A unique tribute from David Bowie’s official photographer and creative partner, Mick Rock, compiled in 2015, with Bowie’s blessing.In 1972, David Bowie released his groundbreaking album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. With it landed Bowie’s Stardust alter ego: a glitter-clad, mascara-eyed, sexually ambiguous persona who kicked down the boundaries between male and female, straight and gay, fact and fiction into one shifting and sparkling phenomenon of ’70s self-expression. Together, Ziggy the album and Ziggy the stage spectacular propelled the softly spoken Londoner into one of the world’s biggest stars.A key passenger on this glam trip into the stratosphere was fellow Londoner and photographer Mick Rock. Rock bonded with Bowie artistically and personally, immersed himself in the singer’s inner circle, and, between 1972 and 1973, worked as the singer’s photographer and videographer.This collection brings together spectacular stage shots, iconic photo shoots, as well as intimate backstage portraits. With a lenticular cover of different headshots, it celebrates Bowie’s fearless experimentation and reinvention, while offering privileged access to the many facets of his personality and fame. Through the aloof and approachable, the playful and serious, the candid and the contrived, the result is a passionate tribute to a brilliant and inspirational artist whose creative vision will never be forgotten.

Since the original TASCHEN edition of Manga Design, Japan's comic phenomenon has produced yet more captivating characters and a whole host of hot new talents. This revised and updated edition delivers the lowdown on the latest and the greatest makers and shapers of the manga scene. Through an A-Z directory, we discover the superstars-both human and fictional-of what is now a vast global industry, inspiring advertisers, filmmakers, creative professionals, millions of avid fans, not to mention an entire cosplay lifestyle, in which manga devotees in elaborate costume meet to celebrate the existence of their characters at huge conventions from Los Angeles to Leipzig. From classic maestros-like Osamu Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy) and Katsuhiro Otomo (creator of Akira)-to newcomers such as Hajime Isayama, each entry includes biographical and bibliographical information, descriptions of main characters, and, of course, plenty of examples of the artist's finest manga spreads and covers. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis - Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

Celebrating the magick of the natural realm, Volume IV of The Library of Esoterica, delves into the symbolism, ceremony, and our ritual relationships with the botanical world. A visual journey through our interdependent evolution with nature, Plant Magick celebrates botanicals as creative muse - from ancient Greek sculptures to Renaissance paintings to visionary art inspired by psychoactive plants, cacti, and mushrooms. Our myths, beliefs, and shared stories are continually reflected in nature; purity represented by the white lily or spiritual awakening by the bloom of the lotus. Our joys and laments are mirrored in the cycle of the seasons, in the seed birthing sprout, or in the dead leaf falling softly from winter branches. Plants, trees, and flowers as signifiers of transition are also deeply embedded within rites of passage rituals across global cultures. Rose petals strewn along the wedding aisle mark the evolution into womanhood and marriage. A wreath of lilies stands sentinel over an open grave. A lover's bouquet awaits on the doorstep. The wooden May Day pole is circled by girls wearing crowns of woven daisies, celebrating the coming of spring. Birth, unions, and burials - cycles of joyful celebration and deep grieving, all are marked symbolically with herbs, flowers or branches of a tree - the integration of nature into ceremony our method of signifying catharsis. Since time immemorial, plants have also served as potent symbols within the religions of the world; Buddha attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree, Eve plucking the Apple of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. From root to vibrant blossom, Plant Magick explores the fertile, interconnected history between plants and people, the multitude of ways in which we embrace plants in spiritual ceremony, as healing medicine, as creative muse and as gateways into deeper explorations of consciousness. About the series The Library of Esoterica explores how centuries of artists have given form to mysticism, translating the arcane and the obscure into enduring, visionary works of art. Each subject is showcased through both modern and archival imagery culled from private collectors, libraries, and museums around the globe. The result forms an inclusive visual history, a study of our primal pull to dream and nightmare, and the creative ways we strive to connect to the divine.

