Category: Regions

Categories
Central and Eastern Europe Society and Culture

Central and Eastern European Art Since 1950 by Maja Fowkes, Reuben Fowkes

For the readers who believe that post World War II eastern and central Europe went into some kind of a art hibernation are in for a pleasant shock! This month we present to you a fascinating story of art and art movements in eastern Europe since the 1950s. This richly illustrated book by the Fowkeses duo is a gem of a book, especially for those readers who would like to know what went on in the ares during the second half of the last century. Read on…

A groundbreaking introduction to the contemporary art of central and Eastern Europe, this wide-ranging study explores painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and conceptual work.

In this pathbreaking new history, Maja and Reuben Fowkes introduce outstanding artworks and major figures from across central and Eastern Europe to reveal the movements, theories, and styles that have shaped artistic practice since 1950. They emphasize the particularly rich and varied art scenes of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia, extending their gaze at intervals to East Germany, Romania, the Baltic states, and the rest of the Balkans.

This generously illustrated overview explores the richness of this region’s artists’ singular contribution to recent art history. Tracing art-historical changes from 1950 to now, the authors examine the repercussions of political events on artistic life—notably the uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Solidarity movement in Poland, and the collapse of the communist bloc. But their primary interest is in the experimental art of the neo-avant-garde that resisted official agendas and engaged with global currents such as performance art, video, multimedia, and net art. Central and Eastern European Art Since 1950 is a comprehensive, transnational survey of the major movements of art from this region.

From the book description

It is a path-breaking work of immense artistic and societal significance. This book should be in the library of readers who enjoy history as much as art. Widely available at leading book stores. Get it now!

Categories
Australia and New Zealand Biographies Technique

Sidney Nolan: The Artist’s Materials by Paula Dredge

Dear Readers, wishing you a happy new year 2020! It is said that sometimes medium is that message. This fact is highlighted time and again in the art world as artists explore different methods and media to capture and convey creative impulses. This month we bring to you the works of a celebrated artist – Sidney Nolan, in this beautiful book by Paula Dredge. Read on…

The newest addition to the Artist’s Materials series offers the first technical study

of one of Australia’s greatest modern painters.

 Sidney Nolan (1917–1992) is renowned for an oeuvre ranging from views of Melbourne’s seaside suburb St. Kilda to an iconic series on outlaw hero Ned Kelly. Working in factories from age fourteen, Nolan began his training spray painting signs on glass, which was followed by a job cutting and painting displays for Fayrefield Hats. Such employment offered him firsthand experience with commercial synthetic paints developed during the 1920s and 1930s.

In 1939, having given up his job at Fayrefield in pursuit of an artistic career, Nolan became obsessed with European abstract paintings he saw reproduced in books and magazines. With little regard for the longevity of his work, he began to exploit materials such as boot polish, dyes, secondhand canvas, tissue paper, and old photographs, in addition to commercial and household paints. He continued to embrace new materials after moving to London in 1953. Oil-based Ripolin enamel is known to have been Nolan’s preferred paint, but this fascinating study—certain to appeal to conservators, conservation scientists, art historians, and general readers with an interest in modern art—reveals his equally innovative use of nitrocellulose, alkyds, and other diverse materials.

From the book description

This book will fascinate the students of art techniques and art aficionados alike. Highly recommended for gaining an advanced understanding of applied art. Widely available at leading book stores.

Categories
Germany Mindfulness Science and Technology Society

Healing Art: How art in hospitals promotes healing by Isabel Gruener

An often overlooked part of art is healing. Hospitals have known it for a long time, and therefore you can notice a lot of paintings in hallways and rooms. This month we bring to you an excellent book on the subject. Healing Art is as much about art as it is about healing and the intersection of creative synapses that influence, and sometimes promote healing. Read on…

• Explores the concept that art promotes healing through a survey of work created for the Robert Bosch Hospital in Germany

• Includes 48 commissioned artworks by significant contemporary artists, including some that were created with input from patients

• Offers specialist contributions from architecture and art history, healthcare design, art and corporate philosophy

