LibGuides: Art Appreciation: Books & eBooks

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100 Ideas That Changed Architecture This inspiring book chronicles the most influential ideas that have shaped architecture. Entertainingly written by an expert on architecture, it provides a concise history of the subject, and offers a fascinating resource to dip into for the general reader.Starting with the basic building 'components' of door, window, column and beam and the Classical orders, it then goes on to explore historical movements such as the Picturesque and Beaux-Arts, innovative materials such as steel and reinforced concrete, technical innovations, such as the lift and electric lighting, through to modern movements such as Universal Design and Deconstruction. Arranged in a broadly chronological order, the ideas are presented through fascinating text and arresting visuals, 100 Ideas that Changed Architecture explores when each idea first evolved and the subsequent impact it has had up to the present day.
100 Ideas That Changed Art From the earliest cave paintings through to the internet and street art, this inspiring book chronicles the 100 most influential ideas that have shaped the world of art. Arranged in broadly chronological order, it provides a unique and compelling take on the history of art.The book shows how developments in materials (oil paint, plastics, paint in tubes) and technology (paper, photography, welding) have radically changed the way that art is produced. But these changes run parallel with influences from wider culture such as the study of optics and anatomy and more conceptual concerns such as chance and ephemerality. Each entry explores when an idea first evolved and how it has resurfaced in the work of different artists up to the present day.Lavishly illustrated with historical masterpieces and packed with fascinating contemporary examples, this is an inspirational and wholly original guide to understanding the forces that have shaped world art.
Aesthetics A-Z Covers the key concepts, arguments, problems and figures in aesthetics and the philosophy of artThis introduction to aesthetics provides a layered treatment of both the historical background and contemporary debates in aesthetics. Extensive cross-referencing shows how issues in aestheticsintersect with other branches of philosophy and other fields that study the arts. Aesthetics A-Z is an ideal guide for newcomers to the field of aesthetics and a useful reference for more advanced students of philosophy, art history, media studies and the performing arts.
Aesthetics and Painting Aesthetics and Painting introduces and opens up current debates and ideas in the aesthetics of painting. At the book's center is an investigation of the complex relationship between what a painting depicts and the means by which it is depicted. The book looks at: how and why painting may be distinguished from other art forms; the relationship between the painted surface and the depicted subject; the "rules of representation" specific to painting; abstract art and nonrepresentational painting; the most recent technological and aesthetic developments and their implications; the role of the artist-and that of the spectator. A sophisticated treatment of major ideas in art and philosophy, Aesthetics and Painting remains highly readable throughout, offering a clear and coherent account of the nature of painting as an art form.
Art's Emotions: Ethics, Expression, and Aesthetic Experience How is that artistic works have the power to move the human heart? Why does Manet's Woman with a Parrot evoke reverie, and an Edward Elgar cello concerto, nostalgia? What is the value of such experiences? Art's Emotions is a reflective, thought-provoking exploration of the significance that experiencing emotion through art has upon our lives. Damien Freeman reviews and evaluates three traditional approaches to understanding artistic expression and moves on to develop a new theory of emotion that resolves key questions in aesthetics. In a novel philosophical project, Freeman also establishes the ethical importance of art in nurturing humans and helping them flourish. Art's Emotions challenges readers to consider not only how art engages with emotion, but also the ways in which art can answer fundamental questions about the value and nature of experience.
How Pictures Complete Us: The Beautiful, the Sublime and the Divine Despite the wonders of the digital world, people still go in record numbers to view drawings and paintings in galleries. Why? What is the magic that pictures work on us? This book provides a provocative explanation, arguing that some pictures have special kinds of beauty and sublimity that offer aesthetic transcendence. They take us imaginatively beyond our finite limits and even invoke a sense of the divine. Such aesthetic transcendence forges a relationship with the ultimate and completes us psychologically. Philosophers and theologians sometimes account for this as an effect of art, but How Pictures Complete Us distinguishes itself by revealing how this experience is embodied in pictorial structures and styles. Through detailed discussions of artworks from the Renaissance through postmodern times, Paul Crowther reappraises the entire scope of beauty and the sublime in the context of both representational and abstract art, offering unexpected insights into familiar phenomena such as ideal beauty, pictorial perspective, and what pictures are in the first place.
