New and Best-Selling Titles 2015 ‘Reel Art Press Is a Publishing Cult’ ESQUIRE MAGAZINE CONTENTS
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New and Best-Selling Titles 2015 ‘Reel Art Press is a publishing cult’ ESQUIRE MAGAZINE CONTENTS Introduction 7 Autumn / Winter 2015 8 Backlist 25 Limited Editions 35 Contact Information 58 One of the greatest pleasures for me when working with artists or their estates is that tantalizing moment, the spark, when a single image, or contact sheet, or long forgotten box of negatives or battered prints promises something special. Diving into the depths of an archive to explore an artist’s brilliance and talent. Our 2015 titles have all given me that unquantifiable moment of excitement when I was certain that something very special could be brought to press and I could not be happier with the resulting editions. My first window into the work of British Magnum photographer David Hurn was in my days as a vintage movie poster dealer, through his work as the special photographer for From Russia With Love and Barbarella. His shots of the stars were the very best of their kind, capturing the icons of the era in all their sixties glamour and cool. Hurn’s photograph of Sean Connery, for example, with his tux and gun in From Russia With Love is one of the most celebrated Bond images of all time, more synonymous with 007 than any other shot. When I began to look more closely at Hurn’s work from the period, one of the things that actually intrigued me most was his non-celebrity work. Hurn is so much more than just another sixties A-list photographer. As Peter Doggett comments in his introduction, “Unlike most of his peers, Hurn delved beyond the fatal attractions of Swinging London and its global counterparts, to pursue his greatest subject: ordinary people pursuing ordinary passions. … Hurn’s portfolio is a unique blend of celebrity and anonymity, which provides a far more accurate summary of the decade than an anthology of superstar portraits.” Such “superstar portraits” are balanced by photo essays on the streets of New York, in the sex clubs of London’s Soho, on the French Riviera and the Isle of Wight Festival, amongst others. More than perhaps any other photographer from this often-stereotyped decade, Hurn presents one of the most authentic, well-rounded and visually exciting essays on the 1960s that I have encountered. One of the most in-depth books we have ever produced, The 2001 File: Harry Lange and the Design of the Landmark Science Fiction Film is truly the holy grail for fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a visual feast for lovers of film, design, science and space. I was granted access to art director Harry Lange’s unseen archive, which forms the heart of this stunning tome. The book covers the whole of Lange’s artistic scope. With a background at NASA and in research, Lange had a comprehensive vision of what the future could and should look like. He brought his strikingly realistic designs to life from early technical correspondence, to intricate sketches, and finally the meticulous set designs on the film. The attention to every detail is truly astounding and Lange’s work was vital to the whole look and feel of the movie. This book is the first time his incredible vision and complete archive has been brought to the public. It is accompanied by exhaustive research and text by Sir Christopher Frayling, including the last interview Frederick Ordway – the NASA scientist who was an integral consultant on 2001 and worked hand-in-hand with Lange – gave before his death. Cuba 1959 is the first in a series of books we are producing with Magnum photographer Burt Glinn’s archive. When I was first introduced to his archive through Michael Shulman, Magnum’s Director of Publishing, I was blown away by the embarrassment of riches it contained. Glinn’s career spanned more than fifty years, and the wealth and quality of the material is breathtaking. His photo essay on the first ten days of the Cuban Revolution could be a documentary. It is a hugely important body of work, capturing the Revolution as it unfolded on the ground and culminating in Castro’s triumphant entrance into Havana. The book includes some of Glinn’s most iconic images, as well as several unseen shots, rediscovered in the archive after more than half a century. Barbara Pyle’s photographic essay on Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from 1975 captures a special and unique moment in time, with Bruce and the Band on the cusp of fame. This is not just another fan book: Barbara’s photographs are legendary and have been eagerly awaited for forty years. She is one of the only photographers to have ever been allowed in the studio during rehearsals and was their “official unofficial photographer”. Barbara has a photojournalist’s