Theory of art Books
Thames and Hudson Ltd The VA Book of Colour in Design
Book SynopsisA beautifully presented survey of design and the applied arts, explored not by use, material, form or date but by colourThe V&A Book of Colour in Design is attractively simple: a celebration and exploration of colour, as revealed through objects in the world-class collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Structured by colour, it offers fascinating insights into the choices made by designers and makers from across the world and throughout history. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction that considers the history, symbolism, and use of an individual colour. Objects from items of jewelry, textiles, glassware and ceramics to furniture and more are reproduced in a visual selection that explores the varied hues of every colour. However different objects within each section may be in their detail and meaning, they are united by their common colour, revealing surprising connections between them. Throughout, narrative captions bring together disparate items from across the V&A's collection to explore the universal significance of colour in art and design. Beautifully designed, this highly visual, colour-led survey of design and the applied arts is a compelling sourcebook with broad appeal for anyone interested or involved in all aspects of visual culture.
£21.25
Manchester University Press Art and its Global Histories: A Reader
Book SynopsisThe reader Art and its global histories represents an invaluable teaching tool, offering content ranging from academic essays and excerpts, new translations, interviews with curators and artists, to art criticism. The introduction sets out the state of art history today as it undergoes the profound shift of a 'global turn'. Particular focus is given to British India, which represents a shift from the usual attention paid to Orientalism and French art in this period. The sources and debates on this topic have never before been brought together in a satisfactory way and this book will represent a particularly significant and valuable contribution for postgraduate and undergraduate art history teaching.Table of ContentsIntroductionSection One: Confronting Art History: Overviews, Perspectives and Reflections Introduction Critical Approaches1.1 Orientalisma) Edward W. Said, ‘Introduction – Section II’ , Orientalism b) Linda Nochlin, ‘The Imaginary Orient’1.2 Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture a) ‘The Other Question: Stereotype, Discrimination and the Discourse of Colonialism’b) ‘Articulating the Archaic: Cultural Difference and Colonial Nonsense’1.3 New perspectives and approaches in Art Historya) Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, ‘The Geography of Art: Historiography, Issues, and Perspectives’ b) James Elkins, ‘Why Art History is Global’ c) Parul Dave Mukherji, ‘Whither Art History in a Globalizing World’ Section Two: European art and the Wider World c. 1350–1550Introduction Primary Source texts2.1. Europeans describing Amerindian artists in Mexicoa) Allè, Francesco da Bologna, letter sent from Mexico to Padre Clemente Dolera da Moneglia, head of the Order of Conventual Franciscans in Bologna, and other friars of the orderb) Bernal Díaz, The Conquest of New Spainc) Bartolomé de Las Casas, ‘Indian Houses, Featherwork and Silverwork’2.2 Albrecht Dürer, ‘Part II: Diary of a Journey the Netherlands (July, 1520 – July, 1521)', Memoirs of Journeys to Venice and the Low Countries2.3 Sources on proposed work by Leonardo and Michelangelo for the Ottoman Sultansa) Leonardo da Vinci, undated letter to Sultan Bayezid II b) Tommaso di Tolfo in Edirne (in Ottoman Turkey) to Michelangelo in Florencec) Ascanio Condivi, ‘Life of Michelangelo’2.4 Gifts to Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence from the Gifts from Qaytbay, the Mamluk Sultan in Cairoa) L. Landucci, Diario fiorentino dal 1450 al 1516 continuato da un anonimo fino al 1542b) Paolo Giovio, Gli elogi. Vite brevemente scritte d’huomini illustri di guerra, antichi et moderni2.5 Travel Narrativesa) Vasco da Gama, ‘A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497–1499’b) Duarte de Sande, ‘An Excellent Treatise of the Kingdom of China’c) Giovanni da Empoli, extract of a letter to his fatherd) Duarte Barbosa, ‘The Great City of Bisnagua’Critical Approaches2.6 Claire Farago, ‘Reframing the Renaissance Problem Today: Developing a Pluralistic Historical Vision’2.7 Avinoam Shalem, ‘Dangerous Claims On the ‘Othering’ of Islamic Art History and How it Operates within Global Art History’ 2.8 Luca Molà and Marta Ajmar-Wollheim, ‘The Global Renaissance: Cross-Cultural Objects in the Early Modern Period’ 2.9 Jack Goody, ‘The Idea of the Renaissance’Section Three: Art, Commerce and Colonialism: 1600–1800 Introduction Primary Source texts3.1 Johan Huyghen van Linschoten on Goa, from Iohn Huighen van Linschoten. his discours of voyages into ye Easte & West Indies Deuided into foure books3.2 Texts on Colonial Latin American arta) Extract from the First Provincial Council in Lima 1551–52b) Extract from Padre Antonio de Vega Loaiza, Historia del Colegio y Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola en la Ciudad de Cuscoc) Letter from the Viceroy of Peru Manuel Amat y Junyent to Crown official Julián de Arriaga accompanying a shipment of Casta paintings to the collection of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History 1770d) Picture caption by Diego Rivera, from The Arts in Latin America 1492–18203.3 Johann Albrecht von Mandelslo on Amsterdam, from Adam Olearius, The voyages and travells of the ambassadors sent by Frederick, Duke of Holstein, to the Great Duke of Muscovy and the King of Persia…3.4 Texts on Chinoiserie in Britain.a) A catalogue of all the rich and elegant household furniture, …late the property of Her Grace the Duchess of Kingston, deceased…at Thorseby Park…Which will be sold by auction, by Mr. Christie …on Wednesday, 10th June 1789b) Oliver Goldsmith, ‘Letter XIV on Chinoiserie’ in The citizen of the world; or Letters from a Chinese philosopher, residing in London, to his friends in the East 3.5 Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginiaa) 14 Lawsb) Query 19 Colleges, Buildings, Roads, &c.Critical Approaches3.6 Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, ‘Painting of the Kingdoms: A global view of the cultural field’3.7 Benjamin Schmidt, ‘Mapping an Exotic World: The Global Project of Dutch Cartography, circa 1700’ 3.8 David Porter, ‘A Wanton Chase in a Foreign Place: Hogarth and the Gendering of Exoticism in the Eighteenth-Century Interior’3.9 Daniel Maudlin and Bernard L. Herman, ‘Introduction’ in Building the British Atlantic World: Spaces, Places, and Material Culture, 1600–1850 Section Four: Empire and Art: British India Introduction Primary Source texts4.1 Did India have an authentic, truly Indian tradition of fine art? The contentious issue of Gandharan arta) Alexander Cunningham, Archaeological Survey of India. Report for the Year 1871–72, Vol. 3b) Raja Rajendralal Mitra, Indo-Aryans: Contributions Towards the Elucidation of Their Ancient and Mediaeval Historyc) James Fergusson, Archaeology in India, with Special Reference to the Works of Babu Rajendralal Mitrad) Sister Nivedita, ‘Introduction’ in Kakuzo Okakura (ed.) The Ideals of the East with Special Reference to the Art of Japan 4.2 Neo-Orientalism, Nationalism and Pan-Asianisma) E. B. Havell, ‘The New Indian School of Painting’b) Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, ‘The Aim of Indian Art’c) Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, ‘Art of the East and of the West’4.3 Ravi Varma – The first modern Indian Artista) Balendranath Tagore, ‘Ravi Varma’b) Ramananda Chatterjee, ‘Ravi Varma’4.4 The Modern, Internal Primitivism and Hinduizationa) Roger Fry, ‘Oriental Art’b) Vincent A. Smith, A History of Fine Art in India & Ceylon4.5 Authentic Indian Designsa) George Birdwood, The Industrial Arts of India, Part 1b) George Birdwood, The Industrial Arts of India, Part 2c) Thomas Holbein Hendley, ‘Decorative Arts in Rajputana’d) Thomas Holbein Hendley, ‘The Opening of the Albert Hall and Museum in Jeypore’Critical Approaches4.6 Tim Barringer, Geoff Quilley and Douglas Fordham, ‘Introduction’ in Art and the British Empire4.7 Theodore Koditschek, ‘Race Struggles’4.8 Lee Lawrence, ‘The Other Half of Indian Art History: A Study of Photographic Illustrations in Orientalist and Nationalist Texts’4.9 Carol A. Breckenridge, ‘The Aesthetics and Politics of Colonial Collecting: India at World Fairs’4.10 Christopher Pinney, ‘The Material and Visual Culture of British India’Section Five: Art after Empire: From Colonialism to Globalisation Introduction Primary Sources5.1 Modernism and Primitivisma) Maurice de Vlaminck, ‘Discovery of African Art’b) Emil Nolde, ‘On Primitive Art’c) Andre Breton et al., ‘Murderous Humanitarianism’5.2 Mexican Muralismd) David Alfaro Siqueiros, ‘A Declaration of Social, Political and Aesthetic Principles’e) Interview with Alberto Hijar Serrano, Researcher of Plastic Arts of the National Institute of Fine ArtsCritical Approaches5.3 Terry Smith, ‘The Provincialism Problem’5.4 Stuart Hall, ‘Museums of Modern Art and the End of History’ 5.5 Okwui Enwezor, ‘The Postcolonial Constellation: Contemporary Art is a State of Permanent Transition’5.6 Chin-Tao Wu, ‘Biennials without Borders’5.7 Hito Steyerl, ‘Politics of Art: Contemporary Art and the Transition to Post-Democracy'Index
