TURNTABLE LAB

Basco & Paloma
Donde Esta Mi Corazon? Book

"Donde Esta Mi Corazon" is like a gallery tour of the unique street art and graffiti culture from South America. Most of the work is from Chilean artist Basco (who works with a lot of colorful native imagery - skeletons, religious icons, animals, etc), but there are also several pages of photos, collages, murals, and collabos with notable South American artists like Os Gemeos, Agotok, Herbert Baglione and photographer Paloma. Even if you've seen a dozen street art books, this one is unique in that there is a distinct DIY feel with an obvious Latin influence to the art. 96 pages, hardcover.
reviewed by snackmaster

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graf books / art + design books / books - all

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Claw Money
Bombshell Book - SIGNED

LAB EXCLUSIVO: Each copy of purchased from the Lab is signed by CLAW MONEY herself. Get it while supplies last.

CLAW MONEY pretty much runs things. Not only is she one of the few female graf queens (her infamous CLAW icon has appeared on walls in the East Village to LA to Amsterdam and Milan since the early '90s), she also designs her own clothing line (with lots of her CLAW icons of course), her own jewelry and accessory line, works as a fashion editor, a brand consultant, and still has time to put out a book. Bombshell is an up close and personal look at CLAW's life and crimes, as told through tons of photos, letters, sketches, designs and testimonials from her (in)famous friends. It's clear she's having a super-fun time being CLAW MONEY - rarely have I seen so many fashionable self portraits in a graff monologue (or party pics for that matter). All I gotta say is... Damn girl, don't hurt 'em! 128 pages, hardcover.
reviewed by snackmaster

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books - sale + specials / graf books / art + design books / books - all

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Ill Communication 2 Catalogue

Exhibition catalog from the Ill Communication 2 show held in Machester, England. The show gathered an impressive global roster that reminded me of the old 12 Oz. Prophet mags. Artists include some of my personal favorites like Os Gemeos, Espo, Lodown's Marok, Loomit (although a little weak here), Dave Ellis aka Skwerm, Kami&Sasu and others. The book format is also of interest as each artist's section begins with a couple paragraphs (sometimes just a quote) written by the artist and a photograph of their hands (very earthy). The catalog is 64 pages and is imported from the UK.
reviewed by mgmnt

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books - sale + specials / graf books / books - all

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Jose Parla
Cityscapes Book

If you've been following the graf scene for a while, you've probably noticed the very unique rise and development of Jose Parla aka Ease. From the early days of 12 Oz. Prophet and the Ink Heads crew, Parla was one of the standouts with his clean pieces and incredible hand-styles. He moved to New York a few years back to get more into the art scene, and since then has made one of the smoothest transitions from graf artist to fine art artist. Although his paintings still has clear graf influence, this isn't your neon space character with some letters on the side nonsense. This is the real deal grown-man art dealing with calligraphy and urban decay, and it's getting snatched up by serious collectors. This is the first proper book from Parla, on occasion of his show at Spoonfed show at the 2006 Art Basel. Full color, 150 pages, 9" x 11".
reviewed by the mgmnt

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graf books / art + design books / books - all

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Lost
Collection 0001: 1998-2008 Book

Since the earliest days of our books & design section (formerly known as Open Ballistics - how military chic!), we've carried this meticulously crafted zine. Born and bred in Los Angeles, Lost represents the ceiling of what you could get done with a color printer (with a hacked card system?), a hand-cutter, and a simple binder: the ultimate DIY graf zine. After a several hiatus, we're proud to offer a new issue of Lost. This special issue serves as a retrospective and an outlook for the years 98 to 08 and features some of the best graf Los Angeles has to offer. Contributors include Adikt, Atlas, Besk, Cab, Der, Destroyer, Envy, Haeler, Ian Lynam, Jorger, Keyn, Kozem, Lolo Olivas, Luna, Pale, Patrick Martinez, 7Dee, Step One, Tempt, The Phantom, and Yem/Krenz. Spiral bound hardcover, over 100 full color pages.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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books - sale + specials / graf books / all mags / zines / and more

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Mascots & Mugs: Characters and Cartoons of Subway Graffiti Book

This is the true dope right here. If you're a true fan of graffiti, you know that all these graffiti books coming out have already been trumped by the original Subway Art book by Henry Chalfant(Style Wars director) and Martha Cooper. The book illustrates that old school NYC was the illest breeding spot for styles and the "war" for the freshest was really what was kept the culture growing. Instead of covering the same angles, this book thoroughly elaborates on what Subway Art barely touches upon - the characters. Finally, David Villorente and Todd James(Reas) gives the subject the attention it deserves. Starting from it's humble beginnings in the 70's and 80's new wave, punk, disco had the underground on fire and hip hop was just being born. This is where subway art was becoming a culture in NY and although letter styles were taking the forefront, the characters also played an important role. Look at the impact grafitti art has had on pop culture today, it's obvious how important characters actually were. Barry McGee, Kaws, Mode they're all known today for they're characters(some are trademarked)...Shit, I'd even go as far to say that Bratz was inspired by graf! In any case, this book breaks down the science and psychology of the character's role and interviews many of the pivotal writers old and new that brought it to popularity. A perfect look for the graf enthusiast that's read about everything there is on the subject.
reviewed by Cmish

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graf books / photography books / books - all

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Morning Breath
The Early Bird Book

LAB EXCLUSIVO: These copies are all signed by the artists. New book from our 20 Jay St neighbors! Morning Breath is Doug Cunningham (aka Dugone) and Jason Noto's design firm. These guys started working together at Think Skateboards back in 1996 and formed MB in 2002. Since then they've done a lot of commercial work for hip hop and punk/indy projects (a lot of you will also recognize Dug from his work for the Skratch Piklz and animated movie Wavetwisters), but like most people- that's just the stuff to pay the bills. This book collects the artwork they do on the side- lots of screenprinting, illustration, painting, plus shots of them at work in the studio. Their stuff draws inspiration from tats, muscle cars, pointed push up bras and russ meyer babes, the back of comic books, bail bonds, mexican wrestlers and little kids. It's real refreshing in this world of fake irony, overused influences and "look how cool I am" bullshit. Sure you'll find plenty to smirk at in here, but it's like laughing and sharing a cigarette with a drunken stranger rather than walzing in somewhere and checking to see if anybody's looking at your sneakers. Nahmean? Approx 100 pages.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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The Nasty Terrible T-Kid 170 Book

T-Kid is one of the most celebrated writers to come out of the late-70s / early-80s New York scene, blowing up (along with everybody else) through channels like Henry Chalfant's Subway Art, the gallery scene and breakdance contests and stuff. Crazy style, super respected, and one bad-ass ex-gang mofo. This is his story from crib to present, as told by Terrible T-Kid himself. Like similar graf autobiographies, there is a massive amount of information in here- tons of stories, photos, and artwork that document the evolution of his work as well as everything else that has happened in his life. It's well put together and continually interesting, right from the opening jacket quote: "And if you fucked with me, I fucked with you. I kinged the ones, two, and three's, the A, the B and yes, the D's, with your own paint I burned you... and all you could do was bite my style." This guy is almost 40 years old now. He's seen some shit, get on for the ride. Large format, 200 pages, full color.
reviewed by the mgmnt

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graf books / books - all

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