Events Posted May 19, 2019

“A Life in Color: Gere Kavanaugh, Designer” at Helms Design Center

Please join us to celebrate “A Colorful Life: Gere Kavanaugh, Designer” at the Helms Design Center (8745 Washington Blvd, just West of the store) on Tuesday, May 21, 6:30-8:00 pm. There will be reception, discussion, and book signing with Gere Kavanaugh and co-authors Louise Sandhaus and Kat Catmur. The event is free but seating is limited: please rsvp to helmsinfo@wnmrealty.com. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy of this delightful book, please write or call us 310-458-1499.

Events Posted May 17, 2019

Rohina Hoffman: Hair Stories - Saturday, 5/18 at Acana!

JOIN US SATURDAY, MAY 18th FROM 4:00 - 6:00 PM

ROHINA HOFFMAN: HAIR STORIES

BOOK SIGNING AND CONVERSATION WITH ALINE SMITHSON

Hair Stories is a series of excerpted interviews and color portraits of a diverse array of women that explores the complex relationship women have with their hair. Indian-born, Los Angeles–based photographer Rohina Hoffman deployed the interviewing skills she has developed in her training as a neurologist to establish an intimate rapport that allowed for a truthful dialogue about the role of hair in these women's lives. Though conceived and shot before the #MeToo movement, this salient project presents hair as a metaphor for identity, femininity, and the manner in which women struggle for control over their own bodies in a sometimes misogynistic world. Hair Stories shows that hair is more than just style or aesthetics; it is a physical manifestation of the ongoing hope and history of women.

Born in India and raised in New Jersey, Rohina Hoffman is a fine art photographer whose practice uses portraiture and the natural world to investigate themes of identity, home, women’s issues, and adolescence. A graduate of Brown University Medical School and resident at UCLA Medical Center, her training led to a career as a neurologist. While an undergraduate at Brown University, Rohina also studied photography at RISD and was a staff photographer for the Brown Daily Herald. A skilled observer of her patients, Rohina was instilled with a deep and unique appreciation of the human experience. Her ability to forge the sacred trust between doctor and patient has been instrumental in fostering a parallel connection between photographer and subject. Aline Smithson is an artist, educator, and editor based in Los Angeles. She is best known for her conceptual portraiture and a practice that uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. Growing up in the shadow of Hollywood, her work is influenced by the elevated unreal. She received a BA in art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies. After a decade-long career as a New York Fashion Editor, Aline returned to Los Angeles and to her own artistic practice. She founded LENSCRATCH, a photography journal that celebrates a different contemporary photographer each day, has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, and has curated and jurored numerous exhibitions.

Please join us at Arcana Saturday May 18th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to meet Rohina Hoffman as she engages in what is sure to be a thought-provoking discussion with Aline Smithson on the work, and signs copies of her new, already-sold-out (!) Damiani publication. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy of "Hair Stories" or Ms. Smithson's wonderful "Self & Others - Portrait as Autobiography", please place your order here, or call us at 310-458-1499.

Events Posted May 03, 2019

Melodie McDaniel: Riding Through Compton

PLEASE JOIN US
THIS SATURDAY! MAY 4th FROM 4:00 - 6:00 PM
FOR A BOOK SIGNING WITH
MELODIE McDANIEL: RIDING THROUGH COMPTON
and a conversation with contributors
AMELIA FLEETWOOD AND MAYISHA AKBAR

“According to the US Census Bureau, one-third of the population of Compton, California is under the age of eighteen and one-fourth of its population lives at or below the poverty line. Despite the latter statistic, Compton has been home to significant athletes, musicians, scientists, writers, and pioneering public officials. Over decades young people have found a way to overcome the socioeconomic odds against them when their life begins in this city. For the last thirty years, the streets of Compton have been the stomping grounds of a youth riding and equestrian program under the leadership of Mayisha Akbar. Designed to provide the kids of Compton with meaningful year-round after-school activities, members not only learn to ride, but to care for their horses - developing responsibility, discipline, and self-esteem. 'Riding Through Compton' (published by Minor Matters Books) pairs three years of documentary photographs and formal portraits by Melodie McDaniel with interviews by A melia Fleetwood conducted with participants, guardians, and volunteers involved with the Compton Junior Posse. In addition, Poet Laureate of Los Angeles Robin Coste Lewis contributes an excerpt from her poem "Frame", and an afterword by Walter Bodle places the photographs and the importance of the CJP program in historical context."

Please come to Arcana on Saturday May 4th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to meet and greet Melodie McDaniel as she signs copies of her lovely new Minor Matters Books' title, and to listen to Amelia Fleetwood and Mayisha Akbar engage in what promises to be an intriguing discussion about the book and history of The Compton Junior Posse. PLUS, the Art Center College of Design Photography Department is generously providing refreshments for this celebration of illustrious grad, Ms. McDaniel!

