Category: Modern

Art and Independence: YG Srimati and the Indian Style by John Guy

Post author By Art Ride
Post date June 24, 2019

We are actually growing very tired of non Indian writers claiming authoritative position on Indian art, history, religions, society and so on and so forth. However, this book is quite different. John Guy aims to correct the legacy of YG Smriti, a somewhat controversial figure in the Indian art scene during the mid last century. Read on…

• Offers a historical corrective to re-establish the legacy of YG Srimati, one of modern India’s finest artists
• At a time when there is renewed interest in the voices and works of women artists, this volume takes us through the life and genius of one such artist from India
• This volume offers an insight into the way that styles and trends influence the art world, with artists falling out of favor for complex reasons that have nothing to do with talent
• Beautifully illustrated with nearly 130 images
The career of Y.G. Srimati – classical singer, musician, dancer and painter – represents a continuum in which each of these skills and experiences merged, influencing and pollinating each other.
Born in Mysore in 1926, Srimati was part of the generation much influenced by the rediscovery of a classical Sanskrit legacy devoted to the visual arts. Soon swept up in the nationalist movement for an independent India, she was deeply moved by the time she spent with Mahatma Gandhi. For the young Srimati, the explicit referencing of the past and of religious subjects came together in an unparalleled way, driven by the conscious striving for an indigenous agenda. This experience gave form and meaning to her art, and largely defined her style.
As John Guy demonstrates in this sumptuous volume, as a painter of the mid and late twentieth century, Y.G. Srimati embodied a traditionalist position, steadfast in her vision of an Indian style, one which resonated with those who knew India best.
From the book description

If for nothing else, you should buy this book for the wonderful 130 illustrations and the excellent compilation. We will not comment on the writer’s opinions and leave that work to the reader – you! Widely available at leading book stores.

Arab Middle East Modern

Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents by Anneka Lenssen

Post author By Art Ride
Post date July 22, 2018

This month we present to you a veritable treasure trove of art and manuscripts form the modern Arab world. For the readers who are interested in learning more about the region and its deep rooted influence in a number of fields including science, mathematics, technology, geography, medicine and myriad arts, this is a wonderful compilation.

Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents offers an unprecedented resource for the study of modernism: a compendium of critical art writings by twentieth-century Arab intellectuals and artists. The selection of texts—many of which appear here for the first time in English—includes manifestos, essays, transcripts of roundtable discussions, diary entries, exhibition guest-book comments, letters, and more. Traversing empires and nation-states, diasporas and speculative cultural and political federations, these documents bring light to the formation of a global modernism, through debates on originality, public space, spiritualism and art, postcolonial exhibition politics, and Arab nationalism, among many other topics. The collection is framed chronologically, and includes contextualizing commentaries to assist readers in navigating its broad geographic and historical scope. Interspersed throughout the volume are sixteen contemporary essays: writings by scholars on key terms and events as well as personal reflections by modern artists who were themselves active in the histories under consideration. A newly commissioned essay by historian and Arab-studies scholar Ussama Makdisi provides a historical overview of the region’s intertwined political and cultural developments during the twentieth century. Modern Art in the Arab World is an essential addition to the investigation of modernism and its global manifestations.
From the book description

This book has meaningful commentary via essays throughout and the readers will enjoy the added context and perspective. Available only on order, so please call ahead to secure a copy. Delivery may take several weeks.

Germany Modern

Inventur: Art in Germany, 1943-55 by Lynette Roth

Post author By Art Ride
Post date April 25, 2018

Post World War II Germany took a long time to recover but when it did, it led several art and design movements especially the modern and minimalist design movements from mid 1950s onwards. However, the readers may wonder, what happened between the war and the 1950s – the lost decade, so as to say. This book fills that gap by outlining the art scene in Germany during that decade which essentially laid the foundation for the subsequent decades. A very interesting book. Read on…

As Germany went through a period of intense physical and moral stocktaking in the wake of World War II, the country’s artists responded by creating highly charged works and engaging in heated debates about artistic practice and its relationship to the reestablishment of a new national identity. This long-overdue examination of German art from the immediate postwar period includes case studies of nearly fifty artists working in a variety of media ranging from small-scale drawings and collages to large, colorful canvases and industrial products. Insightful essays delve into Willi Baumeister’s wartime lacquer experiments, Louise Rösler’s abstract ruinscapes, and Arno Fischer’s photographs of a divided Berlin, revealing Germany’s surprisingly generative and pluralistic artistic culture. With a title taken from a 1945 poem by Günter Eich, this important book provides a fresh perspective on a largely overlooked corpus of works—some published here for the first time—and is a valuable contribution to our understanding of 20th-century German art.
From the book description

For the readers who enjoy the treasure hunt of missing pieces, this book is an excellent addition. It is now widely available. Get it, it will make an excellent addition to your library.

