Search results for ""thames hudson""

Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner, the two greatest operatic composers of their time, had everything and nothing in common. Their achievements were comparable, but their personalities, their approaches to music and drama, and their complex legacies made them incompatible. Verdi thought of art as a comfort to mankind; it pleased Wagner to believe that the nervous intensity of his operas might drive listeners mad. Is it impossible – as Peter Conrad asks in this book, the first to investigate their affinities and explain their mutual mistrust – to love them both? These equally matched Titans offer us a choice between two kinds of art, two ways of life, two opposed philosophies of existence. During their lifetimes Verdi and Wagner helped to define the identity of their emerging nations; their music still dramatizes the light and dark sides of every human being’s character and consciousness.

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As beautiful and rigorous as an Escher work itself, this book is the classic study of a great maverick who so memorably linked the world of imagemaking with geometry and paradox. Escher’s works, from the great master prints to numerous drawings, are brilliantly arranged to form a cinematic journey of discovery that reveals the magical world of the artist’s mind, an uncharted realm lush with exotic conceptions and inventions.

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Now available in Paperback. Get up close and personal with the world’s best street photographers as they capture the drama of everyday life at 1⁄125 of a second. Prowl pavements and back alleys, encountering comic absurdities, small acts of kindness and scenes of unexpected beauty; let your eye be caught by a witty billboard, a woman dressed as an angel, a businessman sprinting through the crowd: the human carnival is in town and the streets are alive. Street Photography Now presents 46 contemporary image-makers noted for their candid depictions of everyday life. Included are Magnum masters such as Bruce Gilden, Martin Parr and Alex Webb, along with an international cast of emerging photographers whose individual biographies illuminate the stories behind their pictures of New York, Tokyo, Delhi or Dakar. Four thought-provoking essays and a global conversation between leading street photographers explore the compelling and often controversial issues in the genre. A select bibliography and a resource section for aspiring street photographers complete the book.

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In a series of 54 stunning full-colour maps covering 3,000 years and spanning the whole of Europe, this book, newly available in paperback, comprehensively charts the dramatic history of the Celts from their origins in the Bronze Age to their present-day diaspora. Taking into account the latest research and academic controversies over the historical identity of the Celts, the Atlas deals separately with the Continental Celts (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Anatolia), the Atlantic Celts (Britain and Ireland) and the modern Celts and the current state of Celtic culture.

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Chloë Colchester’s up-to-the-minute survey reveals a diverse, exciting and provocative field, one at the vanguard of extraordinary technological developments while also the source of astonishing works of beauty. From colour-changing, light-sensitive camouflage to emergency shelters of cement-impregnated fabric bonded to an inflatable plastic, from Eley Kishimoto’s gorgeous patterns to the astonishing colours of Morphotex, this dazzlingly fresh sourcebook of original and inspiring designs will appeal to all designers and anyone with an interest in textiles.

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Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments – Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs – Lost Languages moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. These include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. Lost Languages reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes – and giving voice to forgotten worlds.

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This much acclaimed book, newly available in paperback, is the definitive retrospective of the most popular serious artist in the world today. Covering all media over almost fifty years, and presented thematically to show the evolution and diversity of Hockney’s prolific paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints and photography, it also features quotes from the artist himself that illuminate the passionate thinking behind his work. Its huge international success confirms and reinforces Hockney’s position as the world’s most popular living artist.

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In 32 entrancing paintings, Susan Herbert opens up an unsuspected world of Shakespeare interpreted by cats with all their winning ways. Painting in her familiar and highly popular style, this imaginative artist presents an irresistible array of well-known characters in the great Shakespearean plays, from the tragic Romeo and Juliet to the mischievous Titania, from the beautiful Cleopatra to the roguish Falstaff. Herbert’s many devoted admirers will find this collection full of the charm and humour of her earlier books, while newcomers to her art will be surprised and enchanted by the finesse she brings to this portrait gallery of cats in unusual guises.

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In February 1972 Henry Moore's sculpture studios in the English countryside at Much Hadham were filled with the preparations for his retrospective exhibition in Florence. He retreated to a small studio overlooking the fields where a local farmer grazed his sheep. The sheep came very close to the window, attracting his attention, and he began to draw them. Initially he saw them as four-legged balls of wool, but his vision changed as he explored what they were really like - the way they moved, the shape of their bodies under the fleece. They also developed strong human and biblical associations, and the sight of a ewe with her lamb evoked the mother-and-child theme - a large form sheltering a small one - which was important to Henry Moore in all his work. He drew the sheep again that summer after they were shorn, when he could see the shapes of the bodies which had been covered with wool. Henry Moore originally presented the sketchbook to his daughter Mary. In this facsimile edition, created under Moore's personal supervision, Mary's little lambs will charm anyone who sees these tender, vigorous drawings.

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Packed with cleverly designed graphics, charts and diagrams, Ancient Rome: Infographics uses data visualization to tell the epic tale of the city of Rome and its empire. Every aspect of the Roman world is explored, from the birth of the Republic to the imperial dynasties, from the political and legal system to Rome’s military might. Drawing on international sources, this complex history is made clear and comprehensible to modern readers, while offering the insights and rigour that historians demand. Original, accessible and fascinating, Ancient Rome: Infographics will delight history buffs, graphic design aficionados, and everyone seeking an overview of a civilization that shaped the world.