£17.99
Verso Books Portraits: John Berger on Artists
Book SynopsisJohn Berger, one of the world's most celebrated storytellers and writers on art, tells a personal history of art from the prehistoric paintings of the Chauvet caves to 21st century conceptual artists. Berger presents entirely new ways of thinking about artists both canonized and obscure, from Rembrandt to Henry Moore, Jackson Pollock to Picasso. Throughout, Berger maintains the essential connection between politics, art and the wider study of culture. The result is an illuminating walk through many centuries of visual culture, from one of the contemporary world's most incisive critical voices.Trade ReviewJohn Berger's "Portraits" is among the greatest books on art I've ever read. -- Zadie Smith * New York Times *A volume whose breadth and depth bring it close to a definitive self-portrait of one of Britain's most original thinkers -- Financial TimesPerhaps the greatest living writer on art . reminds us just how insufficient most art commentary is these days . an indispensible guide to understanding art from cave painting to today's experimenters. -- Spectator [Books of the Year]In this extraordinary new book, John Berger embarks on a process of re-discovery and re-figuring of history through the visual narratives given to us by portraiture. Berger's ability for storytelling is both incisive and intriguing. He is one of the greatest writers of our time. -- Hans Ulrich Obrist, author of 'Ways of Curating'Berger's art criticism transcends its genre to become a very rare thing-literature * The Nation *Berger is a writer one demands to know more about ... an intriguing and powerful mind and talent. * New York Times *Much of his best critical prose appears in [this] chunky volume * Economist *
£12.50
Basic Books The Art Spirit
Book SynopsisEmbodying the entire system of Robert Henri''s teaching, The Art Spirit contains much valuable advice, critical comment, and inspiration to every student of the arts.
£15.29
Thames & Hudson Ltd The Shock of the New Art and the Century of
Book SynopsisAn illustrated 100-year history of modern art, from cubism to pop and avant-guard. .Trade Review'Robert Hughes is the best of guides, enthusiastic, astringent … neither smug nor condescending' - Observer'Teeming with ideas … an enormously enjoyable account of the state of play between art and society' - The Times'Takes the stuffing out of the subject where and when it can' - The Spectator'A genuine landmark, presenting the story of 20th-century art with unparalleled immediacy' - Elle Decoration
£28.00
Penguin Books Ltd The Futurist Cookbook
Book SynopsisPart manifesto, part artistic joke, Fillippo Marinetti''s Futurist Cookbook is a provocative work about art disguised as an easy-to-read cookbook. Here are recipes for ice cream on the moon; candied atmospheric electricities; nocturnal love feasts; sculpted meats. Marinetti also sets out his argument for abolishing pasta as ill-suited to modernity, and advocates a style of cuisine that will increase creativity. Although at times betraying its author''s nationalistic sympathies, The Futurist Cookbook is funny, provocative, whimsical, disdainful of sluggish traditions and delighted by the velocity and promise of modernity.Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was born in 1876 to Italian parents and grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. He studied in Paris and obtained a law degree in Italy before turning to literature. In 1909 he wrote the infamous Futurist Manifesto, which championed violence, speed and war, and proclaimed the unity of art and life. Marinetti''s life was fraTrade ReviewA paean to sensual freedom, optimism and childlike, amoral innocence ... it has only once been answered, by Aldous Huxley's Brave New World -- Lesley Chamberlain
£9.49
Frances Lincoln Queer Art
Book Synopsis
£21.25
Hodder & Stoughton The Art of Creative Thinking
Book SynopsisA scuba diving company faces bankruptcy because sharks have infested the area. Solution? Open the world''s first extreme diving school.The Art of Creative Thinking reveals how we can transform ourselves, our businesses and our society through a deeper understanding of human creativity. Rod Judkins, lecturer at the world-famous St Martin''s College of Art, has studied successful creative thinkers from every walk of life, throughout history. Drawing on an extraordinary range of reference points - from the Dada Manifesto to Nobel Prize Winning economists, from Andy Warhol''s studio to Einstein''s desk - he distils a lifetime''s expertise into a succinct, surprising book that will inspire you to think more confidently and creatively.You''ll realise why you should be happy when your train is cancelled; meet the most successful class in educational history (in which every single student won a Nobel prize); discover why graphic nudity during pubTrade ReviewThis is a must-read for aspiring artists and creatives everywhere. * Mumsnet *
£10.44
Hauser & Wirth Phyllida Barlow: Collected Lectures, Writings and
Book SynopsisAlongside her career as an artist, Phyllida Barlow CBE RA has written, taught, lectured, and been the subject of numerous interviews. This book brings together 50 texts by Barlow - a diverse array of prose, presentations, reflections on artists, and conversations with art-world luminaries, critics, and fellow artists.
£26.25
Whitechapel Gallery Walking
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Thames and Hudson Ltd Those Passions
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£32.00
Headline Publishing Group A Little Book About Art
Book SynopsisArt should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable... - Cesar A. CruzAcross the centuries, art has held up a mirror to humanity''s evolving culture and creativity. Ancient civilizations left us mysterious sculptures while Renaissance artists produced iconic masterpieces. The Impressionists captured fleeting moments of beauty, while the Surrealists explored dreams and the subconscious. In recent decades, artists such as Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock and Banksy have embraced new mediums and pushed artistic boundaries even further.Brimming with fabulous quotes, this little book offers a window into the minds of some of the world''s most admired artists and thinkers - and is a vibrant celebration of the evolution of art through the ages.Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. - Ai Weiwei
£6.99
Quarto Publishing PLC The Art of Darkness
Book SynopsisS. Elizabeth curates a sourcebook of more than 200 artworks inspired and informed by the morbid, melancholic and macabre.Table of ContentsIntroduction: In Praise of Shadow PART ONE It’s All in Your Mind I. Dreams & Nightmares II. Psychological Distress III. Whispers from the Void PART TWO The Human Condition IV. Ailments & Afflictions V. Depravity & Destruction VI. Matters of Mortality PART THREE The World Around Us VII. Darkness in Bloom VIII. Where the Wild Things Are IX. Mysterious Landscapes, Ruins & Ravaged Places PART FOUR Visions from Beyond X. Gods & Monsters XI. The Restless Dead & Other Eerie Entities XII. Dark Arts & Forbidden Mysteries Further reading Index Picture credits Acknowledgements
£18.70
Phaidon Press Ltd Art as Therapy
Book SynopsisTwo authorities on popular culture reveal the ways in which art can enhance mood and enrich lives - now available in paperbackTrade Review'A cultural cure for what ails you.' – Elle'A highly optimistic vision... Roams widely through subjects as immense as love, nature, money and politics. De Botton and Armstrong's examination of love is most rewarding.' – Royal Academy of Arts'Massages the mind in all the right places.' – Vanity Fair'...Like going back to college, but in a good way... A little bit like dipping in to a modern day Gombrich albeit through the eyes of Oprah... A really entertaining and thought-provoking look at the role that art plays – or could play – in our lives. [...] Part philosophy, part art history, the book takes work that is considered by many to be lofty and rarified, and relates it to our everyday lives. [Art as Therapy] makes the reader consider the work far more intensely and deeply than perhaps we otherwise would.' – A Little Bird'A true meditation on the power art has to transform our lives.' – The Mayfair Magazine'The beautifully designed and illustrated book, Art as Therapy argues for a new way of using art to help us with a variety of psychological ills.' – The School of Life
