Browsing “Books”

John Freeborn has just released Random Zine #10, with a bit of a twist, this is the first time he’s releasing this zine as an iBook only.

Along with 19 other artists, he kindly asked me to participate in this issue. I submitted one piece, which I would call pretty random for me, it was fun! 100 pages with artwork by (in order of appearance) Hershel Baltrotsky, Sonia Yoon, Clint Woodside, Ryan Wallace, Rich Jacobs, Jim Houser, Kendrick Shackleford, Tom Maher, Ben Horton, Eric McDade, Chris Sembrot, Joseph Hart, Matt Sohl, Dave Delaney, Sam Croswell, Carlos Miaco, Matt Curtius, Amy S. Kauffman and Jordin Isip.

It’s only $.99 in the apple iBook store, click here to get it!

I just saw a copy of this book published in conjunction with Three Sixty Project’s first annual skateboard deck exhibition in
Australia recently. The exhibition and book are raising funds for skate programs working with under-priveleged youth all
over the world and some photos I’ve taken while working with Skateistan Cambodia feature throughout.

The photos were all taken at Skateistan skate sessions in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and were used with permission from
Friends Int. Mith Samlanh centre and Pour un Sourire d’ Enfant (PSE)

For more information or to support the One X One X One project or Skateistan head to the links above.

FIGHT TO THE DEATH ISSUE #1 ZINE

Fight To the Death Issue #1 is my sister, Pearl C. Hsiung, and I’s first collaborative zine. It’s filled with drawings from our sketch books, and it’s our first zine as well.  Fight to the Death is a name for our collaboration and was derived from a phrase my dad used to say while we were fighting as children. We’re here to prove him right or wrong.  Maybe it’ll be our last collaboration!  It’ll be available  this Saturday, December 3rd at Bitchcraft Trading Post Winter Sale!!   (3010 N Coolidge Street Atwater, Los Angeles,CA)

Fight To the Death, Issue #1
2 cover silkscreen, 36 pages out of an edition of 50.
$8 each

Big bro Julian lives down the street on the Venice side of Dogtown. He’s usually flying all over the world speaking at some something-or-nother conference, but lately, I’ve been seeing him check in on Foursquare at skateparks all over the country. Wasn’t he just at the Venice Skate Park yesterday? There he is, documenting the variety of life that is living and breathing down by our oceanside, outdoor, skatepark capturing everybody: locals, tourists, old pros, next gen’s top skater and their families. He’s even shot us a few times, hanging out.

Julian’s always got some awesome project happening and when he told me about Hello, Skater Girl I got really excited. I’ve always been a fan of the sport. Silvio was the lead artist for the blockbuster videogame, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Lulu’s godfather is a former pro-skater, and much of our community including the one reading this post are life long friends and family from the sport.

It’s no secret that I would love for Lulu to be an astronaut-pro-skater someday. She’s got her first deck, so really, nothing can stop her, right?! I think the Hello, Skater Girl book would be a great addition to Lulu’s bookshelf. I hope you enjoy this interview I put together with my photographer pal:

Tell me, what’s this photo book you’re working on?

I’m doing a photography book project. The subject is girl skateboarders. I told myself I was doing a book project because that was the easiest thing to wrap my head around. What I really wanted to do was understand skateboarding culture more than I already did, and I basically didn’t really understand it at all — so the project was a way get to know what skateboarding was all about.

Why focus on girl skateboarder?

At first I naively convinced myself that no one else was trying to capture and document girl skaters through some sort of visual medium. That was stupid to assume, because of course it’s not true. But — if you look at much of the core skateboarding communities and magazines and the big brands, you don’t see much photography of girl skaters at all. That’s just the way it is and I understand the systemic issues as to why, even if I don’t understand why not — the lost opportunities.

That’s what drew me to the project because I love creative projects that go against the grain — that do something that “no one” else is doing. And, of course I know that’s just a creative start. As soon as you think no one else is doing something you immediately start finding all the people who are doing that thing. The creativity comes in finding a way to do what other people are doing in a unique, individual way. That’s much more fun to be amongst a community of similarly motivated folks and find your own style and technique.

Okay, so..how would you describe your style?