Landscapes Although considered a minor genre for a long time, the art of landscape has risen above its forebears - religious and historic painting - to become a genre of its own. Giorgione in Italy, the Brueghels of the Flemish School, Claude Lorrain and Poussain of the French School, the Dutch landscape painters and Turner and Constable of England are just a few of the great landscapists who have left their indelible mark on the history of landscape and the art of painting as a whole. After serving for a long time as a backdrop for paintings and as a skill-practising exercise for artists, nature came to be observed for its own sake and was incorporated into works of art as an illustration of an enlightened and scientific study of the world. Through continual change, it has inspired the greatest painters and has allowed some others, like Turner, to transcend the relentless search for mere realism in pictorial representation.Through this study, #65533;mile Michel offers an exceptional panorama, from the 15th century to the present, of art and the way artists portray the world in all its splendour.
Objective Eye: Color, Form, and Reality in the Theory of Art OC The longer you work, the more the mystery deepens of what appearance is, or how what is called appearance can be made in another medium.OCoFrancis Bacon, painter a This, in a nutshell, is the central problem in the theory of art. It has fascinated philosophers from Plato to Wittgenstein. And it fascinates artists and art historians, who have always drawn extensively on philosophical ideas about language and representation, and on ideas about vision and the visible world that have deep philosophical roots. John HymanOCOs "The Objective Eye" is a radical treatment of this problem, deeply informed by the history of philosophy and science, but entirely fresh. The questions tackled here are fundamental ones: Is our experience of color an illusion? How does the metaphysical status of colors differ from that of shapes? What is the difference between a picture and a written text?a Why are some pictures said to be more realistic than others? Is it because they are especially truthful or, on the contrary, because they deceive the eye? a "The Objective Eye" explores the fundamental concepts we use constantly in our most innocent thoughts and conversations about art, as well as in the most sophisticated art theory.a The book progresses from pure philosophy to applied philosophy and ranges from the metaphysics of color to Renaissance perspective, from anatomy in ancient Greece to impressionism in nineteenth-century France. Philosophers, art historians, and students of the arts will find "The Objective Eye" challenging and absorbing. a "
The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms * Over 2000 authoritative entries and 400 illustrations, including diagrams for comprehensive treatment of architectural terms * Covers painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, the decorative, applied and graphic arts from all periods throughout the world up to the present day: there is even a table of the dynasties of Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, China, India and Japan * This new edition features entries connected with the use of computer technology in the art world and includes today's influential groups and tendencies From the Preface: This dictionary is compact, because our experience of the arts is gained in so many places - in exhibitions, in museums, touring with a guide book - and no one wants to tour with a reference library. It is also comprehensive, because neither in real life nor in books are the various arts neatly segregated. More than 2000 entries therefore define and explain terms from painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative and applied arts... With this dictionary at hand, the reader should be able to puzzle out any art text, however technical, and the collector or exhibition-goer should feel at ease with any auction or museum catalogue, no matter how recondite.
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Design since 1900 "A marvelous handbook for professional designers, students, or anyone with a curiosity about design." Ballast Quarterly Review This comprehensive guide embraces all aspects of modern design: graphics, products, interiors, furniture, and industrial and architectural design. Guy Julier examines not only the work of important designers worldwide but also the many dramatic changes that have influenced design and its uses in the twentieth century. Thus political and ideological concepts such as feminism and green design are defined and explained, as are new technological advances, new materials and techniques, and influential movements in modern culture. The text incorporates extensive cross-referencing and full bibliographical notes along with a chronological chart of design highlights since 1900. The revised edition features over sixty completely new entries that reflect three important developments in design and its discussiondigitization, sustainability, and brandingranging from Nintendo and The Body Shop to McDonald's and Levi's. 220 illustrations.
The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Graphic Design and Designers The interaction of words and images and the visual communicationof ideas are an essential part of daily life, and these concepts are atthe heart of graphic design.With over 200 new and updated entries, this indispensable book providesinformation about typographers, journals, movements and styles,organizations and schools, printers and private presses, art directors, technologicaladvances, design studios, graphic illustrators, and poster artistsfrom the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. More than 550 illustrations,extensive cross-references, and a chronological chart outliningthe relationship between movements, technology, and individual designersmake this an invaluable reference for students and professionals alike.
Universal Principles of Art: 100 Key Concepts for Understanding, Analyzing, and Practicing Art A follow-up to Rockport Publishers' best-selling Universal Principles of Design, a new volume will present one hundred principles, fundamental ideas and approaches to making art, that will guide, challenge and inspire any artist to make better, more focused art.Universal Principles of Art serves as a wealth of prompts, hints, insights and roadmaps that will open a world of possibilities and provide invaluable keys to both understanding art works and generating new ones. Respected artist John A. Parks will explore principles that involve both techniques and concepts in art-making, covering everything from the idea of beauty to glazing techniques to geometric ideas in composition to minimalist ideology. Techniques are simple, direct and easily followed by any artist at any level. This incredibly detailed reference book is the standard for artists, historians, educators, professionals and students who seek to broaden and improve their art expertise.

