''Björk'' or ''Björk as a book'' is a 192-page

coffee table book A coffee table book, also known as a cocktail table book, is an oversized, usually hard-covered book whose purpose is for display on a table intended for use in an area in which one entertains guests and from which it can serve to inspire convers ...

published by the

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic singer and composer Björk Guðmundsdóttir (2001), designed by

M/M Paris M/M (Paris) is an art and design partnership consisting of Mathias Augustyniak (born 1967) and Michael Amzalag (born 1968), established in Paris in 1992. M/M are best known for their art direction and collaborations with musicians ( Björk, Madon ...

Background

To coincide with the release of fifth studio album ''

Vespertine ''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 27 August 2001 in the United Kingdom by One Little Independent Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Production on the album ...

'' (2001), Björk released a

photo-book A photo book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. A photo book is related to and also often used as a coffee table book. Early Early photo books are characterized by their use o ...

. The eponymous book has been created by Björk and has been edited and designed by celebrated Paris based design firm M/M (Paris) who, along with photographers

Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin Inez van Lamsweerde (born 25 September 1963) and Vinoodh Matadin (born 29 September 1961) are a Dutch-American Fashion photography, fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also pr ...

, have also created the artwork for ''Vespertine'' and directed the video for the first single off the album, " Hidden Place". The photograph on the rear cover of the book is an early test shot for the video. The book is non-chronological and all the images have been specifically chosen to illustrate this creative process. The book is divided into 3 sections: # Photography - a series of photographs of Björk # Words – text pieces, including an interview conducted by Björk with David Attenborough. # Contributions ("Four Pages for Björk") – Björk asks her collaborators to contribute 4 pages to illustrate her belief that her public self is the result of many great and creative minds and not just a personal product. The book features a dust jacket made in fabric. It has been designed as a transportable working manual rather than a traditional, hardback, coffee-table book.

Credits

Credits taken from M/M (Paris) website.

Contributions by

Nobuyoshi Araki is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist professionally known by the mononym . Known primarily for photography that blends eroticism and bondage in a fine art context, he has published over 500 books.The number depends on such things ...

* Martin Argles *

Jane Bown Jane Hope Bown CBE (13 March 1925 – 21 December 2014) was an English photographer who worked for ''The Observer'' newspaper from 1949. Her portraits, primarily photographed in black and white and using available light, received widespread cri ...

Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (also known as CDG) is a Japanese fashion label based in Paris that was created and led by Rei Kawakubo. Its French flagship store is located in Paris. This label owns a world-wide store chain featuring various lines of pro ...

* Anton Corbijn *

Hussein Chalayan Hussein Chalayan, (; tr, Hüseyin Çağlayan ; born 12 August 1970) is a British-Cypriot fashion designer. He has won the British Designer of the Year twice (in 1999 and 2000) and was awarded the MBE in 2006. Chalayan is currently teaching ...

* Chris Cunningham *

Gabríela Friðriksdóttir Gabríela Friðriksdóttir (born 1971 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is an Icelandic visual artist, painter and sculptor. In 2005, she represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale, and she is a previous winner of Iceland's Gudmunda Art Prize (2001). She ...

Kate Garner Kathryn Mary Garner (born 9 July 1954) is a British photographer, fine artist and singer. Early life Born in Wigan, Lancashire to Anne Philomena Shannon and George Sandeman Garner, a factory worker and a sailor, Garner was expelled from high s ...

* Andrea Giacobbe *

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

* Haraldur Jonsson * Irmelie Krekin * Nick Knight *

Inez van Lamsweerde Inez van Lamsweerde (born 25 September 1963) and Vinoodh Matadin (born 29 September 1961) are a Dutch-American fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent art ...

Vinoodh Matadin Inez van Lamsweerde (born 25 September 1963) and Vinoodh Matadin (born 29 September 1961) are a Dutch-American fashion photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent art ...

* Glen Luchford * M/M (Paris) * Stefan Malzkorn *

Graham Massey Graham Vernon Massey (born 4 August 1960 in Manchester) is a British record producer, musician, and remixer. Early career He was a member of experimental jazz rock group Biting Tongues, once signed to Factory Records. After recording with the ...

Craig McDean Craig McDean (born 1964 in England) is a British fashion photographer, originally from Middlewich, now based in New York City. Life McDean originally trained and worked as a car mechanic before studying photography at Mid Cheshire College (OND ...

* Toby McFarlan Pond * Me Company *

Jean-Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Sting, Björk, Don Henley, Neneh Cherry, Axel Bauer and Les Rita ...

* Bjørn Opsahl * Rankin *

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

* Jeremy Scott *

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited ...

* David Sims *

Sjón 260px, Sjón at LiteratureXchange Festival ín Aarhus (Denmark 2019) Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson (born 27 August 1962), known as Sjón ( ; ; meaning "sight" and being an abbreviation of his first name), is an Icelandic poet, novelist, lyricis ...

* Snorri Bros * Stephen Sweet *

Juergen Teller Juergen Teller (born 28 January 1964) is a German fine-art and fashion photographer. He was awarded the Citibank Prize for Photography in 2003 and received the Special Presentation International Center of Photography Infinity Award in 2018. Maj ...

* Benni Valsson *

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier ('' né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nomina ...

* Kevin Westenberg

Words by

* Björk & Sir David Attenborough * introduced by

Jefferson Hack Jefferson Hack (born 1971 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Curator, Creative Director and co-founder of Dazed Media, an independent media company that produces stories across its print, digital and video brands. The company's portfolio includes fash ...

*Stéphanie Cohen *

Philippe Parreno Philippe Parreno (born 1964 in Oran, Algeria) is a contemporary French artist who lives and works in Paris. His works include films, installations, performances, drawings, and text. Parreno focuses on expanding ideas of time and duration thro ...

*Rick Poynorand *Won Tchoi

References

External links

The book's page on M/M Paris website

Björk book special at bjork.com archive
Books by Björk 2001 non-fiction books Music autobiographies Coffee table books {{music-bio-book-stub