Free

Please join Arcana: Books on the Arts on Saturday, October 7th between 4:00 and 6:00 PM for a very special book signing with photographer Richard Edson.

“I began the Year Zero – Lockdown Journal on March 20th, 2020. On the first day I took my bicycle and camera and rode through the empty, silent streets of Los Angeles. Everything looked the same, but everything was completely different. I took photos and came back and wrote about it. And I kept it up for next twelve months, through our personal and collective isolation, through the ups and downs of the pandemic, the slow, halting opening of society, the politicization of the virus, the George Floyd protests, the elections, the Stop-the-Steal movement, and the storming of the Capital. Covid-19 was beyond anything we thought possible or could even imagine. It’s the stuff of science fiction and dystopian nightmares. But the writers and doomsayers were right. And here we are. Each of us who have lived through Year Zero have our own stories to tell. This, in photographs and texts, is mine.” Published by Artvoices Books, Year Zero – Lockdown Journal features two beautifully packaged hardcover books in a slipcase subtitled, “Spring & Summer” and “Fall & Winter.”

Richard Edson has been acting in films for nearly forty years and has appeared in over one hundred movies and television shows. His more notable roles include a disreputable parking garage attendant in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Howard the Duck (1986), Jim Jarmusch’s cult film Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Eight Men Out, and Joey Breaker (1993). He also appeared in Platoon (1986), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Tougher Than Leather (1988), Let It Ride (1989), and Do the Right Thing (1989). He starred in the 1993 movie Super Mario Bros as Spike (1987). As a photographer he has had four solo exhibitions in Los Angeles and has been in countless group exhibits. He has also appeared in Juxtapoz, Puta, and The Propagandist magazines and has had photography assignments for Wax Poetics, American Apparel, and many others. Until recently he had a monthly photo spread/column in the Los Angeles downtown arts magazine, Citizen LA. In addition to acting and photography he was a founding member and first drummer for the seminal art rock band Sonic Youth, and drummer/trumpet player for the legendary New York Afro-dance band, Konk.

If you cannot attend and would like to purchase a signed copy of Year Zero – Lockdown Journal, please email Arcana or place your order here!