I admit to always being faithfully on time. Something that I constantly applaud myself for considering the rest of the world is typically comfortably late. This particular time, I am taking a friend out to celebrate the release of her new CD. Not mentioning any names, I arrive much too early (actually on time) and I politely welcome myself to a seat. I am fortunate and relieved! You see, to my delight she is a connoisseur of the most appetizing coffee-table books. I am perfectly at home!
A coffee table book is the hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or as you may prefer to call it, a “cocktail table”, in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. I am alone, so in order to alleviate boredom, I take advantage and begin my course. Wonderfully, I sit amongst her collection of brilliant oversized books (generally non-fiction) of heavy topics. Pages and pages mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, I am happy.
My first touch goes toward "© Murakami" edited by Paul Schimmel and Lisa Gabrielle Mark (Rizzoli). You probably know contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, even if you think you don't. Murakami's adorable, cartoon-like designs adorn the permanent collections of plenty of major modern art museums, not to mention the arms of fashionista’s who pay hefty money for his colorful take on the Louis Vuitton monogram. "(c) Murakami," published in connection with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art retrospective, catalogs his work from the early 1990s to the present. This hefty tome -- weighing in at 327 pages -- displays the vertiginous span of Murakami's work: images of his paintings, sculptures, toys, prints and monograms. I immediately understand why he has become a true art-market pop star. Impressive!
I give the table a once over and note many others as I wait, "Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime" by the United States Treasury Department, Bureau of Narcotics (Collins/HarperCollins). "Mafia" might be the ultimate anti-coffee-table book. It is, at least, the anti-Establishment coffee-table book, a facsimile of 1960s secret government files on the criminal underworld. Thick as a phone book, with a similar aesthetic, "Mafia" is 800-plus pages of joyless mug shots and typewritten pages that practically come with their own stale cigar smell and blinking fluorescent lights. Believe it or not, I am mysteriously hooked and submerged!
Next, I take a quick peek at "Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion" by Sarah Mower (Rizzoli). Most of us think of photographers as lone geniuses, but on fashion shoots, stylists leave their aesthetic fingerprints on every frame, often dreaming up a visual tableau and seeing it through from conception to final cut. Between its pristine white covers, "Stylist" pays homage to 16 of the most influential stylists, who play such a large role in the images we absorb via magazines and ads but are rarely themselves glimpsed (except for an occasional appearance in the contributor pages of Vogue or Elle). Although the profiles in this book will be a bonus for any budding apprentice, the real treat is the selection of photos that accompany each stylists bio. Called upon by designers, editors, photographers, and celebrities, stylists have a sixth sense for what is now and next in the fashion ether. Featuring sixteen of today’s top tastemakers, Stylist focuses on these fashion insiders whose precocious sense for the next big thing often results in trends of global proportions. I absolutely embrace this book and will purchase it for my own table!
But, not before I grab "Antarctica: The Global Warning" by Sebastian Copeland (Earth Aware Editions). Buying a thick and heavy hardback book about global warming isn't generally considered an act of environmental activism. But even the most skeptical green may be swayed by photographer Sebastian Copeland's stunning images in "Antarctica: The Global Warning." The sticker saying it's a carbon-neutral book doesn't hurt, either. Copeland visited the Antarctic Peninsula, which is warming five times faster than the rest of the world, to create a collection of startling photographs that serve as both a call to action and an elegy for a rapidly melting landscape. This book truly puts others to shame.
There are many many more. Most tend to be biographies or fall into the genres of history, art, nature, more photography, and entertainment. All are equally gripping. I am immediately attracted to the title, Lipstick on My Coffee Cup: Book of Poems by Olive Pellington. I take a look and I am taken in by her journey. On a ride through her own experience, Olive Pellington takes you along a path of familiar emotion. Lipstick On My Coffee Cup is representative of all of life's pleasures and stumbling blocks. With each poem having it's own story to tell, this is a book for all. This is truly a book that should find itself on every coffee table.
I later find out that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have teamed up to create a book full of interviews and photos of people who inspire them. I am excited. Coffee-table books are to be collected. Whether you love or hate the Olsen twins, there's no denying that these two are formidable players when it comes to style. Just to name drop, a few people that grace the pages of the book, aptly named “Influence”, are shoe genius Christian Louboutin, icon Lauren Hutton, photographer Terry Richardson and writer Bob Colacello. Exclusive photos and interviews with the twins will also be part of the book. I just checked and you can pre-order ”Influence” on Amazon for $35.00. It will be released in November of this year and would look lavish dressed in a big red ribbon, just in time for gift giving season!