It’s easier to “see” than describe but — what I’m trying to do is a bit photo-geeky and technical but I try to set up portrait-like photos of this very dynamic, very kinetic sport. I’m shooting for a look that is studio-like — something with big, curated light and the background fall-off you might see in a portrait shoot. I think this is atypical in the canon of skateboarding photography where you often have very big compositions: the big skater/ultra-wide/fisheye look; or the landscape shot with a small skater amidst a big street/urban-concrete setting. I guess I was going for something different just to be different — a wide-ish lens with little distortion; no motion blur; strong visual separation between the skater and the background. That’s geeky.

How’d you get into skateboard photography, anyway?

I moved to Venice Beach awhile ago. The town got a skatepark right on the beach a couple of years ago. Going there and shooting was a better way to learn about the history and culture of this place I’m now living in than reading about it or going to town council meetings.

If you’re keen to see Hello, Skater Girl get made, check out Julian’s Kickstarter or Facebook fan pages! And thanks for your support. Sincerely!

Le Cercle
By Mark Gonzales & Benjamin Deberdt
NY Launch and Signing
Friday, September 9th, 5-7 PM

Printed Matter is pleased to announce a launch for Le Cercle, a recent publication from artist Mark Gonzales and photographer Benjamin Deberdt. Please join us for a reception and signing with both artists on Friday, September 9th. Printed Matter is located at 195 Tenth Avenue, between 21st and 22nd Street.

In 2009, artist and professional skateboarder Mark Gonzales revisited his project the ‘Circle Board’ – a sequence of nine skateboards joined end to end to form a complete loop. Benjamin Deberdt photographed Mark riding his creation before dawn in front of the Eiffel Tower producing grainy black and white prints. These photographs were then shipped to New York City and drawn directly upon by Mark in his idiosyncratic style. His poetry, familiar characters and some new themes can be seen, much of these inspired by the photos themselves and the city of Paris.

The publication is a limited run artist book conceived by the artists and Izrock Pressings. It includes a mix of 4-color cover and 2 color Risograph printing throughout, with printing by Blood and Thunder press in Sydney, Australia.

Le Cercle is risograph-printed perfect bound book with a belly-band. It is 52 pages and measures 20 x 25.5 cm.

Printed Matter Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1976 by artists and art workers with the mission to foster the appreciation, dissemination, and understanding of artists” books and other artists” publications.

Printed Matter, Inc. has received support, in part, through grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City, Department of Cultural Affairs, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Schoenstadt Family Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, the Gesso Foundation, the Foundation for Contemporary, Arts, the Morris B. and Edith S. Cartin Family Foundation Inc., the Mondriaan Foundation, Shapco Printing Inc., and individuals worldwide.

Printed Matter, Inc.
195 Tenth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
www.printedmatter.org

T: 212 925 0325
F: 212 925 0464

Just released a limited zine on FATHERSONS PRESS. “It Never Happened Before” is a collection of found monthly planner entries and notes from my grandfather and images of his pasture and outbuildings I have been taking over the past several years.

All of the Fatherssons releases are the same format and the run is only 20, so if you want one, don’t hesitate.

A big shout out to Parking Block Publishing from Chicago for an awesome zine swap!! This is one of my all time favorites, a zine by Dennis Pomales.

Read more

@kellytwittiams I did a writeup on my blog about Texas skate/punk preserver Bill Daniel’s awesome documentary called Who Is Bozo Texino? From a rusty train car to the MoMA, MOCA, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Bill is cool. Read more >>

”We Sent Them To The Other Side Of The World & Now They’ve Found The Way Back’ copies limited to 100 and available from now SSERPRESS £8 UK / £9 EUROPE / £10 WORLDWIDE.

more than just a zine, this is a beautifully put together book by Jai Tanju and Kingsley Ifill and features many of the Print Exchange photographers and Jai’s personal stash of printed matter brought to him pretty much daily by the mail man.

filmporvida.blogspot.com

sserpression

I just received my copy of Modern Atlanta from MA Creative Director and Arm Chair Media Art Director, Kevin Byrd. I am always bummed that I miss this event goes every summer. Hopefully next year I will plan ahead and attend.

Modern Atlanta is a great group that focuses on the human side of design, which is a side that is often-times  overlooked. They have created a great network of like-minded designers, artists, architects and general modern design enthusiasts since their inception in 2007. The modern home tour is a great event to launch the summer.

Learn more about MA