The third in Dian Hanson’s wildly successful series on erotic body parts explores how the female leg became central to women’s emancipation, from the French Revolution to the sexual revolution. Over 400 photos document the first burlesque shows of the 1800s, the nylon-mania of the ’40s, and the golden age of leg magazines in the ’60s.

Sebastiao Salgado's haunting black-and-white photographs from the GENESIS project record landscapes and people unchanged in the devastating onslaught of modern society and development. Salgado calls GENESIS "my love letter to the planet."

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

This volume is a comprehensive visual history of surfing, marking a major cultural event as much as a publication. Following three and a half years of meticulous research, it brings together hundreds of images to chart the evolution of surfing as a sport, a lifestyle, and a philosophy.The book is arranged into five chronological chapters, tracing surfing culture from the first recorded European contact in 1778 by Captain James Cook to the global and multi-platform phenomenon of today. Utilizing institutions, collections, and photographic archives from around the world, and with accompanying essays by the world’s top surf journalists, it celebrates the sport on and off the water, as a community of 20 million practitioners and countless more devotees, and as a leading influence on fashion, film, art, and music.An unrivaled tribute to the breadth, complexity, and richness of surfing, this book is a must-have for any serious player on the surfing scene and anybody who aspires to the surfing lifestyle. As one surfing scribe has declared, “There has never been a book like this, and there will never be another one again.�

The best of Harry Benson's era-defining Beatles portfolio, capturing the Liverpudlian quartet on the road, performing, and coming to terms with skyrocketing fame. From a pillow fight in Paris to their first U.S. tour, shot in luminous black and white, Benson's pictures show intimate glimpses of George, John, Paul, and Ringo composing, relaxing, and engaging with euphoric fans.

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

The TASCHEN bookstand brings your collection out from the confines of your bookshelves, and back to its rightful place on center-stage.The three sizes of medium, large, and extra-large allow for the secure and stylish display of almost our entire spectrum of titles, except for our gargantuan SUMOs. Also reflecting the variety within our editions, three eye-catching colors – radiant pink, crystal green, and urban grey – provide a fitting foundation to display TASCHEN’s big, bright, and bold back catalog.

For six years Sebastiao Salgado traveled the Brazilian Amazon and photographed the unparalleled beauty of this extraordinary region: the rainforest, the rivers, the mountains, the people who live there-this irreplaceable treasure of humanity in which the immense power of nature is felt like nowhere else on earth.

So rich and unique is traditional Japanese architecture that it's nearly impossible to improve upon. Yet contemporary Japanese designers and architects keep finding fresh approaches to refurbish and take inspiration from the ways of old. Whether it's a pristinely preserved traditional house or a sleek modern apartment, the best Japanese homes share a love of cleverly designed spaces and warm materials like wood, brick, and bamboo. From a thatched roof farmhouse occupied by a Zen priest to Tadao Ando's experimental 4x4 House, from Shigeru Ban's conceptual Shutter House to a beautiful domestic homage to bamboo, this elegant compendium traverses the multifaceted landscape of Japanese living today. Enriched by 170 brand new, unpublished photographs, this edition takes you on breathtaking journey through the Land of the Rising Sun-complete with a list of addresses, should you wish to undertake this journey to Japan's most fascinating inns and homes yourself. An insightful glossary of key terms, such as tatami, shoji, and noren, will also help you come to grips with all elements of Japan's unique aesthetic of Eastern minimalism. About the series TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program-now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

The revered tradition of botanical illustration dates back to the Renaissance. It emerged from the desire to catalog nature in its unpredictable splendor, and the process demanded the most precise and talented of artists.With a remarkable skill that captured the most intricate subjects in nature, Pierre-Joseph Redouté is widely considered the best painter and engraver of botanical illustration. Working from live plants rather than from the herbarium specimens gave his watercolors unusual subtlety and freshness. He was also an innovator in printing techniques, introducing "stipple-engraving" to France, always striving for greater exactitude in his art. Redouté fortuitously acquired some of the most influential patrons of the time, including Marie Antoinette and Empress Josephine Bonaparte, thus ensuring that his work was well-funded and displayed.His impressive collection comprises over 2,000 paintings of plants rendered with great accuracy and strict adherence to nature. In this exquisite edition of Les Roses, Redouté turns his attention to the most romantic, desirable, and evocative flower. Originally published in three volumes between 1817 and 1824, it remains his most famous and celebrated work.

