Menil Bookstore

Good Ideas

2009-07-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youngestprofessionals.org/default.htm

Mark A. Rodriguez was a pro skater back in the 80s who turned installation artist in the 90s. This new project is his latest creation and features a wealth of ideas about turning your children into conceptual artists. Projects such as "Draw a Balloon Animal and Then Draw What You Think It Would Look Like Unwound" invite participants to rely on higher level cognitive skills. A publication of some of the results from his own workshops has been published and would make a nice addition to the store.

Our 22nd Birthday

2009-05-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

On June 7th, the Menil Collection Bookstore turns 22 years old. Come and celebrate at our Anniversary Sale. Iced coffees and Italian sodas on the deck and a special art book collector section with rare books.

Customer of the Month ;)

2008-11-05T06:41:00.000-08:00

Austin artist/architect Eric Zimmerman recently paid a visit to the Menil Collection to participate in the Artist's Eye series. Afterwards, a small reception for attendees was held on the Menil Collection Bookstore deck. Many Houston artists were in attendance.

Eric is a longtime customer of the store and, up until recently, a blogger writing art criticism. Eric is a big fan of MIT Press and was jonesing for my MIT Press shirt. Eric's purchases that day were Theft Is Vision by Bob Nickas and A Voice Through A Cloud by Denton Welch, neither of which were MIT books, but very good books nonetheless.

Obama by Rhule

2008-10-01T13:20:00.001-07:00

Obama by William Rhule

William Rhule, an artist originally from Jamaica, has been showing with the Menil Collection Bookstore for over 13 years and a few weeks ago, he excitedly called me about a painting he had just finished. Mr. Rhule brought in this painting to show me and asked if he could display it in the store. We agreed and it fits nicely with the series of founding fathers by artist Ike Morgan on our display wall. Mr. Rhule wanted me to make sure and get the word out about how important this election is, not just to people in the US, but people the world over. Vote. Make your voice heard, no matter where your loyalties lie. As Mr. Rhule closed our last phone conversation, "One Love."

Menil Collection Bookstore Anniversary Sale

2008-05-30T14:48:00.001-07:00

Menil Collection Bookstore Anniversary Sale

Come Help Us Celebrate 21 Years of Business.
One day only, Saturday June 7th, 2008 from 11am-7pm.

Have you been waiting to buy that big monograph? Now is your chance to save.
Menil members receive extra discounts.

20% off the entire store...

Charles Wuorinen CD Release Party

2008-04-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon, the Menil Collection Bookstore and Da Camera of Houston hosted a CD Listening Party and Release for Charles Wuorinen: Ashberyana and Fenton Songs. Below are some shots of the party.

Menil Collection Bookstore on Facebook

2008-04-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

He ought to be a Menil Collection Bookstore Facebook contact and so should you.

Are you on Facebook? Do we know you? Join our new group on Facebook for another level of social networking. Simply join Facebook and add us as a fan of the Menil Collection Bookstore from the link below. By joining, you can find out who your fellow customers are and what's going on at the store.

MCB on Facebook

Houston Indie Book Festival

2008-04-11T15:33:00.001-07:00

The Menil Collection Bookstore will participate in this event on Saturday April 12th, from 10AM-5PM. Please join us on the back patio of Domy Books for special savings on select Menil titles, as well as books and magazines from a host of other Houston publishers.

Book signing photo

2008-03-14T11:13:00.001-07:00

William Christenberry and Menil assistant curator Clare Elliot chat during the book signing for Mr. Christenberry's eponymously titled book from the Aperture Foundation on March 13, 2008.

William Christenberry Book Signing March 13

2008-03-08T12:28:00.001-08:00

Picasso, Braque, and Early Film in Cubism

2008-02-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Picasso, Braque, and Early Film in Cubism
Edited by Bernice Rose
Price: $75.00, Member Price: $67.50 or less

This volume, edited by Menil curator of drawings Bernice Rose, examines the impact that early film had on the work of these two innovators of cubism. In what amounts to cross-disciplinary research between the worlds of visual science and the arts, Rose’s thesis is that we cannot understand Picasso and Braque unless we also understand the context in which they were working. Just like photography impacted the arts in the nineteenth century, so did moving pictures impact the world of painting in the twentieth century. Featuring essays by Tom Gunning, Bernice Rose, and Jennifer Wild, this book offers new insights into the milieu of early twentieth century European art. Lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed, Picasso, Braque and Early Film in Cubism is a neccessary addition to the library of aficionados of modern art.

