Arts Design

10 BEAUTIFUL BOOKS FOR GIVING NOW

Courtesy of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Photo from Tara Donovan Book.

This week, as we kick of seven days of Beautiful Gifts, we think one of the best places to start is with an armload of beautiful new books. We’ve picked out 10 gorgeous volumes that are sure to produce grateful recipients.

1. TARA DONOVAN

Tara Donovan, edited by Jutta Mattern and Mette Marcus is a beautiful book about the renowned American artist. Her incredible sculptures are made of simple objects such as Scotch tape, drinking straws, paper plates, needles, plastic rods, toothpicks, mylar and buttons.

Donovan transforms these materials, creating forms that resemble giant cells or living organisms. "What I'm striving for is to be an alchemist and transcend the material," Donovan says. "It's more of a mimicking of the way of nature, the way things actually grow."

This book makes an exquisite gift, with its handsome mirror-paper cover and debossing.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (2014)

2. THE LIGHT BETWEEN US

The Light Between Us offers a snapshot of Vincent Peter’s intimate celebrity photography. Peters, who has worked for Vogue, GQ, Dior, and Louis Vuitton, focuses on the nuances of his subjects, capturing small gestures rather than prominent poses -- all in cinematic quality.

The captivating black-and-white portraits in The Light Between Us accentuate the face as the focal point of the composition and make a great gift for those who want an up close and personal look into celebrities like Emma Watson, Annie Lennox, David Beckham, and Christian Bale.

teNeues (2014)

3. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STUNNING PORTRAITS

National Geographic is universally known for capturing breathtaking photographs that tell us about our world. Stunning Photographs is a 400-page collection by Annie Griffiths that continues the institution’s tradition of creating a visual canvas of definitive, spontaneous, and striking pictures.

These portraits are accompanied by inspiring quotations interspersed throughout to supplement the visual power. This book is a beautiful gift, delivering glorious colors, breathtaking landscapes, and many reminders that our world is truly a beautiful place.

National Geographic (2014)

4. VOGUE AND THE METROPOLIS MUSEUM OF ART COSTUME INSTITUTE: PARTIES, EXHIBITIONS, PEOPLE

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute exhibition is a spectacular event. It is crowned and opened with THE party of the year, attended by the ultimate A-list. And everything is all about being beautiful.

Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the museum to see incredible clothing designs that are each true works of art.

Vogue and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People offers insider access, with photographs from the exhibitions and galas -- and from behind the scenes. Photographers Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Steven Meisel, and Craig McDean share their views. Legendary Vogue editors Grace Coddington and Tonne Goodman offer their vision. And writers like Hamish Bowles and Jonathan Van Meter lend their wit.

Harry N. Abrams (2014)

5. THE OLDEST LIVING THINGS IN THE WORLD

From the Mojave Desert, to Antarctica, to the Australian Outback, organisms that are thousands of years old are still alive! Photographer Rachel Sussman has captured the beauty of these continuously living life forms in The Oldest Living Things in the World.

From an 80,000-year-old aspen colony in Utah, to a nearly 44,000 year old shrub that grows in Tasmania, Sussman’s portraits reveal the history of our planet, and through supplemental scientific insight, warn of the biological beauty we stand to lose in the future.

University Of Chicago Press; 1ST edition (2014)

6. THE WILD HORSES OF SABLE ISLAND

Sable Island, known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” lies off the coast of eastern Canada. It’s riddled with over 500 shipwrecks of sailors and pirates who temporarily occupied the island over five hundred years ago.

Roberto Dutesco’s The Wild Horses of Sable Island chronicles the lives of the only permanent inhabitants of Sable Island, the abandoned wild horses.

Through stunning photographs, this book gives readers a look into a place uninhabited by man, where horses run free, blissfully unaware of human presence. Dutesco captures a uniquely wild place, reminding us that in a world where nature is vanishing, havens like Sable Island still exist.

teNeues; Mul edition (2014)

7. JEFF LEATHAM: VISIONARY FLORAL ART AND DESIGN

Jeff Leatham: Visionary Floral Art and Design is a collection of more than ten year’s worth of floral arrangement masterpieces.

Leatham, florist to the stars, with celebrity clients such as Oprah Winfrey, Tina Turner, and Kylie Minogue, knows how to take something beautiful, like a flower, and elevate it even further.

With over 200 photographs, this volume contains the finest work in Leatham’s portfolio, and lays out the steps to creating successful arrangements for any event, ranging from weddings and anniversary parties, to formal dinners and birthdays.

Rizzoli (2014)

8. ETRO

Etro is the story of Gimmo Etro’s eponymous fashion company. Launched in 1968, Etro started marketing a range of fabrics and fibers with innovative colors and original designs.

The book chronicles the development of the company’s signature paisley motif, its expansion into textile design and leather goods in the 1980’s, and its successful prêt-à-porter clothing collections in the 1990’s. It’s a beautiful gift for the fashionista on your list.

Rizzoli (2014)

9. FULLMOON

We’ve all marveled at the luminous beauty of a full moon. However, no one has captured its wonderful light quite like Darren Almond. His latest book, Fullmoon, is a collection of 260 images that illustrate the marvel of Earth’s natural satellite around the globe.

Almond’s silent night landscapes possess a mild, frothy glow, the result of leaving his camera shutter open for over 15 minutes. Moonlight turns everything from magnificent mountain ranges to Arctic ice fields into magical views.

Taschen (2015)

10. PIANO: COMPLETE WORKS 1966-2014

The Pompidou Center in Paris, the New York Times Building in New York, and London Bridge Tower in London are some of the most unique individual structures in the world. They were all designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano.

Piano: Complete Works 1966-2014 is an updated monograph of Piano’s distinctive aesthetic with illustrations, photographs, sketches, and blueprints that span his near 50-year career. The book includes new photographs of the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago and a sneak preview of his current undertaking, Valletta City Gate in Valletta, Malta.

Taschen (2014)

Read more about Beautiful Gifts, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink,Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Gifts in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 12.28.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Photo: Courtesy of Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Photo from Tara Donovan Book.
Image: by Tara Donovan. Colored Mylar.
Image: Courtesy of teNeues. The Light Between Us.
Image: Courtesy of National Geographic. National Geographic Stunning Portraits.
Image: Courtesy of Harry N Abrams. Vogue and The Metropolis Museum of Art Costume Institute: Parties, Exhibitions, People.
Image: Courtesy of University of Chicago Press. The Oldest Living Things in The World.
Image: Courtesy of teNeues. The Wild Horses of Sable Island.
Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Jeff Leatham: Visionary Floral Art and Design.
Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Etro.
Image: Courtesy of Taschen. Fullmoon.
Image: Courtesy of Taschen. Piano: Complete Works 1966-2014.