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A charming, lively and often amusing tour of 36 forgotten episodes and overlooked people and places of Scottish history. While Scotland’s history cannot be separated from its kings and queens, saints and warriors, there is a rich story to tell about the country’s lesser-known places, people and events. This colourful history of Scotland tells those other tales, half-forgotten or misunderstood, that have been submerged by the wash of history. Bringing these stories to light and to life, this entertaining book reveals the richness and complexity of this nation on the northwest edge of Europe. Alistair Moffat guides us from the geological formation of the land that makes up Scotland to the first evidence of human habitation right up to modern times. In the process, we learn about the cave of headless children, the origins of the Scottish kings and the real heroes of Scottish independence, the invention of tartan and the romance of the Highlands, Scotland’s answer to Shakespeare, and the many U.S. Presidents with Scottish heritage, among many other fascinating tales brought to life by Joe McLaren’s attractive woodcut-style illustrations. Even the most knowledgeable Scot will experience a sense of newfound knowledge and appreciation for this unique country, its history and people.

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A brand-new translation of a philosophical classic of the ancient world, The Teaching of Ptahhatp, written in Egypt 4,000 years ago. The Teaching of Ptahhatp, composed two millennia before the birth of Plato, is the oldest surviving statement of philosophy in the ancient world and the earliest witness to the power of the written word. It ought to begin the list of the world’s philosophy classics, yet it has been largely forgotten since it was rediscovered in the nineteenth century. Egyptologist Bill Manley’s new translation corrects this oversight, rendering into approachable modern English for the first time Ptahhatp’s profound yet practical account of ‘the meaning of life’, written many centuries before the supposed dawn of western philosophy. Manley introduces Ptahhatp, who served as Vizier to the Old Kingdom pharaoh Izezi (c. 2410–2375 BC), and the world of dynamic ideas and new technologies – writing among them – within which he worked, illuminating the nuances of his language and philosophy. In addition, Manley’s new translation of Why Things Happen, the oldest surviving account of creation from anywhere in the world, reveals how Ptahhatp’s account of the human condition is founded in distinctive ancient Egyptian beliefs about the nature of truth and reality. Taken together, Manley’s new translations and expert commentary provide a new perspective on the Pyramid Age and overturn traditional prejudices about the origins of writing and philosophy. The ‘oldest book in the world’ is a testament to a common thread that connects humanity across time; Ptahhatp grapples with the pitfalls of greed, ambition, celebrity, success, confrontation, friendship, sex and even the office environment, and his teachings remain remarkably relevant in the modern day.

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This handy guide to the Greek and Roman Myths brings classical mythology to life. Written by a bestselling author on Ancient Greece and Rome, the book features an engaging blend of stories, facts and quotations from ancient authors, and places ancient myths in a modern context, discussing the ‘afterlives’ of the myths and the relevance of their messages today. Factfiles on heroes and heroines and family trees of the gods also make this a useful reference book for students.

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Who were the Norse gods – the mighty Æsyr, led by Óðinn, and the mysterious Vanir? In The Norse Myths we meet this passionate and squabbling pantheon, and learn of the mythological cosmos they inhabit. Passages translated from the Old Norse bring this legendary world to life, from the myths of creation to ragnarök, the prophesied end of the world at the hands of Loki’s army of monsters and giants, and everything that comes in between: the problematic relationship between the gods and the giants, in which enmity and trickery are punctuated by marriages and seductions; the (mis) adventures of human heroes and heroines, with their family feuds, revenges, marriages and murders; and the interaction between the gods and mortals, as Óðinn, the Allfather, betrays his human protégés in order to recruit (dead) heroes for his army. Carolyne Larrington describes the myths’ origins in pre-Christian Scandinavia and Iceland, and their survival in artefacts and written sources, from Old Norse sagas and poems to the less approving accounts of medieval Christian writers. She traces their influences into the work of Wagner, William Morris and J.R.R. Tolkien, and even the recent Game of Thrones in the resurrection of the Fimbulvetr, or ‘Mighty Winter’.

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A classic monograph in the World of Art series, offering a a detailed insight into Rembrandt’s life and work. Rembrandt is among the few Old Master artists to retain universal appeal among art lovers today, his striking self-portraits lauded the world over – yet he remains an elusive, enigmatic figure. Here, the distinguished art historian Christopher White carefully considers the known facts to build a sensitive and thorough account of the artist’s life and work. He describes the radiant happiness of Rembrandt’s marriage, tragically cut short by the death of his wife, and discusses the catastrophe of his bankruptcy. The psychological factors that may have awakened Rembrandt’s sudden interest in landscape are also explored, as is the artist’s final decade, when he retreated into the private world of his imagination. This comprehensive introduction has now been revised and updated to reflect recent scholarship, and the bibliography has been expanded; Rembrandt’s artworks are now faithfully reproduced in colour throughout.

