Sunday Reads
This month’s book recommendations are all about the revival of classics. What’s good if not the things that withstand the test of time? Here follow some prints all about dwelling in the past, curated by Nora, our book and magazine buyer.
Bill Magazine is a wordless print coming out of Brussles. I’m usually not a fan of print without text – little miss librarian is obviously a reader – but when it involves unpublished Martin Margiela lookbook photos and 90s Japanese street style, I’ll make an exception. All images in this issue are sourced from the book collections of RareBooksParis. If you’re deep into the 90s fashion and lifestyle and haven’t heard of them, you’re in for a treat.
Perhaps one of Germany’s best-known photographers is back with another handbag-focused, titled More Handbags. If you’re unimpressed by the straightforward follow-up to Handbags from 2019, this might not be for you. Juergen’s photography, just like the title suggests, direct, to the point without trying hard. The “what you see is what you get”-style has earned him tremendous fame over the years. In More Handbags, we get a slice of his world through countless handbag campaigns, offering both a fashion history lesson and a glimpse into Juergen’s universe.
Nan Goldin’s seminal book The Other Side, originally published in 1993, and this edition is a reprint of the now celibrated and iconic book (if you wanna try to get a first edition online you will find that they’re quite pricey). The first photographs in the book are from the 1970s, when Goldin lived in Boston with a group of drag queens. The Other Side is an intimate, raw portrayal of gender fluidity, drag culture, and the beauty of self-expression, capturing moments from the artist life and surrounding until the 90s. Known for her deeply personal and unfiltered style, Goldin looks into a world that was often hidden or misunderstood.
I’m a major Beuys fan. I love the large installation of basalt stone slabs at the Hamburger Bahnhof. As of earlier this year, the museum has also expanded on the Beuys installation with a full exhibition of his work, including the iconic piece Das Kapital Raum from the 1970s, which is shown alongside more contemporary artists. As mesmerizing as his art is, much of it revolves around the myth of the artist persona. This book captures Beuys off duty, documenting intimate aspects of the life of this unmatched artist-performer—from his home at Drakeplatz 4 in Düsseldorf. Beuys Book reveals his unique, charismatic personality, which influenced not only those he met but also society and art in general.
Yet another behind the scenes of a legendary artist. The book Casa Dalí opens up Salvador Dalí’s home on the shores of Spain’s Costa Brava, with photos by Coco Capitán offering a rare glimpse of the artist’s surreal house and workshop. Dalí first moved to Portlligat in 1930 with his muse and future wife, Gala Éluard, when they purchased a small fisherman’s hut overlooking the sea. Over the next few decades, the house evolved organically as Dalí continued adding rooms, terraces, and unique features, turning the simple structure into a labyrinth of oddities. True to Dalí’s artistic style, Casa Dalí is much more than a home—it’s a surrealist work of art in itself. The house served as the artist’s primary residence and workspace, the birthplace of some of his most famous paintings, including The Persistence of Memory. Sit back and enjoy fun images of fun features such as oversized egg and gigant head on the roof.
