Zeitungsfotos: Newspaper Photographs
Thomas Ruff
Published by Bookhorse, Zurich, 2014, 800 pages (b/w ill.), 13.8 × 19.4 cm, English
Price: €35 (Temporarily out of stock)

Between 1981 and 1991 Thomas Ruff collected photographs from German newspapers and weeklies, amassing an archive of 2500 images. In 1990 and 1991 he selected 400 images from it, according to entirely subjective criteria, photographed them without captions, and had them reproduced as colour prints in twice their original size.

For this book, Thomas Ruff re-photographed the templates of the Zeitungsfotos series so they could be reproduced in black-and-white on a coloured background. Awarded Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2014.

#2014 #photography #thomasruff
Devotional Cinema
Nathaniel Dorsky
Published by Tuumba Press, Berkeley, 2014, 54 pages, 13.9 × 20.1 cm, English
Price: €13 (Temporarily out of stock)

“The films of Nathaniel Dorsky blend a beauteous celebration of the sensual world with a deep sense of introspection and solitude. They are occasions for reflection and meditation, on light, landscape, time and the motions of consciousness. Their luminous photography emphasizes the elemental frisson between solidity and luminosity, between spirit and matter, while his uniquely developed montage permits a fluid and flowing experience of time. Dorsky’s films reveal the mystery behind everyday existence, providing intimations of eternity.”—Steve Polta, San Francisco Cinematheque.

In Devotional Cinema, Dorsky moves through meditations on image-moments in works by key filmmakers (Carl Theodor Dreyer, Yasujiro Ozu, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Roberto Rossellini), and arrives at the heart of what constitutes a devotional practice.

#2014 #experimentalfilm #film #michelangeloantonioni #nathanieldorsky #yasujiroozu
stanley brouwn
Published by Haubrok Projects, Berlin, 2014, poster, 20 × 26 cm, English
Price: €38

Poster produced on the occasion of the exhibition stanley brouwn at FAHRBEREITSCHAFT, Berlin, 1 May, 2014–4 April, 2015. Edition of 100.

#2014 #ephemera #haubrokfoundation #stanleybrouwn
Een leeg
Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven
Published by MER. Paper Kunsthalle, Ghent, 2014, 16 pages (b/w ill.), 20 × 26 cm, English
Price: €19

Seven selected poems by Antwerp-based artist Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, illustrated with some of the artist”s original black and white pen drawings. Limited edition of 300 copies.

#2014 #annemievankerckhoven #lucderycke #merpaperkunsthalle #poetry
Exercises in Practical Mischievery #3: What Ever Happened To Fritz Rainer?
Laura Pappa
Published by Speculative Press, Amsterdam, 2014, 16 pages w. insert (b/w ill.), 14.5 × 42 cm, English
Price: €4

Fritz Rainer (1925, Basel) became a spiritual leader in his mid-twenties guiding people through the trials of life. In 1951 he began preaching on the streets and soon enough his teachings started to attract bigger and bigger crowds. The movement rapidly developed into a cult-like entity with a large group of supporters and followers. Analysts have speculated that the real driving force behind Rainer’s popularity was his unusual not to say bizarre method of deliverance. The method, now taken on by The Rainer Plate creators, incorporated the employment of the material qualities of a CTP printing plate to give speeches all over the country. This included bizarre movements with the plate, a variety of ear-splitting sounds the plate produced, the reflection of it, not to mention the presence of an odd-sized metal sheet that in itself raised a mass furor, which eventually influenced the minds of the crowds, converting them into full-scale Rainerists.

The publication walks us through Fritz’ life and uncovers some details from his past.

#2014 #exercisesinpracticalmischievery #laurapappa
Exercises in Practical Mischievery #2: I vote for Yetta Bronstein
Laura Pappa
Published by Speculative Press, Amsterdam, 2014, 16 pages w. insert (b/w ill.), 14.5 × 42 cm, English
Price: €4

Yetta Bronstein, as a 48-year-old house-wife from the Bronx, ran for President in 1964 and again in 1968 as the candidate for the Best Party. Her slogans were “Vote for Yetta and things will get betta” and “Put a mother in the White House.”

The publication houses an interview with Alan Abel (1930), the man behind all these characters including creator of Yetta. Alan was an American prankster, writer and filmmaker who frequently appeared on television, radio and newspapers with his scandalous and provoking undertakings. During the interview the discussion seamlessly flows from one prank to another, from one juicy detail to the next. Along the way his relationship to theatre and the media are discussed, as well as his approach to work.

#2014 #exercisesinpracticalmischievery #laurapappa