10 NEW BOOKS CELEBRATE BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS NOW

This week, as days shrink down to their shortest stature, with winter closing in, we are embracing and celebrating the Beautiful Dark. We begin with a curated collection of new books that explore the beauty of darkness, from the nighttime, to chocolate, from color to spirit.

1. WILD LIFE

Artists, photographers, and designers have long used the color black as a background to create contrast and focus, making their subjects pop forward and grab you. Brad Wilson uses this strategy as he photographs wild animals. Check them out in his new book, Wild Life co-authored with renowned zoologist and sociobiologist Desmond Morris.

The photos are unique. Rather than photographing the animals in the wild, Wilson brought them into his studio so that he could frame them against a solid black background. Not an easy task.

Wilson notes, "I was facing subjects that did what they wanted with no regard for me or my artistic agenda. Specific verbal directions were replaced by patient waiting and observation... In the midst of our modern human civilization with all its technological complexities, animals still remain stark symbols of a simpler life and a wilderness lost."

Wilson’s patience and sensitivity prevailed. We are able to see each animal's expression and textural detail, vividly.

Prestel (2014)

2. DARK BEAUTY: PHOTOGRAPHS OF NEW MEXICO

Jack Parsons is perhaps the most prolific photographer who has documented the breathtaking landscapes and diverse cultures of the state of New Mexico, with over 400,000 photographs and 15 books, created over the course of forty years.

In his new book, Dark Beauty: Photographs of New Mexico Parsons shares 100 rare photographs of beautiful little Pueblo adobe villages, soaring mountains, rivers that sculpt and wind their way through the plains.

Known as “The Land of Enchantment,” New Mexico comes alive for us in these pages, with unparalleled beauty.

"Among the things I admire about the photographs of Jack Parsons is that he is not afraid of the picturesque. He has not retreated from it nor found some arch way around it. Instead, Parsons walks right up to his subjects and points his lens at mountains, sunsets, cloud formations, weathered buildings, and Hispanic art." -- Frederick Turner, from his Introduction.

George F Thompson Publishing (2014)

3. BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE UNIVERSE: FROM THE HIGGS TO DARK MATTER

In the late 20th Century, scientists began to form a new idea: the Universe is filled with an unknown, elusive substance that is fundamentally different from anything else -- “dark matter.” They have been working, ever since, to further explain and prove it. The recent discovery of the Higgs Boson particle was an epic breakthrough, however dark matter largely remains a dark mystery.

In his latest book, Behind the Scenes of the Universe: From the Higgs to Dark Matter Gianfranco Bertone attempts to explain the ambiguous nature of dark matter to the general reader, as well as what its discovery means for science.

Borrowing concepts and ideas from art and literature, Bertone lays out the explorations and findings to date, and discusses the far-reaching implications of dark matter. He cites the new flurry of experiments being conducted, in a passionate push to explain the Universe to us humans that live within it.

Oxford University Press (2014)

4. BLACK FOREST

Black Forest: Four Visible Poems edited by SHOTS Magazine publisher Russell Joslin, is a collection of obscure photographs by over 50 contemporary photographers, including Roger Ballen, Arthur Tress, Debbie Fleming Caffery, Elijah Gowin, Louviere and Vanessa, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Irina Ionesco, Julie Blackmon, Gilles Berquet, among others. The photos all have a theme of what Joslin calls “subterranean beauty.” They are surreal in feel, with atmospheric illustrations of the unconscious mind.

The book is organized into four visual narratives, with a unique layout, designed by Jeff Louviere, who, along with his wife and collaborator Vanessa Brown, is one of the contributing artists.

Candela Books (2014)

5. MAST BROTHERS CHOCOLATE: A FAMILY COOKBOOK

When we think of Beautiful Dark, we immediately think: CHOCOLATE! So of course we wanted to dive into the new book by the masterful sibling chocolate artistes, Rick and Michael Mast.

Mast Brothers Chocolate: A Family Cookbook by Rick Mast and Michael Mast, is a welcome addition to our shelves. The brothers, pioneers of the bean-to-bar craft chocolate movement, are obsessed with the unique flavor profiles of cocoa beans grown in different regions around the world.

Roasting their beans in small batches, making their chocolates completely by hand, and hand wrapping each bar in exquisite bespoke papers, these artisans started a chocolate revolution. If you get a chance, visit their flagship factory and retail shop in Brooklyn, NY. But if not, look for their gorgeous chocolates in specialty food shops around the country and around the world.

