Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "the book you should read now" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Every Saturday, we will introduce books selected by Shelf (3-7-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), a bookstore in Harajuku/Gaienmae that specializes in foreign books.



■ "Cowboy" by Richard Prince

This extensive book compiles images of the cowboy, a symbol of America that American photographer and artist Richard Prince has repeatedly used over the course of 40 years. In the mid-1970s, Richard Prince, an aspiring artist working in the tearsheet department at Time magazine, became interested in the advertising photos of products and models that remained after clipping articles for writers. He began re-photographing, cropping, and enlarging these images to create and sell his own works. He was particularly drawn to the cowboy motifs featured in Marlboro cigarette advertisements. His work has since exploded in the art world, sparked lawsuits, and set auction records for contemporary photography. In recent years, he has used modern technology to create a new series based on TIME magazines from the 1980s and 1990s, continuing his obsession with cowboys in the age of Instagram. This book explores how Richard Prince has excavated the mythology of the American West in his work over the past four decades. Prince once again pushes the boundaries of conventional photography, rekindling the debate he sparked four decades ago through a lens that views cowboys and the West.