I am now starting work on a new book.
Legacy: The Story Of The Face is to be published by Thames & Hudson in 2015 and has the support and involvement of Nick Logan, the owner and founder of what became one of the most important and influential publications of recent times.
Continue reading Starting work on my new book – Legacy: The Story Of The Face
In her review this weekend of TJ Clark’s new book Picasso And Truth: From Cubism To Guernica, Financial Times art critic Jackie Wullschlager writes about how meaninglessness replaced absolute truth in the 20th century epoch of terror and totalitarianism, and that “in our age of performance and body art, Clark brilliantly posits a Picasso who replaced a truth project with a performance project, playing, dazzling, persuading.”
Continue reading The master tailor’s tale: Il Sarto di Picasso
This film by Rik and Jane Gadsby of the May 2006 London launch of the second edition of my book The Look has just been posted online; it really evokes the good time that everyone had that night.
Pippa Brooks and her band All About Eve Babitz played and DJs included George O’Dowd.
The party was held at the premises of Raymond Revuebar, which by that time was Two II Much (dunno what it is these days). I was very touched when Kevin R. talked about how important he viewed the book and my work. “This is our culture,” he says in the clip above.
Enjoy.
On April 9 George O’Dowd and I will be in conversation at the V&A; the subject is David Bowie’s visual style.
Continue reading It’s a date: In conversation with Boy George at the V&A on April 9
The new Beatbooks catalogue returns Andrew Sclanders to his primary preoccupation with the creative outpourings of the American Beats and their fellow travellers.
Continue reading BeatBooks 62: Beat Recordings; Beat Literature; Beat Art
I interviewed the restaurateur and fine food champion Justin de Blank – who died last month aged 85 – for Reasons To Be Cheerful; de Blank recognised Barney Bubbles’ design talents when the pair met at the Conran Group’s design studio in the 60s.
Signed copies from a selection of my work are now available from this site – click on the button in the right-hand column or select SHOP from the menu at the top of the page.
At the moment you can buy:
• Mr Freedom – Tommy Roberts: British Design Hero
• Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Life & Work Of Barney Bubbles
• In Their Own Write: Adventures In The Music Press (now out of print)
• The Look Of London (the new map collaboration with Herb Lester Associates)
From time to time I’ll also be making available signed copies of other out of print work, including my book with Goldie, Nine Lives (£9 inc P+P), and the increasingly rare second edition of The Look Adventures In Rock & Pop Fashion (£45 inc P+P).
Inquire here about these titles and for purchases outside the UK.
The Random House/Penguin takeover prompted a visit from photographer Sarah Lee to shoot my collection of Penguin books for illustrative material for The Guardian.
One of her shots has already been used – a set of early 70s Raymond Chandlers with James Tormey jackets.
My appreciation for the visual culture surrounding popular music was given a leg-up at an early age by a Christmas 1973 gift: Rolling Stone‘s photography compendium Shooting Stars.
Edited by Annie Leibovitz, Shooting Stars lined up a number of the magazine’s photographic contributors who had recorded the American rock music scene in its pomp.
Time to put away the books, mags, newspapers, pamphlets, catalogues and other materials used as reference for the map The Look Of London, which is published later this week by Herb Lester Associates.
Continue reading The Look Of London: Research materials for new map with Herb Lester Associates