Leanne Shapton est une artiste dont le travail mêle habilement illustration, écriture et édition. Ses créations abordent souvent des thèmes introspectifs, explorant des relations complexes et des histoires personnelles avec une sensibilité visuelle et narrative unique. À travers ses livres et ses projets, elle invite les lecteurs à réfléchir sur le monde qui les entoure, en mettant l'accent sur la narration visuelle et les nuances subtiles de l'expérience humaine. Shapton collabore avec diverses publications, apportant constamment son style distinctif et sa profondeur à ses entreprises artistiques et littéraires.
Focusing on the joy and timeless charm of swimming pools, this photography book serves as a visual celebration of poolside life. It captures the essence of relaxation and leisure, inviting readers to indulge in daydreams of sun-soaked days and tranquil waters. The stunning imagery enhances the allure of these aquatic retreats, making it a perfect companion for those seeking inspiration and a touch of nostalgia.
As a teenager, Leanne Shapton trained for the Olympic swimming trials; now an artist, she is still drawn inexorably to swimming, in pools and the sea. What do you do with an all-absorbing activity once it's past its relevance, and yet you can't quite give it up? Swimming Studies is a lyrical, playful work that explores what it is like to move from a world of competition to one of recreation and introspection, giving a sideways glimpse into memory, adolescence, swimming, drawing, obsession and solitude. 'Vivid with chlorine-bleached swimsuits, and post-match sorrow.' Caitlin Moran, Observer, Books of the Year 'A rich account . . . told with the originality and playfulness of an artist . . . Shapton shares Dave Eggers' talent for taking the mundane and making it viscerally new.' The Times 'Captures a bittersweet part of the writer's past as completely as a scent trapped in a bottle.' John Jeremiah Sullivan, author of Pulphead 'Exquisite . . . brilliant, eccentric and moving - an immersion in life . . . this enigmatic book is written out of what cannot be fathomed.' Observer 'If there is a more beautifully observed examination of the weightlessness, silence, rigour and delight of what it means to swim, I've never read it.' David Rakoff, author of Half Empty
As a teenager, Leanne Shapton trained for the Olympic swimming trials; now an artist, she is still drawn inexorably to swimming, in pools and on beaches across the world. What do you with an all-absorbing activity once it's past its relevance, and yet you can't quite give it up? Is it possible to find a new purpose for its rigors and focus? Swimming Studiesis an original, meditative work that explores what it is like to move from a world of competition and discipline to one of recreation and introspection. Giving a fascinating glimpse into the private realms of swimming, and drawing, Shapton tells an intimate story of suburban adolescence, family ties, and the solitary underwater moments that now ground her artistic habits.
A beautifully illustrated board book, Toys Talking will surprise and delight the very youngest readers In this deceptively simple board book, Leanne Shapton explores the inner life of children's toys. Designed to appeal to the very youngest readers, penguins, panda bears, stuffed dogs and cuddly cats reflect on jokes, consider the weather, and long for tomorrow to come.
A bold reinterpretation of a century-old bookWhile shopping in the used-book store the Monkey's Paw in Toronto, Leanne Shapton happened upon a 1956 edition of the government reference book The Native Trees of Canada , originally published in 1917 by the Canadian Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources. Most people might simply view the book as a dry cataloging of a banal subject; Shapton, however, saw beauty in the technical details and was inspired to create her own interpretation of The Native Trees of Canada.Shapton distills each image into its simplest form, using vivid colors in lush ink and house paint. She takes the otherwise complex objects of trees, pinecones, and seeds and strips them down into bold, almost abstract shapes and the water birch is represented as two pulsating red bulbs contrasted against a gray backdrop; the eastern white pine is represented by a close-up of its cone against a radiant summer sky.The author of Was She Pretty? and Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry , Shapton puts forth yet another entirely new facet of her creative artistry.
Tracy Chevalier, bestselling author Girl with a Pearl Earring, has edited a beautiful new short story collection with original contributions from nineteen of our best loved contemporary authors. Published by IndieBooks in association with Hamish Hamilton, Why Willows Weep: Contemporary Tales from the Woods is an enchanting new collection in support of the Woodland Trust. Contributors: William Fiennes, James Robertson, Richard Mabey, Tracey Chevalier, Susan Elderkin, Rachel Billington, Blake Morrison, Maria McCann, Terence Blacker, Joanne Harris, Philippa Gregory, Catherine O Flynn, Tahmima Anam, Maggie O Farrell, Amanda Craig, Ali Smith, Philip Hensher, Salley Vickers and Kate Mosse.
"Reading [Guestbook] feels akin to walking through an art exhibit, each piece linked in ways that are ineffable but clear. . . yearning, like a ghost, lingers long after the stories are done." --NPR One of our most imaginative writers and artists explores the visitations that haunt us in the midst of life, and reinvents the very way we narrate experience. A tennis prodigy collapses after his wins, crediting them to an invisible, not entirely benevolent presence. A series of ghosts appear at their former bedsides, some distraught, some fascinated, to witness their unfamiliar occupants. A woman returns from a visit to Alcatraz with an uncomfortable feeling. The spirit of a prisoner has attached himself to you, a friend tells her. He sensed the sympathy you had for those men. In more than two dozen stories and vignettes, accompanied by an evocative curiosity cabinet of artifacts and images, Guestbook beckons us through the glimmering, unsettling evidence that marks our paths in life.
A Singular Exploration Of Modern Love And All Its Demons, In Words And Drawings In this brilliant gem of a book, artist/writer Leanne Shapton weaves together a voyeuristic tale of love and life through epigrammatic vignettes and sleek line drawings. Entire relationships are encapsulated in a few, stingingly perfect lines: "Colleen was Walter's ex-girlfriend from med school. She loved to dance with men at weddings." Pricking our insecurities, Shapton introduces us to Kim, whose ex "kept a drawerful of love letters in a kitchen drawer . . . She would stare at it while she cooked." And Ben's ex, "a physiotherapist for the U.S. men's and women's Olympic swim teams. She wore small white shorts year-round."Fascinated by her own jealousy, Shapton interviewed acquaintances about their anxieties and peccadilloes, and the result is a book of surpassing originality: one of those unusual books that comes along to delight us all, like An Exaltation of Larks or Love, Loss, and What I Wore or Griffin and Sabine. Was She Pretty? can also share the shelf with the work of the legendary William Steig, whose early, psychologically revealing work inspired Shapton. An unflinching observer of human behavior, she invites us to peer into the hearts and minds of her characters--while reminding us that we shouldn't be surprised if we see ourselves staring right back.