Art Spaces: The Menil Collection

2007-12-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Art Spaces: The Menil Collection
Published by Scala Publishers Ltd.
Price: $7.95, Member Price: $7.15 + tax

The Art Spaces series focuses primarily on the architecture of the world’s great art museums. For Art Spaces: The Menil Collection, assistant curator Clare Elliott’s text summarizes a history of the collection, the commission of the building, a brief look at the works in the collection, as well as an examination of the outlying satellites on the museum’s campus. Originally thought of as a concise guide to the architecture of Renzo Piano’s first US commission, Art Spaces: The Menil Collection functions as a pocket-sized guide to the collection as a whole and not just its container. Special attention is given to how the works in the collection are exhibited with numerous illustrations of the galleries and storage rooms. This book is a much-needed and desired addition to our growing number of Menil Collection titles.

The Menil Collection by Fondazione Renzo Piano

2007-12-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Menil Collection
Published by Fondazione Renzo Piano (Italian/English)
Price: $85.00, Member Price $76.50

Recently released and available only here in the US, The Menil Collection is the first monograph devoted solely to the architecture of the Menil building with a commentary from the voice of the master himself, Renzo Piano. Detailing the history of the commission and the intensive study of weather and sun patterns of the building site, The Menil Collection monograph is an absolute must for anyone passionate about this building and collection. Included in this volume are never before seen archival photos of the architect at work measuring light levels and developing the louvers that filter in the natural light so important to the experience of the museum, as well as photos of the site before construction started. Detailed drawings and sketches also abound in this volume. This invaluable document of the architectural process is the first in a planned series of 10 monographs on each of Piano’s most significant commissions. We are honored to be the first book in this series as it shows the special relationship between Mr. Piano and the Menil Collection. For a history of the Menil Collection building, look no further.

Art Lies 56 Release Party

2007-11-29T06:06:00.001-08:00

Art Lies 56 Release Party
Menil Collection Bookstore Deck
Friday, December 7th, 5-8PM

Co -edited by
Noah Simblist and Michelle White

featuring:

Gregory Sholette’s notes on collectivity, Tony Matelli on gelitin, Jason Hill and Aram Moshayedi on “The afterlife of not getting along,” Toby Kamps in conversation with Mary Ellen Carroll & Charles Renfro , Amy Dickson on the Collaborative Work of Wynne Greenwood and K8 Hardy, Anjali Gupta on 500X Gallery, Sarah Hine on Orchard and Gilbert Vicario on Social Sculpture

Visual space projects by: William Cordova and Leslie Hewitt, Frances Colpitt and Terri Thornton, Julie Ault and Martin Beck, and Otabenga Jones and Associates.

Join us for a drink on the Menil Collection Bookstore’s Deck to celebrate the release of this issue on Friday, December
7th, from 5PM until 8PM.
Music by DJ Refuges des Fondues
Address:
Menil Collection Bookstore
1520 Sul Ross
Houston, Texas 77006, USA
*As a bonus, mention this post to receive 10% off your purchase in the Menil Collection Bookstore that evening.

New Arrivals: Menil Bookstore 10/19/2007

2007-10-24T15:53:00.000-07:00

New Arrivals at the Menil Collection Bookstore for 10/19/2007

Renzo Piano Museums
Essay by Victoria Newhouse
For many museums, Renzo Piano is the architect of choice. This volume examines Piano’s long and rich history in the design of spaces specifically for viewing art. The book is structured like an expanded portfolio of projects, beginning with one of his most famous and visible buildings, the Centre Pompidou, on which he partnered in the design with English architect Richard Rogers. The Menil Collection has special importance to Piano, being his first American project, and he describes the rooms of the Menil as “sacred” spaces. Also discussed are the Fondation Beyeler, the Nasher Sculpture Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the High Museum of Art. Renzo Piano Museums is lavishly illustrated and features an essay by Menil aficionado Victoria Newhouse.

Price: $60.00
Member Price: $54.00 or less depending on the membership level.

A Rose Has No Teeth: Bruce Nauman in the 1960s
By Constance M. Lewallen
This companion volume to the exhibition of the same name examines Bruce Nauman’s development as an artist in the mid-1960s while he was a student at UC Davis. Lewallen traces the impact of teachers like William T. Wiley and the burgeoning literary and dance scenes of the 1960s Bay Area on Nauman in his shift away from painting into sculptural and conceptual pursuits. While other exhibitions have sought to focus on Nauman’s early work, this volume is the first of its kind to do so from such a pointed regional perspective. Lewallen’s thesis is that despite the artist having left Northern California in 1969, Nauman had already established much of the artistic vocabulary that was to play a part in his work until now. A Rose Has No Teeth looks at various themes that run through his work, such as; the artist’s studio as site; the inversion of inside and outside; the tension between exposure and concealment; and the artistic potential of quotidian activities.

