“admiring and ferocious” — France Inter
“This first biography, fed by many first-rate witnesses… we laugh, we shudder, we admire.” — Elle
“Thus emerges the story of Karl Lagerfeld: his father’s past in the heart of wartime Germany, his rivalry with Yves Saint Laurent (enflamed by his only love, Jacques de Bascher) and the networks he forged with the biggest luxury manufacturers in the world as he compiled his vast fortune.” — Lovely Books
“Anyone who wants to gain a deeper insight into the life of the real Karl Lagerfeld will find the biography “Kaiser Karl” to be the right reading material.”
— Harper’s Bazaar Germany
On the last morning of his life, Karl Lagerfeld’s only companion was Sébastien, his bodyguard and right-hand man. The king of fashion insisted on being cremated, along with his universally recognizable ‘gear’ – the dark glasses and high starched collar that served as a bastion for his secrets. It is only now that witnesses have begun to talk. Thus emerges the story of Karl Lagerfeld: his father’s past in the heart of wartime Germany, his rivalry with Yves Saint Laurent (enflamed by his only love, Jacques de Bascher) and the networks he forged with the biggest luxury manufacturers in the world as he compiled his vast fortune. Truly an unparalleled icon in the history of fashion, Lagerfeld’s legacy lives on today.
“The life of Andrew Grima, the Italian-Anglo jeweler beloved of the royals, is celebrated in a stunning new book.” – People
“a detailed and lavishly illustrated portrait” – Rapaport magazine
The father of modern jewelry, the golden engineer, the King of Bling… These are just some of the epithets assigned to Andrew Grima, the British genius who marched in the vanguard of a 1960s London-based movement that created a new vocabulary for jewelry design.
Jeweler to the royals and the jet set, to the rule makers and the tastemakers, Grima was a feted celebrity who appeared on talk shows, in Pathé newsreels and in advertisements for Canada Dry. He won The Queen’s Award for Export, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Prize for Elegant Design and a record 11 De Beers Diamonds International Awards (the ‘Oscars’ of the jewelry world).
This book illuminates the career of a man who participated in a golden age of British creativity. It contains a dazzling array of never-before-seen sketches, designs and photographs from the Grima archives and includes a sparkling preface from the doyen of jewelry experts, TV celebrity Geoffrey Munn. A must-buy publication for art and jewelry lovers alike.
“Since discovering the work of Andrew Grima, I have not only become a collector of his exquisite creations, I have also become one of the many to be inspired by his unique and inimitable designs. Each piece of jewellery, each watch, each object is a sculpture.” – Marc Jacobs
“His work, his style, is completely identifiable, it’s unique.” – James Taffin de Givenchy
First exhibited at the Exposition Universelle (Paris, 1900) Louis XIII has embodied sophistication for over a century. Each bottle is a unique work of art, from the decanter – each of which requires eleven craftsmen to blow the crystal, apply the ornamentation and wrap the 20-K gold collar around its slender neck – to the cognac itself. Composed of up to 1200 eaux-de-vie from the first cru of the Cognac region, Grande Champagne, Louis XIII balances notes of myrrh, honey, dried roses, plum, honeysuckle, cigar boxes, leather, figs and passion fruit in an unmatched, ambrosial blend.
This book is an ode to the cognac, sung by some of its earliest and most vibrant devotees. We delve into the diaries and letters of two passionate travelers aboard the America-bound cruiser Normandie, 1935; the agenda of King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth on their visit to Versailles in 1938; and the first-hand account of a young millionaire who, while on a trip to Constantinople in 1928, requested that the Orient-Express stop so that the surface of his brandy might lie still.
Tracing the history of the iconic decanter from the pewter flask found after the Battle of Jarnac to the inspired glass vessels that captivated the royal courts of Europe, Louis XIII Cognac – The Thesaurus promises an elegant and entertaining glimpse into this prestigious cognac and the characters who drank it.
Documents on Contemporary Crafts
is a book series published by Norwegian Crafts in collaboration with Arnoldsche Art Publishers. The series provides a critical reflection of contemporary crafts in a wider context and in doing so asks questions about the ties between contemporary craft, fine art and design, thus helping to redefine the concept of crafts as such. The five volumes discuss such topics as skills, materiality, curating, collecting, perception and New Materialism. The more than thirty contributors range from leading craft theorists, such as Jorunn Veiteberg, Glenn Adamson and Liesbeth den Besten, via academics outside the craft tradition, such as Roger L. Kneebone, professor of surgical education, Trevor Marchand, professor of social anthropology, and Margaret Wasz, consultant psychological therapist, to emerging voices like Sarah R. Gilbert, Marianne Zamecznik and Stephen Knott.
