Harmony Korine

Mike Mills

Aaron Rose

Chris Johanson

Alex Baker

Mark Gonzales

Victoria Lynn

Barry McGee

Shepard Fairey

Ryan McGinness

Ed Templeton

Margaret Kilgallen

Alexander Rodchenko

Jorge Macchi

Christian Strike

The greatest cultural accomplishments in history have never been the result of the brainstorms of marketing men, corporate focus groups or any homogenized methods; they have always happened organically. More often than not, these manifestations have been the result of a few like-minded people coming together to create something new and original for no other purpose than a common love of doing it. In the 1990s, a loose-knit group of American artists and creators, many just out of their teens, began their careers in just such a way. Influenced by the popular underground youth subcultures of the day, such as skateboarding, graffiti, street fashion and independent music, artists like Shepard Fairey, Mark Gonzales, Spike Jonze, Margaret Kilgallen, Mike Mills, Barry McGee, Phil Frost, Chris Johanson, Harmony Korine and Ed Templeton began to create art that reflected the lifestyles they led. Many had no formal training and almost no conception of the inner workings of the art world. They learned their crafts through practice, trial and error, and good old-fashioned innovation. Not since the Beat Generation have we seen a group of creative individuals with such a unified aesthetic sense and varied cultural facets. The world of art has been greatly affected by their accomplishments as have the worlds of fashion, music, literature, film, and, ironically, athletics. Beautiful Losers is a retrospective celebration of this spirit, with hundreds of artworks by over two dozen artists, from precursors like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Larry Clark, to more recent adherents Ryan McGinness, KAWS and Geoff McFetridge. Work in all conceivable mediums is included, plus reproductions of reams of ephemera. The accompanying essays are contributed by a half-dozen writers who have championed these beautiful losers from the start. This paperback reprint includes more pages, more images, an exhibition checklist, installation shots from a variety of exhibitions and an interview with Beautiful Losers advocate Agnes B.

Contemporary Art & Street Culture

Beautiful Losers

Book One of the Symbiont Trilogy. When Apoehl, the last of a race of benevolent and powerful aliens, comes to Earth to escape the war mongering Chilk, he is forced to abandon his failing body. To survive he must merge his life force with a human. Jennifer has become the latest in a long line of hosts. Now she finds herself endowed with inhuman energy, in possession of the memories and strengths of those before her, and caught in a war. It falls to Sam, the grizzled retired Marine now in command of a covert Government agency, and Paz, Sam's mountain-sized right-hand man, to protect her from Brett, who craves the power for himself and will do whatever it takes to get it. But as Jennifer fights against her past and questions the person she is becoming, the greatest struggle could be with herself. Together, Jennifer, Sam, Paz, and Brett will unfold and build the story of the conflict that will change them all and decide Apoehl's fate.

Symbiont

Laylah Ali

Typology

Alex Baker

About

Books

Join the club