David Bowie Is

David Bowie's career as a pioneering artist spanned nearly 50 years and brought him international acclaim. He continues to be cited as a major influence on contemporary artists and designers working across the creative arts. Published to accompany the blockbuster international exhibition launched at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, this is the only book to be granted access to Bowie's personal archive of performance costume, ephemera and original design artwork by the artist, and brings it together to present a completely new perspective on his creative work and collaborations. The book traces his career from its beginnings in London, through the breakthroughs of Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and on to his impact on the larger international tradition of twentieth-century avant-garde art. Essays by V&A curators on Bowie's London, image, and influence on the fashion world, are complemented by Howard Goodall on musicology; Camille Paglia on gender and decadence and Jon Savage on Bowie's relationship with William Burroughs and his fans. Also included is a discussion between Christopher Frayling, Philip Hoare and Mark Kermode, held at the V&A, of Bowie's cultural impact. Over 300 images include personal and performance photographs, costumes, lyric sheets giving an unique insight into Bowie's world.

Winner of British Book Design & Production Awards: Limited Edition and Fine Binding 2013

...a treasure trove of all things Bowie - a one-stop smorgasbord for the eyes whose pictorials chronicle the groundbreaking star from Ziggy Stardust to Thin White Duke to Heathen and every personality in between. Examiner.com May 20th 2013; The fans of 50 years or those making discoveries in retrospect will be intrigued by the accompanying book "David Bowie Is Inside" that is far more than a fanzine, Suzy Menkes, New York Times, March 18th 2013 ...lends context and picks away at Bowie with such insight...that it's a rare hagiography with soul. Chicago Tribune, April 26th 2013

Victoria Broackes is curator of Theatre & Performance at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She has previously curated exhibitions on Annie Lennox and Kylie Minogue. Geoffrey Marsh is Director of the V&A Theatre Collections. He co-curated the exhibition Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909 - 1929, contributing to the catalogue. Contributor biographies: Christopher Breward is Principal of Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) and Vice Principal Creative Industries & Performing Arts for the University of Edinburgh, and is the former Head of Research at the V&A. He co-curated British Design from 1948: Innovation in the Modern Age, and has worked on many other exhibitions including The London Look (2004) and Sixties Fashion (2006). Oriole Cullen is the V&A curator of Fashion in Motion and Modern Fashion. She studied History of Dress at the Courtauld Institute and previously worked as curator of Dress and Decorative Arts at the Museum of London. She has worked on a number of fashion exhibitions including Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950 (2012), Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones (2009) and Vivienne Westwood (2000). Howard Goodall is an EMMY, BRIT and BAFTA award-winning composer of choral music, stage musicals, film and TV scores, and a distinguished broadcaster. He contributed to Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909 - 1929, and has written several other books including The Story of Music (2013) and Big Bangs: Five Musical Revolutions (2011). Camille Paglia is University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she has taught since 1984. She is the author of six books: Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson (1990); Sex, Art, and American Culture (1992); Vamps & Tramps (1994); The Birds, a study of Alfred Hitchcock published in 1998 by the British Film Institute in its Film Classics Series; Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-Three of the World's Best Poems (2005); and Glittering Images: A Journey through Art from Egypt to Star Wars (2012). She has written many articles on art, literature, popular culture, feminism, politics and religion for publications around the world. Jon Savage is a writer, broadcaster and journalist. His previous writing includes the books Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture (2007) and England's Dreaming (1991), as well as innumerable contributions to the Guardian, the Observer, The Face and the New Statesman. The book also contains a roundtable discussion by Sir Christopher Frayling, Mark Kermode and Philip Hoare.

This is the first book to be granted access to Bowie's personal archive of performance costume, ephemera and original design artwork by Bowie, and brings it together to present a completely new perspective on his creative work and collaborations. The book traces his career from its beginnings in London, through the breakthroughs of Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and on to his impact on the larger international tradition of twentieth-century avant-garde art. Essays by V+A curators on Bowie's London, image and influence on the fashion world are complemented by Christopher Frayling on film; Howard Goodall on musicology; Camille Paglia on gender and decadence; and Jon Savage on Bowie's relationship with William Burroughs and his fans.

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