Public art Books

Book SynopsisChronicles the story of the ZAD (zone to defend), a resistant land occupation emerging out of a decades-long struggle which stopped a new airport projectTrade Review'We need stories of victory! We need stories of transformative imagination and wild adventures that somehow succeed against all odds. Jay and Isabelle think about organizing and activism like nobody else. They've given us more than an account--they've created a new myth that has the added benefit of being true' -- StarhawkTable of ContentsPreface by Marc Herbst Tempests Part I: Seeding Scream —Disobedient Desires—Following Swallows—Extinction Machine—Rebel Bocage Part II: Germinating Departure Lounge—Desertion—Mud and ACAB—Insurrectionary Inhabiting—Building in the Ruins—A Discipline of Attention—Love and Forgetting Part III: Rooting Offensive Defense—Everyday Magic—Compos(t)ing Together—Medieval Futurisms—Victory and Revenge—Gambles and Barricades of Paper Part IV: Flourishing No Commoning without Commoners—Synergies and Regards—No Commoners without Rituals—Life is Feeling—200 Years of Art and the World Is Getting Worse—An Art of Life FUCK ‘IT’! Gratitudes Notes

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewNew York Times Bestseller -- New York Times

Read more less

Book SynopsisA groundbreaking study of the public art collective Smokehouse Associates, whose abstract works transformed New York's Harlem community in the late 1960sTrade Review“Wonderfully catches the [Smokehouse] energy, in interviews with the original artists and through . . . photographs of empty lots being cleaned, walls being prepped, kids playing and pitching in, and artists doing their totally wow-inspiring thing.”—Holland Cotter, New York Times, “Best Art Books of 2022”

Read more less

Book SynopsisParis is the city of light, the city of love, and the city of more art than you could possibly explore in a lifetime-and not just in museums. Tucked away in tree-lined parks, preserved in world class restaurants, emblazoned on Metro station walls, and hidden in the most unexpected places are masterpieces worthy of the Louvre, if you know where to look! In this whimsically illustrated celebration of Parisian art and artists, author and curator Lori Zimmer highlights more than 100 treasures. From the gorgeous remnants of the Art Nouveau era to the homes of some of the world''s most influential artists-including Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and more-to an introduction to the modern masters of urban art, there are endless riches to be explored. Discover art that was hidden for decades inside cafes, shops and even a Belle Époque brothel! Paris will surprise you.Illustrated by artist Maria Krasinski, this book provides curated itineraries for dreaming up your next urba

