This in-depth book on one of the most honest artists of the 20th century gives riveting insight into the age-old issues of sex/death, pain/pleasure and the relationship between life and art. Bob Flanagan lived with the terminal disease cystic fibrosis (he died in early 1996) and spent a lifetime exploring the limits of his own flesh through a sadomasochistic relationship with Mistress and photographer Sheree Rose. Luckily for us, their relationship produced an important and insightful body of art, incorporating poetry, performance, photography and site-specific installations. In these 120 image-packed pages we see most of Bob’s life/work, from the early SM performances with Sheree (such as the Amok-sponsored “Nailed” event) to the seminal “Visiting Hours” exhibit at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Several of his poems are published in full (he had published five books), the interviews are candid with the humor of a man bravely staring death in the face. A book in which the personal illuminates the universal, this is a not-to-be-missed journey of human transcendence through art. MDH

Publisher: V/Search
Paperback: 130 pages
Illustrated

The first and still the best book on sleaze films. Interviews the producers: Herschell Gordon Lewis, Ted V. Mikels, Doris Wishman, Ray Dennis Steckler, Larry Cohen, and more! Essays on the genres: Biker films, J.D. films, mondo Films, Santo, sexploitation films, Ed Wood Jr., women-in-prison films, as well as such classics as Spider Baby, God Told Me To, and Wizard of Gore. Plus quotes from the worst, a list of fave films, an A to Z of low-budget personalities, etc. Promo for an educational film, Signal 30: “You are there when the blackened and brittle, mangled and bleeding bodies of what once were living, breathing and laughing human beings are pried from their motorized coffins.” Russ Meyer on Tura Santana’s mythical presence in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!: “In the instance of Tura, she was wearing boots and she was so voluptuous—big hat, big pair of hips, big boobs—a great Junoesque-looking lady… A lot of people draw all sorts of conclusions… ‘Gotterdammerung’… ‘Flight of the Valkyries.’ She’s part Cherokee and part Japanese… She’d been a stripper… and was as strong as a fucking ox… That was one of the few times I’ve lucked out in casting a role.” And more! GR

Publisher: V/Search
Paperback: 212 pages
Illustrated