Price: $39.95
Member Price: $35.96 or less depending on the membership level.

Mark Rothko 2008 Calendar, super-deluxe wall size
National Gallery of Art
This poster-sized calendar features six Rothko masterpieces with two months per image on each page. The calendars are packaged in a large cardboard portfolio with handles for easy transportation from the store. Works included are:
Red Band, 1955
Sketch for Mural (Blue on Red with Two Verticals)( Harvard Mural Sketch), 1962
Untitled, 1949
Untitled, 1969
No. 3, 1947
Untitled, 1970
Calendar dimensions are 60cm x 90cm, or 23.6” x 35.4”.

Price: $65.00
Member Price: $58.50 or less depending on the membership level.

Robert Gober: Sculptures and Installations 1979-2007
Edited by Theodora Vischer
This most recent exhibition of Gober’s work took place at the Schaulager in Basel, Switzerland and is a nearly complete look at the oeuvre of Robert Gober. This catalog is a must for Gober fans and artists alike. Each entry includes the particulars of the piece as well as the occasional descriptive contextual entry by Gober himself, including notes on the creative process and information about the model or source material. This book is massive, with 518 pages, and will certainly be the go-to book for future generations of art historians.

Price: $85.00
Member Price: $76.50 or less depending on the membership level.

Menil Collection Bookstore 20th Anniversary Sale

2007-06-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Book Sale!

Celebrate 20 Years of
The Menil Collection Bookstore!
One week only, 20% off
everything in the store (in store only).
June 6-10, 2007.

Now is the perfect time to stock up on books and gifts for the whole family, and while you are here, relax on our new deck with a cup of coffee.

Special pricing on select Menil catalogs.

THE MENIL COLLECTION BOOKSTORE

1520 Sul Ross Street
Houston, Texas, 77006
713-535-3180, bookstore@menil.org

11am-6pm Wednesday-Friday
11am-7pm weekends
Closed Monday and Tuesday

Sprung: Menil Bookstore New Arrivals 4/5/2007

2007-04-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sprung: Menil Bookstore New Arrivals 4/5/2007

Paris 1919
By Urs Fischer
Known here in Houston for his most recent installation at the Blaffer Gallery, Swiss artist Urs Fischer makes large scale environments that often play with art historical referents. In Paris 1919, we see an Alpine interior constructed entirely of stale brown bread. It is an Anselm Kiefer brought to life in dough. Images of Catherine Deneuve pop up from inside a computer keyboard. A crumbling breeze block wall is an impromptu readymade on the street. Fischer is an alchemist, turning the mundane on its head and playing with the ideas of deconstruction, decay, and, at the same time, growth. He often seems to be working within the constraints of what material is available immediately around him. His smaller constructions have the feel of a Richard Tuttle, albeit with a more punk spirit. Price: $29.00

Atelier Van Lieshout
By Jennifer Allen, et al.
Joep Van Lieshout and his studio make sculptures that could be architecture, or is it the other way around? Van Lieshout began making self-contained living units that were often for a particular purpose, such as a capsule for to inspire love-making, or a living unit that glommed on to an existing building like a parasitic growth, giving its inhabitants more living space. In Atelier Van Lieshout, drawings for unrealized projects live side-by-side with the things that did make the cut. Included in the projects that remain to be realized are a Brothel with Greenhouse from 1999 and a Slave City from 2005- (ongoing). Van Lieshout's program is a utopian vision gone horribly awry (as they are wont to do). Earlier work included a declaration of a sovereign state, complete with banknotes and weapons, including a Mercedes Benz outfitted with a cannon. Price: $55.00

A Flexible History of Fluxus Facts & Fictions
By Emmett Williams
Octogenarian Emmett Williams is the oldest living Fluxus artist. In A Flexible History, Williams writes about the movement he helped to foster and in Fluxus fashion, reveals truths and creates fictions that further serve to obfuscate the movement as a whole. Fluxus, with its groundings in vaudeville and at the same time, Eastern philosophies, is a movement characterized by the idea of entertainment in art. Their performances were often amusing, referencing children's games, Spike Jones, and novelty gags. The recurring motif of a pre-Columbian hieroglyphic head with its tongue stuck out is a cipher for Williams, his tongue stuck out at his collaborators like a petulant child. Price: $45.00