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe world is in crisis, bringing activists and protesters onto the streets and into the public eye. More than ever, activism relies on spectacle and visibility in order to be noticed in the era of globalized capitalism and networked media. At the same time, a growing number of artists employ creative strategies to critique the establishment, act in resistance, and demand change. Visual activism of this kind is not new, but it is rapidly evolving.This anthology presents 16 case-studies of visual activism from across the globe, providing an up-to-date picture of the impact of contemporary visual and art activism, and combining a scholarly interrogation of visual activism with an examination of how it works in practice. The case studies address a wide range of issues including human rights abuses; state violence; gender and sexuality; racism; migration; and climate breakdown. They examine a range of approaches from playful carnivalesque parades to extreme practices such as lip-sewing', Trade ReviewWith its 16 chapters, this exciting volume introduces readers to a fresh series of contemporary visual practices and, importantly, a valuable range of perspectives that invite us to reflect on what visual activism is, and what it can achieve at a time of multiple crises. An insightful contribution to understanding visual politics in the 21st century. * Paula Serafini, Queen Mary University of London, UK *A valuable contribution to the urgent ongoing debates about the contradictions and paradoxes stemming from activism in the field of visual culture, and art in the field of socio-political action. The book offers some newly-produced critical and theoretical discourses in the context of socially-engaged art that can inform artists, critics, curators, scholars, and activists who are invested in endorsing art as an important and potent social medium. * Suzana Milevska, Independent Curator, Researcher and Art Theorist, North Macedonia/Austria *Table of ContentsLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION TO THE ANTHOLOGY, Darcy White and Stephanie Hartle (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) PART ONE: THE POLITICS OF PERFORMANCE: ACTING/ RE-ENACTING AND ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES 1. Making Sense and Claiming a Presence: the Social Semiotics of Visual Activism, Eve Kalyva (University of Kent, UK) 2. A Total Performance: Invisibility, Respectability and Resistance in Corporate Capitalism, Jill Gibbon (Leeds Beckett University, UK) 3. By a Thread: the Space Left to Activism when Fashion Deals with the Refugee ‘crisis’, Elsa Gomis (University of East Anglia, UK) 4. Digging up the Left-Wing Corpse? Visual Activism and Melancholia in Jeremy Deller’s The Battle of Orgreave, Stephanie Hartle (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) 5. Imperialism, Empathy and Healing in Rajkamal Kahlon’s Artistic Activism, Margaret Tali (Estonian Academy of Arts) 6. Shooting Back / Speaking Forward: Decolonial Strategies in the work of Sasha Huber, Temi Odumosu (Malmö University, Sweden) and Sasha Huber (Independent Researcher, Finland) PART TWO: PLACES OF PROTEST: PUBLIC SPACE AND CITIZENSHIP 7. Visible Speechlessness: A Critical Approach to Image Acts of Lip Sewing, Ana Lena Werner (Independent Scholar, Germany) and Amelie Ochs (University of Bremen, Germany) 8. ‘Ripples in water’. Minor Episodes of Feminist Visual Activism by Three Women Artists in the PRC (2007–2015), Monica Merlin (Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar) 9. ‘America is Black, Indigenous, and Muslim’: Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s Public Challenges to White Nationalism, Stefanie Snider (Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA) 10. Farida Batool: A Pakistani Visual Activist, Amina Ejaz (National College of Arts, Pakistan) 11. Jason deCaires Taylor’s Submerged Sculptures and the Iconography of Slow Violence, Karen Stock (Winthrop University, USA) 12. Keeping the Peace: the Visual in the ‘struggle’ of Nonviolent Activism in a Global Existential Crisis, Darcy White (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) PART THREE: CONNECTIVITY ONLINE: DIGITAL ACTIVISM AND THE NETWORKED IMAGE 13. Montage and Vernacular Spectatorship: the Role Played by YouTube Channel AnarChnowa as a Tool of Visual Activism in Post-14 January 2011 Tunisia, Mariana Liosi (The Free Fine Arts Academy in Rimini, Italy) 14. Sociality, Appearance, and Surveillance in Digital Political Activism, Stefka Hristova (Michigan Technological University, USA) 15. Rendering the Invisible Visible: Menstrual Activism in Contemporary India, Sugandha Sehgal (University of Delhi, India) 16. Unruly Images: The Activist Visuality of Glitches and Disabilities on Instagram, Vendela Grundell Gachoud (Stockholm University, Sweden) INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisMitchell B. Frank, Director of the School for Studies in Art and Culture at Carleton University, Canada, is the author of German Romantic Painting Redefined (2001) and Central European Drawings from the National Gallery of Canada (2007). He co-edited German Art History and Scientific Thought (2012) and History and Art History: Looking Past Disciplines (2020). He is currently editor-in-chief of the Canadian art historical journal RACAR (Revue d'art canadienne / Canadian Art Review).Trade ReviewA salutary reminder that museums were developing creative ways of engaging audiences beyond their walls decades before the internet. Frank's study of the Metropolitan's Miniatures and Seminars will interest not only historians of Cold War-era American culture, but all those in museums attempting to reconcile an inclusion agenda with commercial partnerships. * Jonathan Conlin, author of The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery (2006) and Civilisation (2009) *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Metropolitan Miniatures: Culture and Commerce 2. The Metropolitan Seminars: Middlebrow Culture 3. The Met and Art Education in Postwar America 