(un) Fashion

Rating:
Summary: (un)Believable!
Review: This book is incredible. It's like being a child again and walking around the world and seeing 500 different people, with 500 different cultures and ways of expressing ideas. It's like having the eyes of a 5 year old and asking the question over and over..."What? and Why?" This book is playful discovery. Just imagine opening a book with no introduction, no words...only photos of people around the world - what they wear, what they're doing and how they do it. But like a child you have no idea, no clues or anything. These photos begin to speak for themselves. You don't have the advantage (or disadvantage) of having a writer attach prejudices or judgements to these photos - you are left to explore your own words, prejudices and thoughts. You not only learn things about people...but you learn a lot about yourself and your pre-conceptions about other folks.

For those of you who are Tibor fans...Maira has a very touching write up about her late husband and why he initiated this book.

Rating:
Summary: (un)Believable!
Review: This book is incredible. It's like being a child again and walking around the world and seeing 500 different people, with 500 different cultures and ways of expressing ideas. It's like having the eyes of a 5 year old and asking the question over and over..."What? and Why?" This book is playful discovery. Just imagine opening a book with no introduction, no words...only photos of people around the world - what they wear, what they're doing and how they do it. But like a child you have no idea, no clues or anything. These photos begin to speak for themselves. You don't have the advantage (or disadvantage) of having a writer attach prejudices or judgements to these photos - you are left to explore your own words, prejudices and thoughts. You not only learn things about people...but you learn a lot about yourself and your pre-conceptions about other folks.

For those of you who are Tibor fans...Maira has a very touching write up about her late husband and why he initiated this book.

Rating:
Summary: Deep Thinking
Review: This is a book of photos, culled from stockbooks and everyday travels. It was completed a few years after Tibor died, but nevertheless shows his mark: deep thinking, natural + vernacular aesthetics, and a focus on subtle (un)design that would do Dieter Rams proud. Basically, the book consists of a series of (mostly full-bleed) photos with little or no captions, no page numbering, no table of contents, and only a token frontispiece -- in otherwords, stripped down to the most basic level. The photos are almost all of people: odd, creepy, weird, or out-of-place, but all interesting. The twist is that, like a lot of what Kalman did for Colors, the pictures may be viewed not only on their own, but next to and in conjuction with the photos that are adjacent to it. One image has a punk rocker wearing a belt of ammunition -- the ultimate poser. But opposite is a picture of a female gangster with a pistol and you get the feeling that she is anything but a poser. Individually they are cool photos, opposite one another they make you think. The whole book's like that. Cool cool stuff.

Rating:
Summary: Costume Party!
Review: While he was alive Tibor Kalman spent his design career showing that one could find "high art" in the everyday world. (un) Fashion is a wonderful tribute to the life of Mr. Kalman (it can be assume that the driving force behind the book is Maira who is a very talented artist in her own right).

The book has several catwalks of a wide range of people from every corner the planet. Each chapter features a traditional or (un)traditional fashion theme like body art, accessories, tribes, dressed to kill and (un)mentionables. Sometimes a featured photo can make a political statement while others show a slight touch of humor, making for entertaining page turning.

While this book isn't your typical "oversized coffee table" the production and presentation show a respect for quality. Unlike your average overpriced collection of pretty pictures this book will make you think, which is rather novel for a book of so few words. (un)Fashion is the sort of book which you will want to share with friends and family and would be a great conversation starter for any social gathering.

Rating:
Summary: Costume Party!
Review: While he was alive Tibor Kalman spent his design career showing that one could find "high art" in the everyday world. (un) Fashion is a wonderful tribute to the life of Mr. Kalman (it can be assume that the driving force behind the book is Maira who is a very talented artist in her own right).

The book has several catwalks of a wide range of people from every corner the planet. Each chapter features a traditional or (un)traditional fashion theme like body art, accessories, tribes, dressed to kill and (un)mentionables. Sometimes a featured photo can make a political statement while others show a slight touch of humor, making for entertaining page turning.

While this book isn't your typical "oversized coffee table" the production and presentation show a respect for quality. Unlike your average overpriced collection of pretty pictures this book will make you think, which is rather novel for a book of so few words. (un)Fashion is the sort of book which you will want to share with friends and family and would be a great conversation starter for any social gathering.