Flogging A Dead Horse
This artists' book outlines the life and works of Jake and Dinos Chapman. I could not take my eyes off the detailed cover and when I started reading, I wanted to look away but couldn't! Their works as a whole are grotesquely captivating and humorously appalling. See the sculpture series that features disturbing juxtapositions of genitalia upon child-like figures, a sculpture of Stephen Hawking placed atop a rocky precipice with one wheel dangling over the edge, and an African fertility statue of Ronald MacDonald. If you're the type who appreciates these sort of things (and I know that you are), come by and check it out.
Shoplifting From American Apparel
Maybe you've heard your friends talk about this catchy title without actually referring to the novel itself. Tao Lin's autobiography on his life (and arrests) in NYC is super cool, but not in that, you know, trendy kind of way.
Nathalie Djurberg with Music by Hans Berg
Published after the artist's exhibition at the Walker Art Center, this book displays the wildly imaginative installations that were featured there. Djurberg created a series of vividly intense bird sculptures and visually explicit claymation scenes that are sure to speak or rather, caw at you in some way.
Ever wonder how the things we buy are really manufactured? Thomas Thwaites was curious enough that he decided to make a two-slice toaster by using his own materials. His entire process of successes and failures with the toaster's creation is recorded in this book. And when you read, please remember: DO NOT LEAVE ANY CRUMBS IN THE PAGES.
