re-cover nr.53

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

This picture was taken in Amsterdam in 2009.

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian writer. Anna Karenina was first published in 1877.
In 1908, Tolstoy was photographed by the pioneer in colour photography Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky.

"He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style."

re-cover nr.52

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

This picture was taken in Amsterdam in 2009.

Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in 1891.
In the book, Dorian Gray attends a performance of Richard Wagner's opera, Tannhäuser, and is explicitly said to personally identify with the work.
A British biographical film, Wilde, with Stephen Fry in the titular role, was released in 1997.

"Why was I born with such contemporaries?"

re-cover nr.51

De Stijl - Paul Overy

These pictures were taken in Amsterdam in 2009.

Paul Overy was a British art historian and critic. De Stijl was first published in 1969, as a short study of De Stijl (literally "the style"). A larger study of the art movement was published in 1991.

Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondriaan, among others, were founders of De Stijl in 1917. Gerrit Rietveld became a member of the movement in 1919.

re-cover nr.50

Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo - Christiane F.

This photo was taken in Amsterdam in 2009.

We Children from the ZOO Station (English translation) is an autobiographical book based upon interviews with the German teen drug addict Christiane F. The narrative of the book is in the first person, but was written by two German journalists (Kai Herrmann and Horst Rieck) functioning as ghostwriters. The book was first published in Germany, in 1979.
The story was adapted to film in 1981, directed by Uli Edel, in which Christiane F. worked as an advisor. The soundtrack is by David Bowie, who appears in the film as himself, while giving a concert.

re-cover nr.49

Les chants de Maldoror - Comte de Lautréamont

These pictures were taken in Amsterdam in 2002 (top) and in 2008 (bottom).

Comte de Lautréamont was the pen name of Isidore Lucien Ducasse, an Urugaian-born French poet.
Les chants de Maldoror (Maldoror, in English) was first published in 1869.
An edition of Les chants de Maldoror, published in 1934, was ilustrated by Salvador Dalí. René Magritte also ilustrated the book for a 1946 edition.

re-cover nr.48

Against Interpretation - Susan Sontag

This picture was taken in Amsterdam in 2007.

Susan Sontag was an American philosopher and author.
Against Interpretation was first published in 1966.

"Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art. Even more. It is the revenge of the intellect upon the world. To interpret is to impoverish, to deplete the world - in order to set up a shadow world of 'meanings'."

re-cover nr.47

Thinking About Exhibitions - Edited by Reesa Greenberg, Bruce W. Ferguson, Sandy Nairne

This picture was taken in Amsterdam in 2009.
Reesa Greenberg is a Canadian writer and art critic, Bruce W. Ferguson is a Canadian independent curator and art critic, and Sandy Nairne is a British museum director and writer.
Thinking About Exhibitions was first published in 1996.

"The visitor is a body in movement."