If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed copy of "Riding Through Compton", please place your order here or call us at 310-458-1499.

* * * * * *

Melodie McDaniel is an American photographer and director who graduated in 1991 with a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, and whose work challenges prevailing motifs of American identity, with a deep investment in the exploration of sub- and countercultures. She has created over two hundred advertising campaigns to date for companies that include Nike, Target, Yahoo, Sony, Disney, Levi’s, Chrysler and Delta. Her work has been published in magazines such as Vogue, Dazed, Interview, GQ and Spin. “Riding Through Compton” is her first monograph.

A contributing editor for Santa Barbara Magazine and LALA Magazine, writer Amelia Fleetwood is based in Ojai, California, and has also been published in Architectural Digest, At Large, Domino, C Magazine, Huffington Post, and Du Jour, among others.

Mayisha Akbar’s life-long love of animals and her dedication to the youth of the Richland Farms neighborhood of Compton lead to her creation of the non-profit organization "The Compton Jr. Posse Youth Equestrian Program”. It is a place where kids learn the value of hard work, teamwork and competition. Many wonderful opportunities are offered to youth through the program, including apprenticeships with internationally-known trainers including Olympic gold medalists.

Events Posted Apr 23, 2019

PUBLIC ISSUE 2 LAUNCH!

PLEASE JOIN US! THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 27th FROM 4:00 - 6:00 PM PUBLIC ISSUE 2 LAUNCH PARTY + SIGNING WITH PUBLISHER AND DESIGNER ALEX McWHIRTER

Come to Arcana: Books on the Arts this Saturday, April 27th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to celebrate the West Coast launch of the latest installment of Creative Director Alexander McWhirter's thematic annual art and fashion journal, Public. Presented in a distinctive large-format with three different cover options, the highly-anticipated new issue tackles the challenge “We Must Take Action”. Public 2 features seven subjects photographed by Camille Vivier, Jack Webb, Eileen Cowin, Thomas Giddings, Aleksandra Zagozda, Moises Saman, and Rachel Lamb, with styling by Delphine Danhier, Eliza Conlon, and Shibon Kennedy. Notes McWhirter: "The obvious is all around us. It is a void in which everything has been fine-tuned to such an extent that indistinctiveness prevails. “Cool” has become inoffensive and predictable, and taste is easy to place a pulse on. Public breaks this pattern of democratized cool, bringing together a body of work that covers a unique perspective on subjects in life."

Originally from London, Alexander McWhirter began his career in New York as the Art Director at V Magazine before founding McWhirter Studio. His projects focus on working closely with distinctive collaborators to present a narrative that observes human interaction, be that with our environment or with each other. The story is woven together with elements from art and fashion, the resulting idea is unmistakable and inclusive to all. He has collaborated with Visionaire, Suzanne Geiss Gallery, Cultural Traffic, and Calvin Klein, where he worked closely with Raf Simons and Pieter Mulier on 2017 campaigns for Calvin Klein Jeans, Underwear, and the 205W39NYC RTW Collection Book. So meet and greet Alexander and special guests who will be at our Helms Bakery location this coming Saturday afternoon. Public 2 is limited to a mere one hundred and fifty copies - fifty each of three different covers - that will quickly sell out. If you cannot attend but would like to purchase a signed example, please place your order here, or call us at 310-458-1499.

Events Posted Apr 07, 2019

KRAFTWERK: DANCE FOREVER EXHIBITION + DANCE PARTY

KRAFTWERK: DANCE FOREVER

EXHIBITION + DANCE PARTY WITH CULTURAL TRAFFIC'S TOBY MOTT

DJ SETS BY ROSE KNOWS + SEAN HORTON

Come to Arcana: Books on the Arts at the Helms Bakery this Saturday evening (4/13, 5:00 - 9:00) to experience the West Coast premiere of "Kraftwerk: Dance Forever" – a graphically dazzling exhibition drawn from the Mott Collection of rare and compelling visual material from the German electronic music pioneers and those they influenced. Documenting Kraftwerk's aesthetic output from the early 1970s to the present, on display will be promotional material, sheet music, obsolete recorded media, posters, photos, and musical toys charting Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider's highly influential machine music aesthetic, which inspired dance music and specifically Detroit Techno. The evening will feature Kraftwerk-themed musical sets by Rose Knows and Sean Horton, Kraftwerk shirts and bags designed by Arcana favorite Alex McWhirter, and Toby Mott signing copies of the limited edition catalogue to the show. If you cannot attend, place your order for a signed copy here!

