Masahisa Fukase's 'Ravens' chosen Best Photography Book of the last 25 years

The British Journal of Photography asked five experts to pick their top five photography books of the last quarter-century.

 Masahisa Fukase's Karasu (Ravens), first published in 1986 by Sokyu-sha, was the winner. The photographs for this "obscure masterpiece" were taken during train journeys back to his birthplace in northern Japan following his divorce from his wife. Most were taken through the train's window.

Many see the dark, ominous imagery as an "allegorical critique of modern industrialised society" as well as a visual meditation on mourning.

The first American edition of  Karasu was published by Bedford Arts in 1991, under the title Solitude of Ravens, and in 2008 the Rat Hole Gallery in Tokyo published a limited edition of 1000 copies.

Five years after the publication of the book Fukase fell down a flight of stairs in a bar and has been in a coma ever since. His ex-wife, the impetus for the book, continues to visit him in the hospital twice a month.

More at:
British Journal of Photography, The best photobooks in 25 years
Guardian, Masahisa Fukase's Ravens: the best photobook of the past 25 years?

A copy of the scarce 1986 First Edition is available from Harper's Books for $3500.

Step Up in Style

 Looking for a cool step stool to reach those books on the top shelves of your library or bookstore?

The 50th anniversary library edition of the Cramer Kik-Step stool might be the answer.

This special edition features quotes from the likes of Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Edith Wharton and Mark Twain emblazoned on its nonslip tread and has a slick stainless steel finish.

It can easily be rolled around with the casters locking into place once you step on it. The bumper that surrounds it protects anything in its path.

And for those who need to get the big heavy books on the upper shelves, the Kik-Step can support up to 500 pounds.

The Kik-Step 50th Anniversary Library Edition retails for $69.

Story at the Kansas City Star, A step stool for bookworms.

Thanks LISNews for the lead

Lady Masereel: Marta Chudolinska's Wordless Novel 'Back + Forth'

Noted illustrator, wood engraver, printer and book designer George A.Walker encourages his students at the Ontario College of Art & Design to "embrace 19th century linocut printmaking techniques to create extended visual narratives."

One of the fruits of his labor is this stunning book by Marta Chudolinska. Chudolinska, who immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1991, cites Frans Masereel, one of the titans of the wordless novel, as her inspiration for the book.

"Masereel's style is vivacious, focused more on expression and energy than on completely accurate representation" says Chudolinska. His "characters are still alive on the page a hundred years later; their sorrow, anger and joy jumps vividly off the page just as strongly as when the blocks were first engraved." Marta also credits Roland Barthes’ essay 'The Death of the Author' as a significant influence.

Back + Forth is a coming-of-age tale of a young woman set in the urban environments of Toronto and Vancouver.

The specific landscape, structure, weather and people of a cityscape combine to create a unique culture of place; a `place' that can define us as succinctly as we might like to think we control our own definitions of self. Aviation allows many of us to live, almost simultaneously, in distant places and to indulge in the complexities of multiple lives. Back + Forth examines the attendant possibility of entrapment, between two such distant places and two, very different, times.
Back + Forth examines what it means to belong, to assimilate, to be distant, and to challenge the constraints of time and space in the juggling act that we all call life.

 Back + Forth is both a homage to place and a powerful depiction of a young woman's search for love and belonging in the modern landscape. The character cycles through a series of relationships, a couple with not so happy endings, that in the end seemingly free her of the pursuit and leave her alone and content as the road unfolds before her.

Details:
Published by The Porcupine's Quill. Typeset in Gill Sans. Printed on acid-free Zephyr Antique laid. Smyth sewn into sixteen page signatures with hand-tipped endleaves, front and back. $20. Available here

The project was funded by the Ontario Arts Council.

Finalist for the 2010—Doug Wright Award  and the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year.

Display of the entire 90 linocut sequence 

Interview with Marta Chudolinski at Books on the Radio 

Profile of Marta at The Fabler

Previously on Book Patrol:

George A. Walker's Nightlife

Library Graffiti

In the summer of 2007 Quinn Dombrowski started documenting the graffiti she encountered on her visits to the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago. She began posting the images on Flickr and by 2009  she had amassed a collection of over 700 pieces of graffiti.

