Blackout Poems.
Poems by Aaron Rose published by Hat & Beard Editions (2023)
Baggage Claim.
Artist's Book published by Scooters For Peace, Tokyo (2022)
During the 1990s in downtown New York Aaron Rose penned over one hundred works of poetry and prose. The writings were crudely executed on cocktail napkins, scrap paper and in pocket-sized notebooks. Most were written while sitting in dive bars in the East Village and Lower East Side. After being hidden away in storage for over 25 years, they have now been transcribed for the first time. The works in Blackout Poems speak to confusion, love and loss. They offer a raw and honest glimpse into the mindset of a young artist in his early 20’s as he maneuvered his way through a dark and exciting time in New York.
ANP Quarterly.
Arts & Culture Magazine published by RVCA / 2005-2020
ANP Quarterly is an arts magazine published by RVCA. The magazine began as a partnership between myself, Brendan Fowler and Ed Templeton, but now I edit it alone. Since 2005, our idea has been to make a magazine that will educate and inform openly without the social or financial restrictions that plague many publications today and contribute so much to seeing the same old thing again and again. Our goal is not to focus on current events or "Who's Hot" but rather to bring forward people and phenomena that deserve acknowlegement and coverage regardless of their place in time. The magazine is distributed completely free of charge. ANP Quarterly is distributed around the world through museums, galleries, bookstores, clothing and record shops.
Collage Culture.
Aaron Rose, Mandy Kahn, Brian Roettinger
JRP Ringier (2012)
The creative act is no longer the act creation: instead it's the choosing, collecting, ordering, cutting and pasting of the extant; it's about having favorites and displaying them, then commenting on them, using them as parts. Our contemporary musicians, designers, writers and bloggers are collage artists now, trained in assemblage, their signatures embedded in their subtle acts of choice. But what does it feel like to live in a decade so in love with that past that it cuts it up and uses it as wallpaper? How did we get here? Will we get out, and should we want to? Collage Culture considers whether the collage of references that surrounds us might negatively affect the way we feel. A companion recording combines audio excerpts from the book's text with an original score by No Age.
Barry McGee.
THR
Alleged Press/Damiani (2011)
Barry McGee's art buzzes with an infectious street vitality that celebrates the rich pageant of city living, while lambasting its ills, over stimulations, frustrations, addictions. His early years as a graffiti artist, tagging on the streets of San Francisco under such monikers as Ray Fong and Twist, still nourish his drive to inscribe the blank face of modern life with the personal and the handmade. A part of the early 1990s art and graffiti boom associated with San Francisco's Mission School, McGee synthesizes a wide range of resources, including the Mexican muralists, anonymous street art and San Francisco Beat poetry, all of which are notably characterized by a sense of public address that McGee never neglects to convey in his own work.
Other Scenes.
Exhibition Catalog
Nieves (2009)
A small-press catalogue to accompany the Other Scenes exhibition at Roberts & Tilton Gallery in Los Angeles. Featuring unique contributions from Rita Ackermann, Gusmano Cesaretti, Daniel Higgs, Becca Mann, Ryan McGinley, Daido Moriyama, Jockum Nordström, Raymond Pettibon, and Gee Vaucher the show and catalog presents an eclectic group of emerging and established artists who worked at the time somehow outside of what were then current art world scenes. All of the artists included in Other Scenes share disturbing yet romantic visions of the world. In these artist's works, a discreet form of protest exists; a desire to find love amongst the ruins, beauty in the shadows.
Mike Mills.
Graphics/Films
Introduction by Stephanie Moisdon /Alleged Press/Damiani (2009)
Mike Mills: Graphics Films is the first retrospective monograph covering fifteen years of Mills' work in the fields of graphic design, film and art. The book includes album cover designs that have become part of our cultural landscape, such as work for The Beastie Boys, Beck, Sonic Youth, as well as his covers and videos for the French band Air. Also included are graphics, textiles, and t-shirts for Marc Jacobs, X-Girl, and Humans, as well as rarely seen documentation of his fine art work and worldwide exhibitions. It is also the first comprehensive overview of Mills' film work including videos for Pulp, Air, Blonde Redhead, documentaries such as Does Your Soul Have a Cold and Paperboys, selected short films, as well as his 2007 feature film Thumbsucker.
Harmony Korine.