No. 1: Museum for Skills. Skills are essential to the crafts discourse. Yet in an art world that for the last 50 years has become increasingly focused on conceptual strategies, we have seen the tendencies of deskilling and outsourcing. In Museum for Skills, the contributors analyze the current situation for skills by drawing on experience from the fields of brain research, surgery and anthropology.
No. 2: Materiality Matters. If materiality is a quality-related concept in both contemporary crafts and contemporary art, are we talking about the same notion? Or is there a fundamental difference between, on one hand, a maker’s confidence in his or her materials, and on the other, a contemporary artist’s use and adaption of a given material?
No. 3: Crafting Exhibitions. Curatorial discourse has been an increasingly important aspect of contemporary art. The curator took on a new role as the ‘author’ of the exhibition. Crafting Exhibitions introduces some of the processes that go into making an exhibition, from developing concepts to the physical realization. The contributors offer different approaches to exhibitions.
No. 4: On Collecting. Collections make up an important part of the contemporary arts and crafts infrastructure. Collectors and museums help improve the financial situation of artists. Additionally, to be included in the ‘right’ collection or museum can give an artist a high level of recognition and preserves the art works for the future. On Collecting offers insights into collecting from different perspectives and sheds light on some of the structures that determine the ‘collectability’ of works of art.
No. 5: Material Perceptions. Contemporary craft objects can be perceived for instance, as works of art in ceramics, glass, textile, metal and wood, or as functional, handmade and everyday objects. Material Perceptions investigates contemporary crafts as representations of reality that do not rely on the concept of autonomy, unravelling the dualism between aesthetic objects and everyday things.
Norwegian Crafts is a non-profit organisation founded by the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts in 2012. Norwegian Crafts initiates and produces exhibitions in collaboration with Norwegian and international institutions, curators and artists. The aim is to strengthen the position of contemporary craft from Norway internationally, contribute to the development of the artists’ careers and stimulate further exchange across national borders in the field of crafts.
Aesthetic seduction, superb workmanship, and historical interest are the three central themes in the collection of Fondation Gandur pour l’Art (Geneva), created in 2010 and still expanding. The aim of this first volume is to catalog the works in the collection, whose decorative aspects are every bit as important as their narrative content. The works are for the most part sculptures – statuettes and ornamental reliefs – although two-dimensional decorations depicting figurative scenes associated with classical antiquity or Christianity are no less important.
The periods represented by the sculptural works discussed in this book reflect the scope of the whole collection, which ranges from the 12th to the 18th century. And since the goal of the collection is to document centuries of cultural exchange between France and neighboring countries, all the works included in the book come from these latter regions. The hybrid styles are closely linked, and this is an aspect of considerable importance, as is the originality certain pieces display and, last but not least, their aesthetic quality.
The book is arranged by topic, which brings out the great originality and extraordinary richness of the collection, as well as the extremely varied nature of the subjects, narrative episodes, and figures portrayed. More specifically, the topics are divided into five sections: ancient gods and heroes; biblical and allegorical figures; scenes from the life of the Virgin; episodes from the life of Christ; and saints and intercessors. Each work has its own entry that describes the historical and geographical context in which it was made, analyzes its iconographic content, and includes a bibliography and a list of the exhibitions where the work was exhibited.
This survey of contemporary winery architecture around the world profiles 30 wineries, and explores how the new generation of growers are incorporating a thoughtful approach to architectural design into their wider public-facing identity and mission. Following his earlier book, which explored winery architecture in Italy, the author has selected wineries in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania to illustrate how quality and sustainability have become priorities in the construction process. Responding to the increasing interest in traveling to see first-hand where wine is produced, he examines how wineries are creating well-designed and engaging spaces that are in tune with the surrounding landscape, highlighting the connection between the building, its surroundings, and the agricultural community.
