The bigger they are, the harder they will crush your bookshelf
April 10, 2013 1:47 PM Subscribe
Sebastião Salgado, whose past photographic topics have included workers, migrations, and Africa, is unveiling a new exhibition: Genesis.
The supporting catalogue is available in a special extra-large edition, with 2 volumes measuring 46.8x70cm (18.4"x27.6"), and shipped in a box weighing a total 59kg (130 lbs).
Publisher Taschen is no stranger to oversized books, and you have a right to worry when it is Christo & Jeanne-Claude who have the more modest entry at 33.5 lbs.
Helmut Newton's SUMO weighs in at 30kg (60lbs).
Muhammad Ali: Greatest Of All Time tips the scales at 34kg (75lbs)
David LaChapelle's Artists and Prostitutes (NSFW) is 38.1 lbs.
Even rock band KISS are going the XXXL road with their 45-pound book Monster.
However, none of these books compare to Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom, but that requires heavy machinery to move it.
Publisher Taschen is no stranger to oversized books, and you have a right to worry when it is Christo & Jeanne-Claude who have the more modest entry at 33.5 lbs.
Helmut Newton's SUMO weighs in at 30kg (60lbs).
Muhammad Ali: Greatest Of All Time tips the scales at 34kg (75lbs)
David LaChapelle's Artists and Prostitutes (NSFW) is 38.1 lbs.
Even rock band KISS are going the XXXL road with their 45-pound book Monster.
However, none of these books compare to Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom, but that requires heavy machinery to move it.
I was lucky to be exposed to the photo-book for Steichen's 'Family of Man' as a kid, so iconic photos of the human condition were familiar territory for me, but I still remember the shock I felt the first time I saw Salgado's photography as adapted for the LP sleeve of Jerry Harrison's Casual Gods album (German, English translation).
The record itself is fine and all, but mainly it's the only album living in my personal top 50 based on the strength of the cover art alone.
posted by Kinbote at 2:41 PM on April 10, 2013
The record itself is fine and all, but mainly it's the only album living in my personal top 50 based on the strength of the cover art alone.
posted by Kinbote at 2:41 PM on April 10, 2013
Maybe I can get my career as a performance artist started by buying a copy of this and clubbing a polar bear to death with it, burning it, and then throwing the ashes into a lake.
posted by anewnadir at 2:45 PM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by anewnadir at 2:45 PM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
Huh. So it's a giant 2-volume behemoth and they run every photograph across the damn gutter?
posted by Sys Rq at 2:46 PM on April 10, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 2:46 PM on April 10, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm disappointed that Taschen's web store doesn't have a sort-by-weight option.
posted by moonmilk at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2013 [1 favorite]
Maybe I can get my career as a performance artist started by buying a copy of this and clubbing a polar bear to death with it, burning it, and then throwing the ashes into a lake.
Kind of off-topic, but this reminded me of:
Lee Henderson’s Refinement Pavilion series is comprised of first editions of books that were published posthumously, against the author’s wishes. These rare, valuable books have been cremated and sealed in urns, unread by the artist, in a poetic attempt to fulfill the deceased’s wishes.
Pictures (I think?)
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 7:32 PM on April 10, 2013
Kind of off-topic, but this reminded me of:
Lee Henderson’s Refinement Pavilion series is comprised of first editions of books that were published posthumously, against the author’s wishes. These rare, valuable books have been cremated and sealed in urns, unread by the artist, in a poetic attempt to fulfill the deceased’s wishes.
Pictures (I think?)
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 7:32 PM on April 10, 2013
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Which reminds me, are high school yearbooks still printed on paper? Or is there some kind of Facebook app for "have a gr8 summer!" and elaborate doodles.
posted by spamandkimchi at 2:28 PM on April 10, 2013