The Alternative Guide to the Universe: Mavericks, Outsiders, Visionaries

1An Alternative Guide to the Universe’ surveys work that creates unexpected possibilities in art, science and architecture; possibilities so profound that they suggest an alternate reality. Work produced by more than 25 self-taught architects and artists, photographers and futurists, outsider engineers and scientists are featured in this highly illustrated volume. Many of the featured practitioners investigate larger systems of knowledge in their work, while others develop particular disciplines and art forms in unexpected and idiosyncratic directions. Taken together, their maverick creations conjure a kind of a parallel universe where ingenuity and inventiveness trump common sense and received wisdom. With new texts by Rick Moody, Mark Pilkington, Valerie Rousseau, Margaret Wertheim, Roger Cardinal and Ralph Rugoff, an anthology of writing about the practitioners featured in the book, and a wealth of visual material, ‘An Alternative Guide to the Universe’ is a fascinating tour through a surprising and rich creative landscape. Artists include: A G Rizolli; Alfred Jensen; Bodys Isek Kingelez; Emery Blagdon; Eugene von Bruenchenheim; George Widener; Guo Fengyi; Karl Hans Janker; James Carter; Jan GAuszak Dagarama; Jean Perdrizet; Jookin; Lee Godie; Lubos Plny; Marcel Storr; Melvin Way; Morton Bartlett; Paul Laffoley; Peer Pressure; Philip Blackmarr; Rammellzee; Richard Greaves; The Chookie Dancers; Turf Feinz; William Scott; Wu Yulu.