Book of the Day Posted Jun 18, 2025

Book of the Day: Sexy Record Covers

From the publisher: "An album cover collection exploring 70 years of surprising, shocking and frankly hilarious nude and provocative art. Sexy covers sold all musical genres, from funk to punk, and the silly German schlager. Comedy albums range from mid-century 'stag party' pin-ups to the undeniably raunchy ’70s sensation, Blowfly. Steamy, seamy and adults only." Book of the day, from the esteemed people at Taschen.
Events Posted Jun 08, 2025

Upcoming Book Signings at Arcana!

SATURDAY, JUNE 14th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
BOB WAYNE: REEL TO REAL TALES... NOTES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE RECORDING CONSOLE
BOOK SIGNING + DISCUSSION
Book of the Day Posted Jun 01, 2025

Book of the Day: Superfine - Tailoring Black Style

From the publisher: "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style traces the complex and vibrant legacy of menswear across three centuries of Black culture—from today’s hip-hop aesthetic and popular street trends, through its use during the Harlem Renaissance and the civil rights movement as a symbol of creative and political agency, to its surprising origins as an imposed uniform for servants and enslaved people. Organized by key characteristics of dandyism that resonate across time, including presence, distinction, disguise, and respectability, this fresh interpretation of a centuries-old aesthetic draws on prominent Black voices in fashion, literature, and art." Book of the day! Purchase here
Book of the Day Posted May 29, 2025

Book of the Day: Existential Comics by R. Crumb

From the publisher: "This volume brings together twenty-five of R. Crumb’s most ambitious, acclaimed, and profound comics. One of the most influential and iconic cartoonists of our time, R. Crumb is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of representation, mass consumerism, and polite society. The comics in this volume exemplify Crumb’s creative output over twenty-five years following his early experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s. The comics collected here depict characters searching for an understanding of the world around and within themselves. Through adaptation, autobiography, biography, and short fiction, Crumb—much like his subjects—demands we pay attention to our darkest desires, compulsions, fears, and obsessions. Existential Comics also features a new, introductory comic strip by Crumb, reflecting on his practice in the context of this volume. Editor Dan Nadel’s essay further weaves together Crumb’s life, career, and influences, delving into the creative environment that informed some of the artist’s most outstanding comics."
Book of the Day Posted May 28, 2025

Book of the Day: THIS MUSIC LEAVES EXIT WOUNDS: DARBY CRASH AND GERMS EPHEMERA

From the archive of esteemed punk publishing house Kill Your Idols comes "This Music Leaves Exit Wounds: Darby Crash and Germs Ephemera!" True to its title, this book reproduces hundreds of rare and seldom seen gig flyers, photographs, set lists, magazine ads, record graphics, and more. A brand new, most handsome example of this awesome survey of all things Germs limited to a mere five hundred unnumbered copies. Get yours before it invariably sells out!!!
Events Posted May 28, 2025

Eric Kroll Book Signing 6/7, 4-6!

Please join us Saturday, June 7th, between 4:00 and 6:00 PM as we welcome esteemed photographer Eric Kroll back to Arcana to celebrate the release of his latest Timeless Edition publication. Hardcore: A Photo / Journal is a striking compilation of his unseen, intimate images taken during the production of Paul Schrader's 1979 cult film Hardcore - starring George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, and Dick Sargeant. The book takes you deep into the world behind the camera, the set, the atmosphere, and the cast and crew that accompanied or inspired Kroll throughout the shoot. More than a simple behind the scenes document, Hardcore includes the photographer's own reflections, commentary, and a recent interview he conducted with adult film actress Serena. In addition, the book contains a foreword by Paul Schrader along with a rare text the director penned in 1978 for a publication about the film that was never completed.