In the summer of 2009 the project got helped along by a story on Jacket Copy, the book blog of the Los Angeles Times, and by the time time the year was out Quinn published Crescat Graffiti, Vita Excolatur: Confessions of the University of Chicago, a book containing many of the highlights of the collection.

The Flickr set is broken into sections to help you quickly find the graffiti that best suits your mood. From Advice to Sex, Drugs to Despair, Politics to Logic; all the bases are covered.

This begs for some sort of national competition.

"Books are Art Too": New Paris Gallery Mixes it Up

 The inaugural exhibit at the new Paris gallery/bookshop Le Pied de Biche (“The Crowbar”) is titled “Art, Ink and Rock and Roll" and features the work of three tattoo artists.

Supplementing the the exhibit is the gallery's bookstore which is loaded with underground cartoons, rare books, fanzines, theatrical jewelry and toys for adults. The gallery will also publish, print and display limited edition books.

Tiffany Khalil, founder of Le Pied de Biche, believes “Books are art too,” and hopes her gallery is "a move away from the classical, sanitized gallery. The aim is to create an uninhibited space, and put forward young, sprouting creativity.”

Image by Nicoz Balboa, one of the three tattoo artists featured

And why the name "The Crowbar" - “It is a metaphor about creeping into a crack and forcing your way in,” says Khalil.

Story in The New York Times, Art Means Books and Tattoos at New Paris Gallery

Thanks to @lbgilbert for the lead 

The Argentine Book Tank: Bookmobile for the 21st Century?

Meet my new hero.

Raul Lemesoff, an Argentine art-car artist, has taken a 1979 Ford Falcon that used to belong to the Argentine armed forces and turned into a 'Weapon of Mass Instruction.'

Armed with 900 or so books Lemesoff travels the streets of Buenos Aires and beyond offering free books to all.

He sees his 'Weapon of Mass Instruction' as a "contribution to peace through literature."

Lemesoff has traveled throughout Argentina including remote parts where "literature cannot be found"

His goal is to build new 'Weapons of Mass Instruction' all around the world.

Just think of all those tanks he could transform if the world was at peace.

Here is a video of Lemesoff at work from AFP



Previously on Book Patrol:
The Rebirth of a Bookmobile
Bookmobile 2.0
Bookmobile Heaven
Who Needs a Bookmobile?
The Kenyan Literary Express

Michael Jackson in Academia: New report shows the King of Pop's scholarly influence

Two librarians at Texas Tech University have released a report detailing Michael Jackson's broad influence in the scholarly community.  Associate Librarians Susan Hidalgo and Rob Weiner combed through scholarly papers and peer-reviewed articles in over 100 databases in creating “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’: MJ in the Scholarly Literature: A Selected Bibliographic Guide”

The guide shows Jackson popping up in psychology, medical, chemistry, mass communications and even engineering journals.

Here was the goal of their research:

To say that researchers can find tons of material on Michael Jackson would be an understatement. Our original goal was to provide scholars with a guide to printed books, articles, websites and other online sources that researchers could use as legitimate content. We wanted to avoid sensationalist works like David Perel’s Freak: Inside the Twisted World of Michael Jackson or National Enquirer type publications.

 and here was the criteria:

1) Was the article in a peer-reviewed journal?
2) If not, would it still be of interest to scholars and researchers?
3) Did the article have substantial Jackson content?
4) Is the Jackson content unique?
5) Does the article tell us something about the way we see popular icons including Jackson?

 And this is just a start for the authors admit that they merely scratched the surface of scholarly content related to Jackson.

The breadth of Jackson’s influence, beyond his just being a pop icon, is truly astounding. This bibliographic guide to the MJ in the scholarly literature just scratches the surface. We do, however, give scholars a place to start exploring the world of the “King of Pop” in academic literature. If nothing else, it illustrates just how pervasive Jackson’s impact is.

Article at LISNews, Two Texas Tech Librarians Analyze The Gloved One's Influence on Academia

Previously on Book Patrol:
Michael Jackson “Extremely Well-Read,” Had 10,000 Books

Waterstone's and Barnes & Noble Tilt Toward the Screen

"In the clash between the conventions of the book and the protocols of the screen, the screen will prevail" -Kevin Kelly, Scan This Book!, and duly noted in David Shields Reality Manifesto (76)

Waterstone's, the UK's largest bookseller, has just completed an extreme brand makeover. The centerpiece is a complete reworking of their logo; out with the caps and serifs, in with lowercase and sans.

