Whether it be Cosplay, Rockabilly, HipHop or Gothic: when the Japanese immerse a subculture, they do it like no other. For the Otaku, their passion is their life, and it pervades every aspect. From cosplayers and colourful anime-covered vehicles, to hotrodders and leather-clad rockabillies: sub-cultures in Japan are as varied as they are fascinating. Delving into this world of passions, The Obsessed reveals the all- consuming approach that many people take to their hobbies and lifestyle choices. With dazzling photography and background information, this book show-cases a panoply of scenes and people that make up Japan’s many countercultural groups.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 210 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 31-03-2022

Taking a broad definition of design and drawing on the shared histories and legacies of settler colonialism in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, The Politics of Design offers a wide-ranging comparative study that focuses specifically on the role of design in creating and perpetuating the privileges and prejudices of racial hierarchies. This provocative volume raises long-overdue questions about the problematic histories and effects of design in the context of these settler-colonial societies. The authors draw on a range of subjects and themes, including various manifestations of visual culture and urban and design technologies, from both an historical and contemporary perspective. Indigenous voices are prominent, enabling a recovery of knowledge that was erased through colonial systems of integration and assimilation. In the current context of globalism, resurgent nationalism and calls for decolonisation The Politics of Design challenges us to think comparatively across disparate but conceptually similar cultural and geographical contexts. In drawing attention to the role of design in sustaining the prejudices and privileges of whiteness and in rendering visible its complexities and contradictions that have long been hidden in plain sight this book makes the argument for a new kind of restorative knowledge.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 400

Dimensions: 170 x 244 mm

Publication Date: 31-01-2022

In the 19th century, numerous photographers chose the same motifs as Impressionist painters: the forest of Fontainebleau, the cliffs of Etretat or the modern metropolis of Paris. They, too, studied the changing light, seasons and weather conditions. From its inception, photographers pursued artistic ambitions, as evidenced by their experimentation with composition and perspective, by means of various technical procedures. Until the First World War, the relationship between photography and painting was characterized both by competition and mutual influence. The exhibition and catalogue examine these interactions and illuminate the development of the new medium from the 1850s to its establishment as an autonomous art form around 1900.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 280

Dimensions: 240 x 300 mm

Publication Date: 29-03-2022

While Munch's pessimistic, melancholy world view crucially defines our understanding of his work, many important postwar and contemporary artists have drawn inspiration from several aspects of his oeuvre. This richly illustrated book explores how nine such artists-Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Louise Bourgeois, Miriam Cahn, Peter Doig, Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol-engaged with Munch's work at different points in, or throughout, their careers. It features elaborate reproductions of sixty works by Munch juxtaposed with those inspired by him. Readers discover how Baselitz cunningly pays tribute to his artistic hero how Tracey Emin's practice, like Munch's, is autobiographical, both drawing from their personal torment to create their unnerving works ; how Marlene Dumas was drawn to the expressiveness of Munch's portraits; how Louise Bourgeois' works are illustrative of Munch's fixation on fear and isolation; how Francis Bacon modelled "Screaming Pope" after Munch's most renowned painting; and how Peter Doig draws on Munch's radical treatment of pigments and materiality. Essays by leading scholars detail each artist's unique preoccupation with Munch and offer a focused exploration of the ways women artists in particular were inspired by his examinations of loneliness, fear, and trauma.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 280

Dimensions: 245 x 285 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

World-renowned for her work during the Weimar period, Hannah Hoech was a pioneer in many aspects, both artistic and cultural. She was the lone woman of the Berlin Dada movement - the riotous form of art that deconstructed sound, language, and images to re-assemble them into new objects, texts and meanings. Hoech was a pivotal force in the development of collage, paving the way for today's ubiquitous image editing techniques. A determined believer in women's rights, Hoech questioned conventional concepts of partnership, beauty and the making of art, her work presenting acute critiques of racial and social stereotypes, particularly that of her native Germany. Focusing on Hoech's collages, this book examines the artist's career from the 1920s to the 1970s, charting her oeuvre from early works influenced by fashion and mass media, through to her later compositions of lyrical abstraction. It reveals her rapid development of a personal style, which was both humorous and often moving, but also offered critical commentary on society at a time of tremendous social change. Included are essays that examine themes such as the concept of the "New Woman" and the legacy of German colonialism. Featuring international scholarship on a groundbreaking artist, this volume brings together important source texts and reference material, which were first translated into English for the original edition of this book.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 210 x 260 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