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The definitive introduction to the artist Mary Cassatt, placing her work in the wider context of 19th-century feminism and art theory. A close ally of Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot and Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt was the only American painter at the heart of the Impressionist group in Paris. Highly respected on both sides of the Atlantic, Cassatt was a forthright advocate for women’s intellectual, creative and political emancipation. She brought her discerning gaze and compositional inventiveness across many media to the subtle social interactions of women in public and private spaces, such as at the theatre, and in moments of intimacy with children, where she was one of the most attentive and unsentimental analysts of the infant body and the child’s emerging personality. Tracing key moments in Cassatt’s long career, art historian Griselda Pollock highlights Cassatt’s extensive artistic training across Europe, analysing her profound study of Old Masters while revealing her intelligent understanding of both Manet and Courbet. Pollock also provides close readings of Cassatt’s paintings and her singular vision of women in modernity. Now revised with a new preface, updates to the bibliography and colour illustrations throughout, this book offers a rich perspective on the core concerns of a major Impressionist artist through the frames of class, gender, space and difference.

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Whitney Chadwick’s acclaimed study challenges the assumption that great women artists are exceptions to the rule, who ‘transcended’ their sex to produce major works of art. While acknowledging the many women whose contribution to visual culture since the Middle Ages have often been neglected, Chadwick’s survey amounts to much more than an alternative canon of women artists: it re-examines the works themselves and the ways in which they have been perceived as marginal, often in direct reference to gender. In her disussion of feminism and its influence on such a reappraisal, the author also addresses the closely related issues of ethnicity, class and sexuality. With a new preface and epilogue from an exciting new authority on the history of women artists, this revised edition continues the project of charting the evolution of feminist art history and pedagogy in recent years, revealing how artists have responded to new strategies of feminism for the current moment.

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A timely introduction to the fields of environmental art, art and ecology, art and climate change, art and activism, and art in the Anthropocene. Global awareness of climate change is increasing, and the scientific evidence is incontrovertible: an environmental crisis is upon us. Art and Climate Change presents an overview of ecologically conscious contemporary art that addresses the climate emergency, as artists across the world call for an active, collective engagement with the planet, and illuminate some of the structures that threaten humanity’s survival. Across five chapters, curators Maja and Reuben Fowkes examine artworks that respond to the Anthropocene and its detrimental impact on our world, from scenes of nature decimated by ongoing extinction events and landscapes turned to waste by extraction, to art from marginalized communities most affected by the injustice of climate change. What guides the artists gathered together here is an ardent concern for the living, breathing subject of the Earth and all fellow terrestrials caught up in this fast-moving climate drama.

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Embracing over a thousand years of history and an area stretching from the Atlantic to the borders of India and China, this is an unrivalled synthesis of the arts of Islamic civilization. From the death of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day, Robert Hillenbrand traces the evolution of an extraordinary range of art forms, including architecture, calligraphy, book illumination, painting, ceramics, glassware, textiles and metalwork. New to this edition is a chapter ranging from c. 1700 to c. 1900, a period very often neglected in books on this subject. Hillenbrand explores how recent centuries, far from being a dark age, have seen incredible artistic ferment and creativity across the Islamic world. Full-colour illustrations of masterpieces of Islamic art and architecture – from Moorish Spain to contemporary Iran – show the far-reaching stylistic developments as well as the recurrent preoccupations that have shaped the arts of Islam since the seventh century.With 227 illustrations in colour

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What makes Scottish art Scottish? In this now classic text, Murdo Macdonald explores the distinctive characteristics of Scottish art over the centuries – such as the heritage of Celtic design with its emphasis on intricate pattern; the importance of the landscape, particularly the Highlands and the sea; and a close connection with France. It ranges from the earliest art to survive – Neolithic standing stones – through the art of the Picts and Gaels, and the tumultuous centuries of the Reformation, to the great flowering of Scottish art in the Enlightenment. The final chapters focus closely on art produced since 1900, with succinct and revealing analyses of the Scottish Colourists and the major figures of contemporary art in all media. Masterpieces from the Book of Kells to paintings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Joan Eardley are illustrated in full colour, and such key works are set in a clearly explained historical context throughout. At a time when issues of Scottish identity are the subject of fierce debate, Macdonald’s lucid and deeply researched book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of Scotland’s artistic past and present.With 208 illustrations in colour

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In the 21st century photography has come of age as a contemporary art form. Almost two centuries after photographic technology was first invented, the art world has fully embraced it as a legitimate medium, equal in status to painting and sculpture. This book provides an introduction to the extraordinary range of contemporary art photography, from portraits of intimate life to highly staged, ‘directorial’ spectacle. The vast span of photographers whose work is reproduced includes established artists such as Isa Genzken, Jeff Wall, Sophie Calle, Thomas Demand, Nan Goldin and Sherry Levine, as well as emerging talents such as Sara VanDerBeek, Rashid Johnson, Viviane Sassen and Amalia Ulman. This new edition revitalizes previous discussion of works from the 2000s through dialogue with more recent practice. Adding to the wide selection featured of work, Cotton celebrates a new generation of artists, who are shaping photography as a culturally significant medium for our current socio-political climate.

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This highly acclaimed survey of modern architecture and its origins has become a classic since it first appeared in 1980, and has helped to shape architectural practice and discourse worldwide. For this extensively revised and updated fifth edition, Kenneth Frampton has added a new section that explores in detail the modernist tradition in architecture across the globe in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. He examines the varied ways in which architects are not only responding to the geographical, climatic, material and cultural contexts of their buildings, but also pursuing distinct lines of approach that emphasize topography, morphology, sustainability, materiality habitat and civic form. It remains an essential book for all students of architecture and architectural history.