The slogan for the campaign announcing the visual shift is 'feel every word.'  

While, clearly a cooler, hipper look I would agree with Mark Sinclair's assessment over at the Creative Review blog:

"While these inventive takes on the logo are certainly more dynamic, it still feels that the identity itself lacks the confidence, even austerity, of the old one. It may still be a large corporate behemoth of a chain, but at least it looked like it remembered what bookshops used to be about"

Sinclair goes on to note that though the logo would fit well on waterstones.com it might not do justice when displayed on the marquee of some of their premier locations.

Our "large corporate behemoth of a chain," Barnes & Noble, announced in March that William Lynch, the head of bn.com will be the company's new CEO. Lynch, was the driving force behind the revamped and much improved  website and the launch of the nook.

These moves indicate a significant change of direction for two of the largest booksellers on the planet and show that, at least for the time being, the trend is toward the screen.

Fridge Poetry Moves Online

We've all seen those cute little magnets that turn our refrigerator into a blank page. Well, now there is an online version thanks to Seattle-based isnoop.net.

Magnetic Words 3.0 allows you to virtually recreate your  fridge poetry experience while in the presence of kindred fridge poets from around the world.


Thanks to harriet, the blog from the Poetry Foundation for the lead

California's Budget Drought Threatens Water Archive

The Library budget-slashing epidemic of 2010 shows no signs of letting up. Seems not a day goes by without news of some incredibly difficult challenge facing a library due to a budget shortfall.

The Contra Costa Times is reporting that California's seminal water history archive that is housed at the University of California in Berkeley is in danger of being moved or broken up due to budget issues.

Founded in 1958 by a special act of California Legislature the Water Resources Center Archive consists of a library which houses 120 years of material in a variety of formats including a strong web-based component that is continuously adding digital content to the archive. 

"One water expert compared the demise of the archive to the destruction of the Library of Alexandria more than 2,000 years ago."

Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, and an expert on the world's water resources says:

"It only takes a little while at the water archives to discover not only is not everything online, but some of the most interesting things are not online — old photographs and interviews, the letters and diaries of people involved in California's water history,"

"It's found nowhere else in the state."

And it is in danger. Who would have thought that California would run out money before parts of it ran out of water?


Thanks to @librarystuff for the lead

Russia Wants More Readers

Ot mraka k svetu. Ot bitvy k knige. Ot goria k schast'iu.  [Book with slogan: From darkness to light, from battle to boo...] (1917-1921)

"Discover new things!"

"Be guided by knowledge"

"Fill in the gaps!"

These are just a few of the slogans in the new advertising campaign launched by the government of  Moscow  to encourage and promote reading. The campaign, which is targeted at young people, also includes 100 billboards placed around the city by the Moscow Writers Union emblazoned with the words "Read Books."

Gramota - put' k kommunizmu.  [Literacy is the road to communism.] (1920) 

 Alexander Gerasimov, spokesman for the Moscow Writers Union, says that experts are witnessing an "alarming tendency" for people to read less, especially the classics.

Though Russians are reading more of their news online, Gerasimov is concerned that they are developing "an apathy toward reading serious literature, thick books written not only by contemporaries but by classic writers as well," and that "such indifference can lead to erosion of entire cultural layers, to depletion of knowledge about literature, to the loss of national self-identification,"

Just last month, during a joint meeting of the state councils on science and culture Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said "We should encourage reading in all forms, including the latest, the most modern, as long as our young people want to read," He also admitted that his son found books less interesting than the Internet.

The campaign expects to extend to other parts of Russia next month.

Kniga nichto inoe kak chelovek, govoriashchii publichno.  [A Book Is Nothing a Man Speaking Publicly] (1920). 

More at RiaNovosti:
Moscow ad campaign urges Russians to read more books
Russian president says reading should be encourages in all forms

All images via the New York Public Library's amazing digital gallery:
"Posters of the Russian Civil War, 1918-1922" 


Thanks to booktrade.info for the lead

What a Long Strange Trip: Six Degrees - From Lord Byron to Kevin Bacon

 click to enlarge

The Spring 2010 'Arts & Letters' issue of Lapham's Quarterly features this handy graphic; Friends, Lovers and Family.  This incestuous journey through literary history is color coded for your convenience. Writers, Actors, Painters, Architects and their accompanying Muses make up this web of creativity as it meanders it's way through history, finally coming to an end on the shoulders of Kevin Bacon.