Escape to our world's most remote destinations with photographer David De Vleeschauwer and travel journalist Debbie Pappyn. Immerse yourself in 12 journeys that unfold through fascinating firsthand texts and enthralling photographs. With personal accounts revealing useful travel tips, discover an extraordinary tour of our globe from north to south.

When David Hockney discovered the iPhone as an artistic medium, it opened up entirely new possibilities for his art. He made his first digital drawings in spring 2009, describing the morning landscape in broad lines and dazzling colors directly on a display that offered subtle hues as unmixed expressions of pure light. Then in 2010, Hockney started working with an iPad, and the larger screen expanded his artistic repertoire and enabled an even more complex interplay of color, light, and line. Each image in this book captures a fleeting moment seen through a window in Hockney's Yorkshire home: from vibrant sunrise and lilac morning sky to peaceful night-time impressions or the sudden arrival of spring. Fascinating details reveal drops on window panes, distant lights in the night, reflections on vases or an abundance of varied window-sill vegetation. In 120 drawings made between 2009 and 2012, selected and arranged by the artist himself, we experience the passage of time through the eyes of David Hockney. This artist's book, which first appeared in an exclusive signed edition, now returns as an unlimited run, whose still generous XL format presents Hockney's impressions in brilliant resolution. So now is the perfect occasion to heed the advice of the Times critic regarding this book: "If you would like to be given a bouquet by David Hockney, here is your chance."

"A woman once rang me up and said, 'Mr. Escher, I am absolutely crazy about your work. In your print Reptiles, you have given such a striking illustration of reincarnation.' I replied, 'Madame, if that's the way you see it, so be it.'" A fittingly sly comment from renowned Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), whose complex and ambiguous drawings continue to leave hasty interpretations far behind. Long before the first computer-generated 3-D images, Escher was a master of the third dimension. His lithograph Magic Mirror dates as far back as 1946. By taking such a title for the book, mathematician Bruno Ernst stressed the enrapturing spell Escher's work invariably casts on those who see it. Ernst visited Escher every week for a year, systematically talking through his entire oeuvre with him. Their discussions resulted in a friendship that gave Ernst intimate access to the life and conceptual world of Escher. Ernst's account was meticulously scrutinized and made accurate by the artist himself. Escher's work refuses to be pigeonholed. Scientific, psychological, or aesthetic criteria alone cannot do it justice. The questions remain: Why did he create the pictures? How did he construct them? What preliminary studies were necessary before achieving the final version? And how are his various creations interrelated? This updated and redesigned edition of a true classic-complete with biographical data, 250 illustrations, and a thorough breaking-down of each mathematical problem-offers answers to these and many other lingering mysteries, and is an authentic source text of the first order.

This electrifying vinyl edition creates a new and edgy definition for “album art.� Produced in collaboration with Colors magazine, it brings together more than 500 remarkable records from the collection of Alessandro Benedetti and Peter Bastine.This book forms a junction between photography, music, and design, celebrating vinyl for the integrity of sound recording and its artistic potential as a material form. With featured artists including Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Prince, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, and beyond, it offers compelling insight into the most intricate details of a performer’s visual identity, from a vivid color to a futuristic mirror effect.The discs are arranged thematically to span monochrome vinyl; unusual vinyl (including silver, gold, or mirror vinyl as well as extremely rare glow-in-the-dark vinyl); multicolored vinyl; etched vinyl (where music is pressed onto only one side); shaped vinyl (cut into forms that are different from the classic round disc); and picture discs (where a photograph or design is stamped onto the surface of the record).In addition, there is a rare view into the records known today as “ribs� or “bone music.� Produced in the USSR, where western music and culture were forbidden, these were made by engraving discarded x-rays with special machines and creating bootleg disks of hit singles of artists such as David Bowie and Pink Floyd.Page after page, this kaleidoscopic encyclopedia of innovative and ingenious vinyl is a colorful journey through era-defining records and artists.