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Britain has played a key part in the history of the last five centuries, and its art reflects this in absorbing and complex ways. The distinguished art historian Andrew Wilton traces the story of British painting from its hesitant beginnings under the influence of Holbein through its maturity in the time of Hogarth and Reynolds, when it reflected a prosperous society with growing imperial influence. The pioneering role of Constable and Turner in the revolutions of the Romantic period is fully explored, and the enigmatic position of artists in Victorian England, when a stiff moral code came into conflict with the uncertainties of the age of Darwin. Consistent undercurrents revealed include Britain’s preference for the real world (landscape, portraiture) as against ‘high’ art and abstraction. Andrew Wilton offers new insights into the great personalities of British painting, and assesses afresh the latest flowering, in which many threads of modern art come together in sometimes startling guises.

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A fully illustrated overview of the life and work of the universally loved Quentin Blake, released ahead of the artist’s 90th birthday in December 2022. Quentin Blake is an artist who has charmed and inspired generations of readers. Tracing Blake’s art and career from his very first drawings – published in Punch when he was 16 – through his collaborations with writers from Roald Dahl and John Yeoman to Russell Hoban and David Walliams, to his large-scale works for hospitals and public spaces and right up to his most recent passions and projects, acclaimed author Jenny Uglow here presents a fully illustrated overview of Quentin Blake’s extraordinary body of work, with accompanying commentary by the artist himself. With unprecedented access to the artist’s entire archive, The Quentin Blake Book reveals the stories behind some of Blake’s most famous creations, while also providing readers with an intimate insight into the unceasing creativity of this remarkable artist.

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An appreciation of the life and art of Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomin books, which are adored by children and adults across the globe. This book provides fresh insights and a deeper appreciation of the life and art of Tove Jansson (1914-2001), one of the most original, influential and perennially enjoyed illustrators of the 20th century. Jansson’s flourishing Moomin books are examined in detail, as are her interpretations of such classics as Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Hunting of the Snark, and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Born in Helsinki among the Swedish-speaking Finnish minority, Jansson was brought up with a love for making art and stories in a supportive artistic family. Her first illustrated tales were published when she was fourteen years old. From a year later until 1953, she drew humorous and political cartoons as well as striking front covers for the satirical magazine Garm, responding to the Second World War and its aftermath as she developed from art student to painter and muralist, bohemian and lesbian. This book also explores the emergence of her Moomin world, appearing in her first children’s book in 1945 and then in newspaper strips. These would lead to her being headhunted by the London Evening News, the world’s biggest-selling evening paper, to write and draw a daily Moomin newspaper cartoon. This body of work is one of her great achievements, expanding her stories, settings and cast and invigorating her drawing and writing. Jansson also wrote many novels, documented here along with personal commentaries from her own writings.

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A landmark publication tracing the final months of Van Gogh’s life. Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: His Final Months offers a unique and impressive overview of the paintings and drawings that Vincent van Gogh created during the last seventy days of his life. He produced no fewer than seventy-four paintings and over thirty drawings in the course of the intense, productive period leading up to his self-inflicted death on 29 July 1890. While the Portrait of Dr Gachet, The Church at Auvers and Wheatfield with Crows are numbered among his greatest masterpieces, this part of his oeuvre is otherwise less known – unfairly so – than the sunny landscapes he painted in the south of France. The book follows the artist from his arrival in Auvers-Sur-Oise, where he set to work full of hope and with fresh ambitions, through to his final weeks. Essays by leading Van Gogh specialists highlight his artistic ambitions and mental state during this final phase; his exploration of the Auvers landscape; the flower still-lifes, portraits and panoramic landscapes he painted there; the role played by his drawings; and his artistic reputation at the time of his death and in the years immediately afterwards. In addition to all the Auvers paintings, the book is richly illustrated with drawings, sketches, historical photographs and detailed maps of the places Van Gogh worked. Also featured are related works by contemporaries and predecessors whom he admired.

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A major reassessment of Germaine Richier's work and impact on 20th-century sculpture. Germaine Richier (1902–59) occupies a central position in the history of modern sculpture. Predominantly working in bronze, her art revitalized the form of the figure, forging radical new images of men and women in the post-war period which blended the human body and natural forms in a hybrid of abstraction and figuration. As the first woman artist to have a solo exhibition in her own lifetime at the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, she held a unique position in the 1940s and 50s as a successful female career artist, exhibiting internationally and developing a style that has been largely overshadowed by the predominant male canon. This major reassessment of Richier’s complete oeuvre establishes her key position within the artistic context of her time and, more broadly, her influential impact on 20th-century sculpture. Writers including Mika Biermann, Marie Darrieussecq, Maryline Desbiolles and Philippe Lançon, the philosopher Geneviève Fraisse, the anthropologist Charles Stépanoff and the artist ORLAN, evaluate the contemporary resonance of Richier’s creations, where her themes of identity, existence and our relationship with nature are increasingly relevant today. An anthology of the artist’s own writings, plus extracts from previously unpublished letters, complete this definitive volume, marking a long overdue appreciation of Germaine Richier’s distinct artistic originality.