Events Posted Apr 07, 2019

2019 LA ART BOOK FAIR

FREE ADMISSION - APRIL 12 - 14th

AT THE GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT MoCA

(OPENING BENEFIT APRIL 11th, 6:00 - 10:00 PM)

+

GREY ORGANISATION: CORK STREET

BOOK SIGNING WITH TOBY MOTT

4:00 - 5:00 PM FRIDAY APRIL 12th AT THE LAABF

For the sixth time, Arcana: Books the Arts will be exhibiting at the Printed Matter LA Art Book Fair at the Geffen Contemporary at MoCA! This year we are bringing hundreds - yes, hundreds - of artworks, posters, announcements, and other forms of ephemera that have been slumbering in our flat file drawers for the past thirty-five years. We will feature an exciting selection of rarities from the realms of contemporary, Pop, and Conceptual Art, Photography, Design, Architecture, Music, Cinema, and Fashion; including signed works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, James Turrell, Mike Kelley, Raymond Pettibon, Edward Gorey, and many, many more. We'll also have a vintage wire spinning rack featuring an amazing selection of Art-related postcards for sale. We will be restocking with fresh merch each day, so come early and often for the best selection!

The Grey Organisation was a London-based artist collective active between 1983 and 1991. Showing in London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, members Toby Mott, Tim Burke, Daniel Saccoccio (nee Clegg), and Paul Spencer worked in the mediums of painting, sculpture, film, and video. Most infamously, in the dead of night on the 21st of May, 1985 The Grey Organisation staged an "art terrorist action" vandalizing the establishment art galleries on Cork Street in central London with buckets of grey paint to protest their lack of support for emerging artists. Limited to one hundred copies only, this Alex McWhirter-designed book presents Andrew Catlin's documentary photographs of the "Cork Street Attack" along with texts by Mott, Neal Brown, and Stewart Home. On Friday at 4:00 PM author and Grey Organisation member Toby Mott will be signing copies of this soon-to-be-rarity at our booth at the Book Fair. If you cannot attend, place your order for a signed copy here!

Events Posted Mar 07, 2019

Short Films Walk: LA

Join us this Saturday, March 9th, from 11 am to 5 pm at @helmsbakerydistrict for a day of free screenings of over 24 short films showcasing architecture and design. Pop into any of the eight participating showrooms on the walk, including @arcanabooks, Danish Design Store, H.D. Buttercup, Louis Poulsen, Rejuvenation, Room & Board, Scandinavian Designs, and Vitra to experience a unique program of films curated by the Architecture & Design Film Festival. The full program can be found at helmsbakerydistrict.com/sfwla.

The films will be shown on a loop and play throughout the day so guests have an opportunity to see dozens of film shorts as they walk from showroom to showroom. We will screen “In Residence: Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance” Directed by Max Hemmings, “Tides Rising” Directed by Marianne Gerdes, and “Charlotte Perriand: Les Arcs” Directed by Spirit of Space. The SFW:LA will conclude with the screening of a feature length film, Renzo Piano: The Architect of Light, followed by a conversation with Kerry Brougher, the first director of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, moderated by Edward Lifson. Seating is limited for this portion of the day so please RSVP and find more information at helmsbakerydistrict.com/sfwla.

Events Posted Feb 04, 2019

Book Launch & Signing at Arcana > Cole Sternberg: The Nature Of Breathing In Salt

PLEASE JOIN US SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH,

4:00 - 6:00 PM FOR A LAUNCH PARTY

AND BOOK SIGNING FOR COLE STERNBERG:

THE NATURE OF BREATHING IN SALT

"In Western Japan, a bottle of champagne is smashed against the hull of a massive bulk cargo vessel, its path charted along the arch of the northern hemisphere: We follow its gentle glide through the lilac calm of the Japanese outer islands; a waive at the lights of Busan, the South Korean city along its charted path; the frigidity of the Aleutian Islands; a circular motion to avoid a mid-ocean monster; and lastly a cruise into Portland past the forests and factories on the Columbia River. On this maiden voyage across the Pacific, the vessel’s holds sit empty. One is in ballast to strengthen against heavy storms. A crew of twenty, plus four creative wanderers—including artist Cole Sternberg, who wrangled the quartet especially for this journey—anxiously steady themselves for weeks under swaying ground. It is within the context of this floating island that the work comprised of “The Nature of Breathing in Salt” emerges.

We find rainbows confronted by fluorescent hallways, black clouds fighting the setting sun, Sternberg’s paintings dragged in the sea, the glory of the unknown and unwelcoming greeting of the land. The imagery shifts in a bell curve of pleasant anxiety, mirrored by a narrative of Melville, Sternberg’s poetry and the dialogue of the crew. It is an experience that leaves one yearning for and sick of the sea. It is an art object more than just a book.