4. Rembrandt’s Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer: Reproduction and Quality 5. The Met, Popular Art Education, and the Problem of Abstract Art Appendices Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisJ.R. Jenkins is a design historian specializing in the design culture of the former German Democratic Republic. She writes widely on design, with contributions in books such as Design, History and Time (Bloomsbury, 2019) and journals such as Design Issues. She teaches Design Contexts at Falmouth University, UK.Trade ReviewIn this lavishly illustrated account J. R. Jenkins shows how public art, craft, design and architecture became key elements in the socialist imaginary. Picturing Socialism takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the former East Germany: from steel and coal cities, to science and technology centres and ports. Containing an extraordinary visual record of many rapidly vanishing works of art, the book draws on fascinating interviews and contemporary debates. Picturing Socialism is an important and timely addition to studies of Cold War history and politics. -- Harriet Atkinson, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, University of Brighton, UKJ. R. Jenkins’ Picturing Socialism explores the placement and legacy of public art in the GDR from post-war re-construction through to the 1990s. Spanning the mid-century to the late modern, Jenkins deftly surveys and evaluates the forms, functions and evolving ideological imperatives which drove these very public genres. Cogently authored and contextualized, this well illustrated and incisively researched publication looks set to become a benchmark intervention in the emerging history of the GDR’s public art and design aesthetic. -- Grant Pooke, Senior Lecturer, History of Art, University of Kent, UKPicturing Socialism fills a gap in twentieth-century design history by focusing on how socialist realism in East Germany used urban places as a canvas to depict communal values. For those interested in the graphic image of the twenty-first century city, this book provides valuable insight into the emergence of Complex Environmental Design in the former German Democratic Republic. -- Robert Harland, Senior Lecturer and Programme Director for Graphic Communication and Illustration, Loughborough University, UKAn enlightening analysis of the complex relation between socialist politics and the steelworker reliefs, farm girl paintings, cosmonaut mosaics, dandelion-shaped sprinklers and other artwork adorning East German buildings -- Florian Urban, Professor and Head of Architectural History and Urban Studies, Glasgow School of Art, UKJ. R. Jenkins presents a magnificent study: this well-informed and intelligent book reconstructs the strategic importance of architecture-related art in shaping the built environment of the GDR. For the three historical phases of development – Reconstruction 1949–1963, Socialist Modernism 1959–1973 and the transition to Postmodernism 1973–1990 – she uses exemplary works of art to trace both the changing building tasks and the relationships between clients, architects and artists, as well as the conceptual background of their respective interactions… The author's double perspective – as a student in Berlin in 1990, she witnessed the disappearance and general devaluation of East German art in the public consciousness, now as an academic she observes the new international appreciation of the aesthetic culture of socialism – saves her from the old Cold War concept of Western modernism and conveys this unique cultural heritage to us anew with regard to a decolonised, gendered and globalised modernism. -- Thomas Flierl, Architectural Historian and Cultural Critic, GermanyTable of ContentsList of Figures List of Plates Preface Acknowledgements Glossary and Abbreviations Introduction Part One: Reconstruction, Art and Ornament (1945 to 1963) 1. Modernism, Realism and Muralism – the Struggle for Art in Post-fascist Germany 2. The Synthesis of Art and Architecture During the Transition to Industrialized Building Part Two: Developing a Realist Modernism (1959 to 1973) 3. Reconceptualizing the Place of Art in the System-built Environment 4. New Socialist Landscapes and the Building of Halle-Neustadt 5. Innovations in Socialist Public Art in Halle-Neustadt Part Three: From the Monumental to the Unreal (1973–1990) 6. A Space of Pure Possibility: The X. Weltfestspiele and its Impact on Public Art 7. ‘Ultimately, Ordinary People Want to Have a Bit of Kitsch': How Socialist Realism Looked Unreal Conclusion Select Bibliography List of Interviewees Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisReveals how American art in the 1930s—intertwined with the political, social, and economic tumult of an era not so unlike our own—engaged with the public amid global upheaval This publication examines the search for artistic identity in the United States from the stock market crash of 1929 that began the Great Depression to the closure of the Works Progress Administration in 1943 with a focus on the unprecedented dissemination of art and ideas brought about by new technology and government programs. During this time of civil, economic, and social unrest, artists transmitted political ideas and propaganda through a wide range of media, including paintings and sculptures, but also journals, prints, textiles, postcards, and other objects that would have been widely collected, experienced, or encountered. Insightful essays discuss but go beyond the era’s best-known creators, such as Thomas Hart Benton, Walker Evans, Marsden Hartley, and Georgia O’Keeffe, to highlight artists who have received little scholarly attention, including women and artists of color as well as designers and illustrators. Emphasizing the contributions of the Black Popular Front and Leftist movements while acknowledging competing visions of the country through the lenses of race, gender, and class, Art for the Millions is a timely look at art in the United States made by and for its people. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (September 6–December 10, 2023)

