Got an interesting press release earlier this week about Italian publisher FMR’s newest art book: “Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano,” of which it plans to produce ninety-nine worldwide and which sells at a cost of about $150,000 each.

The 264-page book aims to “celebrate the legacy of Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti” through the work of Italian art photographer Aurelio Amendola. The book’s cover is a bas-relief reproduction of Michelangelo’s “Madonna della Scala,” hand carved from marble gleaned from the same quarry Michelangelo is said to have used and the paper, which has been created specifically for the project, bears “the special ‘Michelangelo’ watermark.”

There’s a great New York Times story from May with details about the publication, the launch party and a quote from FMR chairman Marilena Ferrari calling the book “a work of art in itself.”

Earlier today I was reading a conversation between sculptor Lawrence Weiner and librarian and publisher Judith Hoffberg about artists books and artist’s catalogs. This book seems to blur the line between both and got me thinking about the relationships between books, art and their audience.

Weiner contends that books are meant to be accessible and “found” and therein lies much of their value. It’s doubtful many people will ever find “Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano” in any bookshop or virtual bookseller, much less leaf through a copy.

The publisher’s have however donated a copy to the Prado Museum in Spain. A flight to Madrid, hotel, meals, and tickets to the Prado to catch a glimpse of the book (encased in glass, of course) should they ever decide to display it? A bargain-basement steal compared to the asking price.

I just wanted to pop in here and remind you that the White Elephant Sale is happening this weekend. I went to the preview sale last month and bought a painting for $10 that has been alternately described as creepy and ugly. I, however, love it. I’ll show you a picture once I get one.

The White Elephant Sale is the largest rummage sale in California and the money goes to the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, which buys art and helps bring exhibitions to the museum.

And it’s a lot of fun.

It’s at the White Elephant Sale Warehouse at 333 Lancaster St., off the Interstate- 880 Freeway/Fruitvale exit near the Oakland Estuary. The sale is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and they usually discount the remaining stuff on Sunday.

The sale will be offering a shuttle from the Fruitvale BART station. I suggest taking it. It was a real drag last month trying to get my purchases to the car 20 blocks away in the rain.

painting by Carrie Lederer

I rode my bike through this weekend’s showers to Rhythmix Cultural Works to attend the Doggie Diner road trip documentary “Head Trip” that I wrote about earlier in the paper and on the blog.

From about 3:30 p.m. and on, the place was packed with people. I decided to catch the sold-out 4 p.m. show, thinking that the later shows (including an extra one added to the bill at 5:30 p.m.) would be sold-out too. I was right.

While I enjoyed the film, there were other things to be entertained and amused by that evening, including Rhythmix Cultural Works’ gallery show.

 I am no fortune teller but I foresee Rhythmix Cultural Works being a magnet for cultural events in the Bay Area, not just in its hometown of Alameda. In fact, I had been hearing about its opening for years before it actually opened its doors last year. It is a beautiful space with a gallery, a book arts department and a performance center with these gorgeous high ceilings and prominent stage.

Shortly after it opened, I attended the Virago Theatre Company comedies ”The Death of Ayn Rand” and “A Bed of My Own.” I was impressed with the quality of the performance and the space itself. I was in love, really.

Saturday night I talked briefly with Rythmix’s Janet Koike about the center, its classes and its gallery. She told me that I should drop in on the Wednesday night belly dancing class, since I am looking for something to do on weeknights.

I then headed into the K Gallery space where “Nature, Patterns & Portraits” is being shown and I was greeted by paintings and sculpture done by Joy Broom, Jerry Leisure and Carrie Lederer. I particularly liked Lederer’s green tone paintings made up of what looked like real and fantasy creatures. Lederer is currently the executive curator of Bedford Arts Gallery in Walnut Creek.

If you find yourself near Alameda, Rhythmix is worth a stop. Gallery hours are Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Directions to Rhythmix are here.

The office is getting a makeover — walls are falling, computers are coming, desks are moving. Writer’s desks are notorious for collections of the detritus we call “research material,” from outdated phone books to promotional hats from the circus.

The editor e-mailed this warning: “Everyone, no exceptions, has to pick up, throw away, file, throw away, take home, throw away the papers, notes, press releases and reports underneath, around and atop our desks.”

Old museum exhibit catalogues and books such as “Eroticism in Art” have been swept away, stuffed into boxes and the trunk of the Mazda.

But here are five books (including two linked to recent exhibits) that must stay:

“The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art & Artists.” It seemed stiff at first, and it’s weighted toward the Brits, but I bought it when I was desperately trying to define conceptual art. Their take: “A term embracing various forms of art in which the idea for a work is considered more important than the finished product.”

“The Penguin Concise Dictionary of Art History.” Not as concise as the first, but the bios are a pleasure to read and always start with an intriguing quote, such as Georgia O’Keefe’s: “I desire to make the unknown known.”

“The Phaidon Photo Book.” It goes like this: one page, one photographer, one picture. Tiny, tiny type, but it’s swell getting lost in Mario Giacomelli’s Italy or Weegee’s in-your-face New York.

“The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson.” The show’s at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and the catalog displays her never-ending experimentations with what the rest of us might call trash. Like all that stuff under the desk.

“Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination.” Dream along with Cornell’s collections and constructions. The exhibit’s at the S.F. Museum of Modern Art. The book takes you on his imaginative voyage too.