«A visual account of the birth of graffiti and street art, showcasing as-yet-unseen works collected by preeminent artist Martin Wong. Referred to by the New York Times as an artist «whose meticulous visionary realism is among the lasting legacies of New York’s East Village art scene of the 1980s», Martin Wong (1946-1999) was firmly entrenched in the NYC street art world of the late ’70s and ’80s. City as Canvas chronicles the most important chapter in the street art movement and the artists involved. Showcasing Wong’s enormous graffiti art collection, the book contains artwork, photographs, black books, letters, postcards, posters, and flyers made by Wong and his artist friends. The book contains previously unpublished art by famous street artists such as Futura 2000, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Christopher «Daze» Ellis, LA II, Lady Pink, and Keith Haring, to name only a few. City as Canvas traces the origins of urban self-expression and the era of «outlaw» street art in New York, which primed the floodgates for graffiti art to spread worldwide. Exhibition Schedule: Museum of the City of New York: Opens October 2013.»

«In her riveting new book, Fandomania, photographer Elena Dorfman examines the pop culture phenomenon of «cosplay», in which participants dress up in costumes--and live part of their lives--as characters from video games, animated films and Japanese graphic novels. The exploding cosplay subculture flourishes at convention centers, college dorms, private clubs and in homes across the country. Dorfman puts herself quietly behind the scenes of these fan-based events to create a remarkable collective portrait. As she describes it, «The theater of cosplay has no boundaries, is unpredictable, open-ended. It includes both the fantastic and the mundane, the sexually aberrant and innocent, female characters who become samurai warriors and brainy scientists, and male characters who magically change their sex.» Explorations of identity through portraiture are at the forefront of Dorfman's work, with the blurred lines between fantasy and reality a continuing theme. She allows each individual a spotlight in which to enact his or her fantasy. The effect is pointedly evocative of this new world of role playing and narrative, one in which scenery is secondary and persona is everything. Comes with a special foam-bound cover and features an essay by Carlo McCormick.»