Arts and Culture

Video cover art is a unique and largely lost artform representing a period of unabashed creativity during the video rental boom of the 1980s to early 1990s. The art explodes with a succulent, indulgent blend of design, illustration, typography, and hilarious copywriting. Written and curated by Tom “The Dude Designs” Hodge, poster artist extraordinaire and VHS obsessive, with a foreword by Mondo’s

Six case studies, conducted in New York City, Trenton, and Jersey City, explore how graffiti murals are created and what role they play in cities where buffing illegal graffiti is a lucrative business. The author interviewed people affected on a daily basis by the murals at sites around the metropolitan area, including property owners who have welcomed the muralists in hopes that the artwork would

This collection of over 250 contemporary retro-style cheesecake, glamour, and hot rod pinup photographs by Northern California artist Marilee Caruso takes women from all backgrounds and transforms them into the classy yet stimulating bombshells of our parents’ and grandparents’ day. Inspired by icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Page, or Sophia Loren, each portrait provides a nostalgic glance in

Explore fashion history with legs at center stage—from the dawn of civilization through current-day trends. This book examines society’s role in moving hemlines and in shaping “legcentric” traditions throughout history. What has changed or stayed the same in the course of fashion eras? How have legs appeared in dance, sport, performance, pageantry, and conventional or outré outfits? Find out how a

How do architects treat the drama of water and nature? Do they defer to it with a simple dwelling that grows out of the land, or make a statement with bold materials and forms? From the sleek, low-slung Water Villa de Omval in Amsterdam, to the eccentric House on the Greenland Sea, this book takes us on an in-depth tour of 30 private residences by leading architects in locations dedicated to water

Through images of hands, this book conveys the strength, beauty, diversity, depth, and power of the blues, the root of all American music. It features photographs from Joseph A. Rosen’s 30-plus years of adventure in blues and music photography. Included are such noted music personalities as B.B. King, Gary Clark, Jr., Buddy Guy, Al Green, Willie King, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, The Blind Boys o

This second volume of cinematic eye candy further documents the quickly burgeoning underground film poster movement, a group of artists who challenge Hollywood’s marketing machine by bringing clever artwork and design back to movie posters. Nearly 100 emerging artists, with a dozen returning favorites, present their newly produced images. Cinematic visual masters Jason Edmiston, Gary Pullin, Akiko

This massive study on action moviesand stars from around the world, from the 1960s to the present, is filled with more than a thousand in-depth movie reviews that cover every action star who's crossed over from the world of martial arts, sports, professionalwrestling, and stunt work. Exploding with beautiful images, exclusiveinterviews, and a thorough action star index, this one-of-a-kind movieref

Put on a pot of your favorite coffee, perk up, and enjoynostalgic black-and-white photos that celebrate screen icons from the SilentEra through the eighties, making and drinking their own cups of joe, java,pour-overs, and percolated brews. Hollywood Café bridges the vibrantcoffee culture of right-now with the glamorous coffee culture of thestar-studded past. A dream cast of nearly 200 stars—Humphr

Thisis a staggering volume of thousands of examples of the celluloid acetate stencil, an essential tool in the history of tattooing.Mythical creatures, angels and devils, anchors and other nautical symbols, andmore abound in stencil form, the classic tracing method that has only increasedexponentially in popularity since the rough days of crude materials andcallused hands. Before Thermofax™ and nu

Kimono is a generic term for traditional Japanese clothing; it means “thing to wear.” This revised and expanded second edition provides an overview of various traditional garments, introduces types of designs found in twentieth century kimono that are still available, and presents wearable art and home décor inspired by kimono from contemporary artists. Because wearing kimono is diminishing and ki

Indulge yourself with this stunning collection of pin-ups! The art of pin-up glorifies the female form, and John Gladman celebrates beautiful girls from all walks of life. He has a refreshing, timeless style, bringing back the art of the tease at a time when innocence has been lost. Glamour and art meet photography to create John’s recognizable and unique look. His imagery is tasteful yet sexy, st

This book is a detailed history of the 27th Waffen-SS Division “Langemarck,” the Flemish volunteer SS combat formation. “Langemarck” was employed chiefly on the Eastern Front, first in the Ukraine in early 1944, then participating with a combat group in Estonia along the Tannenberg Line in the summer of 1944, alongside other European Waffen-SS volunteers subordinate to III.SS-Pz.Korps--covering th

This book is a detailed history of the 23rd Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division “Nederland,” the Dutch volunteer SS combat formation. Employed exclusively on the eastern front, except for a brief period in Croatia, the “Nederland” formations participated in many of the most difficult defensive battles on the northeastern front: Leningrad, the Narva bridgehead, the Tannenberg line, Dorpat in Kurland

This book is specifically designed for those interested in creating natural swimming pools. It covers all stages, from understanding the system, management, excavation, lining, walling, plumbing, electrical, planting, structures, and last but not least, the maintenance, to ensure a successful project. Comprehensive information is presented in an easy to understand style with many illustrations sho

Drawn from some of the world’s most prestigious collections, this comprehensive work is a visual and historical reference exploring the craftsmanship and technical progress of German pistol development during the 1914-1945 World War I, Weimar, and Third Reich years. Using specially commissioned color photography, these ultra-rare and priceless side arms, many of which are shown for the first time,

Drawn from some of the world’s most prestigious collections, this comprehensive work is a visual and historical reference exploring the craftsmanship and technical progress of German pistol development from 1871 to 1914. Using specially commissioned color photography, these ultra-rare and priceless side arms, many of which are shown for the first time, are portrayed in stunning detail, highlightin

A book of 25 floral sketches printed on lovely watercolor paper invites artistic experimentation with only a brush and paint. Each page is double-sided, offering the opportunity to paint the same page in different ways. The author shares painting tips for each sketch and advice for discovering the artist within. Also included is a painting tutorial and handy color wheel. Each book is small enough

Discover magic! Join the vibrant, prismatic world of luminous alcohol inks. Mercurial, versatile, inexpensive, and wildly colorful, alcohol inks are one of the newest mediums to hit the art community. This essential guide for working with alcohol inks has been greatly expanded, with  new tips and techniques and more than 50 additional works from guest artists in an inspiring gallery. Discover how

Japanese folklore and modern American tattooing cometogether in this book of more than 100 sheets of tattoo flash designed to be drawnon the body in a single session. Exploring the rich history of Japanese inkdrawings and making readily tattooable images were the priorities of this thirdbook in the Classic Flash series. Theartists applied themes and characters from Japanese mythology, such as yoka