£13.46
Profile Books Ltd Living the Artist's Way: An Intuitive Path to
Book Synopsis'Without The Artist's Way, there would be no Eat, Pray, Love' - ELIZABETH GILBERT WATKINS TOP 100 MOST SPIRITUALLY INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2023 How can we tap into the wisdom inside ourselves? LIVING THE ARTIST'S WAY is a Six-Week Artist's Way Program that explores the fourth essential Artist's Way tool of guidance. Bestselling author Julia Cameron has inspired millions through creative recovery with her essential tools including Morning Pages, Artist Dates, Walks, and now, Writing for Guidance. Through the practice of morning rituals and the faith of listening, Julia takes us further and shows how we can set the stage to receive guidance in both our lives and creative art. Writing about how she uses these tools to handle doubts in her life, Living the Artist's Way reveals a personal side and shares Julia's pathway toward a happier, lighter life. Grounding and reassuring, guidance can quell our doubts and fears, and lead us to our inner wisdom and authentic selves. Living the Artist's Way is an invitation to seek the answers to navigate all areas of our lives, by tapping into our own wisdom and ultimately, guiding ourselves back to creativity.Trade ReviewPRAISE FOR JULIA CAMERON * : *The queen of change * New York Times *A lifelong creative and the queen of morning routines * The Cut *Julia Cameron invented the way people renovate the creative soul * New York Times *PRAISE FOR THE ARTIST'S WAY * : *I absolutely love this book ... It's a really good starting point to discover what lights you up -- Emma GannonCameron's morning pages have shaped the lives of millions of others * Guardian *Want to write that novel? That play? This is the book -- Lemn SissayIt completely changed my life -- Kerry WashingtonSo inspiring -- Reese WitherspoonWithout The Artist's Way, there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love -- Elizabeth GilbertIt's a big dog book ... [morning pages] gets all the gunk out of my head so that I can just start afresh and focus on whatever is in front of me -- Michaela CoelIt's a great tool for any type of creative person. I've given away so many copies -- Tayari JonesUnlock your inner creativity and ease your anxiety * Daily Telegraph *I talk about this book all the time - I use quotes from it when I interview people, I use techniques from it to improve how I work, I'm pretty obsessed with the book, I've read it twice, it's amazing -- Fearne CottonIf you have always wanted to pursue a creative dream, have always wanted to play and create with words or paints, this book will gently get you started -- Anne LamottI never wrote until I started The Artist's Way ... Being introduced to that book, over 20 years ago, really changed my life -- Billy PorterCameron wants you to have a serious think about what you really want from your life * The Times *If there's a key takeaway from Julia Cameron's cult book The Artist's Way, it's morning pages: the daily practice of three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing done first thing in the morning. Many writers and artists swear by them * AnOther Magazine *Everything creative I've done has led from the freedom this book gave me. This book truly changed the path my life was taking [and] I still go back to it when I feel stuck -- Cariad Lloyd, host of Griefcast and author of You Are Not AloneIt's absolutely incredible -- Naomie Harris OBE
£17.09
Wooden Books Symmetry: The Ordering Principle
Book SynopsisWhy on earth do cars have the same symmetry as dragonflies? Is there really a beautiful swirling pattern lurking in every dripping tap? What do insect eggs have in common with planets, and why? In this exquisite book, the smallest and most concise ever produced, designer David Wade introduces the main principles of symmetry, and shows how, despite opinions over exactly what it is, symmetry can be found in almost every corner of science, nature and human culture. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.Trade Review"Small books, Big ideas" THE TIMES. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely Mind-Expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Music to the Eye" NEW YORK TIMES. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Engaging and Accessible" SEATTLE TIMES.
£8.18
MIT Press Ltd The Design Way Intentional Change in an
Book SynopsisA book that lays out the fundamental concepts of design culture and outlines a design-driven way to approach the world.Humans did not discover fire—they designed it. Design is not defined by software programs, blueprints, or font choice. When we create new things—technologies, organizations, processes, systems, environments, ways of thinking—we engage in design. With this expansive view of design as their premise, in The Design Way Harold Nelson and Erik Stolterman make the case for design as its own culture of inquiry and action. They offer not a recipe for design practice or theorizing but a formulation of design culture''s fundamental core of ideas. These ideas—which form “the design way”—are applicable to an infinite variety of design domains, from such traditional fields as architecture and graphic design to such nontraditional design areas as organizational, educational, interaction, and healthcare design.The text
£20.00
Canongate Books The Story of Looking
Book SynopsisIn The Story of Looking, Mark Cousins takes us on a lightning-bright tour - in words and images - through how our looking selves develop over the course of a lifetime, and the ways that looking has changed over the centuries. From great works of art to holiday photos, from cityscapes to cinema, through science and history, protest and propaganda, and the refusal to look, this book illuminates how we construct as well as receive the things we see.Trade ReviewA wide-ranging history of looking . . . you will gaze at it in wonder * * Guardian * *A history of the human gaze . . . Illuminating . . . Roams freely across history, art, film, photography, science and technology . . . Indispensable as a reference book * * Observer * *Bloody genius -- CHRISTOPHER DOYLEIntriguing and beautiful . . . [A] gloriously haphazard intellectual scrapbook . . . Wide-ranging, deep-seeing and clever * * Scotland on Sunday * *An attempt to catalogue how and why we look, what we look at and how our social and cultural surroundings shape what we see . . . the result is, by turns, learned, often surprising . . . Fascinating * * Glasgow Sunday Herald, Arts Books of the Year * *Brilliant . . . His taste is eclectic and his judgments precise and persuasive * * New York Times * *Extraordinary . . . Visually ensnaring and intellectually lithe * * Telegraph on The Story of Film * *Dazzling in its breadth and intelligence . . . A hugely impressive work by a uniquely talented storyteller * * Guardian on A Story of Children and Film * *
£17.00
Profile Books Ltd The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative
Book Synopsis'Julia Cameron invented the way people renovate the creative soul' - New York Times ONE OF THE WATKINS TOP 100 MOST SPIRITUALLY INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2023 The Artist's Way has uncovered the potential of millions of people. International bestselling author Julia Cameron uses her experience and world-renowned techniques as a creativity coach to challenge her readers to go deeper within themselves and open up wider horizons. Featuring inspiring essays on the creative process and more than 100 imaginative, engaging and energising tasks for authentic growth, renewal and healing, The Vein of Gold takes readers on a 'journey to the heart of creativity' through seven kingdoms. Whether you are already actively pursuing a creative enterprise or are just beginning to nurture your own creativity, this powerful book provides the innovative and practical tools for mining the vein of gold within you.Trade ReviewThe queen of change * New York Times *Without The Artist's Way, there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love -- Elizabeth GilbertPRAISE FOR THE ARTIST'S WAY -- :I absolutely love this book ... It's a really good starting point to discover what lights you up -- Emma GannonJulia Cameron invented the way people renovate the creative soul * New York Times *I picked this book up for the first time when I was twenty-one years old. It completely changed my life. I did it again ten years ago and the impact was again life-altering. Something in my soul was stirring me