eye and each image is a perfect moment. There are so many interesting shots in this book: one of my favourite sections shows each band member’s first ever passport photos and outtakes, shot by Barbara before they went on tour. This volume is a fascinating and intimate body of work showing the arc of Bruce and the Band’s journey leading up to the release of Born to Run and the moment, in Barbara’s words, that “they became airborne”. Bill Bernstein’s photographs of disco, taken in Manhattan in the late-70s, capture the music movement when it was at its purest – not chic, not celebrity – but a raw love of the music. His photographs are sometimes bizarre, sometimes surreal, and capture a melting pot coming together in the democracy of the dance floor. Talking about that time, Bernstein comments, “We saw gay liberation, women’s liberation, racial equality. And they all met up on the dance floor. A Wall Street guy dancing next to a transgender. There were no judgements...” I first met photographer Hunter Barnes when we were exhibiting prints from our limited edition Rat Pack book at Milk Gallery in New York in 2011. We started talking, and Hunter invited me to a private view of a selection of photographs from his most recent trip, of a community of serpent handlers in the Appalachian Mountains. I was blown away by his work and within the space of fifteen minutes, had bought one of his prints. We went on to produce a book of this collection, A Testimony of Serpent Handling in 2012. Hunter and I always talked about doing another book of an overview of his work in general, which has finally culminated in Roadbook. Hunter is a very special artist and, in my opinion, one of the most important documentary photographers working in the States today. His images are timeless and draw you in. They are real Americana, and he captures little known and forgotten communities outside of mainstream society. Roadbook is a mesmerizing collection of his portraits from his years on the road. Brigid Berlin was Andy Warhol’s best friend and a central figure at the Factory. She was an artist and an obsessive photographer. Her Polaroid collection is somewhat legendary and what I find exciting about these is that they weren’t taken as a photo essay, or with careful planning, but rather they were a compulsive chronicle, an artistic experiment in double exposures and angles while capturing friends and Factory visitors. They are almost indiscriminate and haphazard, yet the overall impression is of precious artefacts and works of art. They also offer a really interesting and immersive picture of what was going on in the Factory and are a virtual Who’s Who of everyone in the art scene in New York at that time. Her photographs of Andy expose the rare intimacy of closest friends. I want to thank all the artists, estates and writers we have worked with this year – it has been a joy. I also give thanks daily for the committed small team around me at Reel Art Press, who are all exceptional and relentlessly dedicated to producing the greatest and most exciting publications out there. TONY NOURMAND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF REEL ART PRESS - 6 - - 7 - THE 1960s: PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAVID HURN Introduced by Peter Doggett “Hurn has the eye of a compassionate eagle, the skill to entice the best out of his subjects, and the wit to turn everyday images into an enduring legacy.” A magnificent volume curated with insight and appreciation for a true master of his art. Magnum photographer David Hurn’s rendering of the 1960s encompasses both Hollywood screen idols and East End sun-seekers; headline news, alongside rituals unchanged for centuries. Photoessays from the streets of New York, anti-Vietnam protests, the London Soho scene, the French Riviera, Queen Charlotte’s Ball and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969; portraits of Michael Caine, Quentin Crisp, Julie Christie, amongst many more; and Hurn’s work within the film industry, capturing The Beatles during filming ofA Hard Day’s Night, Sean Connery in From Russia With Love and Jane Fonda in Barbarella. An incredibly well- rounded vision of the 1960s that is not to be missed. “Life as it unfolds in front of the camera is full of so much complexity, wonder and surprise that I find it unnecessary to create new realities. There is more pleasure, for me, in things as they are.” – David Hurn David Hurn is one of Britain’s most respected and influential documentary photographers. He began his career in 1955, earning an early reputation for his photo-essays from the 1956 Hungarian revolution. He joined Magnum photo agency in 1965. His work is distinguished not only for its unique eye and insight but for his diversity of subjects, as this volume of his work from the 1960s illustrates.