Sternberg’s practice of using the environment to tell its own story is apparent here. His practice ultimately results in the paintings and photography featured throughout this book. Works from this body of imagery have been exhibited extensively, and are in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the El Segundo Museum of Art, among others".

"Cole Sternberg was born in Richmond, Virginia. He lives and works in Los Angeles and practices in a range of formats, including painting, installation, video, and writing. Series of his work have focused on a variety of social issues, from current human rights activism and its relationship to the law, to the environment, to the media, and concepts of content overload. The works tend to be subtle or subversive in nature, driven by elegant visual concepts and poetry.

Sternberg has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in exhibitions at the American University Museum (Washington, DC), El Segundo Museum of Art (El Segundo, CA), Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND, Los Angeles), Paris Photo (Los Angeles), Zona Maco (Mexico City), LA><ART (Los Angeles), MAMA (Los Angeles & Berlin) and Praz Delavallade (Los Angeles). His works are held by major collections throughout the world, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA), the American University Museum (AUM), Cedars-Sinai, and Deutsche Telekom".

So come join us along with our pals from esteemed local publishing concern Hat & Beard on Saturday, February 9th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM to celebrate the launch of Cole Sternberg's striking The Nature Of Breathing In Salt. If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase a signed or deluxe "Collector's Edition" copy, please do so via our website here, or by phone at 310-458-1499.

Events Posted Dec 14, 2018

Book signing at Arcana > TODD HIDO: BRIGHT BLACK WORLD

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th,

4:00 - 6:00 PM FOR A BOOK SIGNING

TODD HIDO:

BRIGHT BLACK WORLD

"For over two decades, Todd Hido has crafted narratives through loose and mysterious suburban scenes, desolate landscapes, and stylized portraits. He has traversed North America capturing places that feel at once familiar and unknown; welcoming and unsettling. Underscoring the influences of Nordic mythology and specifically the idea of Fimbulwinter, which translates into the ‘endless winter’, Hido’s new monograph, Bright Black World alludes to and provides form for this notion of an apocalyptic, never-ending winter. Exploring the dark terrain of the Northern European landscape and regions as far as the North Sea of Japan enchanted Hido, calling him back on several occasions. This presents the artist’s first significant foray extensively photographing territory outside of the United States, chronicling a decidedly new psychological geography.

Opening with a text by Alexander Nemerov, Bright Black World contains forty-eight plates printed in an oversized format, featuring two vertical gatefolds and a fold-out poster measuring some 25 by 40 inches. This first printing is limited to 3,000 clothbound copies.

Join us this Saturday, December 15th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM to celebrate the publication of our longtime pal Todd's magnificent new book from Nazraeli Press, quaff refreshments, socialize, and engage in some festive last-minute holiday shopping. If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase a copy of Bright Black World - or one of his many earlier titles we'll have on hand - signed by Mr. Hido, please do so on our website here, or by phone at 310-458-1499.

Events Posted Dec 14, 2018

Peter Fetterman: "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Collecting Fine Art Photography" This Sunday, December 16th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM at Arcana!

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SUNDAY

DECEMBER 16th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM FOR

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW

ABOUT COLLECTING FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

PETER FETTERMAN REVEALS ALL!

IN CONVERSATION WITH ARCANA'S OWN LEE KAPLAN

This Sunday we welcome our longtime friend Peter Fetterman for a very special afternoon presentation entitled "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Collecting Fine Art Photography" during which he will take center stage to recount his many eventful years in Los Angeles as a photography collector, then dealer extraordinaire with Arcana proprietor Lee Kaplan. Afterwards we will open up the floor to the audience for all of your arcane questions. For the event, Peter has also curated a lovely show of framed photographic prints for sale by Gallery favorite Pentti Sammallahti.

Born in London, Peter Fetterman has been deeply involved in the medium of photography for over thirty years. Initially a filmmaker and collector, he set up his first gallery over twenty years ago, and was one of the pioneer tenants of Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Center of the Arts when it first opened in 1994. The gallery has one of the largest inventories of classic 20th Century photography in the country - particularly in humanist imagery - and in-depth holdings of work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sebastião Salgado, Steve McCurry, Ansel Adams, Paul Caponigro, Willy Ronis, André Kertesz, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Lillian Bassman, Pentti Sammallahti, and dozens more.

So stop by to hang with books and friends, quaff refreshments, attend to all of that last-minute Holiday shopping, and hear virtually all of Peter Fetterman's secrets of collecting photography revealed! If you are unable to attend but would like to purchase a copy of the brand new, hot-off-the-press, strictly-limited-English-language edition of Pentti Sammallahti: Birds, please do so on our website here, or by phone at 310-458-1499.