How can you stay relevant for your customers? The answer is a combination of the following three factors: technology, personal involvement and social commitment. The past ten years have been marked by the arrival of 4G, mobile services, and robotics. These technologies have brought about a revolution in the field of customer experience and in the future, this will evolve even further. As a company, you will have to take a more active part in the personal life journey of your customers. This opens up the opportunity to tackle, together with your customer, concrete social world problems, including climate change, mobility, and health care. Customers increasingly seek out companies that do good for both themselves, and the world.
The Churches of India takes the reader on a fascinating journey through India to discover the history and architecture of the country’s Christian churches. With fine illustrations and an informative, easy-to-read text the book reveals the diverse architectural styles that have evolved in different regions from the very beginnings of the Common Era identified with the birth of Christ.
Churches have been built in greater numbers from the middle of the last millennium when settlers such as the Armenians and colonisers, Portuguese, French and British, brought their own branches of Christianity and religious architecture with them. Many churches were indigenized over time while others have retained their architecture in its pure form.
Joanne Taylor’s work gives the reader a deep feeling for the range of churches and their architecture, from the humble to the grand. It is also a fine history of the search by those who design or adapt buildings for a self-identity through the symbolism, explicit or implicit, expressed in built forms.
Religious buildings give India its identity as a nation of diverse people with their own cultures. It is a country with one of the world’s richest architectural traditions. Complemented by over 300 photographs, this absorbing book is the most comprehensive work on India’s churches to date.
From acclaimed Hollywood photographer Firooz Zahedi comes Look at Me, a collection of his most distinguished and intimate celebrity portraits. From editorial commissions from magazines – including Vanity Fair, Glamour, InStyle, GQ, and Entertainment Weekly, to iconic movie posters such as Pulp Fiction, Edward Scissorhands, and The Addams Family – Zahedi has been photographing Hollywood’s biggest stars for over 35 years.
Each photograph is accompanied by a short text offering personal insight into how each shot came together. Also included are never-before-seen photographs as well as special behind-the-scenes snapshots and notes from Zahedi’s appreciative subjects. Look at Me is a celebration of this golden age of celebrity as seen through the lens of one of Hollywood’s most accomplished photographers.
The book presents and describes the treasures hidden away in centuries-old shipwrecks: visible treasures like Chinese porcelain, as well as invisible treasures in the form of new knowledge revealed by the ships and their cargos. The stories of seven shipwrecks not only paint a picture of the Maritime Silk Road but also of the development of maritime archaeology in the Netherlands and in Asia.
Text in English and Dutch.
The October 2019 issue showcases original drawings from the National Gymnasiums of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which are among the many items from the Kenzo Tange Archive recently restored at Harvard University. Treated with the same care as a restored painting, these technical drawings allow us to admire the tremendous detail of the architecture and understand the intention of the designers as they produced these lines.
A series of viewpoints and commentaries by experts from Japan and abroad are presented, including interviews with Fumihiko Maki and Kengo Kuma. Classic Tange designs such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, St. Mary’s Cathedral, and Kagawa Prefecture Government Building are also featured. The guest editor is Seng Kuan, who curated the exhibition ‘Utopia Across Scales: Highlights from the Kenzo Tange Archive’ held at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2009.
Text in English and Japanese.
JA 115 is dedicated to the Japanese architect Manabu Chiba and features 24 projects since his firm was established in 2001. Included are completed projects, works in progress, and future proposals. Working through a wide range of building types, he focuses on the special characteristics of the location as well as the people who live and work there. His designs try to build human relationships and communal social situations that are connected to these specific environments.
Chiba’s work is presented in 3 chapters that correspond to his design methods: floor plans, studies, and photographs. He pays close attention to floor plans as a starting point for his design concepts, while studies represent numerous, different explorations of ideas that unfold through the use of sketches and models. Photographs, on the other hand, are snapshot references of Chiba’s buildings as they currently exist.
Text in English and Japanese.
The first special issue devoted to interiors commemorates Eriko Horiki’s 20 years working with traditional Japanese washi paper. When making a career change and starting her company, Horiki had no experience in art, design, or running a business. Witnessing the dying traditions of the washi industry, she felt compelled to learn the process and made it her mission to reverse the trend.
Traveling to Fukui, which is the center of papermaking in Japan, Horiki learned the painstaking process of hand making washi. In turn she developed new methods modernizing the process, resulting in two patents. The studio can create single sheets 16m in length, which can require a whole month to complete.