to come back to it. So ... here we go ... I'm excited to meet myself on this path again -- Kerry WashingtonCameron wants you to have a serious think about what you really want from your life * The Times *Unlock your inner creativity and ease your anxiety * Daily Telegraph *So inspiring -- Reese WitherspoonCameron is simply encouraging her readers to be a bit more open, more patient, and kinder to themselves * New Yorker *This is a book that addresses a delicate and complex subject. For those who will use it, it is a valuable tool to get in touch with their own creativity -- Martin ScorseseThe book that made a real impact on me is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. My friend [actress and comedian] Sophie Willan recommended it to me years ago, and I still have it on my desk. It enables anyone to tap into their creative self regardless of themselves - we often get in our own way when trying to achieve. Want to write that novel? That play? This is the book. -- Lemn SissayThe Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is my favourite book -- Precious Lee * Vogue *Everything creative I've done has led from the freedom this book gave me. This book truly changed the path my life was taking [and] I still go back to it when I feel stuck. -- Cariad Lloyd, host of Griefcast and author of You Are Not Alone
£17.09
Verso Books Investigative Aesthetics: Conflicts and Commons
Book SynopsisToday, artists are engaged in investigation. They probe corruption, state violence, environmental destruction and repressive technologies. At the same time, fields not usually associated with aesthetics make powerful use of it. Journalists and legal professionals pore over open source videos and satellite imagery to undertake visual investigations. This combination of diverse fields is what the authors call "investigative aesthetics": mobilising sensibilities often associated with art, architecture and other such practices to find new ways of speaking truth to power.This book draws on theories of knowledge, ecology and technology, evaluates the methods of citizen counter-forensics, micro-history and art, and examines radical practices such as those of Wikileaks, Bellingcat, and Forensic Architecture. Investigative Aesthetics takes place in the studio and the laboratory, the courtroom and the gallery, online and in the streets, as it strives towards the construction of a new 'common sensing'.The book is an inspiring introduction to a new field that brings together investigation and aesthetics to change how we understand and confront power today.To Nour Abuzaid for your brilliance, perseverance, and unshaken belief in the liberation of Palestine.Trade ReviewThe most astonishing book on architecture that I have read in years. -- Edwin Heathcote, Financial Times * [for Hollow Land] *A masterpiece of political analysis. -- James Ron, The Nation * [for Hollow Land] *Weizman boldly attempts to create an entirely new method to conceptualize the relationship between surfaces, movement, and the tools of war -- Achille Mbembe * [for Hollow Land] *Eyal Weizman's work has become an indispensable source of both insight and guidance in these difficult times -- Paul GilroyWeizman continues to offer daring social and political commentary, questioning taken-for-granted structures and processes that perpetuate oppression and violence -- Legacy Russell, BOMB Magazine * [For The Least of All Possible Evils] *A fascinating treatise on how our political world functions today and how we might seek to interrupt it. -- Jack Smurthwaite * Art Monthly *Expansive ... [Fuller and Weizman] explore sense and sense-making in its fullest political terms: understanding the systemic forces of capitalism as well as an individual's sense of morality. -- Chris Hayes * Tribune *Sharp ... [Investigative Aesthetics] is invaluable as a hyper-aesthetic object itself. -- Michael Eby * Los Angeles Review of Books *Aesthetics is a battleground, a contested space; Investigative Aesthetics is part battle-plan or tactical guide and, more fundamentally, part user's manual for surviving this beautiful and terrifying world. -- Mark Rappolt * ArtReview *An undeviating announcement of the subversive potential of contemporary aesthetic practices. -- Lawrence Abu Hamdan * The White Review, Books of the Year 2021 *
£14.24
Hirmer Verlag All the Beauty at Hand: A Brief History of Hirmer
Book SynopsisThis attractively designed publication documents the work of Hirmer Verlag during the past 65 years. Since 1948 a total of over 1,100 titles have appeared under this brand name. True to the motto “Art books that set standards,” the publishers have always worked in the service of art, upholding their determination to maintain the very highest quality. A book about those who make books and those who sell them, about book art and art books, about partnership with museums and loyalty to authors.
£12.56
Frances Lincoln Elements of Art
Book SynopsisThe Elements of Art deconstructs great works of art into manageable components so that you can better understand and appreciate them.Knowing how to interpret art is one of the biggest issues facing casual gallery-goers. They may ask themselves questions like: Why is the Mona Lisa so small? Why are some frames gilded in gold while others are non-existent? What can the use of material say about a work, whether it’s an oil painting, collage or made of found objects? And does the life of the artist matter?This book answers all of these questions and more and introduces the key elements with which you can analyze and better understand artwork. From color, medium and size to where the piece is situated, and the artist who made it, you’ll learn what’s important and what’s not so important.The book includes two parts: Part One introduces the elements using examples from throughout art histo
£14.39
Laurence King Publishing Fundamentals of Art History
Book SynopsisThis invaluable guide enables students to get the most from their art history course. Written in an accessible style, the book introduces two basic art historical methods - formal analysis and contextual analysis. In this new edition revising author Michael Cothren has extended the discussion on iconography and iconology, as well as adding discussions on the effects of the market and museums on art. Greater emphasis is placed on the global and multicultural aspects of art creation and analysis with new images and more case studies. There is more step-by-step guidance on how to use these methods to prepare for exams and write papers.
£11.69
Hatje Cantz Verlag GmbH András Szántó. The Future of the Art World. 40 Dialogues
£24.48
HENI Publishing Wish You Were Here
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£11.69
3DTotal Publishing Ltd Artists Master Series Perspective Depth
Book SynopsisThis third title in the highly popular Artist Master Series from 3dtotal Publishing offers a comprehensive guide to using perspective and depth successfully in your art, with direction from world-class artists. As an established authority on art and design with a growing stable of high-calibre artist-authors, 3dtotal Publishing is uniquely placed to produce Artists’ Master Series. Launched in 2021 with Artists’ Master Series: Color & Light, and followed up by Artists’ Master Series: Composition & Narrative, the series reaches its third volume with an exciting and considered analysis of the theories of perspective and depth within art. No matter what medium you work in, this combination can be the driving force that elevates art from “good” to “world-class”. This book takes these fundamentals and pushes them to an advanced level of understanding and application. To achieve this ambitious brief, a select few, hugely
£28.80
University of California Press Art and Visual Perception Second Edition
Book SynopsisTrade Review"In The Ego and the Id Freud argued that a cogent thought process, to say nothing of conscious intellectual work, could not exist amidst the unruliness of visual experience. Over the last half century in a sequence of landmark books, Rudolf Arnheim has not only shown us how wrong that is, he has parsed the grammar of form with uncanny acuity and taught us how to read it." - Jonathan Fineburg, author of Art since 1940: Strategies of Being"
£25.20
Wooden Books Curves: Flowers, Foliates & Flourishes in The
Book SynopsisWhy are curves important? What are the secrets of ornamentation? How do you create an invisible repeat in a fabric or wallpaper design? Does a hidden geometry inform these free-flowing floral compositions? In this beautiful pocket book, packed with rare illustrations and helpful diagrams, artist Lisa DeLong demonstrates the time-honoured techniques behind the use of curves and plant forms in the traditional visual arts. From ironwork to illuminated manuscripts, this is an inspirational book.
