TASCHEN's monthly serving of art, books, and exciting interviews is essential listening for culture lovers everywhere!

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Welcome to Disneyland. A visual history of the world’s magic megalopolis Feb 03, 2021

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Walt Disney dreamed for decades about opening the ultimate entertainment venue, but it wasn’t until the early 1950s that his handpicked team began to bring his vision to life. Together, artists, architects, and engineers transformed a dusty tract of orange groves about an hour south of Los Angeles into one of the world’s most beloved destinations.

Il Fascino Ferrari. A monument to Italy’s driving force Feb 03, 2021

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We take to the road as seasoned motor sports journalist Pino Allievi explores the extraordinary vision of Enzo Ferrari and how a car manufacturer from a small town in Northern Italy became a global force on the race track and a dominate symbol of wealth and status.

The UN Climate Report, Rem Koolhaas, Irma Boom, and Jean-Michel Basquiat Oct 26, 2018

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For many years, TASCHEN has published the work of artists and thinkers who raise awareness around environmental issues and champion sustainable interaction with our planet. This month, in response to the latest UN climate report, we’re joined by TASCHEN author Tim Radford who discusses what this report means, what we need to do to stabilize the Earth’s temperature, and where we might find sources of hope amid bleak prospects. Next up, Rem Koolhaas and designer Irma Boom discuss the future of our built environment and their new book, Elements of Architecture. From shape-shifting façades to the history of the toilet, they describe the essential elements that make up every building and the six-year process behind their architectural encyclopedia. Finally, we wrap up with some of the finest art of the 20th century as TASCHEN editor Hans Werner Holzwarth explores Jean-Michel Basquiat’s narratives of finding and searching, his heritage and heroes. The TASCHEN podcast is produced by Eliza Apperly and presented by Kevin Caners.

The Amy Winehouse Special Sep 27, 2018

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In this special episode of the #TASCHENpodcast, we’re joined by photographer and filmmaker Blake Wood to remember his close friend Amy Winehouse. With her deep, expressive vocals and raw lyrics, the London-born singer and songwriter rocketed to fame in the early 2000s. Her 2006 album, Back to Black, won five Grammys and spawned a number of hit singles, among them Rehab, Tears Dry on Their Own, and the album’s title track. But international acclaim also brought difficulties; Winehouse became one of the most hounded figures in tabloid culture, with near-constant scrutiny of her romantic life, as well as her battles with bulimia and alcohol and drug addiction—a battle that would ultimately cost her her life. Now, seven years after the singer’s death, Wood, one of her closest friends and oftentimes flatmate, has published a collection of his personal photos of Amy to pay tribute to the “loving and caring and loyal” woman he knew behind the celebrity headlines. Blake joins us from New York to talk about their friendship, fame, the media’s treatment of female artists, and the different side to Amy Winehouse he hopes to share through his photographs.

Growing up with Stanley Kubrick, Vienna’s laboratory of modernity, and the Ingmar Bergman centenary Aug 31, 2018

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Film composer Gerald Fried is one of few individuals who knew Stanley Kubrick back in the day. In 1940s New York, he was starting his career as a musician, when Kubrick, just 16 at the time, came to work as a photographer at Look magazine. The two became close friends and collaborators; Kubrick was even go-to babysitter for Fried’s young son. Later, Fried would compose music for five of Kubrick’s films: Day of the Fight, Fear and Desire, Killer’s Kiss, The Killing, and Paths of Glory. In our exclusive interview, Fried reveals their working process and recalls Kubrick the brilliant “super nerd” who “wanted badly to feel like a regular person … but was just too smart and too talented.” Next up, we explore modernist Vienna, 100 years on from the deaths of four of its major protagonists: Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Otto Wagner, and Koloman Moser. Art critic and historian Kimberly Bradley, based in the Austrian capital, takes us back to the city’s bustling turn-of-the-century art scene and considers its legacy a century on under the country’s new, far-right nationalist government. Finally, another centenary celebration as Bengt Wanselius, set photographer to Ingmar Bergman, talks behind-the-scenes with the prolific Swedish director and discusses the playful humor that coexisted with his profound examination of human relationships. The TASCHEN podcast is presented by Kevin Caners and produced by Eliza Apperly.