Bill Viola: Hatsu-Yume, First Dream
Catalogue by Mori Art Museum and Tankosha Publishing, Inc.
In Japan, the first dream one has on the first night of the New Year is called hatsu-yume. It is said that this dream is a portent for the rest of the year and auspicious dream symbols include eggplant, Mount Fuji, or a hawk. For Hatsu-Yume: First Dream, a single channel video by Bill Viola, we see a series of images from various locales around Japan. The introduction to the catalogue describes Hatsu-Yume as a type of abstract road movie. We are the dreamer and the video is our dream. How the symbols are to be interpreted depends is largely subjective. What follows is a selection of works from 1976-2004, including an in-depth look at Viola's The Passions project. Price: $42.00

Laura Owens
Catalogue by Kunsthalle Zurich and JRP/Ringier
Inspired by Asian scenes painted on silk panels, painter Laura Owens meshes the upended Asian sense of perspective and brings it into contact with abstract expressionism, folk art, arts and crafts, and decorative painting. For Owens, cultural identity and tradition are turned upside-down as a way to circumvent the burden of the history of painting and its attendant irony. Her palette is delicate and restrained when it needs to be and bold at the right time. For this catalogue from the Kunsthalle Zurich, the authors have included a series of pages in the front and rear that serve to show the size relationships amongst the various paintings. This is an interesting and instructive detail for painters. Price: $55.00

Menil Bookstore Café News

2007-03-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

For the past few months, we have been in discussion about how to better serve the Menil Collection Bookstore customers. The solution we have arrived at is nearly complete. We present to you the new Menil Bookstore Deck. This open public space will serve as a shaded spot to enjoy the new beverages on offer inside the store. We will offer a variety of hot coffees and teas, as well as a cold water, juices, and bottled iced tea. Beginning the weekend of March 24th, we will offer beverages and prepackaged snacks. Hopefully the deck will also serve as a venue for new programming possibilities, readings and bookstore sales. Stop by and see what we have to offer.

Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces

2007-02-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

Thirteen years after Robert Rauschenberg exhibited his seminal "Combines" at the Leo Castelli Gallery, he created the first of what came to be known as the "Cardboards." Despite his fame as an artist, these pieces are virtually unknown. Because of this, the Menil Collection has mounted an exhibition of these works whose humble materials belie its importance in Rauschenberg's development as an artist. Formally, the works recall the constructions of Kurt Schwitters and the boxes of Donald Judd. Rauschenberg created these works after moving from New York to the relatively rural locale of Captiva Island, Florida, where he has remained since. According to Rauschenberg, he "was trying to wean [himself] from urban imagery...Cardboard boxes were everywhere." Gone also was the wild color palette that showed up in the combines. Rauschenberg used only the boxes in a deconstructed form, with the original printing from their previous life as shipping containers for various products still visible. This catalog also serves as a de facto catalogue raisonné for the cardboards and related pieces. The back section of the book is structured as such. It is 152 pages and available in both hard and softcover versions. ISBN:978-0-939594-63-4, Price: HC $50.00, SC $35.00.

Writings on Art: Mark Rothko

2006-03-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

There is a new Mark Rothko book entitled Writings on Art, which is a companion book to the bestselling Artist's Realities: Philosophies of Art. Rothko's personal writings have only recently come to light after his son's discovery of these documents. These books contradict earlier impressions that Rothko was an artist who had renounced the written word. They also highlight the importance of meditation and spirituality to Rothko as well as his personal relationships with the giants of Abstract Expressionism, most notably Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still and Robert Motherwell. Writings on Art gathers both published and unpublished written works. Writings on Art and Artist's Realities both retail for $25.00 and are available through the Menil Bookstore and Yale University Press. And as always, the Rothko Chapel is located one block east of the Menil Collection.

Schirmer-Mosel has finally shipped the three volumes of Cy Twombly's Catalogue Raisonné V.1-4 of the paintings that I had on back order. The set still retails for $980.00. Volume 2 was reprinted to satisfy the shortages left in the remaining sets and once these run out, it is unlikely they will be reprinted. Because of this condition, I can only sell the full sets.