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'A great book … fascinating' Jools Holland, Later With Jools Holland, BBC2 'If you are even remotely interested in guitars or the geniuses that play them you have to get a copy of Marr’s Guitars. A lush, mouthwatering masterpiece of a book' Shaun Keaveny 'A guitar book for people "who wouldn’t normally have guitar books"' Daily Mail 'What a love story this book is. The electric guitar - the greatest weapon ever given to the working class' Gary Kemp 'Marr’s Guitars is not just a love-letter to Marr’s beloved instrument; it’s a historical reference' Paste magazine 'A book for Marr fans, for Smiths fans, for fans of guitars, but also for appreciators of art and photography' SPIN 'Eye candy for music fans of all kinds ... Marr’s recollections transport the reader to a different time' Forbes A stunning photographic presentation of the guitars that defined the distinctive sounds and style of Johnny Marr with personal reflections and insights from the legendary guitarist himself. 'Guitars have been the obsession of my life ... they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline' – Johnny Marr The guitarist’s guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to be one of the most influential and important British bands of all time. Tracing Marr's career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr’s Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr’s superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion. Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which shows the guitars were played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including Nile Rodgers’ Stratocaster, Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music Hagstrom and Bert Jansch’s Yamaha. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on ‘Wonderwall’ and the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on In Rainbows by Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. Punctuating the photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr’s Guitars a unique cultural history of modern music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr’s experiences and achievements.

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The first Sports Banger retrospective, published to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the anarchic, genre-bending cult fashion house. Sports Banger is a genre-defying, boundary-breaking fashion collective run by Jonny Banger, who interrogates British pop culture, fashion, class and politics through the subversion and (mis)appropriation of branding. Sports Banger: Lifestyles of the Poor, Rich and Famous tells the story of the first ten years of the irreverent brand, from its foundation in 2013 to the present day. It charts the rise of the brand from an underground bootlegging operation to an all-inclusive, internationally recognized DIY fashion house, record label and socially conscious satirist in the mould of a modern-day Hogarth. In a layout created by the Sports Banger studio, the book’s images reflect the anarchic story: photographs of studio ephemera, couture pieces, community projects, protests and fashion shows feature alongside one off pieces produced for Skepta, 2 Chainz, Samantha Morton, David Hoyle and more. The book contains a full t-shirt archive of iconic Sports Banger bootleg t-shirts. Reappropriated Nike, NHS and Adidas logos rub shoulders with images of defaced government letters, raves, food banks and official collaborations with Tommy Hilfiger and Slazenger. The book is an of-our-times hybrid of political comment, DIY fashion and proud class consciousness. Essays featured come from influential figures from the worlds of fashion, art and music, including Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, writer and curator Anastasiia Fedorova, and fashion writer and curator Nathalie Khan as well as voices of the general public and reviews from Vogue, Dazed and the V&A.

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A clear, concise and detailed historical analysis of the eclectic and beautiful visual and material culture of paganism. For more than a thousand years, a diverse range of peoples, from Ireland to India and from the Andes to Australia, have been labelled ‘Pagan’ by the Christians who encountered them. Since the twentieth century new groups have emerged – wiccans, druids, neo-shamans and heathens – who openly call themselves Pagans. But who are these Pagans and what do they believe? Which gods and goddesses do they revere? Do they worship nature? Do they practise divination and magic? From sacred plants imbued with supernatural powers to hand-carved amulets that repel evil, and from mischievous spirits of nature to holy mountains, Pagans find divine value in the natural world and spiritual significance in the material universe. Delve within these pages and examine the myriad paintings and sculptures, shrines and ceremonial objects that reveal the stories, symbols and rituals of Paganism.

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A down-to-earth, visual guidebook that shows how to ‘read’, understand and get the most out of art. For beginners, art history might seem a daunting subject with complex rules and impenetrable technical language. Even for more seasoned art lovers the question of how to think about art is a perennial riddle. Art Unpacked is the perfect resource for both audiences: an engaging, visual primer for the general reader, as well as educators. Designed like an instruction manual, fifty key artworks from around the world are deconstructed with pithy explanations, diagrams and close-ups, in order to reveal the elements that make up a masterpiece. Dating from the earliest times to the present, the artworks under analysis are drawn from many cultures, and cover all forms of visual media including: drawing, illustration, photography, prints and sculpture. Matthew Wilson’s simplicity of approach, using established art historical methods, enables the reader to discover the fundamentals of art history, from considerations of function, historical context, iconography and artists’ experience, to broader issues of identity including feminism, gender and postcolonialism. Whether it’s the mask of Tutankhamun or Dorothea Lange’s photograph of Migrant Mother, Hokusai’s Great Wave or Kara Walker’s Gone, each image is dissected on the page in a no-nonsense style, with explanatory notes detailing artists’ sources of inspiration, associated styles and movements, plus any relevant quotes, related visuals and other contextual and issue-led information with keywords for handy cross-referencing. The resulting book is a dynamic, visual resource that will inspire and spark enjoyment of art in all its forms.