£7.59
Abrams The Art of Dying
Book Synopsis
£18.69
Dorling Kindersley Ltd How Art Works
Book Synopsis
£17.09
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Performance Drawing
Book SynopsisWhat is performance drawing'? When does a drawing turn into a performance? Is the act of drawing in itself a performative process, whether a viewer is present or not? Through conversation, interviews and essays, the authors illuminate these questions, and what it might mean to perform, and what it might mean to draw, in a diverse and expressive contemporary practice since 1945. The term performance drawing' first appeared in the subtitle of Catherine de Zegher's Drawing Papers 20: Performance Drawings, in particular with reference to Alison Knowles and Elena del Rivero. In this book, it is used as a trope, and a thread of thinking, to describe a process dedicated to broadening the field of drawing through resourceful practices and cross-disciplinary influence. Featuring a wide range of international artists, this book presents pioneering practitioners, alongside current and emerging artists. The combination of experiences and disciplines in the expanded field Trade ReviewA valuable historical primer that examines key examples of performance drawing from the last half-century and challenges established definitions and categorisations. The authors draw a picture of the changing boundaries between art forms, showing how the blurred lines between artistic disciplines are the product of an active performative process. In addition to practitioners, this should be read by anyone interested in emerging art practices. * Malcolm Cook, Associate Professor in Film, University of Southampton, UK *Performance Drawing represents a highly developed record of practice-based research, tracing the developments in contemporary drawing, building on precedents that have led to emerging trends. It analyzes the radical departure from the acceptance of drawing as a canonical medium based on mark-making on two-dimensional surfaces, into real space towards performance, light projections, film and the use of new technologies. The texts brilliantly place all these developments into a clearly articulated context. * Therese Bolliger, artist, Canada *While narrative forms of drawing have found favor through numerous exhibitions and publications world-wide, drawing as an inherently process-driven performative event is still lacking accessible comprehensive theoretical research. Bridging two centuries of contemporary practice, Performance Drawing will fill a huge gap for artists, teachers, scholars and art publics. * François Morelli, Concordia University, Canada *Table of ContentsForeword Preface 1. Marking: Line and Body in Time and Space 2. Physicality: Running as Drawing 3. Communicating: Directives and/or Instructions that Promote the Activity of Drawing 4. Conjuring: the Gift of a Surprise 5. Illuminating: Live Mark Making Through Projected Light Conclusion Bibliography
£26.59
Hodder & Stoughton Monsters
Book Synopsis''Funny, lively and convivial... how rare and nourishing this sort of roaming thought is and what a joy to read'' MEGAN NOLAN, SUNDAY TIMES''An exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life'' JENNY OFFILL''Monsters is extraordinary - engaging, enraging, provocative, and brilliant'' ANN PATCHETTA passionate, provocative and blisteringly smart interrogation of how we experience art in the age of #MeToo, and whether we can separate an artist''s work from their biography.What do we do with the art of monstrous men? Can we love the work of Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, Hemingway and Picasso? Should we love it? Does genius deserve special dispensation? What makes women artists monstrous? And what should we do with beauty, and with our unruly feelings about it?Claire Dederer explores these questions and our relationshipTrade ReviewWhat a treat it is: funny, lively and convivial, constantly in argument with itself . . . Dederer's tone and willingness to be wrong and confused, along with her seductive, intimate style, bring the subject to new life . . . how rare and nourishing this sort of roaming thought is and what a joy to read. How moving, too, the underpinning adoration that allows the difficult questions to be asked. You are left wishing Dederer would apply her generous mind to every other niggling unfinished hang-up that haunts our culture -- Megan Nolan * Sunday Times *In a world that wants you to think less - that wants, in fact, to do your thinking for you - Monsters is that rare work, beyond a book, that reminds you of your sentience. It's wise and bold and full of the kind of gravitas that might even rub off -- Lisa TaddeoPersonal, open-hearted and intellectually playful -- 50 of this year's best non-fiction books * The Times *Witty and conversational . . . It's a book full of the nuance that the cancel culture debate so often lacks -- *Books of the Year* * The Times *Enthralling, challenging and downright unsettling . . . smart and provocative . . . Monsters is a vital book for our times, and it offers so much rich food for thought -- Martin Chilton * Independent *Thrilling * Observer *A properly honest and passionate book that will help set this debate alive -- Andrew Marr * New Statesman *An exhilarating, shape-shifting exploration of the perilous boundaries between art and life. This timely book inhabits both the marvellous and the monstrous with generosity and wit -- Jenny OffillExhilarating -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *Excellent . . . Frank . . . A work of deep thought and self-scrutiny that honors the impossibility of the book's mission -- Melissa Febos * The New Yorker *Monsters is an incredible book, the best work of criticism I have read in a very long time. It's thrillingly sharp, appropriately doubtful, and more fun than you would believe, given the pressing seriousness of the subject matter. Claire Dederer's mind is a wonder, her erudition too; I now want her to apply them to everything I'm interested in so I can think about them differently -- Nick HornbyA hot and urgent monologue structured around a problem without a solution . . . The conclusion to this immersive and doubtlessly important book is both tentative and bold -- Frances Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *Part memoir, part treatise, and all treat . . . nimble, witty . . . her exquisitely reasoned vindication of Lolita brought tears to my eyes . . . This is a book that looks boldly down the cliff of roiling waters below and jumps right in, splashes around playfully, isn't afraid to get wet. How refreshing * New York Times *A timely interrogation of the eternal question: can you separate the art from the artist? It showed me my bookshelves, my record collection, the pictures and films I love - even myself - in a new, unflinching light. I'm pressing it into the hands of everyone I know. -- Erin Kelly, author of The Skeleton KeyNuanced and exploratory . . . With verve and empathy, she asks if we can - if we should - separate the work from the biography -- Suzanne Harrington * Irish Independent *Humming with originality, clarity and humour . . . The book's questions might be zeitgeisty, but it is far more satisfying than the circular arguments about cancel culture that abound in Twitter threads. It sketches a Venn diagram of creativity and depravity before plunging into its intersection - dangerous water, but one I emerged from reinvigorated . . . * i News *Dederer asks, with witty self-deprecation, how we should respond to art from artists guilty of morally squalid deeds . . . Instead of rushing to the barricades of ongoing culture wars, Dederer offers - and enacts - a way of thinking that acknowledges the ever growing diversity of intellectual and moral life -- Pankaj Mishra, summer reads * Guardian *Sane and nuanced - even refreshingly brave. This is no dry compendium of intellectual arguments about artistic meaning, but rather an emotional journey through audience experience told with engaging chattiness from an insider's perspective -- Kathleen Stock * The Times *An incredibly nuanced and human work -- Barry Pierce * Big Issue *In this book you may not find the answer, but you will find heaps of wit and wisdom - on monsters, victims, hate, love, and the big grey area in between -- Chloë Ashby * Spectator *Clever and provocative * Daily Telegraph *A lively, personal exploration of how one might think about the art of those who do bad things . . . It's such a pleasure to stretch out in a big, nuanced conversation about a topic that can be so easily flattened into wrong and right, good and bad; it's a pleasure to be asked to think * Vanity Fair *Dederer's exploration offers up no easy answers, but the journey is never less than illuminating -- Summer holiday reads * Guardian *Monsters is a dazzling book . . . If you too love the work of Polanski - or Picasso, Hemingway, Allen, Davis, and so on - sticking with Dederer on her curlicued journey might be the best gift you can give yourself. The final chapter feels its way toward a conclusion that burns clean, though it hurts a little too -- Stephanie Zacharek * Time *Vital, exhilarating . . . Although Dederer has done her homework, her style is breezy and confessional . . . Monsters leaves us with Dederer's passionate commitment to the artists whose work most matters to her, and a framework to address these questions about the artists who matter most to us * Washington Post *An exciting read . . . I was shaken to my core * Los Angeles Times *Perceptive and engaging * ArtReview *Monsters is both a nimble exploration of fan culture and a spirited call to action -- Ruth Madievsky * GQ *A blisteringly erudite and entertaining read. Dederer holds the moral ambiguity of her subject matter, landing her arguments with precision and flair. It's a book that deserves to be widely read and will provoke many conversations -- Nathan FilerDederer provides a fascinating new way of looking at how the work and lives of problematic artists are bound together. She poses so many topical questions, plays with so many pertinent ideas, that I'm still thinking about this book long after I finished -- Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled GroundConversational, clear and bold without being strident . . . Dederer showcases her critical acumen . . . In this age of moral policing, Ms. Dederer's instincts to approach such material with an open mind - and heart - are laudable * Wall Street Journal *An invigorating, engrossing, and deeply intelligent book. By guiding