The Collected Fanzines
Drag City (2007)
Before he got involved in the filmmaking business, Harmony Korine was a prolific zine artist. Though distributed in minor quantities (and sometimes given away to homeless people), those who managed to get copies will attest to their greatness. They're filled with funny/creepy musings, fake celebrity gossip and found art. We put this collection of his work out in two formats: a soft-cover book and a box set. The former contains all the zines bound as one book. The latter recreates the zines in their original format inside a hard cardboard box with a poster.
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue.
Exhibition Catalog / Marella Gallery (2008)
An exhibition catalog in the form of a fanzine. Printed monochromatic on newsprint, it was only available at the gallery during the show. Featuring the works of Barry McGee, Ryan McGinley, Clare E. Rojas, Raymond Pettibon, Mike Mills, Ed Templeton, Ari Marcopoulos, Phil Frost, Deanna Templeton, and Matt Leines, it's a unique document of a time. In the choice of artists, I focused on my desire to send a positive signal in a historical moment in which the world around us seemed sullied by negativity and violence. My hope, however, with this show was to get away from the rhetoric of empty slogans to concentrate on performative acts that can actually help to change the course of events in a positive way.
Beautiful Losers.
Aaron Rose, Christian Strike.
Iconoclast / DAP (2006)
Companion catalog for the traveling exhibition Beautiful Losers which included works of sculpture, installations, photography, painting, film, and performance, all showcasing works by artists who have mostly emerged from subcultures such as skateboarding, graffiti, punk, and hip hop. A beautiful book designed by Conny Purtill. The volume includes work from Spike Jonze, Shepard Fairey, KAWS, Barry McGee, Thomas Campbell, Terry Richardson, Todd James, Os Gemeos, Tobin Yelland, Ryan McGinley, Margaret Kilgallen, Evan Hecox, Clare Rojas, Jo Jackson, Geoff Mcfetridge, Chris Johanson, and more. Essays in the book by Arty Nelson, Alex Baker, Jefrey Deitch, Jocko Weyland, Carlo McCormick and more. Includes special artist pages designed especially for the book.
Published as a companion catalog for Aaron Rose's solo exhibition "Baggage Claim" at Scooters for Peace in Tokyo, Japan. Conceived as a redux and update of Rose's previous show "Suitcase City" at The Lodge in Los Angeles, this exhibition contained multi-media three dimensional works as well as related ephemera. The catalog contains images of Rose's signature suitcase works interspersed with selected photographs that speak to the artists inspirations as well as personal photographs. Designed by Julian Gross.
Trump Cards: The Arcana of Political Dissent.
Limited Edition Artist's Book published by PaperChase Press (2017)
Trump Cards: The Arcana of Political Dissent is a bound set of tear-out political posters created for the 2017 LA Art Book Fair. The book contains 22 images based on the major arcana of the Tarot. However, rather than using classical imagery from the Tarot deck, I've supplanted the graphics with an image of a vintage 1970's shooting target. Each statement relates directly back to the incompetent, authoritarian and Anti-American presidency of Donald Trump. This book was created in a very small edition and functions wonderfully as either the publication as it is or as a flammable edition that can look as great stapled to telephone poles as it would on your wall.
Aaron Rose.
Paintings/Objects/Installations.
Published by NIEVES / 2016
Gusmano Cesaretti.
Fragments of Los Angeles
Introduction by Michael Mann / Alleged Press/Damiani (2013)
Born in Italy in 1944, Gusmano Cesaretti emigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Los Angeles in the 1970's. When he arrived in the U.S. it wasn't the palatial estates and closedoff enclaves of the Westside that drew him in but rather the raw energy, graffiti, and people of East Los Angeles. He became immersed in the local Chicano culture, gaining unprecedented photographic access to gangs, graffiti writers and lowrider cultures of that era. This began a photo career capturing subcultures such as the '80s L.A. punk scene, Folsom Prison, bikers, the L.A. Police Academy as well as photojournalistic works in locations around the world including Mexico, South America and Southeast Asia. The book's introduction is written by longtime friend and collaborator, filmmaker Michael Mann.
Art In The Streets.
Aaron Rose, Jeffrey Deitch, Roger Gastman, Ethel Seno
Rizzoli (2011)
Art In The Streets is the companion catalog to the exhibition mounted at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles in 2011. It was the first large-scale American museum exhibition to survey the colorful history of graffiti and street art movements internationally. The exhibition and book highlight the connection between graffiti and street art and other vibrant subcultures, such as those that developed around Hip Hop in the Bronx and Punk and skateboarding in Southern California, Art in the Streets also explores parallel movements in dance and music over the last 20 years. The exhibition was curated by then MoCA Director Jeffrey Deitch, working with a curatorial advisory committee that included Roger Gastman and Aaron Rose.