Featured Print Books

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Annotated Art Your eyes will indeed be opened, and what you see in works of art will come newly alive when you have Robert Cumming, the former chairman of Christie's International Art Studies, as your guide. With tremendous erudition and tart, provocative opinions, Cumming zeroes in on the essential characteristics of more than 770 painters, showing us, for example, what it was that made Rembrandt's art unique. He explains the conventions of narrative and iconography in Western art, such as the representation of St. Lawrence, who is always seen lying on a hot griddle. And Cumming defines several hundred terms-- both technical (gouache, sfumato, craquelure) and critical/historical (Expressionism, Mannerism, the Hudson River School)-- that so often mystify a viewer. Cumming's no-nonsense guide is enlightening and entertaining; lavishly illustrated with the key works of hundreds of artists; concise and portable enough to use in the "field" (museums and galleries); and so substantial you will refer to it often at home. There is nothing like ART.
Art and Discontent: Theory at the Millenium In these six essays, Thomas McEvilley tackles the aesthetics of formalism and proceeds to shed new light on the roots of Modernism and the collapse of the idea of history. The world-renowned critic confronts the ideas and philosophies which for two centuries have exalted art above constructive involvement in the world, and proposes a new vision for the critical enterprise. By explaining why our Modernism was not unique and why it is being superseded, McEvilley suggests functions that art performs in a post-Modern culture and offers compelling reasons why the history of art needs to be rewritten from an altered perspective. McEvilley argues, for example, against the dominant theoretical position which removed art from contextual examination by declaring its "sublime" nature somehow elevated above ordinary life, and he goes on to effectively destroy the notion that Modernism in the larger sense is an example of the superiority of technological society. More than anything else, however, he breathes real life into the intellectual understanding of contemporary art in a way that no critic has since perhaps Herbert Read. McEvilley humanizes the undertaking; in addition his wit is evident throughout. Chapters include "Heads It's Form, Tails It's Not Content," "On the Manner of Addressing Clouds," and "The Opposite of Emptiness."
The Art of Perspective : The Ultimate Guide for Artists in Every Medium Everything you need to know to put your drawings and paintings into perspective! If the concept of perspective makes you think of confusing angles, fancy measuring gadgets and complicated theories, get ready for a very pleasant surprise. In this comprehensive guide, Phil Metzger demystifies perspective, presenting it simply as a matter of mimicking the way we see--like the way a distant mountain appears blue, or a road seems to narrow in the distance. The Art of Perspectiveoffers simple but powerful techniques for achieving a convincing illusion of depth and distance, whether it's a few inches in a still life or miles in a landscape. Start simple, with atmospheric perspective and intuitive techniques, and gradually progress to linear perspective and more complex challenges such as stairways, curves and reflections. Use the engaging, step-by-step demonstrations and exercises to try out each essential concept for yourself, making lessons clearer and more memorable. Learn theories that apply to all mediums, with specific advice for achieving effects using acrylic, oil, watercolor and pencil. Get the inside scoop on professional tricks and shortcuts that make perspective easier than ever! Forget everything you think you know (or don't know) about perspective. This book builds an easy-to-follow, ground-up understanding of how to turn a flat painting or drawing surface into a living, breathing, dimensional scene that lures viewers in. No matter how you look at it, it's the ultimate guide to perspective for artists of every medium and skill level.
Beauty and Art 1750-2000 What do we mean when we call a work of art `beautiful`? How have artists responded to changing notions of the beautiful? Which works of art have been called beautiful, and why? Fundamental and intriguing questions to artists and art lovers, but ones that are all too often ignored indiscussions of art today. Prettejohn argues that we simply cannot afford to ignore these questions. Charting over two hundred years of western art, she illuminates the vital relationship between our changing notions of beauty and specific works of art, from the works of Kauffman to Whistler, Ingresto Rossetti, Cezanne to Jackson Pollock, and concludes with a challenging question for the future: why should we care about beauty in the twenty-first century?
But is it Art? An Introduction to Art Theory In today's art world many strange, even shocking, things qualify as art. In this book, 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, along with the latest research on thebrain'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.