North Korean architecture, Christo’s London Mastaba, and Bruce Talamon on the heyday of Funk & Soul Jun 28, 2018

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Imaginative freedom and authoritarian clout come head to head in this episode as we journey through the imposing architecture of North Korea; the heyday of Funk, Soul, and RnB; and Christo’s latest grand-scale happening in London’s Hyde Park. First up, Guardian critic Oliver Wainwright shares his journey to Pyongyang and the outlandish constructions of the Kim regime. Next, photographer Bruce Talamon takes us back to a heyday in black music, sharing anecdotes — and tips — from his time capturing Aretha Franklin, Al Green, The Jackson Five, not to mention Thanksgiving Dinner with Marvin Gaye. Finally, our friend Christo calls in to discuss his latest project, the London Mastaba in Hyde Park, and his and Jeanne-Claude’s long-standing fascination with barrels as a creative material. The TASCHEN Podcast is presented by Kevin Caners and produced by Eliza Apperly.

Tutankhamun, Kay Nielsen’s ’A Thousand and One Nights‘, and the world’s weirdest competitions Apr 25, 2018

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From Japan’s annual penis festival to Ancient Egyptian burial rites, this episode of the TASCHEN podcast explores some of humanity’s most intricate—and eccentric—traditions and rituals from cradle to grave. First up, graphic designer Nigel Holmes talks us through the outlandish contests and events that make up his hilarious new book, Crazy Competitions. Next, TASCHEN Editor Noel Daniels recounts the rich cultural fabric of A Thousand and One Nights and how she discovered Kay Nielsen’s exquisite illustrations to these ancient folk tales. Finally, Egyptologist Salima Ikram discusses the importance of death and mummification in Ancient Egypt before Sandro Vannini explains how he photographed the murals, tombs, and artefacts surrounding King Tutankhamun’s journey into the afterlife. Produced by Eliza Apperly and presented by Arsalan Mohammad

Special Edition: Murals of Tibet Mar 29, 2018

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A special episode exploring TASCHEN’s SUMO of incredible and previously unseen Buddhist art, Murals of Tibet. We speak to monk and writer Matthieu Ricard, curator and explorer Ian Baker, Managing Editor Florian Kobler, the scholar and Tibetologist Heather Stoddard, and the photographer behind the book, Thomas Laird, to understand the intricate imagery and spirituality of these extraordinary temple paintings. Produced by Eliza Apperly and presented by Arsalan Mohammad

Fascist legacies in Rome, real-life Los Angeles noir, and Albert Watson on show in London Feb 28, 2018

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Welcome on a city tour like no other as urbanist and professor of architecture Giovanni Fanelli delves into the public space, fascist legacies, and “tragedy and comedy” of Rome. Next up, pop culture historian Jim Heimann drives us through the back streets and shocking crime scenes that made 1920s to ’50s Los Angeles the perfect inspiration for noir literature and film. Then we wrap up in London, where Gallery Director Nolan Browne unveils a new set of Albert Watson prints in TASCHEN’s latest locale. Presented and written by Arsalan Mohammad and produced by Eliza Apperly.

The art of Burning Man, a history of graphic design, and Michael O’Neill’s global yoga journey Jan 30, 2018

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We kick off 2018 with a journey to one of the greatest creative and communal events on earth as photographer NK Guy and artist Kate Raudenbush explore the incredible art of Burning Man. Graphic design heroes Steven Heller and Jens Müller dive into Graphic Design History, the biggest graphic design book yet, before photographer Michael O’Neill shares his personal and spiritual yoga story behind the book and movie On Yoga: The Architecture of Peace.

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