In addition to the usual stellar content, the issue also features a job description posted by Annie Dillard from 1989 when she was living in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State (available in print issue only) 

A Couple of New Blogs for the Rare Book World

First, we want to congratulate Stephen J. Gertz and Nancy Mattoon, two of Book Patrol's finest, on  the launch of their new blog; Booktryst.

We will miss them here at BP and are grateful for their efforts; we look forward to their top-notch coverage of the rare book and library world.

Also of note:  Peter Harrington Books of London has started a new blog, The Cataloguer's Desk which features contributions by Laura Massey, whom many of us know as bookn3rd. Her first post on William Moon and his pre-braille Bible  was a knockout.

The Half-Life of Dan Brown and John Grisham

Tim Spalding over at LibraryThing did some number crunching from the various book swap sites that are integrated with LibraryThing to find out what the Top Wanted and Unwanted books are.

 Dan Brown not only took home the dubious honor of the book most people want to get out of their lives with the Da Vinci Code but he also secured the 2, 3, and 7 slot of the top twenty-five with his books Angels & Demons, Deception Point and Digital Fortress.

But the award for the most books on the list goes to John Grisham with an astounding 13 titles on the top twenty-five.

Granted the print runs for the books of both these author's are in the millions making them more susceptible to disposal but it does reiterate the fleeting nature of the 'popular' book. Also, the resale value of these books is practically nil making them ripe for swapping and eventually recycling.

On the wanted side Michael Pollen's The Ominvore's Dilemma leads the pack with over 5,500 people desiring a copy.

Spalding notes "Perhaps the unwanted books represent who we are, and the wanted are who we want to be."

Full list here

Inside Donald Judd's Library

The Main Library at Donald Judd's La Mansana de Chinati residence in Marfa, Texas.

It has been sixteen years since the passing of Donald Judd. Though known as one of the foremost minimalist painters of the 20th century Judd was also a serious bibliophile. He claimed to have read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica as child which, given his minimalist leanings, is quite a feat. And wherever in the world his art took him he bought books and had them sent back to Marfa.

Library Details:

13,004 books in the library on 576 shelves.
40 languages represented.
2286 duplicates - for Judd was fond of buying multiple copies of some titles so he could share with friends.
3129 Art books.
Judd personally shelved and arranged each book.

Now, thanks to the Judd Foundation, we get a first hand virtual look at his library which remains intact at his noted La Mansana de Chinati residence in Marfa, Texas. Shelf by shelf one can browse Judd's entire library. You can also search the library.

More, including an interview with the executive director of the Judd Foundation, Barbara Hunt McLanahan, about the project and Judd's love for books at ARTINFO

Tea Party Bookshop to Throw Its Name Overboard

 In  2008, JoAnne Kohler took a leap. With bookshops all over the country closing at an alarming rate she decided to open one in Salem, Oregon.  She named it the Tea Party Bookshop. Kohler thought that the some of the aspects of the Boston Tea Party (think independence, community involvement, and the desire to shop locally)  would mirror much of what she was trying to accomplish.

From the About Us page of the Tea Party Bookshop website

The historical Boston Tea Party took place December 23rd, 1774. This event inspired our name as it was the first instance where an American populace rose up to protest corporate control of their buying choices. Tea Party Bookshop is a strong advocate of environmental responsibility, fair trade practices, and supporting the local economy. Our store specializes in merchandise that promotes both a healthier you and a healthier environment.

Tea Party Bookshop owner JoAnne Kohler, (DANIELLE PETERSON | Statesman Journal file)

Then came the rise of the Sarah Palin & Company Tea Party movement and with it a seemingly unending barrage of questions about the bookshop and its relation to the movement.

"I tried to let them simply go away, but no, they continue to gather on the National Mall, with their slogans..And as much as I advocate freedom of speech, and as much as I endorse the political process, I just do not wish to have to keep apologizing for the name of the shop." Kohler told the Statesmen Journal.

 Kohler has had enough. She has decided to dump the Tea Party name and will soon be unveiling the new name of her shop.

The Camera Work of Allen Ginsberg

W. S. Burroughs at rest in the side-yard of his house..., 1991, gelatin silver print, 

 © Copyright 2010 The Allen Ginsberg LLC. All rights reserved.