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A major overview of Skylab’s built works, from show-stopping residences to high-profile cultural projects, presented via a covetable book design that takes its inspiration from an album or LP. Skylab: The Nature of Buildings is the first monograph of the Portland, Oregon-based architecture and design studio. Founded by Jeff Kovel in 1999, Skylab has emerged as a leading creative force in the Pacific Northwest and North America. At the vanguard of innovative and sustainable design, the practice is known for a range of spectacular residences designed for leading creatives, as well as distinctive music venues, resorts, and other high-profile projects, including the N M Bodecker Foundation, Nike’s Serena Williams Building, and the Columbia Building. Presenting more than two decades of work, the story of Skylab is told by several influential contributors through reflective essays, interviews, conversations and anecdotes, as well as extensive project photography and illustrations that detail the firm’s design process. A uniquely crafted object, the book’s design is based on the concept of a double vinyl album, with four 'sides' (A, B, C, D), ten projects 'tracks', inside front- and back-cover gatefolds, and nine project 'interlude' foldout posters in the book. 'Our work balances on three themes: narrative, strategy, and regeneration', Kovel writes in the book’s Preface. 'Narrative is the "what" — a design process based on telling compelling stories. Strategy is the "how" — innovating best practices through construction and market intelligence. Regeneration is the "why" — our north star and the legacy of our work, defined by designing with nature as a partner, seeking to rebalance the relationship with land, time and people. This was the bedrock meaning behind our practice when we started in 1999, and it continues to this day.'

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A dazzling immersion into the universe of Chaumet, the Parisian High Jewellery Maison. The Spirit of Chaumet offers an unparalleled journey into the world of the exclusive Parisian High Jewellery Maison, showcasing its key creations, stylistic principles and multifaceted history going back more than 240 years. This is a rare chance to discover the behind-the-scenes life of a High Jewellery Maison and to admire its one-of-a-kind creations, many seldom seen in print. Organized thematically in twelve sections (in homage to the Maison’s historic address: 12 Vendôme), the book explores the core elements of Chaumet’s identity and creativity, from its Parisian roots to its cosmopolitan clientele and sources of inspiration, its iconic tiaras, inventiveness, arresting use of colour, playful spirit, nature-inspired designs and more. Written by jewellery expert Gabrielle de Montmorin and benefitting from generous access to the Maison’s archives, this book is a definitive record of one of the world’s great jewellery maisons, whose loyal clients have included Empresses Joséphine and Eugénie.

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The definitive typographic exploration of the letter forms and typography of one of Europe’s leading design studio. Letters from M/M (Paris) is a comprehensive study of the typefaces produced by Michaël Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak since they founded their influential art and design practice, M/M (Paris). For the first time, ninety of the designers’ typefaces are catalogued chronologically in a three-part volume, comprising the history of their development; exclusive type specimens; and detailed illustrations of projects in which they appear. With a foreword by Björk – whose collaboration with M/M spans over two decades – this encyclopaedic volume traces the distinctive and integral nature of type, lettering and signs in the work of M/M, from one-off artistic commissions to fashion branding and their long-lasting collaborations with musicians and theatres. This complete typographic collection is the perfect companion to the two-volume monograph M to M of M/M (Paris), and will appeal not only to graphic designers, historians and students, but to anyone interested in art and visual culture.

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Celebrating one of the world’s greatest couture houses, this gorgeous book combines Christian Dior’s classics with the newest creations. Christian Dior achieved immortality with his first collection in 1947. His ‘New Look’ amazed the world as it emerged after wartime austerity, and reset the boundaries of modern elegance. Dior’s search for the perfect line and the ideal silhouette has been celebrated by couturiers of the first rank: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and Maria Grazia Chiuri have all made their distinctive contribution. This book honours Dior’s influence by celebrating the elements of style for every generation since 1947, through inspired pairings of classic and contemporary photographs. Six thematic chapters express outstanding Dior characteristics, including the silhouette, the evening gown and the eternal muse - in short, the aspects of the House that lend it unique distinction both then and now. The most beautiful fashion plates from Dior’s own time sit beside examples of the house’s creations through the decades. The resonance between classic archive photographs and the latest most up-to-date frames is clear and compelling.

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Sapphire is the third and final instalment in Thames & Hudson’s showstopping series on coloured gemstones, created by Violette Editions. A feast for all the senses, the book features page after page of exquisite sapphire jewels and artefacts from the 4th century BC to the present day, interspersed with text exploring the history of this beautiful gemstone and its enduring popularity with style icons, past and present. Joanna Hardy, the highly regarded jewelry and gemstone expert, reviews the sapphire’s history with captivating stories told in a succinct exhilarating style. She takes the reader on a journey from early trade along the Silk Route and the creation of medieval talismans, to the jewelry collections of the great royal houses of Europe and the finest designers at work today. Along the way, she showcases spectacular jewels worn by many notable figures, including Elizabeth Taylor, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Windsor, as well as pieces by such iconic jewelry houses as Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chaumet and Tiffany. A selection of work by 21st-century jewelry designers such as Shaun Leane, Hemmerle, Lauren Adriana, Bina Goenka and Mish is featured. There is also an exclusive insight into six major private collections, including previously unpublished pieces. With its rich, royal-blue silk cover and gold-foil blocking, Sapphire is a beautiful addition to any gem-lover’s library.

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Bedevilled by the demons of self-doubt, fear of failure or lack of inspiration? Lay waste to your mind-forged monsters with the help of Creative Demons and How to Slay Them. If you’ve ever embarked on a creative endeavour, then there’s a good chance you’ll have been bedevilled by self-doubt, fear of failure or a lack of inspiration at some point along the way. This book will help you to banish those mind-forged monsters one by one, no matter how grotesque or scary they may be.Drawing on inspirational anecdotes from art, philosophy, neuroscience, nature, music and contemporary culture, creativity expert Richard Holman provides you with your very own mental armoury to see you through every stage of the creative process. By learning through the experiences of such creative luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, Marina Abramovic, J.K. Rowling, Dr Seuss and Herbie Hancock, you’ll find out how best to overcome the perils of procrastination, the sting of criticism, the seductive tug of convention or the gnawing feeling that you’re not up to it.It’s time to say farewell to your demons and make your next creative project the very best it can be.

