Ricardo Bloch Launches Amphibious Andromeda

Amphibious Andromeda is not your ordinary book. It's like taking a walk through the artist's mind as he walks through Paris.  Think of it as an Accidental Tourist Guide to Paris... and what could be more gorgeous than that?


What he calls a "journal of everyday life," kept between July 24 and October 20th of 2007, Amphibious Andromeda is Ricardo Bloch's way of disassembling and reconfiguring a unique daily walk through his Paris world. Visually stunning, the photos are intimate and telling, funny and revealing; combinations on the page in spreads add another layer to meaning, making volume from the artist something of a beachhead in a brave new world.

The full color book (printed by Lalande Digital Press Paris) consists of 200 photographs "made under the pressure of feeding a daily image/sound blog called Amphibious Andromeda," says Ricardo. "This is the first in a series of four or five books, which will end with photographs made in March of this year when I stopped posting on my blog. The 589-day archive of Amphibious Andromeda’s images and sounds is still online at:

http://ricardobloch.blogspot.com/ ... "

Amphibious Andromeda Book 1 is "a free-flowing record of what the my eye encountered during that period of time," adds Ricardo, "and the photographs are presented here in the strict chronological order in which they were made. Compared to the blog, where the determinant factor in the choice of an image was the success of its juxtaposition with a sound, here, it is the successful construction of a double-page spread. Consequently, there are many photographs that appeared in Amphibious Andromeda which are absent here and vice versa."

You can flip through a number of the pages of the book, by logging on to:

http://ricardobloch.com/docs/shandybooks.htm

Amphibious Andromeda Book 1 has been printed in a limited edition of 100 copies. It is soft-cover, 24.5 x 16.5 cm, 102 pages.

PRICE: Only 24€ plus shipping, via PayPal (or check). (Contact the artist directly to purchase).

Ricardo Bloch's work has been exhibited in Europe and the United States and is collected publically and privately throughout the world. The artist most recently exhibited his Happy Days photographs of Denver, Colorado circa 1973 at the School House Gallery in Paris. When visiting Ricardo's web site, you may also enjoy a web-specific work: Sharon’s Wars. Oh and while you're there, ask Ricardo where the name Amphibious Andromeda comes from...
 

Ricardo Bloch : Maison Française

Ricardo's Lifescape books are featured in the January issue of Maison Française magazine. Please click on the image to enlarge it.  Lalande Digital Art Press works very closely with Ricardo for his custom made portraits of homes.  The books are full color, perfect bound and printed in quantities from 2 to 200.

Want to give a gift that will be unforgettable? A complete portrait of your house from the point of view of an artist-photographer.  Get in contact with Ricardo.

Ricardo Bloch: Huckleberry Dick

Huckleberry Dick began as a collage work by Ricardo Bloch in 1995, and has now been published as a facsimile of the original, in a limited-edition of 250 copies, printed by Lalande Digital Art Press.

Copies are available directly from the author for only 15€ plus shipping.

Using the classic glue and scissors technique, during an obsessive spell in a cabin by Lake Superior in the summer of 1995, Ricardo blended Classics Illustrated adaptations of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick. Starting with page one, and using two copies of each comic book, Ricardo advanced page by page until the climactic page 48. Images and/or fragments of text were cut and pasted to create a seemingly seamless hybrid story. The task was facilitated, or in fact made possible, because both Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick are first person narratives that recount tales of personal discovery, of boats and water, and of a friendship with a man of color.

It may not completely surprise those that have read the books, that the coupling of the two stories has brought to light the subliminal homoerotic themes underlying their narratives.

Click here now to purchase your copy of the very collectible Huckleberry Dick.

Ricardo Bloch: "HAPPY DAYS" School Gallery

Ricardo Bloch takes the world back to Denver, Colorado 1978. Another time, another world. School Gallery Paris. Exhibition opening on 22 May, from 18h to 22h. 81 rue du Temple 75003 Paris. Tél: 01 42 71 78 20. Lalande Digital Art Press Paris has long worked with Bloch to produce not only his Lifescape Books and artist books, but also the first Happy Days book.

Ricardo Bloch Chosen By Vis à Vis, "HAPPY DAYS" Exhibition At School Gallery Paris

Photographer and Lalande Digital Art Press client Ricardo Bloch has been chosen to be a part of Vis A Vis’ “Online Selection” this past month. Six of Ricardo’s portraits of children, made in Denver in 1978, were selected. Ricardo will open a show of these images, entitled "Happy Days" on 20 May at School Gallery, 81, rue du Temple, 75003 Paris.

In the meantime, visit Ricardo's blog, an image and sound journal, AMPHIBIOUS ANDROMEDA.

From School Gallery: 22 mai / 30 juin Ricardo Bloch "Happy Days"

Datant de la fin des années 70, la galerie de portraits noir et blanc "Happy days" du photographe mexicain Ricardo Bloch, surprend par son côté surannée. Emprunte à la fois de nostalgie et d’une certaine modernité de la fin des 30 glorieuses, cette série montre l’avènement de la société de consommation et du confort domestique.

Au gré de ses rencontres de voisinage, le photographe a su saisir la beauté et la fraîcheur ingénue de l’enfance, le temps des jeux guerriers, des cow-boys et des indiens, des promenades en landaus, des premiers gadins à bicyclettes, des images qui rappelle l’univers de la mythique série TV « Happy days », un feed back des « jours heureux » qui a valeur de témoignage sociologique sur l’Amérique de la fin des années 70 et de l’avènement du tout pavillonnaire, symbole de réussite sociale de la middle class.

Ricardo Bloch's Lifescape Books

Lalande Digital Art Press printed half a dozen Lifescape books for Ricardo Bloch. This Paris-based, Mexican-born photographer, makes portraits of living spaces in book form, on command – apartments, houses or children's rooms. They are soft- or hard-bound, and are made in unique editions with anywhere from 36 to 100 pages. Ricardo is also working for small- and medium-sized companies to produce limited edition books on their businesses, properties (real estate), or boutiques.

Robert Ruscoe, Lalande partner and technical wizard, worked closely with Ricardo to carefully bind the books and produce a limited edition that would blow the mind of the client. For a book of nearly 400 images Ricardo wanted to produce about Denver in the late 1970s, Robert tweaked nearly every photograph to get both the "vintage" and "fresh" effects Ricardo wanted. Check out Ricardo Bloch's website to see his books, portraits and photography.