Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry illuminates the life and lasting legacy of American inkslinger Norman K. Collins. Known as Sailor Jerry, he is widely regarded as the father of modern tattooing. The film features the words and wisdom of Jerry’s peers and protegees including Don Ed Hardy, Lyle Tuttle, and Michael Malone. While the roots of American tattooing are explored in full, another wonderful benefit of the film is the exploration of life on liberty and the impulse of the sailor to become tattooed.

Directed by Erich Weiss, Hori Smoku has done the festival rounds and received rave reviews. Today the film becomes available on DVD. Distributed by IndiePix. Head to their website for full information.

Full poster after the jump.

Published by O.H.W.O.W. Clayton Patterson’s Front Door Book collects photographs from 1985 to 2000 capturing the local vibe of the Lower East Side. Patterson has actively been photographing and filming the neighborhood for over 20 years, and the book complements the recently released documentary film Captured. On Sunday October 11, 2009, ALIFE is hosting a book signing with Patterson from 3-5pm.

The event takes place at ALIFE PRESENTS 157 Rivington Street, New York.

Additionally, for those interested in Captured the film is now available to stream online.

In late July, we previewed Taschen’s 3 volume series Julius Shulman, Modernism Rediscovered. The photographer, instrumental in capturing the tone of Californian arcitecture from the 1930s on, is now subject of a documentary film. Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics is credit to the man who brought modern architecture to the masses. (via CoolBoom).

View the trailer after the jump.

In A Dream is a documentary about Isaiah Zagar. Zagar is a mosiac artist, whose work famously covers several buildings throughout South Philadelphia. The film is made by his son, Jeremiah. HBO 2 premiered the film on August 19th. Check listings for the next showing. Interesting stuff. (via Wooster Collective).

Mark Khaisman works in tape. His “tapeworks” are produced with translucent red packing on acrylic panel. These are then placed over aluminum light boxes. The detailed aesthetic of the “tapeworks” also informs his “patternworks” which are digital prints on cnavas.

For INTRAspective at Area 919, Khaisman will present a survey of new and recent works in both styles, along with a site specific video installation. The exhibition opens on September 10, 2009 and will run until October 19, 2009.

Area 919 is located at 919 N. 5th, Philadelphia, PA.

While fashion photography gets some attention here, rarely does a pure look book. Salazar, a film company located in Vancouver, has produced this lovely video for Lifetime Collective. It blurs a few lines and generally succeeds at being very entertaining. Lifetime Collective is also based in Vancouver.

Thanks to Boooom! for the heads up.

On Thursday July 9, 2009 at 8pm, ALIFE will present the West Coast premier of Captured: Clayton Patterson and 30 Years of NYC’s Lower East Side. The film is a full depiction of Patterson’s life as the neighborhood’s devote record keeper and is directed by Ben Soloman, Dan Levin, and Jenner Furst.

The event takes place at Space 15 Twenty, 1520 N. Cahuenga BLVD Suite 2, Los Angeles, CA.

Photographer and film maker Peter Southerland makes his Paris’ debut as a solo artist tomorrow. Road Beef collects stills, moving images, and sculptures that reflect Southerland’s interest in the everyday. Far from the mundane, Southerland’s conception of everyday Americana is filled with oddities and the strange bits and pieces that fill our world.

Road Beef runs until June 21, 2009, at Ofr Galerie Paris.

First a subject, later a chronicler, Julian Cole spent two decades documenting the work of Gilbert & George. The duo had, in 1986, cast Cole as a model thus beginning their relationship. The new film traces their story from humble beginnings to transition into the art world. Available from Colette.

Wallpaper* has posted a brief piece and the trailer for Gary Hustwit’s second film Objectified. Watching it again, there is a a striking resemblance between those initial “reactions” or questions and Charles Montgomery’s “Fourteen Points of Connoisseurship.” Essentially, these are a more nuanced set of questions from the typical who, what, why, and where. They deal with material, and in the case of Objectified even with perceptions of cost. The film may focus on industrial design, but it is important to note the thinking follows a clear continuum in the treatment of objects by scholars and collectors for generations.