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Jones’s Icones contains finely delineated paintings of more than 760 species of Lepidoptera, many of which it described for the first time, marking a critical moment in the study of natural history. With Iconotypes Jones’s seminal work is published for the first time, accompanied by expert commentary and contextual essays, and featuring annotated maps showing the location of each species. Jones painted the species between the early 1780s and 1800, drawing from his own collection and the collections of Joseph Banks, Dru Drury, Sir James Edward Smith, John Francillon, the British Museum and the Linnean Society. For every specimen painting he provided a species name, the collection from which it was taken and the geographical location in which it was found. In 1787, during a visit to London, the Danish scientist Johann Christian Fabricius studied Jones’s paintings and based 231 species of butterfly and moths on them. In this enhanced facsimile, Jones’s references to historic references are clarified and modern taxonomic names are provided, together with notes on which paintings serve as iconotypes. Contextual commentary by specialist entomologist Richard I. Vane-Wright gives an account of Jones’s life and his motivation for collecting butterflies and creating the Icones, and evaluates the significance of his work. Interspersed at intervals between the pages of Jones’s paintings are modern maps showing the location of each species painted, and expert essays on the development of lepidoptery and taxonomy after Linneaus, and the roles of collectors and natural history artists from the late 1700s to mid-1800s.With 1600 illustrations in colourIn partnership with Oxford University Museum of Natural History

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The first comprehensive overview of Chloé’s collections presented through catwalk photography, published in collaboration with Chloé to celebrate the house’s 70th anniversary in 2022. Founded by Egyptian-born Gaby Aghion in 1952, Chloé pioneered luxury ready-to-wear that was all about ease and femininity, offering an elegant haute bohemian style for the modern, liberated Parisienne. Resolutely contemporary, the house spotted and hired a young Karl Lagerfeld as early as the 1960s: he stayed for over two decades, achieving fame and recognition worldwide through his Chloé work, before Stella McCartney (and her then assistant Phoebe Philo) succeeded him straight out of fashion school. This definitive publication opens with a concise history of the house of Chloé before exploring the collections themselves, which are organized chronologically. Each new era in Chloé’s history opens with a brief overview and biography of the new designer, while individual collections are introduced by a short text unveiling their influences and highlights, and illustrated with carefully curated catwalk images. A rich reference section, including an extensive index, concludes the book. After Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, Vivienne Westwood and Versace, Chloé is the eighth in a series of high-end, cloth-bound books that offer an unrivalled overview of the collections of the world’s top fashion houses through original catwalk photography.

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This ambitious publication, now revised and expanded, dissects fifty-five modern masterpieces through specially commissioned freehand drawings that reveal the principles and details of what makes a building meaningful and enduring. Covering six continents, and ranging from residences to opera houses, influential buildings of the past seven decades are analysed through detailed consideration of their key characteristics – site and surroundings, space and massing, programme and circulation, fenestration and use of natural light – to give an insight into how each design works as a cohesive whole. Appealing to architects, students and everyone who appreciates great buildings, The Elements of Modern Architecture is an essential reference and inspiration for generations to come.

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Art Day by Day presents snapshots of the most exciting, unusual and noteworthy art events from around the world and throughout history through direct testimonies, eyewitness accounts and contemporary chroniclers. Each day has its own section, starting with an extended quote giving artists, critics and commentators their voice to speak directly to us, followed by a brief explanatory text, and ending with other important events in art on that day e.g. births, deaths and exhibition openings. Not every entry is momentous, but all are significant. Yes, there are thefts, murders, artistic mishaps and eureka moments, but there are also more relatable episodes such as President Theodore Roosevelt’s doodles, Michelangelo writing to his nephew about his kidney stones and Monet getting the green light for his water garden. Every day has a story to tell.

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Digital design plays a crucial role in how customers experience a brand. However, corporate websites and online shops are only part of interactive brand identity; complex user experiences closely interlink conception, design and technology, and integrate consistent prototyping and testing. The importance of mobile experience has grown exponentially in recent years, while interactive ads, chatbots and digital billboards are increasingly found in the real world. The interface is now the brand, and this changes the professional profile of designers. This extensively updated edition of Branded Interactions is a practical handbook for professional digital designers and those just starting out. It guides the reader through the process of digital brand design in five key phases: discovering a demographic, defining an action plan, designing an interface, delivering a quality product, and distributing the design to the marketplace. Packed with real-world examples from brands like Google, Amazon and Lego, as well as plenty of case studies, this book incorporates a wealth of design theory and diagrams to help build a solid framework for any project – incorporating brand strategy at every stage while remaining flexible to leave room for creativity.