You know their chocolate rocks when world-class chefs like Dan Barber, Alice Waters, and Alain Ducasse choose Mast Brothers Chocolate. Thomas Keller loves it so much, he wrote the foreword for this book.

The book is a treasure chest, full of photos and beautiful recipes for not only incredible chocolate desserts but also fascinating savory dishes, like Pan-seared Scallops with Cocoa Nibs and Cocoa Coq au Vin.

Little, Brown and Company (2013)

6. AS DARKNESS FALLS

Discover the haunting, romantic poetry and photography of Bryan K. Warsaw in his beautiful new book, As Darkness Falls. Share his intimate thoughts, his expansive dreams, and his flighty fantasies.

His themes are largely dark -- from witch hunts to insanity -- and then he deals with love. Perhaps it will lead him to a follow up book -- As Light Rises?

Blurb (2014)

7. LADY IN THE DARK: IRIS BARRY AND THE ART OF FILM

Lady in the Dark: Iris Barry and the Art of Film, by Robert Sitton, tells the story of a woman who changed the way we think about and make film.

Iris Barry (1895--1969) was an aspiring British poet and novelist who hung out with Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and William Butler Yeats, among other greats. She became a motion picture critic, then went on to found the Museum of Modern Art’s film department, where she served as its first curator. She convinced Hollywood filmmakers to submit their work for exhibition, as works of art.

During World War II, Barry joined the Office of Strategic Services to develop pro-American films with Orson Welles, Walt Disney, John Huston, and Frank Capra. Yet despite her patriotism, she became a target of anti communist witch hunts. She died in obscurity.

Sitton’s book draws on letters, memorabilia, and other documentary sources to reconstruct the story of this fascinating life.

Columbia University Press (2014)

8. DEEP DOWN DARK: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF 33 MEN BURIED IN A CHILEAN MINE, AND THE MIRACLE THAT SET THEM FREE

Ripped from the headlines of 2010, when 33 men were buried alive for an astonishing 69 days inside a coal mine in Chile, comes the powerful stories of their experiences of their crisis and rescue -- rising out of dark despair.

Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free, by Héctor Tobar, will grip you and move you thousands of feet down, beneath the surface of the earth and deep within the hearts and souls of the miners. Tobar, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, received exclusive access to the miners. The men recounted that while they each went through their own deep dark personal traumas, they bonded, collectively as they faced their uncertain fates together. As a result, they would share their story only collectively.

Beautifully narrated, bringing us the full power and depth of their miraculous human trials and triumphs of these 33 brave men, Tobar has written a masterpiece.

9. SOL NIGER: DARK NIGHT OF A SOUL

Photographer Marco Spinner compiled a collection of photos, taken over the course of 22 years, which were guided by his sub-conscious.

His new book, Sol Niger: Dark Night of a Soul, is a veritable stream of subconsciousness of both words and images. The result is deeply beautiful.

Kehrer Verlag (2015)

10. KEN SCHLES NIGHT WALK

Photographer Ken Schles took a creative stroll through the night in downtown New York, 25 years ago, capturing images of a bohemian sub-culture that has undeniably colored the generations to follow.

Ken Schles: Night Walk, is a follow up to Schles’ Invisible City, his 1988 seminal book. The new book takes another look at this influential time and place.

Steidl (2015)

Read more about Beautiful Darkness, 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 Darkness in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 12.14.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

1. Photo: by Brad Wilson. Image from Wild Life.
2. Image: Courtesy of Prestel. Wild Life.
3. Photo: by Brad Wilson. Image from Wild Life.
4. Image: Courtesy of George F Thompson Publishing. Dark Beauty.
5. Image: Courtesy of Oxford University Press. Behind The Scenes of The Universe.
6. Image: Courtesy of Candala Books. Black Forest.
7. Image: Courtesy of Little, Brown, and Company. Mast Brothers Chocolate.
8. Photo: Courtesy of Little, Brown, and Company. Image from Mast Brothers Chocolates.
9. Image: Courtesy of Blurb. As Darkness Falls.  
10. Image: Courtesy of Columbia University Press. Lady In The Dark.
11. Image: Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Deep Down Dark.
12. Image: Courtesy of Kehrer Verlag. Sol Niger.
13. Image: Courtesy of Steidl. Night Walk.