''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 which can serve to inspire conversation o ...

published by the

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic singer and composer

Björk Guðmundsdóttir Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public pe ...

(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, Madonn ...

Background

To coincide with the release of Björk's fourth studio album ''

Vespertine ''Vespertine'' is the fourth studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was first released on 18 August 2001 in Japan by One Little Indian Records and in the United States by Elektra Entertainment. Björk aspired to create an album ...

'' (2001), Björk released a photo-book. The eponymous book has been created by

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

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 photographer duo, whose work has been featured in fashion magazines and advertising campaigns. They also produce independent ar ...

, 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 , professionally known by the mononym , is a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. Known primarily for photography that blends eroticism and bondage in a fine art context, he has published over 500 books. Early life and education Araki ...

* Martin Argles * Jane Bown *

Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (CDG, ) is a Japanese fashion label, founded by Rei Kawakubo in 1969. It is based in Paris, where its flagship store is located. Other than fashion, the label has expanded to include jewelry and perfume (under the brand Comme ...

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

Hussein Chalayan Hussein Chalayan, (; ; 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 he was awarded the MBE in 2006. Chalayan is currently teaching at HTW Berlin. Ea ...

Chris Cunningham Chris Cunningham (born 15 October 1970) is an English video artist and music video director who directed music videos for electronic musicians such as Autechre, Squarepusher, and Aphex Twin and Björk. Early in his career he worked as a com ...

* Gabríela Friðriksdóttir *

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

* Andrea Giacobbe *

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer 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 o ...

* Haraldur Jonsson * Irmelie Krekin * Nick Knight * Inez van Lamsweerde * Vinoodh Matadin * Glen Luchford * M/M (Paris) * Stefan Malzkorn * Graham Massey *

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 (entertainer), Madonna, David Bowie, Sting (musician), Sting, Björk, Don Henley, ...

* 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. He was dubbed "the god-father of pop surrealism" by ''Interview'' magazine.Jeremy Scott Jeremy Scott (born August 8, 1975) is an American fashion designer. He is the sole owner of his namesake label, and from October 2013 to March 2023 was the creative director of the fashion house Moschino. Since launching his brand in Paris in 19 ...

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French music video director, photographer, film producer and actor. He has worked in various forms of media, including music videos, photojournalism, portrait photography, fashion and pop culture. Sednaoui's career ...

* David Sims *

Sjón image:Sjon litteratureXchange-2019 DSC09264.jpg, 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 firs ...

* 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. M ...

* Benni Valsson *

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (né Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series ''Secret Summer'', von Trier's career has spanned more than five decad ...

* Kevin Westenberg

Words by

& Sir

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

* introduced by

Jefferson Hack Jefferson Hack (born 20 June 1971) is a British publisher. He is the co-founder, Editorial Director and CEO of Dazed Media, an independent media company that produces stories across its print, digital and video brands. The company's portfolio in ...

*Stéphanie Cohen *

Philippe Parreno Philippe Parreno (born 1964 in Grenoble, France) is a French contemporary artist, living and working in Paris. His works include films, Installation art, installations, performances, drawings, and text. Parreno's work centers around both expand ...

*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 Bloomsbury Publishing books {{music-bio-book-stub