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A treasure trove of visual delights: examples of the sketchbooks of sixty international illustrators offer new insights into their artistic practice. Intimate and often unseen, the sketchbook means something different to each illustrator. It might be a beautiful object, a work of art in its own right, where every line is painstakingly considered. It might be a pictorial playground, where mistakes can make art. The boundaries between sketchbooks, notebooks and visual journals are often blurred, lending to the creativity that fills their pages. It is likely that you will recognize many of the illustrators featured, including classic childhood favourites Beatrix Potter, Jean de Brunhoff, Edward Ardizzone and Tove Jansson, and established names such as Beatrice Alemagna, Oliver Jeffers and Shaun Tan. Others are up-and-coming, for example Charlotte Ager and Leah Yang. Martin Salisbury draws on decades of experience as an illustrator and educator to shed light on the lives and work of each artist. He even reveals pages from his own sketchbooks, exposing the rawness of his ideas and the narratives that surround them. As the reader will discover, sketchbooks are often a fascinating and surprising window into the mind of the illustrator.

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Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel is an icon of fashion, and can lay claim to having invented the look of the 20th century. At the height of the Belle Époque, she stripped women of their corsets and feathers, bobbed their hair, put them in bathing suits and sent them out to get tanned in the sun. She introduced the little black dress; trousers for women; costume jewelry; the exquisitely comfortable suit that became her trademark. Early in the Roaring Twenties, Chanel made the first ever couture perfume – No. 5 – presenting it in the famous little square-cut flagon that, inspired by Picasso and Cubism, became the arch symbol of the Art Deco style. No. 5 remains the most popular scent ever created. This volume, published to accompany a landmark exhibition in Paris, traces the birth and evolution of Chanel’s timeless style. Specially commissioned photographs by Julien T. Hamon showcase the clothing, while essays by fashion historians illuminate a period, an event or a theme. Rare archival documents, including portraits of Gabrielle Chanel herself, round out the book.

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Joseph Banks accompanied Captain Cook on his first voyage round the world from 1768 to 1771. A gifted and wealthy young naturalist, Banks collected exotic flora from Madeira, Brazil, Tierra del Fuego, the Society Islands, New Zealand, Australia and Java, bringing back over 1,300 species that had never been seen or studied by Europeans. On his return, Banks commissioned over 700 superlative engravings between 1772 and 1784. Known collectively as Banks’ Florilegium, they are some of the most precise and exquisite examples of botanical illustration ever created. The Florilegium was never published in Banks’ lifetime, and it was not until 1990 that a complete set in colour was issued in a boxed edition (limited to 100 copies) under the direction of the British Museum (Natural History). It is from these prints that the present selection is made, directed by David Mabberley, who has provided expert botanical commentaries, with additional texts by art historian Mel Gooding, setting the works in context as a perfect conjunction of nature, science and art. An afterword by Joseph Studholme describes the history of the modern printing.

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The mountains of Europe have many different meanings to many different people. For the locals they are a way of life; for visitors they represent breathtaking beauty, active holidays and peaceful moments. For cyclists, however, the dramatic landscapes mean something quite different: suffering, pain, agony – and glory. For over a century the mountains have provided the setting for the greatest cycling contests, where human determination and willpower can triumph over nature and opponents. In recent years, as cycling’s popularity has changed our cities, made us more active and taken us down less-travelled roads, the mountains of Europe have become the primary destination for everyday riders who want to challenge themselves, experience the storied roads and escape their everyday lives. This publication is aimed at all who wish to be inspired by those challenges or celebrate those personal victories. With tributes and personal recollections from leading road cyclists, the photographs and words coalesce into a visual depiction that transcends any single perspective and will inspire awe and wonder in anyone who wishes to confront the power of the mountains.

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London may have Savile Row and Paris its luxury houses, but nowhere can compete with the essence of Italy’s nonchalant elegance: sprezzatura. This book presents the most in-depth look at the designers, tailors and artisans who for generations have defined the very notion of Italian style. From such fabled names as Rubinacci and Kiton to highly sought-after global brands like Zegna, more than fifty iconic Italian menswear houses are featured for their individual style and commitment to upholding the values of quality and timelessness. Featuring lavish photographs, with close-ups of subtle, exquisite details, most taken specially for this publication, The Italian Gentleman explores the world behind the finished garments – the ateliers and hidden shops where legends are born. Including iconic brands alongside fabric mills, shirting, accessories and shoemaking, this timely publication is a tribute to true Italian style with today’s modern man in mind.

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All across the Americas, from the 16th century onwards, enslaved Africans escaped their captors and struck out on their own. These runaways, having found their freedom, established their own communities or joined with indigenous peoples to forge new identities. Cimarron, borrowing a Spanish-American term for these fugitive former slaves, is a new series of photographic portraits of their descendants. From Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean islands and Central America, as far as the southern United States, elaborate masquerades are staged that celebrate and keep alive the history and memory of African slaves and their creole or mixed-race descendants. Stock characters are portrayed in costume, or in grotesque or satirical representations. A huge variety of African tribal dress, wild ritual regalia and shimmering Mardi Gras outfits feature in breathtaking succession. Vividly coloured silks and cottons combine with woven fibres, leaves, feathers, and bodypaint; props include emblems of slavery and slavemasters – ropes, sticks, guns and machetes. These photographs record real people whose collective sense of memory, folk history and imagination dramatically challenges our expectations. Charles Fréger’s work has established a large and growing following among connoisseurs of contemporary photography, defining a new genre of documentary portraiture that extends and deepens our sense of the human past and the present.

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