Actar 2005
610 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 8496540030
20 x 25.5 cm English/German text. Flexicover
Flyer Sociozope began as a travelling exhibition & is now considered the world’s largest flyer archive. Essays & interviews & of course flyers… lots & lots of flyers. Over 2500 examples of this archetypal expression of youth culture & communication. Price: £32.95
Open Editions 2005
260 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 0949004154
21.5 x 23.5 cm English text. Softcover
Indian cinema’s poster art is examined here from a range of perspectives to consider how its value may be located, not just in its visual charm but also in its meaning within a broader cultural context. Mass-produced images of brutality, suffering, swashbuckling, heroism, religious devotion, intimacy, intrigue, nostalgia and uncomplicated titillation are juxtaposed with field photography and a series of investigative reflections. Price: £23.00
Thames & Hudson 2005
160 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 0500285616
19 x 25.5 cm English text. Softcover
There's never been a better time to be a geek. After decades, if not centuries, of persecution, ridicule and never, ever getting the girl, geeks are on the ascendant. They are scientists, programmers, artists, musicians, actors, skateboarders and architects. They have risen above unimaginative educational systems, hostile social environments and employers to develop the most liberating, most global, most inventive and most democratic culture on the planet. They are the geeks, and their time has come. Geek Chic is the story of their lengthy rise to power, told in language and a method that they have helped to pioneer. The book is a lively combination of text, design and images, and takes us all the way from Zeus to Dr Seuss, from Copernicus to Einstein, from Tesla to Tarantino, from computers to duct tape and from Space Invaders to Star Wars. Divided into three distinct parts, it can be read from start to finish or just as easily dipped into and surfed at leisure. The first section is an introductory essay tracing the rise of geek culture, particularly in film, television, music and media. The second part is an extensive timeline of geek history that begins with Zeus and takes us right up to the present. Included in this timeline is a series of sidebars spotlighting the best geek films, TV programmes, books, robots, computer games and fashion. The third part of the book comprises short biographical sketches of 'O.Gs' (original geeks), such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Spike Jonze and Tony Hawk. Irrevererent, light but substantive, Geek Chic is a manifesto for the generation that has already changed the world. It will have a natural appeal to geeks and to the people who know, live with, love or are just confused by them. Price: £12.95
256 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 0500285500
18 x 18 cm English text. Softcover
This Ain’t No Disco celebrates the good, the bad and the what-were-they-thinking in a visual romp through 300 of the best album covers from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s.
New Wave was defined not just by the music, but also by the styles, fashions and graphic designs of the artists and albums of the time – a dizzying array of wild hairstyles, futuristic typography, pastel geometric shapes and outlandish clothing.
From one-hit-wonder and wannabes to cult favourites and smash successes, these are artists and images that defined an era. Witness the flamboyant and androgynous dress of Boy George and Culture Club’s Colour by Numbers and Adam Ant’s Prince Charming; the kitsch vibe of the B52s’ Wild Planet; the neo-mod pose of the Jam’s In the City; and the startling combination of high-tech graphics coupled with New Order’s seminal Power, Corruption and Lies.
Guaranteed to send Gen X-ers everywhere into nostalgia overdrive, This Ain't no Disco is an uplifting celebration of a style that continues to influence music and fashion today. Price: £12.95
Gingko Press 2005
144 pages Colour reproductions. ISBN 1584232099
16 x 23 cm English text. Softcover
Street art has taken over the world in recent years. Cities have been "liberated" by artists who are as motivated by the drive to invent new forms of media as they are to create new images. Art of Rebellion features the broadest possible variety of street art including flyers, stickers, spraycan and stencil art, and a host of interesting hybrids that fall somewhere in between. Provocateurs such as Space Invader, Above, Lefunk, Milk, Fume, Hoernchen and East Eric use an amazing variety of techniques to create their own individual iconography in projects as crazy as bathrooms painted gold, battle tanks painted pink and cities plastered with pictures of toasters. The ultimate collection of worldwide street art this remarkable book leaves absolutely nothing sacred. Price: £12.99
DGV 2005
208 pages Colour and B&W reproductions. ISBN 3899550706
24 x 30 cm English text. Hardcover
WK Interact is an urban artist who lives in New York City. His distinctive black and white painted murals can be admired in more places than just the streets. The bold images, in which movement is practically palpable, are also being appreciated in exhibit spaces, including the display windows of the Parisian temple of consumption Galeries Lafayettes.
This book, which will be released in continental Europe starting at the beginning of July with releases in other countries to follow as quickly as possible, presents a wide spectrum of WK Interact’s dynamic work in one place for the first time. In addition to the lively portraits of skaters, kung-fu masters, boxers and mountain climbers that have become his trademark, it also features his installations and commercial graphic design for clients including Mini, Burton and Yamaha.
The publication shows how WK Interact masterfully depicts movement in immobile images, as well as how he incorporates his home into his work. His project with a newspaper vending machine is, for example, documented here. WK Interact altered one so that it contained cans of spray paint. He then went around the city with it trying to engage New Yorkers to use the paint to express themselves when something angered them. As he says, “I want to do my thing, and I want to show people how they can use a city to do theirs.” Price: £27.00
