Arcana: Books On the Arts

Esoteric collection of art books including, yes, some very explicit «artsy» selections. Not family-​friendly.
One reviewer mentioned it being well organized. I couldn’t make sense of the organization at all!
We weren’t greeted or acknowledged in any way when we stopped in Sunday afternoon after checking out the rest of the Helms Bakery District complex. There was a cold vibe here that made me uncomfortable.
When I think of the many books I have at home, the thought of spending $ 50 or $ 60 for one coffee table tome just didn’t resonate.

A very special place for creative minds. The bookstore equivalent of the now defunct Vinyl Fetish. In a word, superb.

Such an amazing find! They were so helpful when I was looking for an out of print book that I needed to send in a jiffy! They had in stock, gift wrapped, and expedited the shipping. SO helpful. Thank you!

What a fabulous find! Couldn’t believe such a beautiful, spacious, stylish bookstore is hidden away in the Helms center.
Right now they are building a parking structure next door, so parking is a drag. But worth the effort. They have TONS of well organized books in all areas of the Arts and entertainment, music, etc.
There are a few chairs to sit down and read (they could have more), and the selection is amazing. A great place to get some cool Christmas presents.
Love this place. And lots of places to eat nearby.

This bookstore elevates the human spirit. It is so special it should be a national landmark. The store is a quixotic labor of love by the owners Lee & Whitney Kaplan. A work of art in its own right, It is beautifully curated and presented. Their book signings are a modern day salon, assembling a likeminded cultural creative community. There is no better place in Los Angeles if not the world to source a rare, out of print book. They will help select the perfect meaningful gift and if something is not in stock, Lee will be sure to seek it out for you. In this disposable culture, be sure to come by Arcana for an enduring treasure.

The Gagosian of Art Book Stores, but without the snobbery. I don’t think there is a better art book store in Southern California. The store layout is stylish and straightforward, and the staff are incredibly knowledgeable. It is the most well-​lit book store I have ever been in-​with natural light coming in through the Washington Blvd. windows, but the shelves arranged to protect books from sunlight. The pricing ranges from moderate to ultra-​high-​end. They’ve got highly collectable books side-​by-​side with new releases and they tend to be affordable if you are familiar with the second-​hand art book market. There is also a curated selection of books under plexi-​glass, that are particularly collectible, and a glass door protected selection of truly rare editions. One of my favorite reasons to visit the west side.

Thank you so much everyone who wrote about the gentleman in all black who gives customers a hard time. My husband and son and I were in the midst of deciding never to return to Arcana based on the terrible service and condescending attitude. However, the other reviews posted on Unilocal of this one particular person helped us to see that it’s just one man with an extreme lack of people skills that is ruining things for a lot of people. This one very rude person isn’t representative of the other people working there. Other clerks are quite helpful, but the greying gentleman that’s rude seems to be the owner of the business. I doubt he’ll be leaving anytime soon. We’re still debating whether to never return or whether to continue supporting a fantastic collection; pitying the man with his own set of issues and just avoid him?

I recently had such a great experience here! I called looking for a book of film posters, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that they had it in stock. I put the book on hold, and got to the store about 30 minutes later. It was waiting for me right when I got there. The staff was friendly and likable, and made the experience so much better. They even gift wrapped my purchase really nicely (free of charge), which was definitely the icing on the cake. Will definitely come back!

What an amazing «art» book store. Staff is knowledgeable. It’s like going to Tachen but being able to pick from all the high end book publishers. Not cheap, but these books are usually, but not always a labor of love.

The male clerk in all black (late 40’s, greying hair, glasses) is super condescending, a pure representation of the snobbery of «highbrow“art. I actually considered purchasing a couple of books for my sister despite the high price, but his attitude just made me lose any hopes for humanity. I just felt really sad and left.
This man probably is not a bad person, but really needs to realize not everyone is trying to get him or screw him over. At any rate, not a pleasant experience and won’t be going back.