us through her critical dilemmas, Dederer performs an act of generosity: she allows the reader the space and encouragement to interrogate their own beliefs. Monsters made me laugh, argue, tear up, and most importantly, think -- Julia May Jonas, author of VladimirExcellent. Erudite and unpretentious, ruthlessly honest, a searching self portrait as well as moral inventory of good artists doing bad things -- Stephanie Danler, author of SweetbitterThoughtful -- Susie Goldsbrough * The Times *Punchy and sharp . . . Exploring her own relationship to art made by shitty men, the book moves beyond tedious cancel culture discourse to interrogate ethics, art and fandom with nuance and compassion -- Katie Goh, Books to be excited for in 2023 * i-D *The book is tangled and fascinating, chasing down arguments and questions that can't always be easily resolved. Dederer's shrewd, vivid descriptions of movies and books suggest just how much they mean to her and how deeply any sacrifices on the altar of contemporary sexual ethics might cut * Slate *[Dederer] just keeps getting better and smarter . . . it's absolutely exhilarating to read the work of someone so willing to crumple up her own argument like a piece of paper, throw it away and start anew. She's constantly challenging her own assumptions, more than willing to find flaws in her own thinking * San Francisco Chronicle *I flat-out admire her book and want to share it with my students. As a thinker, Dederer is smart, informed, nuanced and very funny -- Maureen Corrigan, NPR Fresh AirThe rare polemic that's full of greedy love for the good stuff in this world, Monsters is an expansion of Dederer's instant classic Paris Review essay from 2017, 'What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men.' With a larger canvas, she lets both her cast of monsters and our culpability grow, and manages to one-up herself over and over again. Cooly pensive on an overheated subject, Dederer writes powerfully about art's ability to move us, teach us, and entrap us * Bustle *Monsters is like having the best version of the "good art by bad people" conversation. Dederer writes like your wisest, most compassionate friend, helping to guide you to your own thoughts and generously offering her own. I loved it -- Lizzy Stewart, author of AlisonSlyly funny, emotionally honest, and full of raw passion, Claire Dederer's important book about what to do when artists you love do things you hate breaks new ground, making a complex cultural conversation feel brand new. Monsters elegantly takes on far more than 'cancel culture' - it offers new insights into love, ambition, and what it means to be an artist, a citizen, and a human being -- Ada Calhoun, author of Also a PoetShe asks important questions . . . Subtle and adroit * The Atlantic *Dauntless, cannily reasoned and barn-burning . . . Monsters isn't just the book that art-loving feminists have been waiting for; it's the book that anyone determined to live an intentional life owes it to themselves to read * Shelf-Awareness *Nuanced and incisive . . . Dederer's candid appraisal of her own relationship with troubling artists and the lucidity with which she explores what it means to love their work open fresh ways of thinking about problematic artists. Contemplative and willing to tackle the hard questions head on, this pulls no punches * Publishers Weekly *Sharp and unflinching . . . In Monsters, Dederer produces an entirely original and self-aware contemplation on the psychological reverberations of living in a biographical age * AnOther *Bringing erudition, emotion, and a down-to-earth style to this pressing problem, Dederer presents her finest work to date * Kirkus Reviews *While Dederer sets out to write about the art of monsters, she ended up writing about what it means to be human -- Camille Sojit Pejcha * Document Journal *Monsters has crystalline intellectual force . . . Dederer has fashioned a book of depth and candor about what it is to be heartbroken by an artist whose work we also happen to love . . . So on point is Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma about the historical moment in which we currently find ourselves, you want to carry it around with you and whip it out at every bar or dinner party -- Tom Shone * Avenue Magazine *Smart * People *Spectacular . . . A work of pop-culture criticism that's fun to read, Monsters will for sure help us have deeper conversations around the perennial question of whether it's possible and OK to separate the work from the art and what it really means to be a fan. This is a book we plan to return to again and again - and to press on all our friends * Apple.com *Monsters is a good companion, working away at the problem from various perspectives, always explaining patiently what it is trying to do and keeping it interesting by participating more energetically than just steepling the fingers * Strong Words *Smart and engaging, never dogmatic or pious, I loved this. -- David NichollsDespite the heavy subject matter, Monsters is neither rant nor sermon. Dederer is not only an incisive researcher and writer, she's also conversational, approachable and funny . . . Monsters is a worthy addition to contemporary literary criticism, but more than that, it's a very enjoyable book about a thorny, elusive subject * BookPage *Profoundly cathartic. The book feels simultaneously like having the deepest, artiest conversation with the smartest people you know and like having an intense shit-talking session with your closest friends * Alta *
£17.00
Hatje Cantz Skin in the Game: Conversations on Risk and
Book SynopsisNo Going Back Skin in the Game follows on from the acclaimed fieldwork diary, The Metabolic Museum. In this new book written in a conversational style, Clémentine Deliss expands on how artists today understand the creativity to be found in historical research collections. Questions are raised on how to work with contentious collections, the law from the perspective of Indigenous artists, and the concept of the “prototype” that defines an artist’s career. Deliss speaks with leading women artists—Ruth Buchanan, Otobong Nkanga, Collier Schorr, Rosemarie Trockel, Joëlle Tuerlincx, and Andrea Zittel—, about their moment of “skin in the game,” when they knew there was no going back, and that art practice would become their Hades and paradise in one. What was the prototype that defined their practice and that like a revenant returns over the course of an artist’s lifetime?
£20.40
Vintage Publishing The Power of Art
Book Synopsis* 'Great art has dreadful manners...' Simon Schama observes at the start of his epic exploration of the power, and whole point, of art. 'The hushed reverence of the gallery can fool you into believing masterpieces are polite things, visions that soothe, charm and beguile, but actually they are thugs. Merciless and wily, the greatest paintings grab you in a headlock, rough up your composure and then proceed in short order to re-arrange your sense of reality...' * With the same disarming force, Power of Art jolts us far from the comfort zone of the hushed art gallery, as Schama closes in on intense make-or-break turning points in the lives of eight great artists who, under extreme stress, created something unprecedented, altering the course of art for ever. * The embattled heroes - Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso and Rothko - faced crisis with steadfast defiance. The masterpieces they created challenged convention, shattered complacency, shifted awareness and changed the way we look at the world. With powerfully vivid story-telling, Schama explores the dynamic personalities of the artists and the spirit of the times they lived through, capturing the flamboyant theatre of bourgeois life in Amsterdam, the passion and paranoia of Revolutionary Paris, and the carnage and pathos of civil-war Spain.* Most compelling of all, Power of Art traces the extraordinary evolution of eight world-class works of art. Created in a bolt of illumination, such works 'tell us something about how the world is, how it is to be inside our skins, that no more prosaic source of wisdom can deliver. And when they do that they answer, irrefutably and majestically, the nagging question of every reluctant art-conscript... "OK, OK, but what's art really for?"'Trade ReviewPacked with noisy enthusiasm, punchy arguments and verbal agility... An excessively gifted communicator, [Schama] knows how to sweep facts and argument into a powerful, fluent narrative * The Independent *Power of Art feels as if it has been written in one breathless burst of enthusiasm, in a prose style that crackles like electricity * Sydney Morning Herald *A stunning work, resounding with profound insights which rivet the attention... A beautifully conceived and presented book from the professor of art history at Columbia University, New York. There must be few others in the world who could equal it * Western Daily Press *Powerfully vivid story-telling... Schama is a powerful communicator, and it is a joy to witness him explore the extraordinary evolution of eight world-class works of art * Good Book Guide *Politics, religion, war, sex and love are the inspirations behind the paintings chosen, and each takes on a new life under Schama's gaze * First magazine *
£24.00
Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc The Complete Color Harmony Deluxe Edition
Book SynopsisThis premium anniversary edition of The Complete Color Harmony gives you the color explorations, insights, and palettes from the original version in a deluxe new package that includes a pullout poster, gatefold foreword by internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Stuart Semple, and all-new image references.The Complete Color Harmony was the first book published by the acclaimed design publisher Rockport Publishers, and has gone on to become an essential reference for generations of designers. This special edition of that classic reference celebrates Rockport Publisher’s 40th anniversary.Get an introduction to using the color wheel and discover the key aspects of color, such as warm, cool, pale, and bright. Then, delve into moods and color and see how a wide variety of palettes can come across as earthy, powerful, regal, calm, dependable, and more.In this book you’ll discover:
£18.70
Dover Publications Inc. Concerning the Spiritual in Art Dover Fine Art
Book SynopsisPioneering work by the great modernist painter, considered by many to be the father of abstract art and a leader in the movement to free art from traditional bonds. 12 illustrations.