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe incredible painting collection of the State Library of New South Wales is documented for the first time.The State Library of New South Wales holds an unrivalled collection of oil paintings. Unlike an art gallery where the focus is usually on aesthetic excellence, the rationale behind the Library's collecting is broad and often eclectic. It features works from artists such as Conrad Martens and John Glover, and others of variable quality, execution and skill, with a range of formats and diversity of subjects that tell us much about Australia.Reading the Rooms reveals this little-known -- but rich and highly significant -- collection. It delivers a fascinating and authoritative account of hundreds of paintings, and a compelling argument for their importance.

Read more less

Book SynopsisVisual Culture, Heritage and Identity: Using Rock Art to Reconnect Past and Present sets out a fresh perspective on rock art by considering how ancient images function in the present. In recent decades, archaeological approaches to rock paintings and engravings have significantly advanced our understanding of rock art in regional and global terms. On the other hand, however, little research has been done on contemporary uses of rock art. How does ancient rock art heritage influence contemporary cultural phenomena? And how do past images function in the present, especially in contemporary art and other media? In the past, archaeologists usually concentrated more on reconstructing the semantic and social contexts of the ancient images. This volume, on the other hand, focuses on how this ancient heritage is recognised and reified in the modern world, and how this art stimulates contemporary processes of cultural identity-making. The authors, who are based all over the world, off er attractive and compelling case studies situated in diverse cultural and geographical contexts.Trade Review'This is a fascinating book that breathes new life into a subject dominated so long by traditional exegetic interpretations of prehistoric rock art which have achieved little collective consensus, although it is fair to say they have advanced our understanding. It is illustrated with beautiful and vibrant images throughout, and its anthropological/ethnoarchaeological approach is highly commended.'—Mark Merrony (2021): ANTIQVVS, Volume 3, Issue 4'The editors are to be congratulated on promoting a relatively new concept in rock art research, namely bridging the philosophical gap between ancient and modern art forms, using anthropology and ethnography to legitimise the past and the way it interacts with the present. The publishers, Archaeopress, should also receive praise for producing such a handsome and colourful publication that truly reflects the beauty and rhetoric of modern (rock) art-making.' – George Nash (2022): Current World Archaeology #111Table of ContentsA Brief Note about the Editors ; Using Rock Art to Reconnect Past and Present: An Introduction – Andrzej Rozwadowski and Jamie Hampson ; Indigenous Art in New Contexts: Inspiration or Appropriation? – Jamie Hampson and Rory Weaver ; The Cave of Altamira and Modern Artistic Creation – Pilar Fatás Monforte ; Joane Cardinal–Schubert: Ancient Contemporary – Alisdair MacRae ; Face to Face with Ancestors: Indigenous Codes in the Contemporary Art of Siberia – Andrzej Rozwadowski and Magdalena Boniec ; Contemporary Views on Rock Art from Within the Frame: Indigenous Cultural Continuity and Artistic Engagement with Rock Art – Marisa Giorgi and Dale Harding ; PalimpsGestures: Rock Art and the Recreation of Body Expression – Lina do Carmo ; In the Name of the Ancestors: Repainted Identities and Land Memories – Laura Teresa Tenti ; Muraycoko Wuyta’a Be Surabudodot / Ibararakat: Rock Art and Territorialization in Contemporary Indigenous Amazonia – the Case of the Munduruku People from the Tapajos River – Jairo Saw Munduruku, Eliano Kirixi Munduruku and Raoni Valle ; Appropriation, Re-Appropriation, Reclamation: The Re-Use of New Zealand’s Most Renowned Māori Rock Art – Gerard O’Regan [Open Access: Download]; Reproduction, Simulation and the Hyperreal: A Case Study of ‘Lascaux III’ 2015–2017 – Robert J. Wallis

