New through Half Letter Press: Lisa Anne Auerbach

Through an arrangement with our good pal Lisa Anne Auerbach, we were able to obtain a bunch of discounted copies of this great, color photo-heavy catalog from her 2009 exhibition at UMMA in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The book includes an essay by Julia Bryon-Wilson and a conversation between Auerbach and Jacob Proctor.

This exhibition catalog includes two bodies of work. The first is Auerbach’s photo series “Small Business.” While riding her bike around Los Angeles, as well as parts of Florida, Auerbach stops to photograph tiny buildings that house enterprises like a BBQ joint, a key-maker, insurance office, a psychic reader, a thrift shop, and even a mini-post office. These all appear to be single-person operations.

The book’s other focus is Auerbach’s knitted sweaters and skirts which bear messages (some of which are in deliciously bad taste) on a range of topics that include 9-11 memorializing, abortion rights, the death of Michael Jackson, suicide bombing, riding a bike versus driving a car, Presidential elections, and booze. Well over a dozen of these sweaters and outfits are documented here.