Ed Templeton.
Deformer
Alleged Press/Damiani (2008)
Over eleven years in the making and compiling more than 30 years worth of material, Ed Templeton's seminal book Deformer is a masterpiece. Presented as a multi-media scrapbook of his upbringing in suburban Orange County, California, this beautifully designed volume, entirely art-directed by Templeton himself, gives a sun-drenched glimpse of what it is like to be young and alive in what Templeton refers to as "the suburban domestic incubator". Deformer intertwines photographs, paintings, and drawings, into a magnificent narrative of teenage isolation and social criticism.
Chris Johanson.
Please Listen I Have Something To Tell You About What Is.
Alleged Press/Damiani (2007)
For almost two decades, Chris Johanson has been transforming day-to-day subject matter into simple stories in paintings that make bright, flat reference to illustration or folk art: The New York Times called their look "a down-on-its-luck, cheerfully abject cartoon style reminiscent of artists like William Wegman, Raymond Pettibon and Sue Williams." The same primary palette and angular compositions make Johanson's abstract works, which often take the form of geometric patterns or starbursts, into gleeful but sophisticated takes on Modernism. This was the artist's first major monograph.
Paperback Magazine.
Guest Edited by Aaron Rose
(2008)
A collaboration with London-based (no defunct) Paperback magazine to coincide with the 2008 "The Sads" European tour. The publication features the works of a variety of artists including Harmony Korine, Mike Mills, Sister Corita, and Ed Templeton. Also featured photo documentation of The Sads "Silent Show'. The magazine was given away free at shows and distributed at various venues around Europe including Colette and Palais De Tokyo, Paris, the ICA in London and more. Unfortunatley this one is completely unavailable for sale. We've searched for a link and it just doesn't exist. If you happen to stumble upon a copy consider yourself lucky.
Ari Marcopoulos.
Out & About
Alleged Press / Damiani (2006)
Out and About by New York photographer Ari Marcopoulos was released in 2006. At the time it was his first monograph since his seminal book "Portraits From The Studio and the Street" which came out in the 1980's. Marcopoulos is a Dutch born photographer who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s. During this time he worked for Andy Warhol and through this association became introduced to an amazingly vibrant scene of artists, musicians and personalities, which he documents in this book. From Alan Vega to Keith Haring to Jean Michel Basquiat. There is also a section dedicated to the NY skate scene of the 1990's. This was an amazing book to be a part of and is the realization of a 20-year dream by Marcopoulos to release this work from his time in New York.
Young, Sleek & Full of Hell.
Ten Years of New York's Alleged Gallery
Aaron Rose & Brendan Fowler / Drago (2005)
From 1992 to 2002, New York City's Alleged Gallery provided a breeding ground and played the role of willing accomplice for some of the most vibrant American art to come along in decades. Much of Alleged’s impact was due to a complete and utter disregard for the status quo. Rooted in skateboarding, but exhibiting much more, they were making it up as they went along and creating history in the process. Using a potent blend of photographs, artworks and interviews with artists, photographers, filmmaker, musicians, collectors and other denizens of the era, Young Sleek and Full of Hell documents the New York cretive scene of the 1990's and the glorious trials and tribulations of running an independent gallery in the final hours of the 20th Century.
Dysfunctional.
The Visual Language of Skateboarding.
Booth Clibborn Editions (2000)
From old school to hard core, Dysfunctional was the first international overview of contemporary skateboard culture. Unlike conventional skate media it is not about tricks and competitions, but rather focuses on ideas and attitudes - the experiences and details that make skating the vibrant and lasting youth subculture that it is. Dysfunctional is highly visual, a brilliant collection of graphic clues that recreate the patina of skate style. There are the inevitable injuries, scruffy clothing, popular outlets, t-shirt graphics, cutting edge advertising, photography, painting, magazines, video sequences, and the toughest locations from Los Angeles to London. With essays by Garry Davis and Craig Stecyk.
The Architecture of Reassurance.
Mike Mills (with photos by Susanna Howe)
Alleged Press (1999)
A book to accompany Mike Mills’ first short film, The Architecture of Reassurance, which tells the story of a young girl who is dissatisfied with life at home, and decides to travel through other residences in her suburban neighborhood. It is a voyeuristic look at the utopian concept of suburban America. The 1999 short featured Kelly Garner, Bob Stephenson and Sarah Hagan (before Buffy and Freaks and Geeks). The Architecture of Reassurance played in the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Oberhausen short film festival, and The New York Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors New Films. Still photographs in the book are by Susanna Howe.