Read more less

Book SynopsisOver the past three decades, guidance on the selection of art in hospitals has suggested realistic art that depicts soothing and comforting images such as tranquil waters, green vegetation, flowers, and open spaces. Based on these findings, curators have been cautioned to avoid art with uncertain meaning that risks upsetting viewers in stressful states. However, some hospitals exhibit ambiguous or abstract art and cite anecdotal evidence of its appropriateness for healthcare settings. More recent research is going beyond anecdotal evidence, and indicates that the ambiguity of meaning in abstract compositions can have positive effects. 'Purpose-built' Art in Hospitals is built on an international study of artwork in hospitals around the globe. Exploring 'purpose-built' (specially commissioned) artwork in hospitals through the dual lens of an artist and healthcare professional, Rollins identifies 15 specific 'purposes' of visual artwork in hospitals and presents a compelling case for their use that is grounded in research. The book builds the reader's understanding of the many functions of artwork in hospitals, with the goal of encouraging greater variety in art offerings to better serve the many diverse needs of patients, families, visitors and staff within the hospital environment.Trade Review‘Anyone selecting art for hospitals should study this book, now the most up-to-date and authoritative resource for visual art in healthcare environments, and one that helps to bridge the gap between healthcare architecture and design on the one hand and arts in health on the other.’ -- Hank Hancock, Writer and Editor, Houston, Texas''Purpose-built' Art in Hospitals: Art with Intent is a must-read for anyone interested in the impact of art on healthcare. With its insightful analysis and rich case studies, this book is sure to leave a lasting impression on anyone who reads it.' -- Ty MurphyTable of ContentsChapter 1. The Hospital Experience Chapter 2. Art for Soothing and Comforting Chapter 3. Art for Transcendence Chapter 4. Art for Empathy Chapter 5. Art for Inspiration and Hope Chapter 6. Art for Spirituality Chapter 7. Art for Joy Chapter 8. Art for Interaction Chapter 9. Art for Identity Chapter 10. Art for Messaging Chapter 11. Art for Wayfinding Chapter 12. Art to Build Community Chapter 13. Art to Build Relationships Chapter 14. Art for Dialogue Chapter 15. Art for Remembrance Chapter 16. Art for Museum Encounters Chapter 17. Transforming the Hospital Experience Through Art Chapter 18. Conclusions and Looking Forward

Read more less

Book SynopsisThere have been few times in US American history when the very concept of freedom of speechits promise and its contradictionshas been under greater scrutiny. Guided by acclaimed artist, filmmaker, and activist Amar Kanwar, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School convened a series of public seminars on freedom of speech with the participation of some of the most original thinkers and artists on the topic. Structured as an open curriculum, each seminar examined a particular aspect of freedom of speech, reflecting on and informed by recent debates around hate speech, censorship, sexism, and racism in the US and elsewhere. Studies into Darkness emerges from these seminars as a collection of newly commissioned texts, artist projects, and resources that delve into the intricacies of free speech. Providing a practical and historical guide to free speech discourse and in-depth investigations that extend far beyond the current moment, and featuring poetic responses to the crises present in contemporary culture and society around expression, this publication provocatively questions whether true communication is ever attainable. Contributions by Zach Blas, Mark Bray, Natalie Diaz, Aruna D'Souza, Silvia Federici and Gabriela López Dena, Jeanne van Heeswijk, shawné michaelain holloway, Prathibha Kanakamedala and Obden Mondésir, Amar Kanwar, Carin Kuoni, Lyndon, Debora, and Abou, Svetlana Mintcheva, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Vanessa Place, Laura Raicovich, Michael Rakowitz, Kameelah Janan Rasheed, and Nabiha Syed.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe volume Singular Spaces II completes the comprehensive and groundbreaking study of art environments created by self-taught artists from across Spain, documented by Jo Farb Hernández, director emerita of the world’s most important archives on these monumental sites. It introduces and examines 99 artists and their intriguing and idiosyncratic sculptures, homes, and gardens, most of which have never been thoroughly documented or previously published; the author has cast a wide net to ensure all regions of Spain are represented, as are all kinds of spaces assembled with all kinds of materials. These sites are developed organically, without formal architectural or engineering plans: they are at once evolving and complete. Often highly fanciful and quixotic, the work is frequently characterised by incongruous juxtapositions, the result of a dynamic approach to creation that may appear impulsive and spontaneous. But these artists and their works have much to teach us about the process of creation and also about the confidence to undertake a path radically different from the one they had followed during the prime of their working lives. Hernández combines detailed case studies of the artists and their work with contextualised historical and theoretical references to a broad range of interlocking fields, including art, art history, anthropology, vernacular architecture, Spanish area studies, and folklore, complemented with compelling visuals of each of the artists and their artworks. Breaking down the standard compartmentalisation of genres, she reveals how most creators of art environments, building within their own personal spaces, fuse their creations with their daily life in a way generally unmatched in any other circumstances of making art, thus in the process providing an open self-reflection of their life and concerns. The universality of the need to create, and the issues that are confronted when one does so in a public and non-sanctioned way, are relevant to art and artists worldwide.

Read more less