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The Strange, The Beautiful & The downright Creepy
By an Amazon.com customer
Hieronymus BoschHieronymus Bosch by Larry Silver
Buy new: $101.25 / Used from: $79.90
Let's start with the obvious. Strange? Check. Beautiful? Check. Creepy? Weeelll, at times I guess. This is most likely the best book on Bosch. And it's big too, which I think is necessary in the case of this artist.
Codex Seraphinianus (Spanish Edition)Codex Seraphinianus (Spanish Edition) by Luigi Serafini
Buy used from: $785.65
Always ridiculously expensive, but it truly IS totally unique and amazing. The imagination crammed into these pages is just mindblowing.
Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1997 (Sandman)Dustcovers: The Collected Sandman Covers 1989-1997 (Sandman) by Dave McKean
Buy new: $18.21 / Used from: $7.00
This one got me into Photoshop, which is pretty much where I have been living ever since.
Dave McKean: The Particle Tarot (the Minor Arcana)Dave McKean: The Particle Tarot (the Minor Arcana) by Milcho Mancheveski
Buy used from: $36.45
Just when I started to give up on McKean, he released this killer of a book. Incredible artwork, all the way through.
Hidden Beauty : Microworlds RevealedHidden Beauty : Microworlds Revealed by France Bourely
Buy used from: $89.05
One of the more arty books on micro-beauty. All in black and white, endlessly fascinating.
Unseen Companions: Big Views of Tiny CreaturesUnseen Companions: Big Views of Tiny Creatures by Adrian Warren
Buy new: $30.36 / Used from: $21.49
More of the microscopic. In color this time, and not quite as magnified as in the book above (so you can actually see what you're looking at here).
Living DeadLiving Dead by Marco Lanza
Buy used from: $181.82
Yes, dead people can indeed be very pretty. And well dressed, too.
What RemainsWhat Remains by Sally Mann
Buy new: $31.50 / Used from: $26.30
And speaking of dead people, this book is perhaps a slightly more subtle experience than the one above - but still a powerful one.
The Twilight Hour: Celtic Visions from the PastThe Twilight Hour: Celtic Visions from the Past by Simon Marsden
Buy new: $29.70 / Used from: $23.63
Highly recommended for anyone who likes decaying ruins and scary-looking old mansions. And even if you're a sceptic concerning ghosts, these places will look no less haunted to you. Even better is the dvd (with the same name) documenting the making of this book, can't find it on Amazon though.
The Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the AbyssThe Deep: The Extraordinary Creatures of the Abyss by Claire Nouvian
Buy new: $37.80 / Used from: $33.00
But then again, why bother with the supernatural when the natural can be this mysterious? This is probably what aliens look like.
WitkinWitkin by Joel-Peter Witkin
Buy used from: $39.99
Not for everyone, of course. But if you want your art books dark and grim, you simply NEED this for your collection.
Harms Way: Lust & Madness, Murder & Mayhem : A Book of PhotographsHarms Way: Lust & Madness, Murder & Mayhem : A Book of Photographs
Buy used from: $44.72
So, apparantly this is the kind of images that inspire Joel Peter Witkin. That kinda says it all, I guess.
A Morning's Work: Medical Photographs from the Burns Archive & Collection, 1843-1939A Morning's Work: Medical Photographs from the Burns Archive & Collection, 1843-1939 by Stanley Burns
Buy new: $40.25 / Used from: $29.99
A discomforting collection of old injuries, deformities and diseases. If you're into old medical photography, this is a must have.
The Sacred Heart: An Atlas of the Body Seen Through Invasive SurgeryThe Sacred Heart: An Atlas of the Body Seen Through Invasive Surgery by Max, M.D. Aguilera-Hellweg
Buy used from: $30.00
Moving on to modern surgery. Beautiful in an extremely intense sort of way, plus you might actually learn things when looking through it.
Odd Nerdrum: Storyteller and Self RevealerOdd Nerdrum: Storyteller and Self Revealer by Jan Ake Pettersson
Buy used from: $50.00
One of my favourite painters. Epic in a strange, almost anachronistic sort of way, and a at times very dark and disturbing.
SaudekSaudek by Daniela Mrazkova
Buy used from: $84.20
One of my favourite photographers. Sometimes very odd, sometimes very erotic, always somehow enchanting. Huge book, by the way.
The Architect's BrotherThe Architect's Brother by Robert ParkeHarrison
Buy used from: $89.99
Interesting surrealistic photographer, beautiful book.
Beyond Reason: Art and Psychosis Works From the Prinzhorn CollectionBeyond Reason: Art and Psychosis Works From the Prinzhorn Collection by Laurent Busine
Buy used from: $44.00
Art and insanity turns out to be a great match. The sheer emotion put into these works is enough to effectively floor anyone who looks at them.
A.G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent VisionsA.G. Rizzoli: Architect of Magnificent Visions by Jo Farb Hernandez
Buy used from: $21.60
Often labeled as an 'outsider artist'. I don't know how much of an outsider he was, but he was definitely an artist - and a fantastic one at that.
Henry Darger: Art and Selected WritingsHenry Darger: Art and Selected Writings by Henry Darger
Buy used from: $150.00
Darger is usually found in the same category, and is also worth checking out.