Came here after eating at Father’s Office!
WOAH! There are some explicit books here. They should put a sign not letting minors or kids in.
I love the setup of this place. It was like a museum, archive, and bookstore all in one.
Warning! No photos allowed!

Simply the best art & photography bookstore in LA.

You need to stop at this place and take a look around. Its clean place with tons of good books and other stuff to offer. The Staff working at this place really friendly people and happy to be working here. I will bring everything i want to donate to this place mext time im around.

Great shop! Happened to stumbled upon it on a lazy Sunday afternoon in Culver City and had a fantastic time browsing through the vast collection. Such an interesting and worthwhile catalog of books here.

You’d be hard pressed to find a more comprehensive collection of low-​brow surrealist art books.

I love Arcana. They have the most up to date books, and have a great photo collection! It’s cool that you can stroll up, browse books, and just hangout in peace. The ambiance is great, they play soft jazz in the shop. AND there’s a FREE parking lot!

I can spend hours in this shop, browsing rare copies of art and architecture books. The staff is also friendly and very knowledgable.

They hands down have the best art/​photograpy book selection in Los Angeles. Too bad their customer service is the worst of LA as well.
The guy who runs this place is snobby and rude. You can recognize him by his all black ensemble and wire rimmed glasses. Went in with my boyfriend looking for a particular photography book they didn’t stock and when we asked him if they could order this book from the publisher, were very, very rudely told no multiple times. It made everybody, including the other people who worked at the shop, uncomfortable. Maybe he was having a bad day or maybe the publisher’s name brought up some bad mojo unbeknownst to us, but more than likely he’s always been a prick.

If you’re serious about books, you need to give this place a visit. Neatly organized and well categorized books, it’s easy to get lost in here as my friend did when we gave this place a visit. They have a large selection of first editions and out of print books, so if you’re looking for something specific you can’t find elsewhere — you might find it here!
One thing I didn’t like was that after perusing a certain section for about 20 minutes, an employee came up to me and loudly proclaimed that I should buy something. Then walked off without trying to further the conversation further. This was pretty annoying.
BUT, I would still absolutely recommend this place to a serious collector.

We visited this store yesterday and they certainly have a superb selection of art & photography books (my two passionate book interests). The reasons why I’m not giving five stars — since the selection certainly warrants it — are because the store seemed very sterile and because they were blasting music (I strongly feel that bookstore music should be a pleasant background accompaniment and not something that totally wrecks the ambiance).

I couldn’t believe it when I found a Tom Ford book here! I’ve never seen this kind of variety at any bookstore, ever. The selection is amazing!!!

This is the kind of bookstore you go to when you want to find that special/​hard to find book.
Each book appears to be hand selected for display, many rare and important art related volumes can be found at this new and expanded location!!!
Very cool display cases showcase interesting volumes.
⁵⁄₅ stars… They have one of the nicest stores at Helms Shopping center.
One of top 5 art book sellers in country, top 10 in world for sure!

This is a breathtaking bookstore; you get the sense the owners are truly passionate about their product: beautiful art and design books. Everything in the store looks meticulously curated and I’m not just talking about their book collection. The shelves, tables, and chairs all serve to augment the clean, modern lines of the space.
I visited Arcana for the first time today for their Scott Schuman book signing. The whole process was exciting and extremely smooth and streamlined. Mr. Schuman was so engaging and spent considerable time with each fan.
I also had the added pleasure of meeting Whitney, co-​owner at Father’s Office after the book signing by happenstance, and she was really personable and inquired about my experience at Arcana’s bookstore. Although it was a brief conversation, I really appreciate that she was able to recognize me and even took the time to strike up a conversation.
I know their books are quite expensive, but just having this personal connection, inspires me to save some extra cash to go back and buy another book. I am confident they will be able to help me find a really interesting book to add to my collection.
Highly recommend! free parking, too!

This place rocks, I got an H. R Giger (The Artist From Which Aliens Was Spawned) book here for my coffee table and my friends can’t get enough of it when they come over. If you need any art or coffee table books I would definitely get them here.
P.S Staff is super friendly and incredibly helpful