Modern Photography

The Analog Camera

Post author By Art Ride
Post date September 4, 2016

With the advent of all things digital, analog cameras and films have been consigned to the dustbin of history. However, for the readers who have grown up with analog photography, or are newly discovering this forgotten art form, this book brings an excellent collection of pictures, techniques and the impact of analog photography.

As the title of the book implies, all photographs were taken with analog cameras, ranging from the inexpensive Agfa Silette to more sophisticated gear like Leica and Contarex. Among the cameras were the Olympus Pen half-frame, Rollei 35, Edixa Reflex, Rolleicord, Contarex, Leica M3 and Nikon FE. Film stock was Agfa, Ilford and Kodachrome.
The term ‘analog’ commonly refers to cameras using film, a method slowly going out of fashion, but this kind of photography still has its followers as the person behind the lens enjoys the pleasures of developing and printing pictures in the darkroom, often in one’s bathroom or kitchen.
Although it is convenient to use a digital camera and let your computer and printer do all the work, it seems to take the joy out of hands-on photography.
From the book description

Readers will certainly enjoy taking a deep dive into nostalgia and finding a part of themselves hidden somewhere. Widely available now.

Biographies Modern

Andy Warhol: The LIFE Years 1949-1959 by Paul Tanner

Post author By Art Ride
Post date July 9, 2016

For the readers who are familiar with the ubiquitous Campbell soup can, Andy Warhol is no stranger. As an icon of modern art, it is befitting tribute to the extraordinary genius who influenced three generations with his iconic designs. This is an excellent collection of Andy Warhol’s works.

In recent years, an extensive collection of drawings was discovered in Andy Warhol’s estate. Dating from the 1950s, the artist’s early years in New York, the drawings took as their inspiration magazine photographs and illustrations—many from LIFE magazine—and provide further insight into Warhol’s unique working method.
Andy Warhol: The “LIFE” Years 1949–1959 publishes a selection of these newly discovered drawings alongside the original photographs and illustrations. Drawing was an important part of Warhol’s early practice, and he was particularly inspired by the rich visual language found in LIFE and its contemporaries. Many of his drawings were copied with his trademark “blotted line” technique, a basic method of printmaking in which Warhol traced projected photographic images onto paper and then blotting the inked figures to create variations on a theme.
Presenting more than one hundred of the finest of these drawings, including many that have never before been published, the book also offers an informative and accessible discussion of Warhol’s working method and the cultural setting in which he created the drawings.
From the book description

Hope the fans of Andy Warhol will thoroughly enjoy this new collection. Now available at several leading book stores.

Europe France History Masterpieces Modern Realism

Manet: His Life and Work in 500 Images: An Illustrated Exploration Of The Artist, His Life And Context, With A Gallery Of 300 Of His Greatest Works by Nigel Rodgers

Post author By Art Ride
Post date July 7, 2015

This month we bring another great collection for you. If one were to see just one collection about realism, this would be it. This is a large collection with 300 Manet masterpieces.

A lively and expert account of Edouard Manet, one of the greatest French artists, whose striking realism has led to him being called the first modern painter. Vivid biography is combined with a superb gallery of his work, with 500 stunning reproductions and photographs.
From the book description

Hope the readers will enjoy learning about Manet as well as the magic of realism through this collection. Now available at all leading book stores.

Advertising Graphic Arts Modern Posters

The Poster: Art, Advertising, Design, and Collecting, 1860s-1900s by Ruth E. Iskin

Post author By Art Ride
Post date November 22, 2014

Here is our first share – An amazing book by Ruth E. Iskin

The Poster: Art, Advertising, Design, and Collecting, 1860s–1900s is a cultural history that situates the poster at the crossroads of art, design, advertising, and collecting. Though international in scope, the book focuses especially on France and England. Ruth E. Iskin argues that the avant-garde poster and the original art print played an important role in the development of a modernist language of art in the 1890s, as well as in the adaptation of art to an era of mass media. She moreover contends that this new form of visual communication fundamentally redefined relations between word and image: poster designers embedded words within the graphic, rather than using images to illustrate a text. Posters had to function as effective advertising in the hectic environment of the urban street. Even though initially commissioned as advertisements, they were soon coveted by collectors. Iskin introduces readers to the late nineteenth-century “iconophile”—a new type of collector/curator/archivist who discovered in poster collecting an ephemeral archaeology of modernity. Bridging the separation between the fields of art, design, advertising, and collecting, Iskin’s insightful study proposes that the poster played a constitutive role in the modern culture of spectacle. This stunningly illustrated book will appeal to art historians and students of visual culture, as well as social and cultural history, media, design, and advertising.
Book description

Available at leading bookstores. Hope you will enjoy it. Let us know what you think.