 A new exhibition of the photographs of Allen Ginsberg opened this week at the National Gallery of Art. The exhibit, titled Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg,  features 79 black-and-white portraits. Most were donated to the National Gallery by Gary S. Davis who acquired, via the poet's estate, one print of every photograph in Ginsberg's possession at the time of his death. Most of the usual suspects of the Beat Generation are represented.

The exhibition is divided into two sections. The first covers the early 50's, when Ginsberg first picked up a camera, through 1963 when he gave up on photography. The second section begins in 1983 when Ginsberg picked up a camera again; it was during this time that he added descriptions beneath each image.

Jack Kerouac. Gelatin silver print, 1953

Text under photo:

Jack Kerouac wandering along East 7th street after visiting Burroughs at our pad, passing statue of Congressman Samuel "Sunset" Cot, "The Letter – Carrier's Friend" in Tompkins Square toward corner of Avenue A, Lower East Side; he's making a Dostoyevsky mad-face or Russian basso be-bop Om, first walking around the neighborhood, then involved with The Subterraneans, pencils & notebook in wool shirt-pockets, Fall 1953, Manhattan."

The exhibit runs through September 6, 2010.

Catalog of the exhibit available here

NPR story on the exhibit with slideshow

Coverage at Art Daily

 

 

Thrift Books 'Aims for Domination of the Internet'

We are all well aware by now of how the internet and online bookselling has forever altered the trade. For many of the new players the book has become the latest commodity with all its cultural and material attributes having been stripped away. We are left with a torrent of cheap books.

One of leaders in this new space is Thrift Books, an online only bookseller based in Auburn, Washington which, ironically enough, is in Amazon's backyard. They claim to be the "nation’s largest online seller of used books."

Thrift Books has just issued a press release celebrating the selling of their 10 millionth book.

Here are some tidbits:

 -"After achieving a record year in sales, Thrift Books, an online retailer of used books, aims for domination on the Internet."

- "Now boasting an inventory of almost 5 million books at any given time, Thrift Books processes an average 80,000 books a day."

-"With the invention of the iPad, Kindle, Nook and other e-readers, select literary editors and agents claim the publishing industry will suffer in terms of physical books sold. However, with cheap books sold at a discount, Thrift Books anticipates a bright future with more growth to come."

'Aims for domination', 'Now boasting', 'cheap books sold at a discount"- not your typical run-of-the-mill bookseller speak.

The Thrift Books web also includes these subsidiaries which appear on the various online marketplaces:

Green Earth Books,
Motor City Books,
The Atlanta Book Company LLC,
Blue Cloud Books LLC and
Yankee Clipper Books LLC

And here is their management team and related experience.


CEO - "worked in the sales industry. He managed marketing and sales efforts for several Fortune 500 companies"
President and COO - Partner in a law firm.  
CIO - Financial Advisor.

Granted they all profess to be avid readers and book lovers but there is no mention of any bookselling experience.

As for their business model, their "entire process of selling used books was developed internally using the latest technology and supply methods."

And what does that latest technology do?

Their software automatically sets a book’s price below that offered by any of their competitors.

Wikipedia states that up to 40% of their inventory is listed for a penny.

This is what we are up against.

The Great Northwest Bookstore Destroyed by Fire

A three alarm fire ripped through the 120 year old church that housed The Great Northwest Bookstore in Portland, Oregon on Sunday. About 70 firefighters battled the blaze and when it was all over the building and the bookstore were completely destroyed.

Phil Wikelund, the owner of both the building and the bookstore, said that over 100,000 books where in the building at the time of the fire. Due to the recent economic downturn Wikelund had let his insurance for both the building and the bookstore lapse.

The Benevolent Fund of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) will likely provide some help to Wikelund to help him get back on his feet.

Friends of Wikelund are also in the process of setting up a donation fund for him through the Onpoint Credit Union.

Story and photo gallery of the blaze at the Oregonian.

Bill Murray Gives the First Poetry Reading at the New Poets House

At first glance it looks like a skit right out of Saturday Night Live. Bill Murray in a hard-hat reading poetry to a room full of construction workers. Just think of the comic possibilities.

But this was for real. Murray stopped by the then soon to be completed new home of Poets House  in lower Manhattan to read some poetry.