty of Faro’s trademark mummies. I may get one just to rip it apart so that I can stick individual pages to the walls of my room.

Here’s some of what’s inside:

But where can you find The Broken Casket? Just get in touch with Faro on flickr to get your copy.

Photos by Faro

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Street Art New York Book Signing at Spoonbill & Sugartown in Williamsburg

Two of my favorite street art bloggers, Jaime Rojo and Steven P. Harrington from BrooklynStreetArt.com, will be signing copies of their new book, Street Art New York, next Thursday, July 22nd, at one of my favorite bookshops, Spoonbill and Sugartown on Bedford in Williamsburg. If you’re in the neighborhood, make sure to stop by for a drink, pick up a copy of Street Art New York and have a chat with the authors.

Incidentally, Spoonbill recently held a signing for another great street art book – Dan Witz: In Plain View. I’m not sure if they still have copies left, though; if not, you can visit Dan’s site.

Find out more about the Street Art New York event here.

– Elisa

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Poster Boy’s New Book

On July 27, Poster Boy will release a retrospective of his work in a published book entitled, The War of Art. Known for his advertisement mash-ups in city subways and streets, Poster Boy’s book will feature an array of his work thus far. The book is broken into three parts including his ad alterations, collaborations and odes to other street artists, and exhibition work. I am personally really excited to see the sponsored MOMA ad campaign altered pieces that caused so much controversy in NYC subways on whether it was vandalism or not. Read a great review of the book here on Subway Art.

Poster Boy is still thought to be one person, but rumors circulate that it is actually a NYC collective, since his work still appeared after his arrest and sentencing.

To pre-order the The Art of War, visit Amazon

All Photos by Subway Art

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New Book: Anthony Lister and Other

I really do love art books, and not just because they look pretty on my shelves, but they are usually the only artist works I can actually afford to purchase. First up, is Aussie Anthony Lister, whose book release is the thirteenth installment of publisher Macmillan’s “Mini Art Series.”  With gallery shows popping up left and right internationally from one of my favorite artists, Lister’s latest release comes out a perfect time. To buy it visit Metro Gallery

Photo via Metro Gallery

On a different note, the other new release this month is from Canadian graffiti artist Other.  Experimenting with wheat pasting, photography, and collage, Other put together an incredible collection of his best work in one of the prettiest bound covers I have ever seen. To purchase, visit Anteism. To see a video flipbook preview visit Senses Lost.

Photo via Anteism