Something important to carry, and the things that weren't on your list
Something important to carry -- by Joe Reifer
- The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset -- I put this on my wish list after the price went down to a reasonable $57.99 -- every Monty Python episode ever made plus 2 live DVDs. Definitely a collection for the desert island list. Know what I mean?
- Night Vision: The Art of Urban Exploration -- you already have Troy's latest book, right? One of the top photography books of 2008.
- Up River: Man-Made Sites of Interest on the Hudson from the Battery to Troy -- The Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) strikes again. Subtle upon first glance, but extremely powerful. If you've spent any time in New York this book is a must see. If you're into urban exploration, there are locations galore. At $13 in hardback this is an essential buy.
- Speaking of CLUI, I picked up a copy of Richard Misrach's book Violent Legacies for $15 when visiting their Culver City location, as well as an interesting early urban exploration book called Dead Tech: A Guide to the Archaeology of Tomorrow, which was originally released in German in 1982. I also bought a copy of a Lucy Lippard book called On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art, and Place. If you're in the Los Angeles area, CLUI has a small but focused collection of books for sale at great prices, and the 30-minute Trans-Alaska Pipeline slideshow that's currently on display is fascinating. CLUI is also right next door to the Museum of Jurassic Technology.
- While across town at the Getty Museum, I picked up a copy of the Robert Adams book Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values. I've read his other book Why People Photograph multiple times, which is superb. The exhibit Dialogue among Giants: Carleton Watkins and the Rise of Photography in Californias has some amazing daguerreotypes and mining photos, and runs until March 1st. The Yosemite photos were less interesting, but I found the comparison between Yosemite photos by Carlton Watkins vs. Eadweard Muybridge very intriguing. The smaller photography exhibit In Focus: The Landscape has a few strong images, including an incredible Timothy O'Sullivan image from 1867 of his portable darkroom wagon on a sand dune. And speaking of Yosemite photos, Roger Minick's Woman with Scarf at Inspiration Point is an all-time classic.