The Brilliance!

Laurence King Publishing is one of my favorite book publishers, right up there with Phaidon, Taschen, and Gestalten who all publish the best in art and design books. They’ve got some really incredible titles under their belt and this new book, ‘Hell Bound - New Gothic Art’, is no exception. I just had a chance to check it out this past weekend at Lamb here in town and I was really impressed. You don’t have to be a fan of dark art and heavy metal to enjoy most of this book, although that certainly wouldn’t hurt. From the book description on the LK site, ‘Hell Bound highlights a new generation of contemporary artists who are increasingly obsessed with the darker things in life. Illustrators, street artists, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, installation artists and painters are all reflecting this renewed interest in gothic imagery.’ Now I personally wouldn’t typecast the artists in this book as ‘gothic artists’ and I wouldn’t pigeonhole the specific work in this book to that label either. Gothic, these days, makes me think of two things: architecture in Chicago and Hot Topic. This book doesn’t really have Chicago architecture in it and its certainly not filled up with work by artists who dress in mammoth fit black Jncos and Cradle of Filth t-shirts…and I personally wouldn’t have chosen this image for the cover as it kind of conveys a playful tone which the guts of this book certainly do not match. So don’t let any of that lead you away from checking this book out. It’s filled with smart, witty, slightly disturbing (some very) and dark art that is beautifully laid out and presented. Definitely check it out…and when you’re ready to get really goth, check this guy out.