£8.07
Oxford University Press Art Theory
Book SynopsisIn today''s art world many strange, even shocking, things qualify as art. In this Very Short Introduction Cynthia Freeland explains why innovation and controversy are valued in the arts, weaving together philosophy and art theory with many fascinating examples. She discusses blood, beauty, culture, money, museums, sex, and politics, clarifying contemporary and historical accounts of the nature, function, and interpretation of the arts. Freeland also propels us into the future by surveying cutting-edge web sites, alongside the latest research on the brain''s role in perceiving art. This clear, provocative book engages with the big debates surrounding our responses to art and is an invaluable introduction to anyone interested in thinking about art. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewMouthwatering design-compact, colorful, sturdy. Can travel in one's pocket. * Walks of Art, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju *Admirable for its compactness, reader-friendliness, this 'very short introduction' is nevertheless notable for its wide-ranging discussion of matters germane to the field of contemporary art. Should be a treat for the art-lovers amongst the academics. * U.S.I. Journal *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations ; 1. Blood and Beauty ; 2. Paradigms and Purposes ; 3. Cultural Crossings ; 4. Money, Markets, Museums ; 5. Gender, Genius, and Guerrilla Girls ; 6. Cognition, Creation, Comprehension ; 7. Digitizing and Disseminating ; Conclusion ; References ; Further Reading ; Index
£9.49
Lars Muller Publishers White: Insights into Japanese Design Philosophy
Book SynopsisThe latest publication by designer Kenya Hara following his acclaimed Designing Design. White is not a book about color. It is rather the author's attempt to explore the essence of white, which he sees as being closely related to the origin of Japanese aesthetics-symbolizing simplicity and subtlety. The central concepts discussed are emptiness and the absolute void. Kenya Hara also sees his work as a designer as a pure form of communication. Good communication has the distinction of being able to listen to each other, rather than to press one's opinion onto the opponent. Kenya Hara compares this form of communication with an empty container. In visual communication, there are equally signals whose signification is limited, as well as signals or symbols such as the cross or the red circle on the Japanese flag, which-like an empty container-permit every signification and do not limit imagination. It is not only the fact that the Japanese character for white forms a radical of the character for emptiness that has prompted him to closely associate the color white with the state of emptiness. This book offers a personal insight into the philosophy of the successful designer and author of Designing Design. 4 illustrations
£20.90
Yale University Press What Nails It
Book Synopsis
£12.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art
Book SynopsisAesthetics and the philosophy of art are about things in the world things like the Mona Lisa, but also things like horror movies, things like the ugliest dog in the world, and things like wallpaper. There's a surprising amount of philosophical content to be found in wallpaper. Using a case-driven approach, Introducing Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art is grounded in real-world examples that propel thought, debate, and discussion about the nature of art and beauty. Now in its third edition, this tried-and-tested text features fresh cases and new activities. Hands-on Do Aesthetics! activities pepper the text, and Challenge Cases appear at the end of each chapter to test intuitions, to complicate the field of discussion, and to set a path forward. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wall-Paper serves as a recurring case throughout, and this edition includes the full text of this classic short story. From classical debates that continue to bother philosoTrade ReviewHick's lively and comprehensive introduction manages a remarkable feat: it remains student-friendly while keeping a keen eye trained on historical figures and also carefully navigating contemporary debates. I'm excited to teach with this new edition. Highly recommended. * Sam Cowling, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Denison University, USA *Interesting examples continue to draw us into the concepts and theories of philosophy, but in addition, the chapters now include case studies and challenges. This is an excellent text for helping students grapple in their own way with the aesthetic values of nature and art, and the associated ethical issues. * Jennifer A. McMahon, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Adelaide, Australia *Hick does something I’ve never seen another author of an introductory Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics textbook do, and that’s make it fun. With a point of engagement at every turn, the reader can't help but feel like they're an active part of a conversation. A thing of beauty! * Christy Mag Uidhir, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Houston, USA *Table of ContentsPreface to the Third Edition Introduction: Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, An Extremely Brief History 1: Defining Art 2: Interpretation and Intention 3: Aesthetic Properties and Evaluation 4: The Ontology of Art 5: Emotions and the Arts 6: Art and Morality 7: Art, Aesthetics, and Identity 8: Aesthetics Without Art ‘The Yellow Wall-Paper’ (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Notes Bibliography Index
£20.89
Seven Stories Press,U.S. Theory of the Rearguard
Book Synopsis
£9.49
Octopus Publishing Group Talk Art: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Everything
Book Synopsis***'An indispensable volume'Vogue'As rabid admirers and collectors of contemporary art and photography we wholeheartedly recommend this passionate and joyous book. Without art the human soul is unfulfilled. This collection by Russell and Robert fully explains why.' Sir Elton John and David Furnish'Russell and Robert have made talking art not just pleasurable but necessary.'Lena Dunham 'As witty, wise and well informed as Russell and Robert's excellent podcast.'Edward Enninful, OBEWhen launching the Talk Art podcast in 2018, actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament had one clear aim: to make the art world more accessible. Since then, the podcast has grown to be a global hit, featuring exclusive interviews with leading artists, curators, gallerists, actors, musicians and fellow art lovers such as Lena Dunham, Sir Paul Smith, David Shrigley, Noel Fielding, Edward Enninful, Rose Wylie and Sir Elton John.Talk Art, the book, is a beautiful and accessible celebration of contemporary art, and a guidebook to navigating and engaging with the art world. Covering a range of different media from photography and ceramics to performance and sound art, the book explores the way art interacts with our society, highlights lesser-known artists, and provides a snapshot of the art world as it is today.With a wealth of imagery - some never before seen in print and some created exclusively for the book - and an informative, engaging narrative, Talk Art will become the must-have book art lovers return to again and again. The book features highlights from interviews with: Tracey Emin, Jordan Casteel, Jerry Saltz, Elton John, Grayson Perry, Ian McKellen, Alasdair McLellan, Helen Cammock, Somaya Critchlow and many more. Praise for the podcast:'Lively, accessible and enthusiastic' - Financial Times'As fast-paced and gossipy as it is genuinely interesting' - Dazed'Trendy, gossipy, fast-paced conversational fun' - New York Times'It's an education, but not in an alienating highbrow way' - NME
£21.25
Rebellion Publishing Ltd. I am the Law: How Judge Dredd Predicted Our
Book SynopsisHe is the law - and you better believe it!Judge, jury and executioner, Judge Dredd is the brutal comic book cop policing the chaotic future urban jungle of Mega-City One, created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra and launching in the pages of 2000 AD in 1977.But what began as a sci-fi action comic quickly evolved into a searing satire on hardline, militarised policing and ‘law and order’ politics, its endless inventiveness and ironic humour acting as a prophetic warning about our world today - and with important lessons for our future.Blending comic book history with contemporary radical theories on policing, I Am The Law takes key Dredd stories from the last 45 years and demonstrates how they provide a unique wake up call about our gradual, and not so gradual, slide towards authoritarian policing.From the politicisation of policing to ‘zero tolerance’, from violent suppression of protest to the rise of the surveillance state, I Am The Law examines how a comic book warned us about the chilling endgame of today's 'law and order' politics.Trade Review"I cannot recall a more timely book ... This is not just a celebration of the future fictional character: it is a thoughtful, and often alarming examination of the state of law enforcement in a liberal, or neo-liberal, society." – Nick Lezard, The Spectator"Should leave you incandescent with rage at the injustices of our own world ... a thoroughly researched book that dives deep into the history of policing and totalitarian politics...to make its often damning case." – Wyrd Science
£13.49
Verso Books Working Girl: On Selling Art and Selling Sex
Book SynopsisSex and art, we're told, are sacred, two spheres that ought to be kept separate from the ravages of the marketplace. Yet both prop up two incredibly lucrative industries, built on the commodification of creativity and desire, authenticity and intimacy. Our reaction to this should not be moral or political outrage, nor legal regulation or denial, but rather-as Sophia Giovannitti argues here-acceptance, through which we can find a more autonomous way to live.In this searching and provocative work, drawing on cultural and political theory, the contemporary art world, and the author's own experience as a sex worker and artist trying to make a living, Giovannitti argues that if we delve into our anxieties around art and sex, we can instead find new ways to live and spaces, however small, of freedom. When there is nothing left to protect, she argues, everything is possible.Trade ReviewHighly original and unnervingly smart, Working Girl strips bare the worlds of art work and sex work, revealing unlikely parallels. In Giovannitti's informed and elegant analysis, sex and art come soaked in capitalist relations, their potential for holiness no barrier to the all-encompassing reach of commodification. Working Girl is fascinating in its specificity - the product of Giovannitti's lived experience in a particular niche of both industries - and through this comes a treatise that is both hopeful and new. -- Frankie Miren, author of The ServiceI love this book. It's fresh, exacting, and spaciously precisely unfettered. A book with a clear purpose fulfilled. Read it. -- Sarah Michelson, artistAn art object that also verbs in the most pleasurable way possible. Filled with clarity and a generous spirit, Sophia Giovannitti's Working Girl is a singular sensation you immediately feel the power of while reading. And later, as you begin