Horiki pushed the use of washi beyond a craft material and searched for new applications in architecture. This led to a focus on light, transparency, and structure, leading to innovative forms. Her work for Disney, Yo-Yo Ma’s stage art, and large scale exhibitions took washi to previously unseen venues and applications.
Text in English and Japanese.
Computational design is an evolving discipline that operates at the intersection of computer science, engineering, and design. It helps designers leverage technology to develop new strategies, tools, methods, and workflows for thinking about and creating the built environment. While computational design thinking and methods are considered transformative in the architecture, engineering and construction industries, the shift from promise to practice remains a challenge.This book documents the nexus of research and practical collaborations that form the basis of the Computational Design Education and Research program at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The diversity of projects outlined in this publication contributes to advancing an understanding of computational design as an interdisciplinary field that is capable of innovatively addressing real-world built environment challenges.
Contents: Computational Design Theory, Digital Fabrication and Construction, Gaming and Visual Representation, Responsive Environments, Smart and Ubiquitous Cities, BIM Modeling
Buying a previously owned watch can be a risky purchase. Fake watches are legion on the internet and unscrupulous vendors are increasingly using this market place to sell their fraudulent products. Few second-hand watch websites call upon true experts and purchases are increasingly made at the buyer’s risk. How to tell a true watch from a fake? That is exactly what you will discover in this volume covering the main luxury watch brands, and above all providing specific documentation on the counterfeit market – which is constantly evolving and perpetually on the lookout for the perfect fake watch. Enhanced knowledge of watchmaking and its flagship brands along with an understanding of the fake market will help you make the right decisions when buying a watch.
In the 1960s and 1970s, a generation of young Americans rejected the promise of prosperity and the suburban dream embraced by their parents. Furious about the war in Vietnam, fighting for civil rights at home, and eagerly exploring the effects of psychedelic drugs, the delights of free love, and the mystical teachings of eastern religions, thousands followed the advice to “turn on, tune in, drop out,” bringing about a counterculture in the process. For many American jewelers, these events and values found their way into the studio, as well as affecting how they lived, worked, and loved. Jewelers, like other studio craftspeople, rode the wave of popularity for the hand-made and authentic that was at the heart of the counterculture.
In Flux is the story of how their jewelry contributed to the raucous, contradictory, and enthusiastic clamour for a new kind of society that made the 1960s and 1970s so extraordinary.
The intention of Reinhold Ziegler’s jewelry objects is to move the attention of the wearer or onlooker from themselves onto something greater – a radical strategy within a field that is strongly occupied with emphasizing the individuality of the wearer. Ziegler’s art is influenced by the French philosopher Georges Bataille, who in his work Eroticism identifies a strong dilemma in humanity in which, on one hand, we want to fight for our individuality yet, at the same time, have a strong desire to be united with what he calls ‘everything that is’. In this book, Ziegler deals with this topic from many angles – gravitation, vibration, meteorites, fossils, and general aspects of humanity such as tools (from the Stone Age), talismans, spirituality, and consciousness.
About 40 muscular men half-nakedly face a dozen mirrors. One of them tenses up his gigantic biceps, another’s support team applies last minute corrections with spreadable fake tan. An old hand concentrates on some kind of meditation. A greenhorn meticulously checks his posing slip.
The air smells of aftershave, sweat, and loads of testosterone. The sun is burning. In a moment the big stage will be conquered. For this book, Firat Kara has asked what people can do with their bodies and with what diligence they proceed. Kara is not only interested in the bulky bodies but also in the people inside them. He has captured their inner impetus at international and national events, in studios and at open air training sites. He was able to find and record the personalities behind the muscles, especially right before the shows.
Whistler is so much more than one of the best places on Earth to ski. Tucked in the southwestern corner of British Columbia, less than two hours from Vancouver, the resort municipality is really as much a state of mind as a destination. Its modern culture, firmly rooted in the great outdoors, offers a unique healthy and active lifestyle that people around the world can only dream about. Yet many of the over two-million people that visit Whistler annually from every corner of the world are in such a hurry to get up into the mountains they miss so many of the secret sites, hidden gems and offbeat attractions scattered throughout the Sea to Sky corridor – home of Canada’s most scenic road. When you know where to look, you’ll be amazed by Whistler’s rich diversity and quirky surprises, from the funky dives where local “Liftees” dine, to high-end, glamorous shops in the village, aboriginal landmarks, ghost towns, and left-over traces of the Winter Olympics. And although mining and logging have been replaced by tourism, vestiges of the early pioneer days still pop up in the most unusual places.
