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Five hundred great works of art from all periods and regions in the world have been carefully selected and are arranged in chronological order, breaking through the usual geographical and cultural boundaries of art history to celebrate the vast range of human artistry.
A witty and thought-provoking collection of visual poems constructed from stacks of books. Delighting in the look and feel of books, conceptual artist Nina Katchadourian’s playful photographic series proves that books’ covers—or more specifically, their spines—can speak volumes. Over the past two decades, Katchadourian has perused libraries across the globe, selecting, stacking, and photographing groupings of two, three, four, or five books so that their titles can be read as sentences, creating whimsical narratives from the text found there. Thought-provoking, clever, and at times laugh-out-loud funny (one cluster of titles from the Akron Museum of Art’s research library consists of: Primitive Art /Just Imagine/Picasso/Raised by Wolves), Sorted Books is an enthralling collection of visual poems full of wry wit and bookish smarts. Praise for Sorted Books “Katchadourian’s project . . . takes on a weight beyond its initial novelty. It’s a love letter to books, book collecting and the act of reading.” —San Francisco Chronicle “As a longtime fan of [Katchadourian’s] long-running Sorted Books project I’m thrilled for the release of Sorted Books—a collection spanning nearly two decades of her witty and wise minimalist mediations on life by way of ingeniously arranged book spines. . . . In an era drowned in periodic death tolls for the future of the physical book, her project stands as a celebration of the spirit embedded in the magnificent materiality of the printed page.” —Brain Pickings “Katchadourian’s stacks possess an understated sophistication; they are true to the intimate nature of books and yet reveal their dramatic features and unexpected potential.” —Publishers Weekly
An accessible, comprehensive, freshly-updated celebration of the vast range of human artistry from 28,000 BC to today Brought completely up to date for this revised edition and now available in a compact new format, this new edition of Phaidon's groundbreaking book presents art differently from all other compendia by revealing the huge diversity – or in many cases, the similarity – of artistic achievements around the globe. Images of more than 600 works from all periods and regions are arranged in chronological order, each with a short text that puts the work in critical context and explains its contribution to the development of art history.
This is the perfect introduction to art history and the art world—rich with information and prolifically illustrated with reproductions of masterpieces from every era and from around the world. Extraordinarily compact yet richly written and extensively illustrated, this remarkable introduction to art traces the evolution of art movement by movement, throughout time and across the world. Filled with classic and iconic masterpieces as well as lesser-known marvels awaiting greater attention, it includes a thorough assessment of artists, movements, concepts, and key works. Among the distinctive features included are the timeline at the foot of each page positioning each work in time and place in relation to other masterpieces and artistic trends. Also included are boxed "focal points" exploring up-close unusual details in the work of art profiled; "artist profiles" allowing the reader to delve deeper into the life and work of key artists; and special in-depth features on related topics, such as how the cost of oil paint affected artistic choices in the Dutch Golden Age, tips on visiting a museum for the first time, or how to start an art collection. Each featured art work appears with detailed analysis explaining everything from signs and symbols in art to visual metaphors and technical innovations. Meant to be a book that can be read from beginning to end or browsed randomly, this will make a treasured gift as well as a wonderful self-indulgence.
This landmark volume brings the rich legacy of Israeli art to a Western audience for the first time. Gideon Ofrat, Israel's preeminent curator, art critic, and art historian, traces the complete history of painting and sculpture in Israel, from nineteenth-century Jewish folk art in Ottoman Palestine to the kaleidoscopic postmodern patterns of Israeli art today. Contains over 350 illustrations, 185 in color.
"Published in celebration of the space agency's fiftieth anniversary, NASA/Art: 50 Years of Exploration presents an expanded selection of the works created for the NASA Art Program, which was established in 1963 to document the history of the agency." "Essays by astronaut Michael Collins, curator Tom D. Crouch, and novelist Ray Bradbury frame nearly 150 paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures chosen from the archives of NASA and the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. NASA/Art stands as a lasting record of the impact of space exploration on the artistic imagination."--BOOK JACKET.
In the mid-1980s the sprouting of new movements that had driven modern art since the nineteenth century finally went dormant, sputtering out with a last few half-hearted lels ('pattern painting', 'neo-geo', 'commodity art'). But this was not the end of art history -- far from it. In the years since, art's creative development has remained more vibrant than ever, resulting in a staggering diversity of new forms. Defining Contemporary Art responds to this unique landscape with an innovative approach to art history. Assembled and written by eight of the most prominent curators working today, all of whom have both witnessed and shaped this period, Defining Contemporary Art tells the story of the two hundred pivotal artworks of the past twenty-five years. These artworks include not only the most talked out pieces but also the quietly influential works, those which may have been overlooked at the time of their making but which went on to change the paradigm of their era. Arranged year by year, these two hundred works provide a true chronological depiction of creativity in our era, forming a mosaic in which readers may find their own patterns..
30,000 Years of Art is an accessible, chronological introduction to art history from 28,000 BC to the present day. Providing a truly global and comprehensive perspective, 30,000 Years of Art charts a course through art history that tracks seminal and lesser known works in all of the fields of both the fine and decorative arts. Featuring over 600 works across all media, from painting and sculpture to textile, metalwork, and ceramic, and updated to include new works from the 20th and 21st centuries, 30,000 Years of Art presents the defining moments, both big and small, of art history. Each entry is accompanied with informative texts written by 35 of the world's leading museum curators, academics and archaeologists providing insights into each work that clearly explain their importance. An illustrated timeline, full index and extensive glossary of schools and movements make 30,000 Years of Art, an indispensable addition to any art library. Features: – Updated to include over 25 new entries that expand the scope of the book further into the 21st century. – Includes 600 of the world's greatest works of art across all media (painting, sculpture, textiles, metalwork, ceramics), ranging from seminal masterworks to lesser known pieces in both the fine and decorative arts. – Written by 35 of the world's leading museum curators, academics and archaeologists and the easy-to-use chronological format featuring illustrated timelines, and a glossary of terms, schools and movements.
At the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Michael Auping helped transform the museum into an internationally acclaimed institution. This book collects nearly eighty conversations with more than forty of the artists he worked with. In his interviews--divided into thematic chapters such as "Dimensions of Drawing," "The Studio," "Figures of Speech," and "Light and Space," Auping's probing and eloquent curiosity elicits illuminating and fascinating insights from his subjects and touches on every aspect of the artistic process, allowing many of the artists to reveal interests and influences not exposed in other contexts