E.G. Asplund 1885-1940

2006-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

Erik Gunnar Asplund was a Swedish contemporary of Le Corbusier and Mies Van der Rohe. He was responsible for the design of the Stockholm City Library, the Skandia Cinema, and the Woodland Cemetary outside of Stockholm. He was not nearly as well known as his contemporaries, nor was he as prolific. However, he should be considered a master amongst twentieth century Scandinavian architect/designers. The City Library, which he designed, is a masterpiece; a light and airy round space, suited for lofty thoughts. This volume, from Toto (the people that manufacture toilets and urinals), is part of a series on modern master architects. Asplund joins Louis I. Kahn and Luis Barragan's Casa Barragan in their latest offering. I am a big fan of these books because of the quality of the printing and photography. The colors are lush and dense and show these architect's designs in the best possible light. Price: $68.00, ISBN: 4887062575

Vitamin D: New Perspectives in Drawing

2006-02-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

Before I begin this book entry, let me assure you that the Menil Bookstore Blog is still rolling along despite evidence to the contrary. We had a dry spell and much of our new Spring stock is arriving as I write. The Eva Hesse: Drawings catalog will be delayed until April and the long-awaited Robert Gober: Meatwagon catalog is due here in mid-March.

One of my favorite new books is back in stock. Phaidon began this series with a similarly titled volume Vitamin P, about contemporary painting practice. Vitamin D is ostensibly about contemporary drawing (Phaidon's representative also informs me that a Vitamin Ph, for photography, is due out, possibly in the Fall.). Phaidon's editors contacted a host of curators to nominate potential candidates for inclusion in Vitamin D. What results is a group of 109 contemporary artists, primarily engaged in the language of drawing that should give us a "snapshot" of drawing today. As a student, I always loved books like this because it was a kind of "one-stop-shopping" for information. In this case, the packaging of the title doesn't hurt either. The designer, Julia Hasting, elected to use deckled-edge paper for the signatures of the book, and the book jacket resembles drawing paper. This greatly enhances the tactile quality of the book, which, for a paper junkie like myself, is important. My only criticism of this title is that there is a tendency in the curating community to follow trends rather than set them. I really like many of the artists in this book, but I wonder if five years down the road these same curators would stand by their choices. Despite that, there are some really wonderful artists included here, and maybe I'm just playing devil's advocate. Emma Dexter, of the Tate Modern, supplies the introduction, and Alison M. Gingeras, Dominic Molon, Vasif Kortun, Lars Bang Larsen, and Hans Ulrich Obrist (as well as several others) have authored entries on the artists. There is some local flavor in the book as well. Houston residents Trenton Doyle Hancock and Robyn O'Neil were both selected for inclusion in this title. Congratulations to both of them. Vitamin D retails for $69.95. ISBN: 0714845450

Walter Boje: Geburtstag

2006-01-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

This limited edition (500 copies) publication examines the career of Walter Boje, an early pioneer of color photography in Germany in the early 20th century. The book was published on the occasion of Boje's 100th birthday, hence the title. Geburtstag is linen-bound, 19x25cm, and 80 pages, and contains over 50 photos in color and black and white. Boje's subjects range from people on the street to family portraits to nearly abstract images of the human body. This book from Edition Dino Simonett is must-have book for collectors of photography. ISBN 3-905562-20-0 Price: $60.00.

Recent Arrivals 1/20/2006

2006-01-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

There are a few new things here that I should mention. First off, Buchhandlung Walther Koenig has shipped Anish Kapoor: Drawings and David Shrigley: Worried Noodles (The Empty Sleeve Project) [a collaboration with Tomlab, a German music label]. The Kapoor drawings have a wonderful luminous quality to them, evident in the rich pigment used for the work. From a show at London's Lisson Gallery, this catalog includes essays by Jeremy Lewison and Laurent Busine (Price $65.00 HC). David Shrigley teamed up with Tomlab to produce Worried Noodles, an artist book of sorts, packaged in a record sleeve, but without any record. Instead the reader gets a 48 page songbook with drawings and lyrics for Shrigley-esque songs (Price $28.00). Also just arrived is the catalog for the latest Trenton Doyle Hancock outing at Dunn and Brown Contemporary in Dallas. The show, entitled St. Sesom and the Cult of Color, continues Hancock's cosmology of vegans and mounds, but this time focusing on a beatified vegan St. Sesom (Price $20.00). Hancock is a local artist and a two-time Whitney Biennial exhibitor. Congratulations to Hancock on his show and catalog.

Art Now Vol.2

2006-01-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

Just arrived this morning is Art Now Vol.2, edited by Uta Grosenick, published by Taschen. The Art Now series is a great way for someone unitiated with art as it is now to get a snapshot of current modes of cultural production. The entries are short, often 2 or 3 pages only, but they provide a window to new work and further examination. At $39.99, the book is inexpensive for the volume of information provided with one-hundred thirty-six entries bearing multiple images for each artist. This series is similar in nature to the Vitamin series from Phaidon, but the Art Now books have no specific focus on medium. Painters, installation artists, conceptual artists, and videographers all share space in this book. ISBN: 3822839965