“It’s very hard for me to accept that Sukita-san has been snapping away at me since 1972, but that really is the case. I suspect that it’s because whenever he’s asked me to do a session, I conjure up in my mind’s eye the sweet, creative and big-hearted man who has always made these potentially tedious affairs so relaxed and painless. May he click into eternity.” – David Bowie
For Sukita, the creative mastermind behind the iconic cover for David Bowie’s album ‘Heroes’, photography is an expression of a ‘fundamental secret’ shared between artists: a spiritual communication that transcends the minutiae of language. Born and raised in Kyushu, Japan, Sukita’s reverence of American and Western counter-culture lured him to New York and London. He immersed himself in the western music scene which he loved, while his relaxed photo sessions endeared him to many celebrity figures, including David Bowie and Iggy Pop (with both of whom Sukita had a 40-year long professional relationship), Marc Bolan, and Japanese musician Hotei, best known for his work on the Kill Bill soundtrack. His work spans the early US and UK seventies rock scene, the London punk-rock era to the present crop of emerging Japanese rock artists.
This photo book is the first time the photographer has collaborated on a major retrospective of his career and includes some of his early documentary work and his rarely-seen travel and street photography. It introduces the artist through two essays that explore his place within the wider context of both Western and Japanese photography, presented alongside the many iconic shots of both Western and Japanese artists that earned him his eternal reputation.
This love letter in photographs to the unique beauty and mystery of Venice is an evocative compilation of vintage photographs, prints, and ephemera. It is a tactile ode to the sensuality of the city, filled to the brim with all manner of Venetian memorabilia: 19th century photographs, engravings, hand-colored magic lantern slides, vintage postcards, old luggage labels, keys from long-lost luxury hotels, golden ducats from the 18th century, Carnival ball invitations. With gilt-edged pages and antique Venetian lettering, it is not a travel or walking guide, but an atmospheric pilgrimage that pays homage to this ever-fascinating city. Serge Simonat’s engaging commentary on Venetian history and culture introduces each subject with affection and insight.
“Every day, a nervous traveller visiting the City of Doges for the first time asks the best way to get to their hotel. ‘The shortest or the most beautiful?’, I once heard the concierge at Hotel Des Bains ask. The tourist who opted for the most beautiful route is still wandering around the city. This is a unique photobook in which to wander and lose oneself.” – Serge Simonart
Diamonds tell stories that are captivating and timeless. On the one hand, they are just stones, pieces of pure carbon with optical properties that make them glitter and sparkle like stars. On the other, they are mystical entities hypnotically drawing the viewer into a time machine as it were, wherein a cinematic montage of their journey unfolds. Diamonds Across Time presents a sweeping overview of diamonds across time and space, featuring ten essays by world-renowned scholars in love the stone. Here, these authors present new discoveries; explore extraordinary collections; investigate histories, science, and trade; the nature of diamonds; legendary gems, jewelry collections, and great designers. Above all, they tell the human stories that underpin the adoration of diamonds.
Diamonds Across Time is a richly illustrated publication with high-quality images of gems and jewels, archival documents, rare drawings, and fabulous photographs. The volume places diamonds in the context of the time in which they were discovered, and on the political, social, and cultural stage on which their histories were etched. In a rapidly changing world, diamonds are eternal. They were created by nature and grew in the womb of the earth. They tell stories, and they record history. With this book, diamonds will finally have their own storytellers.
The works in porcelain and colorful shades of stoneware by Doris Banks might be modest and reduced in form, color, and decoration yet they still possess a remarkable impact and presence. All the objects are one-offs – modeled, formed, pressed, folded, glazed, and decorated by hand. As a result, the natural character of the material remains vivid. With a minimalist aesthetic beholden to Asia, the ceramic artist’s works are characterized by a virtuoso play of form and surface that allows a tactile experience of textures on the exterior surface. This monograph is an in-depth appraisal not only of these works but also of an artist who despite her early death achieved remarkable things in studio ceramics.
Text in English and German.