A coffee table book is the hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or as you may prefer to call it, a “cocktail table”, in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. I am alone, so in order to alleviate boredom, I take advantage and begin my course. Wonderfully, I sit amongst her collection of brilliant oversized books (generally non-fiction) of heavy topics. Pages and pages mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, I am happy.
My first touch goes toward "© Murakami" edited by Paul Schimmel and Lisa Gabrielle Mark (Rizzoli). You probably know contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, even if you think you don't. Murakami's adorable, cartoon-like designs adorn the permanent collections of plenty of major modern art museums, not to mention the arms of fashionista’s who pay hefty money for his colorful take on the Louis Vuitton monogram. "(c) Murakami," published in connection with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art retrospective, catalogs his work from the early 1990s to the present. This hefty tome -- weighing in at 327 pages -- displays the vertiginous span of Murakami's work: images of his paintings, sculptures, toys, prints and monograms. I immediately understand why he has become a true art-market pop star. Impressive!
I give the table a once over and note many others as I wait, "Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime" by the United States Treasury Department, Bureau of Narcotics (Collins/HarperCollins). "Mafia" might be the ultimate anti-coffee-table book. It is, at least, the anti-Establishment coffee-table book, a facsimile of 1960s secret government files on the criminal underworld. Thick as a phone book, with a similar aesthetic, "Mafia" is 800-plus pages of joyless mug shots and typewritten pages that practically come with their own stale cigar smell and blinking fluorescent lights. Believe it or not, I am mysteriously hooked and submerged!
Next, I take a quick peek at "Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion" by Sarah Mower (Rizzoli). Most of us think of photographers as lone geniuses, but on fashion shoots, stylists leave their aesthetic fingerprints on every frame, often dreaming up a visual tableau and seeing it through from conception to final cut. Between its pristine white covers, "Stylist" pays homage to 16 of the most influential stylists, who play such a large role in the images we absorb via magazines and ads but are rarely themselves glimpsed (except for an occasional appearance in the contributor pages of Vogue or Elle). Although the profiles in this book will be a bonus for any budding apprentice, the real treat is the selection of photos that accompany each stylists bio. Called upon by designers, editors, photographers, and celebrities, stylists have a sixth sense for what is now and next in the fashion ether. Featuring sixteen of today’s top tastemakers, Stylist focuses on these fashion insiders whose precocious sense for the next big thing often results in trends of global proportions. I absolutely embrace this book and will purchase it for my own table!
But, not before I grab "Antarctica: The Global Warning" by Sebastian Copeland (Earth Aware Editions). Buying a thick and heavy hardback book about global warming isn't generally considered an act of environmental activism. But even the most skeptical green may be swayed by photographer Sebastian Copeland's stunning images in "Antarctica: The Global Warning." The sticker saying it's a carbon-neutral book doesn't hurt, either. Copeland visited the Antarctic Peninsula, which is warming five times faster than the rest of the world, to create a collection of startling photographs that serve as both a call to action and an elegy for a rapidly melting landscape. This book truly puts others to shame.
There are many many more. Most tend to be biographies or fall into the genres of history, art, nature, more photography, and entertainment. All are equally gripping. I am immediately attracted to the title, Lipstick on My Coffee Cup: Book of Poems by Olive Pellington. I take a look and I am taken in by her journey. On a ride through her own experience, Olive Pellington takes you along a path of familiar emotion. Lipstick On My Coffee Cup is representative of all of life's pleasures and stumbling blocks. With each poem having it's own story to tell, this is a book for all. This is truly a book that should find itself on every coffee table.
I later find out that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have teamed up to create a book full of interviews and photos of people who inspire them. I am excited. Coffee-table books are to be collected. Whether you love or hate the Olsen twins, there's no denying that these two are formidable players when it comes to style. Just to name drop, a few people that grace the pages of the book, aptly named “Influence”, are shoe genius Christian Louboutin, icon Lauren Hutton, photographer Terry Richardson and writer Bob Colacello. Exclusive photos and interviews with the twins will also be part of the book. I just checked and you can pre-order ”Influence” on Amazon for $35.00. It will be released in November of this year and would look lavish dressed in a big red ribbon, just in time for gift giving season!