We're expecting to sell out, so be sure to arrive here June 7th at 4:00 PM sharp-ish for this unique glimpse of late seventies Hollywood history with Eric Kroll. 
Book of the Day Posted May 24, 2025

Book of the Day: Vince Aletti - Physique

From the publisher: "Physique showcases over 250 rare physique photography prints from the private collection of renowned critic and curator Vince Aletti. Spanning the 1930s to the early 1960s, these photographs chronicle a hidden, coded world of homoerotic imagery. Once sold discreetly through mail-order catalogues and underground physique magazines, the prints point to an emergent queer sensibility and visibility. Accompanying this visual archive is a personal essay by Aletti which traces the historical and political significance of these images, firmly establishing their place in the canon of photography. He celebrates the artistry of the photographers, models, and studios that brought the photographs to life. Physique reveals a forgotten chapter of American gay culture in which photographic prints served as a lifeline, connecting a community of men under threat while also providing solace, pleasure, and empowerment amid oppression." Book of the day!
Book of the Day Posted May 18, 2025

Book of the Day: Revisions - Francis Bacon in the Act of Painting

From the publisher: "An indispensable supplement to Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné, uncovering valuable new information about the artist's practice. The manner in which Bacon’s paintings evolved was misunderstood during his lifetime. Since he always painted alone in his studios, there were no witnesses to the emergence of his visceral imagery. His insistence on privacy helped generate considerable speculation about his painting process, most of it erroneous. Bacon did make one clear statement about the genesis of his paintings: 'I sketch out very roughly on the canvas with a brush, just a vague outline of something, and then I go to work … .' Yet this fundamentally accurate summation of his technique ran counter to the received wisdom and was misunderstood or ignored. Martin Harrison’s introductory essay begins by demonstrating exactly what Bacon meant, and what he did: it will show what “rough sketching’ signified. It also deploys X-ray and infrared images that reveal under-drawing, and analyzes other features that elucidate Bacon’s methodology. Photographs of paintings briefly arrested at intermediate points before completion—taken by the few visitors to the studio allowed the privilege—help to explain later stages in painting process. Sophie Pretorius’s survey incorporates every one of the images that have hitherto remained unseen, illustrating the transitional states of all the paintings recorded in photographs, arranged thematically. A reference section includes thumbnail images of all the paintings discussed here, arranged in chronological order. This is consistent with the layout of Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné (2016), to which this volume may be regarded as a supplement, publishing significant new information."
Book of the Day Posted May 16, 2025

Book of the Day: Chromotherapia

Book of the day! From the publisher: "Chromotherapia: Feel-Good Color Photography offers genuine relief from the black-and-white world. Often disparaged, not always taken seriously, color photography has nevertheless allowed artists to get out their palettes and 'paint.' Many have freed themselves from the medium’s documentary status to explore the common roots of the image and the imaginary, flirting with the worlds of Surrealism and Pop. Famed Italian visual artist and curator Maurizio Cattelan and curator Sam Stourdzé offer a rereading of the history of color photography through the 20th century into the 21st, and through the works of over 19 artists who take us on a journey into vibrant, acidulous worlds. Treat yourself to sunny yellow, azure blue, bright red, bubbly orange and more, straight from the lenses of the biggest names in color photography. Artist include: Yevonde Middleton, Harold Edgerton, Erwin Blumenfeld, Walter Chandoha, William Wegman, Hiro, Guy Bourdin, Alex Prager, Juno Calypso, Adrienne Raquel, Miles Aldridge, Ouka Leele, Hassan Hajjaj, Ruth Ossai, Pierre et Gilles, Sandy Skoglund, Martin Parr, Arnold Odermatt, and Toiletpaper."

Book of the Day Posted May 15, 2025

Book of the Day: Of & About Posters The Lawrence Weiner Poster Archive (1965–2021) at the Vancouver Art Gallery

From the distributor: "The first publication to document the 250 posters that comprise the Lawrence Weiner Poster Archive (1965–2021) held in the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collection. Featuring an introductory essay by exhibition curator Grant Arnold, who has worked with the Lawrence Weiner Poster Archive since the mid-1990s, and short commissioned texts from artists, scholars, and curators who worked closely with Weiner throughout his career, Of & About Posters will be the definitive text on this central aspect of Lawrence Weiner’s production. Lawrence Weiner is considered one of the foremost conceptual artists worldwide. His posters, which are a fundamental part of his practice and are designed by the artist himself, have appeared as promotions for exhibitions as well as works in and of themselves. This publication will include a full presentation of the Lawrence Weiner Poster Archive, consisting of more than 250 posters from the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Together, they convey the evolution of Weiner’s work over a period spanning more than fifty years." Conceptually and otherwise, this is our book of the day!
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