to release all your outdated beliefs, you then realize Working Girl completely turned out in the best way possible: you too can be the art object that verbs -- Tourmaline, artistBetween the sex worker and art worker is a tension that defines the contemporary commodification of bodies, genders, time and desires. Working Girl documents Giovannitti's critical and creative interventions into this fraught and fascinating zone. She invites us to be more than voyeurs, and to think with her what is at stake in the art of sex and the sex of art -- McKenzie Wark, author of Capital is DeadIn Working Girl Sophia Giovannitti considers the material and metaphorical overlap between the sexual and artistic marketplaces -- Josephine Houman * Public Seminar *Giovannitti writes with candor and complexity about a life at the center of two of her greatest cultural preoccupations: sex and capitalism. -- Maggie Lange * Bustle, Most Anticipated Books Of Spring & Summer 2023 *Giovannitti mines both her personal experiences as an artist and a sex worker as well as larger political ones to traces the ways the worlds of art and sex work have in common. In doing so, she finds a way to commit to art, sex, and work on her own terms - finding freedom within the larger forces at work. -- Most Anticipated Books of May 2023 * Nylon *Giovannitti dances between memoir, art criticism, and political theory to unknot a provocative tension: how our supposedly 'sacred' fields of erotic and aesthetic experience are born out of systems of commodification. -- Jamie Hood * Vulture *[An] incisive debut memoir...Giovannitti's explorations of controversial topics are sharp and stirring, and her provocative observations will prompt debate. This deserves to be grappled with. * Publishers Weekly *In five chapters that move easily between cultural criticism, art theory, and sharply observed personal experience, Giovannitti raises fresh inquiries around fantasies of autonomy and authenticity in worlds heavily mediated by capital. * LIBER *Threading together memoir and criticism, her volume charts a journey through contemporary art addressing prostitution and pornography, the blind spots of movements like MeToo, the politicized actions of sex workers, and finding a way to live beyond labor. -- Wendy Vogel * e-flux *Working Girl suggests the appeal or even revolutionary potential of relating in such an upfront, contractual manner.a cleansing element to addressing things in such blatant terms, equity in considering one's time worth good money. -- Kate Wolf * Momus *Brilliant ... [Giovannitti's] gripping subject matter offers an accessible yet imaginative route into those intersections of sex work and the art market, from the perspective of a person with has lived experience of both. -- Rachel Ashenden * The List *Art and sex have always been intertwined, but Giovannitti thinks we're getting it all wrong. Drawing on theorists and experience, both as an artist and sex worker, she avoids easy reactions like outrage, instead rethinking how everyone can benefit from a sexy inquiry into the nature of art -- Adriana E. Ramírez, The best new books for summer 2023 * The Boston Globe *Incorporating eclectic references, from the French theory collective Tiqqun to the transgender artist Tourmaline, Working Girl is a pointillistic contemplation of labor and the varied ways we choose to contextualize and deny it. It's also a declaration of Giovannitti's confidence 'to discern for myself what is meaningful and what is bullshit' in a capitalistic landscape that shapes the most intimate parts of our lives. -- Rose Courteau * Cultured *A personal, provocative and, above all, sharply intelligent exploration of the contemporary world, and how to survive and even thrive within it. -- Eloise Hendy * Dazed *As Giovannitti expounds on the negotiations and violations that she sees in both industries, as well as glimmering moments of community, beauty, and anarchy, she draws on her own experience and carefully crafted critical lens, rather than accepting prevailing frameworks and prefabricated imaginaries. -- Cassie Packard * Brooklyn Rail *Giovannitti brings a fresh criticality ... when considering how expectations of intimacy and creativity intersect with workers' rights and autonomy within late-stage capitalist anxiety. -- Esmé Hogeveen * Frieze *Sophia's deft, precise, and intriguing in describing the everyday details of her world-and also floating thousands of feet above and seeing the whole structure move. It's one of the best things I've read recently about labor, commodification of intimacy, manufacture of fantasy, precious time on earth, the list goes on. * Purse Book *Magnetic and erudite...[Giovannitti's] intelligence is a kind of beautiful obliteration; her disdain for work and capitalism shimmers, while also proffering the profound devotion she has for art. -- Ayden LeRoux * The Los Angeles Review of Books *
£14.24
Verso Books Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of
Book SynopsisIn an age of protest, culture and museums have come under fire. Protests of museum funding (for example, the Metropolitan Museum accepting Sackler family money) and boards (for example, the Whitney appointing tear gas manufacturer Warren Kanders)--to say nothing of demonstrations over exhibitions and artworks--have roiled cultural institutions across the world, from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi to the Akron Art Museum. At the same time, never have there been more calls for museums to work for social change, calls for the emergence of a new role for culture.As director of the Queens Museum, Laura Raicovich helped turn that New York municipal institution into a public commons for art and activism, organizing high-powered exhibitions that were also political protests. Then in January, 2018, she resigned, after a dispute with the Queens Museum board and city officials became a public controversy--she had objected to the Israeli government using the museum for an event featuring vice president Mike Pence.In this book, Raicovich explains some of the key museum flashpoints, and she also provides historical context for the current controversies. She shows how art museums arose as colonial institutions bearing an ideology of neutrality that masks their role in upholding capitalist values. And she suggests how museums can be reinvented to serve better, public ends.Trade ReviewUrgent -- Travis Diehl * art-agenda *[Culture Strike] brilliantly problematizes the pervasive old myth of "neutrality." -- Dessane Lopez Cassell * Hyperallergic *A must-read ... Culture Strike contains layers of honest observation from museum professionals, loving critique, historical context, and case studies that illuminate the best and worst in museum culture to offer a clear path forward. -- Cara Ober * BmoreArt *Maps out thoughtful considerations of pressing subjects that apply everywhere. Among them are the private power of philanthropy, the practical and spiritual benefits of staff diversity, unionizing cultural institutions, and the contours of museums' social responsibility. -- Christopher Knight * Los Angeles Times *Offers key contextual and historical lenses through which to consider protests that have occurred at institutions worldwide, addressing topics from museum funding to workers' rights. * Ocula *An engaging and personally invested discussion of the many controversies that have engulfed American museums -- JJ Charlesworth * ArtReview *Table of Contents1. Revelations Artist Nan Goldin and the Sackler Family * The Historical Roots of Museums * The Untenability of the Universal * Progressive Era Reform 2. Art and Context Colonialism and Repatriation * Dana Schutz at the Whitney * The Philip Guston Retrospective * Sam Durant at the Walker 3. Show Me the Money Questions for Philanthropy * Warren Kanders, Tear Gas, and the Whitney * Reimagining Public Funding * Questioning Governance4. Unlearning, Undoing, Remaking Alternate Storytellings * Approaches to Decolonization and Indigenization * Survivance 5. The Neutrality Problem Spilled Ink * Materializing the Neutral * Working toward the "Not-Yet"6. Going Forward Who Is "We"? * Collective Work * Invitations to Participate * Public Culture 7. Liberation Serif COVID-19 * Breath * Reckonings and Demands
£10.44
Hatje Cantz The Flemish Masters From Van Eyck to Bruegel
Book SynopsisOccasionally, when something seems very familiar you lose sight of what makes it so special: Flemish Masters. From van Eyck to Bruegel sets out to counteract this effect and opens our eyes once again to the revolution that took place in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries that shaped the course of European art. In 48 lavishly illustrated analyses, Matthias Depoorter explores how painters such as Van Eyck, Van der Weiden, Massys, Bosch, and Bruegel reached unprecedented heights, and are rightfully considered innovators to this day. The defining factor was their perfecting and mastery of the oil painting technique as well as their ground-breaking attention to optical lighting effects. The new technical possibilities offered a different way of looking at the world and ultimately a new way of painting. No less innovative was the level of detail. These painters were thoroughly acquainted with each other’s work—this volume shows the fundamental artistic cross-fertilization. A must-read for anyone who wants to fall in love with the old masterpieces anew.
£32.00
Sternberg Press Inclusions: Aesthetics of the Capitalocene
Book SynopsisA proposal that artists are the anthropologists of our new era or ecological crisis.“Today, the ecological catastrophe challenges us to rethink the space our societies have assigned to art. Creativity, critical thinking, exchange, transcendence, the relationship to the Other and to History are values intrinsic to artistic practice that will soon be of vital importance for the future of mankind. We need art to give a meaning to our lives, and the banks will not supply that. By attempting to unfold a few of the aesthetic figures floating in the global imaginary, this book intends to describe what is at stake in artistic activity in the age of the Capitalocene and to argue for it as a vital need.” The current ecological crisis has brought about a new relational landscape: an unprecedented collapse of distances is creating interspecies promiscuities and a crisis of the human scale. With Inclusions, Nicolas Bourriaud proposes that artists are the anthropologists of this new era. Artists acknowledge the fading of the division between nature and culture, which has been the matrix of segregation for millenia. Capitalism, patriarchy, slavery, social segregation, the exploitation of land, subsoil, and animals—all are based on status distinctions between subject and object. Against the commodification of natural elements, Bourriaud sees a new generation of artists calling for a molecular anthropology that studies the human effects on the universe and the interaction between humans and nonhumans. Contemporary art reconnects to archaic magic, the witches, sorcerers, and shamans of precapitalist societies. Against the devitalization of the world, art has managed to preserve certain aspects of the social function and spiritualist practices of these societies. Inclusions explores art history as a network of underground galleries, and sutures sundered connections.
£999.99
Reliable Copy Robbie Williams
£14.25
