HEROES & VILLAINS is a collection of portraits by photographers Tatiana Wills and Roman Cho which surveys some of the most intriguing personalities in today's art, street and pop culture movements. Wills and Cho began their prescient documentation of these underground innovators six years ago, and many of their subjects are now attracting unprecedented attention in the art world. Their photographs unveil the persona, unique vision and inner character of more than 100 of the most iconic figures in the contemporary creative world, such as Robert Williams, Mark Ryden, Gabrielle Bell, David Choe, and Saber One. With a vibrant sense of play and an intuitive ability to expose internal truths, Wills and Cho have captured quiet revelations of essence and character, as well as startling moments of spontaneous expression. To further illuminate the motivations and impact of this diverse group of artists at this vital moment in history, the volume includes an essay and fourteen in-depth interviews by Amanda Erlanson. As the first collection of its kind, this stunning monograph will be a sourcebook for our generation and those to come.

About Tatiana Wills

 With an eye to simplicity, Tatiana Wills divines the essence of often mercurial and elusive personalities, resulting in quiet revelations of essence and character. She launched her career while running the photography department of the renowned entertainment firm Seiniger Advertising, shooting campaigns for Sony, Paramount, Universal, Miramax, HBO, and Showtime. The unique sensibility she brings to each assignment has won her honors from PDN, Communication Arts and the International Photography Awards. Her work has appeared in the pages of such esteemed publications as GQ, Time, Juxtapoz, Nylon, and IdN, as well as on the silver screen in Banksy’s street art documentary, Exit Through the Gift Shop. Tatiana has exhibited in several prominent west coast galleries, including White Walls and The Shooting Gallery in San Francisco, and Corey Helford Gallery and the Beyond Eden Contemporary Art Fair in Los Angeles. She currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

About Roman Cho

Roman Cho is a Los Angeles-based photographer who uses the specialized vernacular of portraiture to document the active figures in our culture, as well as those living outside the spotlight, in order to bring to light the interior world of his subjects. The intense characterization and classic tone of his work have garnered him a wide range of clients, from Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, Disney Studios, KO Creative and Real World Records, to editorial clients such as Time, Rolling Stone, GQ, Los Angeles magazine, Maclean’s, Fretboard Journal, and No Depression. Roman received his B.F.A. from California Institute of the Arts, and now teaches photography at Art Institute of California – Orange County. He is represented by Global Assignment by Getty Images.

About Amanda Erlanson

Amanda Erlanson is a writer, art collector and editor of the art blog Erratic Phenomena. She grew up in backwoods New Hampshire without electricity or television, her nose buried in dusty old books, where she discovered a passion for Golden Age illustration. While slacking off from her job shelving books in the art history library of Dartmouth College, she learned everything she knows about art. She now lives in Los Angeles, where she divides her time between the entertainment industry and the art world, and delves into the hearts and minds of her favorite artists through her exhaustively researched interviews.

Technical specifications

• Hardcover, cloth with paper jacket
• 12.75 x 10.25" (32.4 x 26 cm)
• 192 pages
• 100 color & black/white plates
• Edition of 1,000
• ISBN 978-0-9822461-6-0
• Released: June 2011
• Designed by Blaine Fontana of FONTANA STUDIOS
• $60.00
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Deluxe clamshell edition

-Edition 20 – signed and numbered and including three signed photographs.