Drawing the Head and Hands A classic how-to-draw book featuring helpful images as well as in-depth art theory from a legendary illustrator and major influence for comic book and graphic novel artists Famous for his mastery of figure drawing and clean, Realist style, illustrator Andrew Loomis (1892-1959) is revered amongst classic artists like the great American painter Norman Rockwell and comics and graphic novel artists like Marvel and DC superstar Alex Ross. This in-depth manual for drawing the human head and hands features helpful reference information, theory, and illustrations, with steps for:     * Identifying differences and similarities in creating heads between genders and age ranges * Children's heads from infancy to the teenaged years * The basic block forms and proportions for bones and muscle, head tilts, perspective, and indicating character and expression * Mechanics of the mouth, eyes, and lips, and how to construct noses and ears * Hands of all ages and genders including foreshortening, the hand in action, knuckles, and fingers With everything you need to know to draw like a pro, this 2nd installment in the facsimile editions series returns Loomis' highly influential series of art instruction books to print for the first time in decades.
The Encyclopedia of Printmaking Techniques A new, up-to-date edition of the popular and comprehensive encyclopedia on printing techniques by professional artist Judy Martin. This inspirational, visual guide offers a wealth of information on all the different methods of printmaking, from monoprinting, wood engraving and etching to intaglio printing, screen-printing and more. Then, learn how to apply these methods yourself by following the helpful, illustrated step-by-step demonstrations inside to create your own printed pieces. Included is a stunning gallery of images created by professional printmakers, featured throughout the book, to provide both inspiration and examples of how to take your new skills further. There is something for everyone in this comprehensive, colourful encyclopedia.
A Global History of Architecture Praise for the First Edition "Because of its exceptionally wide perspective, even architectural historians who do not teach general survey courses are likely to enjoy and appreciate it." --Annali d'architettura "Not only does A Global History of Architecture own the territory (of world architecture), it pulls off this audacious task with panache, intelligence, and--for the most part--grace." --Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians Revised and updated--the compelling history of the world's great architectural achievements Organized along a global timeline, A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition has been updated and revised throughout to reflect current scholarship. Spanning from 3,500 b.c.e. to the present, this unique guide is written by an all-star team of architectural experts in their fields who emphasize the connections, contrasts, and influences of architectural movements throughout history. The architectural history of the world comes to life through a unified framework for interpreting and understanding architecture, supplemented by rich drawings from the renowned Frank Ching, as well as brilliant photographs. This new Second Edition: Delivers more coverage of non-Western areas, particularly Africa, South Asia, South East Asia, and Pre-Columbian America Is completely re-designed with full-color illustrations throughout Incorporates additional drawings by Professor Ching, including new maps with more information and color Meets the requirements set by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) for "non-Western" architecture in history education. Offers new connections to a companion Web site, including Google EarthTM coordinates for ease of finding sites. Architecture and art enthusiasts will find A Global History of Architecture, Second Edition perpetually at their fingertips.
How to Read a Painting: Lessons from the Old Masters Clues to the meaning of many of the masterpieces of art history lie in a rich system of symbols, themes, and motifs that often eludes modern museum-goers. The intimate knowledge of Christian theology, Greek and Roman mythology, and folklore that was so vivid in the minds of viewers during the Renaissance is rarely part of the preparation the contemporary viewer brings to a painting. This insightful, anecdotal, portable book, with 1,000 gorgeous color illustrations, helps to fill in those gaps by decoding th imagery of more than 150 of the most influential and admired artworks of all time. Covering the works of the Italian, Netherlandish, German, and Spanish Old Masters, from 1450 to 1750, paintings by artists such as Giotto, Botticelli, El Greco, Bruegel, Holbein, Rubens, and Vermeer, all held in public collections, How to Read a Painting" not only helps the viewer to understand the significant details of a picture but also explains the relationship with similar imagery in other works. The guide to Old Master paintings that every art lover has always wanted, this indispensable museum companion will open the reader to a whole new experience of Western art's most praised and visited paintings.
How to See the World Every two minutes, Americans alone take more photographs than were printed in the entire nineteenth century; every minute, people from around the world upload over 300 hours of video to YouTube; and in 2014, we took over one trillion photographs. From the funny memes that we send to our friends to the disturbing photographs we see in the news, we are consuming and producing images in quantities and ways that could never have been anticipated. In the process, we are producing a new worldview powered by changing demographics -- one where the majority of people are young, urban, and globally connected. In How to See the World, visual culture expert Nicholas Mirzoeff offers a sweeping look at history's most famous images -- from Velezquez's Las Meninas to the iconic "Blue Marble" -- to contextualize and make sense of today's visual world. Drawing on art history, sociology, semiotics, and everyday experience, he teaches us how to close read everything from astronaut selfies to Impressionist self-portraits, from Hitchcock films to videos taken by drones. Mirzoeff takes us on a journey through visual revolutions in the arts and sciences, from new mapping techniques in the seventeenth century to new painting styles in the eighteenth and the creation of film, photography, and x-rays in the nineteenth century. In today's networked world, mobile technology and social media enable us to exercise "visual activism" -- the practice of producing and circulating images to drive political and social change. Whether we are looking at pictures showing the effects of climate change on natural and urban landscapes or an fMRI scan demonstrating neurological addiction, Mirzoeff helps us to find meaning in what we see. A powerful and accessible introduction to this new visual culture, How to See the World reveals how images shape our lives, how we can harness their power for good, and why they matter to us all.