The Kisokaid� route through Japan was ordained in the early 1600s by the country’s then-ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu, who decreed that staging posts be installed along the length of the arduous passage between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, shops, and restaurants were established to provide sustenance and lodging to weary travelers. In 1835, renowned woodblock print artist Keisai Eisen was commissioned to create a series of works to chart the Kisokaid� journey. After producing 24 prints, Eisen was replaced by Utagawa Hiroshige, who completed the series of 70 prints in 1838.Both Eisen and Hiroshige were master print practitioners. In The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaid�, we find the artists’ distinct styles as much as their shared expertise. From the busy starting post of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more muted palette but excels in figuration, particularly of glamorous women, and relishes snapshots of activity along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape with grandiose and evocative scenes, whether it’s the peaceful banks of the Ota River, the forbidding Wada Pass, or a moonlit ascent between Yawata and Mochizuki.Taken as a whole, The Sixty-Nine Stations collection represents not only a masterpiece of woodblock practice, including bold compositions and an experimental use of color, but also a charming tapestry of 19th-century Japan, long before the specter of industrialization. This TASCHEN volume is sourced from one of the finest surviving first editions and revives the series in our compact anniversary edition.

Only 20 paintings and eight drawings are confidently assigned to Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450-1516) but in their fantastical visions they have secured his place as one of the most cult artists in history. 500 years on from his death, his works continue to inspire scholars, artists, designers, and musicians, death metal band names and designer dresses. This edition offers the complete and haunting Bosch world in one compact format. Through full spreads and carefully curated details, we explore the full reach and compelling inventions of the artist's genius as well as disturbing imagination. We encounter his hybrid creatures, his nightmarish scenarios, his religious and moral framework, and his pictorial versions of contemporary proverbs and idioms. Along the way, art historian and Bosch expert Stefan Fischer reveals the most important themes and influences in these cryptic, mesmerizing masterpieces. About the series TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program-now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

The Kama Sutra gives detailed instructions on how to spank it. Contemporary Italians touch it for luck before placing a bet. Americans are having it cosmetically enhanced at rates approaching breast enlargement surgery. The female butt, tush, culo, or derrière has always inspired awe, fantasy, and slavish devotion.Curiously, its primary purpose is functional rather than aesthetic: butts balance our bodies while running, according to biologists. But ask any pygophiliac—as fundament fans are clinically termed—and you’ll get the same answer: female hindquarters exist to please the eye, the hands, and parts south. A pert posterior causes instant arousal, as Zora Neale Hurston observed in Their Eyes Were Watching God: "The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets." Or, as rapper Sir Mix-a-lot proclaimed, "My anaconda don’t want none, unless you’ve got buns, hun."Having all but disappeared from western culture in the breast-obsessed second half of the 20th century, the fully formed fanny is currently enjoying a massive resurgence, attributed by some to American actress Jennifer Lopez, by others to the rise of booty-centric hip hop culture. Yet this rage for shapely butts is nothing new. The ancient Greeks worshipped at the temple of Aphrodite Kallipygos, Goddess of the Beautiful Buttocks, while a womanly rump has always been an object of worship in most of the southern hemisphere.The Big Butt Book explores this perennial fascination with female booty—from small and taut to large and sumptuous—in the fourth installment of Dian Hanson’s critically acclaimed body parts series. Over 400 photos from 1900 to the present day, including works by Elmer Batters, Ellen von Unwerth, Jean-Paul Goude, Ralph Gibson, Richard Kern, Jan Saudek, Ed Fox, Terry Richardson and Sante D’Orazio, of butts ranging from petite Pam Anderson’s to sumptuous Serena Williams’, are contextualized by interviews with porn icon John (Buttman) Stagliano, filmmaker Tinto Brass, artist Robert Crumb, bootylicious butt queens Buffie The Body, Coco and Brazil’s Watermelon Woman, plus Eve Howard and her life-long spanking obsession.