This week I feel so honored to have Lisa Congdon share five of her favorite books. Lisa is a self taught mixed media artist and illustrator living and working in San Francisco. And if you haven’t seen or heard of Lisa’s beautiful paintings and collages from her features in magazines, posts about her on design blogs or interviews like this one, it’s about time. (I recently became a proud owner of one of Lisa’s paintings which I love.) She says she is obsessed with collecting books and zines that represent the artistic genius of regular (and some not-so-regular) people, past and present. Someday Lisa would like to make a book. I can’t wait for that day. You can see more of Lisa’s own work on her site here and her blog here. Now for some of her favorites…

I love Thomas Campbell’s work more than words can say. So when I heard that a monograph of his work (and working life) was being published I pre-ordered a copy. While he’s been featured in many collections, Sing Ding Aling, is the first collection ever published about his work. I was so pleased with the result. The book is impeccably designed and succeeds brilliantly in highlighting his unique style as the focal point. The photography is gorgeous. You will find numerous photos of a recent installation depicting his work space and rare close-ups of many of his pieces. In addition, you’ll find a written introduction by Campbell himself and fantastic interview by curator Stijn Huijts, of the Museum Het Domein in the Netherlands where Campbell had a major install and where most of the book was shot. If you love Thomas Campbell’s work, you will love this book.

© Julia Rothman 2007