Bound & Flogged: this week's best monographs, from Tim Burton to Zhang Huan
BEST FASHION MONOGRAPH BOOK OF THE WEEK: Philip Treacy by Kevin Davies
Move over, Stephen Jones! For the first time, Philip Treacy by Kevin Davies, provides a unique, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the world's most famous and influential milliners. As a fashion graduate of the Royal College of Arts in London, Treacy was soon discovered by Isabella Blow and became the milliner of choice for top fashion designers including Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino and Chanel. Crediting for changing the perception of hats and accessories in fashion, the award-winning milliner allowed his friend Kevin Davies to photograph his life, studio, and working method for the past 20 years – resulting in a wonderful exploration into the world of a true craftsman.
BEST MUSIC PHOTOBOOK OF THE WEEK: Hip Hop - Portaits of an Urban Hymn
Needless to say, since its birth in the 70s urban centres of America, hip hop has become a wildly pervasive, popular music form, exerting an unquantifiable influence on youth culture around the globe. However, few have created such serious and powerful photographs that explore the breadth of the streetquake as well as Scheinbaum’s Hip Hop: Portraits of an Urban Hymn. His portraits - of musical artists including Erykah Badu, Chuck D., Mos Def, Professor Griff, and Wu-Tang Clan - approach hip hop as a positive cultural phenomenon akin to the youth movement of the 60s.
BEST PERFORMING ARTIST’S MONOGRAPH BOOK OF THE WEEK: Zhang Huan
Rose-Lee Goldberg’s look at the remarkable Chinese performance artist, sculptor and painter is the first complete analysis of Zhang Huan's entire career, from his beginnings in Beijing’s “East Village” to his breakthrough in New York. Easily one of the most important and innovative artists working today, Huan brought the burgeoning Chinese art scene to international attention in the 90s with a series of taboo-breaking performances. Via a range of media including photography, painting and monumental sculpture, his artwork continues to combine the tragedy of the human condition and the spiritual essence of Buddhism.
BEST DIRECTOR'S MONOGRAPH BOOK OF THE WEEK: Tim Burton
Tim Burton—creator of Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Batman series, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride and Alice in Wonderland, among others—has succeeded in bringing some of the most beloved figures of recent American cinema into his personal orbit. His eccentric vision has proved itself compatible with today’s massive Hollywood budgets, a paradox that underlies all his films. Burton is one of the few Hollywood directors who appeals to all audiences, from teenagers to film critics, movie buffs to the most cerebral artists. This film-by-film exploration of his work is illustrated with photographs taken on set, film stills, and drawings that offer the reader realistic insight into Burton’s fantastical, colourful world.
BEST AUTOBIO BOOK OF THE WEEK: Paul Auster’s Report From the Interior
In follow-up to Winter Journal, novelist Paul Auster recalls the development of his interior self with Report from the Interior. From his first poem at the age of nine, to his dawning awareness of global political injustice, Report from the Interior also charts America’s moral and political journey through the postwar 1950s, into the turbulent 1960s. This four-part work on Auster’s emerging consciousness as a literary artist is sure to please old and new fans alike, answering the challenge of an autobiography in ways rarely, if ever, seen before.