[vimeo vimeo.com/21179743]
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I’m excited to announce the release of our new book, Conductors of the Moving World, by Brad Zellar. The third in our series of books inspired by Little Golden Books, this is our most extravagant publication to date. Combining the beautiful snapshots of Japanese Police Inspector Eizo Ota with the Koan-like text of Brad Zellar, the result is a Zen travelogue through 1972 America. (more info on the book here).
What puts this book over the top is the design by Hans Seeger. Though still as compact as our previous publications, Conductors of the Moving World includes 17 original hand-tipped C-Print photographs and one business card. It is stunningly beautiful. Moreover, each copy is unique. The 17 images in each book are chosen from a larger pool of 60 and then sequenced according to chance. (A math professor at Northwestern has told us that there are over sextillion different possible variations).
I’m also thrilled to announce that everyone involved (the Ota family, Brad Zellar, LBM) has agreed that all proceeds from Conductors of the Moving World go to Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami relief. Additionally, Brad Zellar and LBM will be doing a booksigning at The International Center For Photography on Friday, March 18, 6:00pm–7:30pm. ICP has also generously agreed to to give all proceeds to Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami relief.
This book has been a fantastic labor of love. It has taken us days just to insert the prints into 100 copies of the book. I’m so proud of this book and everyone involved:
Buy the book here: www.littlebrownmushroom.com
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Here’s the ballpark figure on the variants in the individual books, with thanks to Steve Sturdevant (and Andy), Kurt Froehlich, Rial Cone, and Stephen Davis for taking a crack at crunching the numbers: Based on the total number of original photos, and the random selection of one photo each from 17 columns of three stacks of prints, plus the 17 slots in each volume and the purely serendipitous sequencing, the number of possible editions of ‘Conductors of the Moving World’ is “45,933,532,441,368,219,648,000. That is: 45 Sextillion, 933 Quintillion, 532 Quadrillion, 441 Trillion, 368 Billion, 219 Million, 648 Thousand. Or, in more poetic terms, roughly the number of grains of sand upon the earth.” (The quote is from Andy)
What music is that as y’all tip the pictures in the video? Carlos wanted to go to the ICP signing but it is his anniversary and he values that kind of thing. Whatev. Besides, he already ordered his Conductors. Should go well with Yonder Comes The Train.
It’s my first time on this blog and… I LOVE IT!
Anna
You have to love the ping-pong divide.
Mssrs LBM,
I just received my copy of Conductors of the Moving World. It’s superb, superb, superb, kudos all around.
Great idea and execution and cause.
The photo of nighttime traffic, streetlights etc is gorgeous, very Saul Leiter-esque.
Jeff