David Zinn's amazing street drawings are created using chalk, charcoal and found objects, and each extraordinary drawing is only ever temporary. This book preserves Zinn's art in all its colorful, hypnotic glory by collecting together never-before published images of his eye-popping creations. Created over the last two years on streets across the globe, these adorably zany and deceptively three-dimensional characters come to life on manhole covers and streetlamps, village squares and subway platforms. Zinn's most frequent characters are a bright green googly-eyed monster and a phlegmatic flying pig-but the diversity of his menagerie is limited only by the size of the sidewalk and the spirit of the day. In a brief introduction Zinn describes his creative process, explaining how he seeks out everyday imperfections to situate his art-such as sidewalk cracks and chips, tufts of weeds and sewer grates-and brief captions describe the provenance of each work. While these amazing drawings can no longer stop pedestrians in their tracks on the streets, they live on in book form to mesmerize and inspire readers of all ages.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 160

Dimensions: 170 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

Told for the first time in graphic novel form, the story of Francis Bacon's life is as complex, colorful, and highly charged as his paintings. Drawn in shades of mauve, red, yellow, and blue that distinguished his palette, these illustrations weave together a troubling but compassionate narrative, one that draws on the tragic events of Bacon's childhood and youth, as well as reflecting the profoundly passionate yearnings of the artist he became. Separated into thematic and chronological sections the novel highlights the prevailing influences of Bacon's life and times: his early autodidacticism and estrangement from his family; his struggles to make his way as a surrealist painter and his destruction of his early work. It traces his gradual success in postwar Europe, his powerful and often violent romantic relationships, his foray into portraiture, and his never-ending search for subject matter and meaning in his work. Alternating between full-page illustrations and smaller, captioned works, Portolano imagines not only the known details of Bacon's biography, but also his inner life-the dreams, fears, and obsessions that were equally formidable underpinnings of his oeuvre. Woven to gether with historical facts and figures, this graphic novel reconstructs a life as only a cartoonist could-image led, thoughtfully composed, and deeply evocative of its subject matter.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 128

Dimensions: 170 x 240 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022

Now in paperback, Duotone explores the possibilities and applications of two-color printing technique, which uses either two shades of the same color, black and one tint, or two different colors. This method brings out middle tones and highlights, and its results are vibrant, colorful and stunning, generating maximum expressivity while minimizing production costs. The wide selection of projects in the book covers different design categories, from logos, brochures, posters, packaging materials, book covers, posters and exhibition materials to screen designs for corporate websites and promotional microsites. The variety of designs reveals the magic of duotone techniques and how designers and artists make full use of its possibilities to create dramatic and dynamic compositions. Duotone is the next big trend in graphic design. It enhances readability, makes the most of minimalist designs without overwhelming the eye, and is the perfect way to effortlessly create unforgettable atmospheres.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 210 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2022

Portraying people is undoubtedly one of the most difficult aspects of drawing. Expressions, movements, emotions and gazes add a series of challenges not present when drawing still lifes or landscapes. In addition, the scant number of books specifically about drawing children leave many of the particularities related to the portrayal of childhood unresolved. This book, now in paperback, fills this void. Using live models, either posing or simply naturally, photographs, videos, drawings of faces, it contains a step-by-step, detailed explanation on how to draw children. Through an introduction to proportions, and by training in observing the changes children experience over the years, the reader learns how to capture both children's physical and psychological transformations. Portraying Children is intended for illustrators and those who love to draw, and anyone else who wants to capture the memorable and fleeting moments associated with childhood.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 208

Dimensions: 215 x 297 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2022

Gnomes are everywhere in this quirky adult coloring book! Featuring 32 charming line art designs of garden gnomes taking naps under trees, peeking through tall grass, smiling in flower beds, and so much more, Garden Gnomes Coloring Book is the perfect outlet to express your creativity among charismatic characters! Plus, fun and playful jokes and captions complement each illustration for an added element of delight. Also included are tips on coloring techniques and materials, as well as a gallery of fully-colored examples to get you inspired before you begin. Using gel pens, markers, crayons, colored pencils, or watercolors, each design is printed on a single side of high-quality, extra-thick paper to resist bleed through. Perforated edges make for easy removal and display of completed designs.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 80

Dimensions: 216 x 276 mm

Publication Date: 15-03-2022