The Run 7 Book.
Susan Cianciolo
Alleged Press (1998)
Since the mid-1990s, the artist-designer-filmmaker Susan Cianciolo has been a fixture on New York’s avant-garde art and fashion scene. A bona fide cult figure, she produces not only hand-crafted clothing that is both high-concept and homespun, but also a body of drawings, videos and performance pieces exploring the social relationships behind her creations. Throughout her career, she’s been championed by everyone from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon to Vogue. The Run 7 book is a true manifestation of her spirit. The book includes contributions from artsist such as Mark Gonzales, Rita Ackermann, Margaret Kilgallen and Chris Johanson, alongside drawings and collages by Cianciolo.
The Left Handed Coconut.
David Aron
Alleged Press (1997)
An artists book in the form of a children's fable, seminal 1990's New York artist David Aron's "The Left Handed Coconut" is truly a wonderful book. Part conceptual art project, part retrospective, part sketchbook, the volume explores the artists work through the lens of the surreal. Inbued with innocence yet at the same time dealing with subjects from contemporary abstraction to alien abduction. Beautifully designed by Laura Genninger and released in an edition of 500 copies. If you find one...get it!!
Societe Anonyme.
Zoo Magazine Guest Edited by Aaron Rose
Nieves (2002)
Zoo Magazine was a short lived publication released by Nieves. The idea behind the magazine was that a different editor compiled the contents of each issue, including coming up with a name for the magazine. I chose Societe Anonyme after the paris salon that launched artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. The photo on the front cover was my makeshift bed on my parents couch just after I moved back to Los Angeles from 12 years in New York. Contributions include works and photographs from Chris Lindig as Sleazer, Portriats by Susanna Howe, A photo essay on Earl Parker by Tobin Yelland, Artworks by Brian Degraw and more. This volume is unfortunately impossible to find. We've looked everywhere.
Visiophile.
Limited Edition Fanzine
Alleged Press (2000)
A limited edition fanzine in the format of a magazine. The release coincided with the opening of The Annex, Alleged Gallery's new location in Chinatown, Los Angeles. The first issue of Visiophile was dedicated to the art of San Francisco and created with a hand silkscreened cover by Evan Hecox. Contents included a survey of photographs of the Mission District by Tobin Yelland, an art feature on Barry McGee and an interview with Margaret Kilgallen, conducted shortly before her tragic death. If memory serves, it was released in an edition of 100, and like many other books of this nature is essentially impossible to find. We only have one copy which we scanned for this website.
Ed Templeton.
Teenage Smokers
Alleged Press (1999)
Teenage Smokers was released on the occasion of Ed Templeton's exhibition, The Golden Age of Neglect at Alleged Gallery. The book features color photographs of under-age kids from around the world smoking cigarettes. Templeton does attempt to glorify or preach the ills of the vice, but rather finds smoking a thread of commonality that links all types of kids from California to South Africa to Finland. While Templeton may question their motives he does not pass judgment and wonders with a bemused eye if smoking does indeed makes you look cooler? Released in an edition of 1000 the book is very difficult to find now. We have only a few left in archive.
Chris Johanson.
You Are There.
Alleged Press (1999)
Chris Johanson's unique artist book You Are There was published on the occasion of his last exhibition at Alleged Gallery in 1999. Though the book was printed, it was essentially hand-assembled containing fold outs and posters that turned the volume into less a book than a strange piece of kinetic art. painstakingly designed by Laura Genninger in New York, the book really was a labor of love. An interesting side note...after the inital delivery of 200 books for Chris' opening, we did not have the money to pay the print bill. Hence the remaining books were held captive at the printers until Jeffrey Deitch graciously paid the remaining print bill a few years later.
Topping Up.
Mod Fanzine
Self-Published (1984-1985)
OK, so this one's really going to date me. In my early teenage years I was completely and utterly obsessed with British Mods. I dressed like a mod every day for high school and would go to shows as much as I possibly could. The first thing I ever published was a mod fanzine in 1984 called Topping Up. I made it with scissors and glue, and I printed the issues on the photocopy machine in my parents' office in the San Fernando Valley. This fanzine was really where my interest in editing and publishing books began, so it's seems fitting that it should be included here.