The Joy of Art: how to look at, appreciate, and talk about art
Looking at Art This stimulating and fascinating introduction to art contains a series of thematic chapters covering a range of topics that will provide readers with a basis for approaching art and enjoying it. It also serves to dispel some preconceptions about the visual arts--assumptions made about a work based on an individual's own experience. Chapter topics include the appeal and aims of art, style and formal elements, artists at work, art themes, art in and out of context, approaches to art, and arguing about art. For museum goers and anyone who wants a better understanding of art.
The Philosophy of Art Written with clarity, wit, and rigor, The Philosophy of Art provides an incisive account of the core topics in the field. The first volume in the new Foundations of the Philosophy of the Arts series, designed to provide crisp introductions to the fundamental general questions about art, as well as to questions about the several arts (such as literature, music or painting). Presents a clear and insightful introduction to central topics and on-going debates in the philosophy of art. Eight sections cover a wide spectrum of topics such as the interpretation of art, the relation between art and moral values, and the expression and arousal of emotion through art. Pedagogical features include full-color illustrations, vibrant examples, thought-provoking discussion questions and helpful suggested readings.
The Science of Art: Optical Themes in Western Art from Brunelleschi to Seurat   In this pathbreaking and richly illustrated book, Martin Kemp examines the major optically oriented examples of artistic theory and practice from Brunelleschi's invention of perspective and its exploitation by Leonardo and Durer to the beginnings of photography. In a discussion of color theory, Kemp traces two main traditions of color science: the Aristotelian tradition of primary colors and Newton's prismatic theory that influenced Runge, Turner, and Seurat. His monumental book not only adds to our understanding of a large group of individual works of art but also provides valuable information for all those interested in the interaction between science and art.   "This beautifully made volume . . . shows us the unity of the visual study of nature--the exalted mutual task of Renaissance science and art."--Scientific American "[A] wonderful book. . . . Martin Kemp has convincingly demonstrated that even the most diverse styles of Western art from the Renaissance to modern times remained ever enthralled by scientific optics. . . . [A] handsome volume."--Samuel Y. Edgerton, American Scientist   "An extraordinarily ambitious, even daring, enterprise. . . . The book leaves us in no doubt about its author's expertise in both fields. It includes the most comprehensive account of the development of perspective theory and practice I know."--Thomas Puttfarken, Times Higher Education Supplement "Kemp has performed a valuable service. . . . His style is lucid and he emerges as an honest broker who judiciously weighs the historical evidence. He has an impressive command of the literature of both art and optical science across much of Europe and over a span of four centuries. . . . Kemp's thesis is amply illustrated with several hundred plates, including many of his own line drawings. . . . The reader is led gently through the history of art and the details of optical science to appreciate their interrelationship."--Geoffrey Cantor, Oxford Art Journal
Visual Culture This is a book about how to read visual images: from fine art to photography, film, television and new media. It explores how meaning is communicated by the wide variety of texts that inhabit our increasingly visual world. But, rather than simply providing set meanings to individual images, Visual Culture teaches readers how to interpret visual texts with their own eyes. While the first part of the book takes readers through differing theoretical approaches to visual analysis, the second part shifts to a medium-based analysis, connected by an underlying theme about the complex relationship between visual culture and reality. Howells and Negreiros draw together seemingly diverse methodologies, while ultimately arguing for a polysemic approach to visual analysis. The third edition of this popular book contains over fifty illustrations, for the first time in colour. Included in the revised text is a new section on images of power, fear and seduction, a new segment on video games, as well as fresh material on taste and judgement. This timely edition also offers a glossary and suggestions for further reading. Written in a clear, lively and engaging style, Visual Culture continues to be an ideal introduction for students taking courses in visual culture and communications in a range of disciplines, including media and cultural studies, sociology, and art and design.
A World History of Architecture A magnificently illustrated guide to theglobal history of architecture--updated toinclude the non-western world and worksfrom women The Second Edition of this historical architecturalguide gives you a deeperknowledge and wider perspective of traditions inarchitecture throughout the world--from prehistoricthrough modern structures. Extensively and beautifullyillustrated, the book includes photos, plans, scales forworld-famous structures such as the Parthenon, Versailles,the Brooklyn Bridge, and many others.