Art can contribute to a healing environment, supporting the work of hospitals and enriching the lives of both patients and staff members. In this book, Isabel Gruener, the art officer at the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart, explores how the hospital’s commissioned art program supports the complex process of healing. Whether it is seriously ill patients in the intensive care unit, visitors in the public corridors, or employees in sterile functional areas: each is affected in their own way by the total of 48 artistic interventions. The narrative describing these art projects, which were created between 1998-2018, is supplemented by specialist contributions from the fields of art, design, and corporate philosophy. They explore an interdisciplinary approach and offer a view towards the future potential of healing art in healing environments.

From the book description

This is an excellent read for those of us who like to step beyond the obvious and stare into hitherto underappreciated intersections of art, society, and well-being. This book is not widely available, so you may like to call your local book store in advance.

Wishing all our readers Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year 2020! See you next month.

Categories
Ancient Latin America Museums

The Market for Mesoamerica: Reflections on the Sale of Pre-Columbian Antiquities by Cara G. Tremain

Trade and possession of antiquities has always fascinated art aficionados. This month we present to you, in this series, a very interesting book by Cara G. Temain on the sale of pre-Columbian Antiquities. It examines the entire economic chain behind Central American art objects through a broad lens and the readers who would like to learn more about this oft-forgotten part of the world will find it a very interesting book. Read on…

Pre-Columbian artifacts are among the most popular items on the international antiquities market, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor these items as public, private, and digital sales proliferate. This timely volume explores past, current, and future policies and trends concerning the sales and illicit movement of artifacts from Mesoamerica to museums and private collections.

Informed by the fields of anthropology, economics, law, and criminology, contributors critically analyze practices of research and collecting in Central American countries. They assess the circulation of looted and forged artifacts on the art market and in museums and examine government and institutional policies aimed at fighting trafficking. They also ask if and how scholars can use materials removed from their context to interpret the past.

The theft of cultural heritage items from their places of origin is a topic of intense contemporary discussion, and The Market for Mesoamerica updates our knowledge of this issue by presenting undocumented and illicit antiquities within a regional and global context. Through discussion of transparency, accountability, and ethical practice, this volume ultimately considers how antiquities can be protected and studied through effective policy and professional practice.

From the book description

Heading into the holiday season, this book is a great find and a fine addition to your library or those of your friends. This one book offers much more between its covers than several semesters of learning art economics at the art school. Definitely for the academically oriented. Widely available at all leading book stores. Get your copy now!

Categories
Europe Medieval Religious Renaissance

Gothic 1200-1500 by Uta Hasekamp

Gothic is a frequently misunderstood term and unless you are well versed with the period history, it is easy to pigeon-hole the term into one or the other simplistic categories. We have a special recommendation for you this month. For the readers who would like to develop a better understanding of Gothic art and architecture, and its connection to religion, economic growth, war, disease and other discontinuities of the period will surely enjoy this wonderful book by Uta Hasekamp. Read on…

Painting from 1200 to 1500 is a mirror of its time, marked by deep religiousness as well as progressive tendencies, by economic prosperity as well as devastating wars and epidemics. A religious perspective is joined by secular themes and efforts to achieve a realistic way of representation. These developments take place in book illumination, which is accessible to rather few people, as well as in the public medium of frescoes and, since 1300, also in panel paintings. With nearly 500 works, Gothic 1200-1500 gives an overview of the visual art of the time.

From the book description

This book offers unique insights into the society and culture of the period 1200 to 1500, and it is really hard to categorize such a brilliant work into a particular category. This book is not widely available, and you may like to check with your local book store in advance.

Categories
Biographies India Modern

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

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.

Categories
America Society Street Art

Street Art Las Vegas by William Shea

Continuing with our previous theme of art influencing social movements, this month we present to you a unique collection of Las Vegas street art. Those who know Vegas for other reasons may not immediately appreciate the level of evolution of street art in that city. This photographic book by William Shea aims to document and share this phenomenal work. Read on…

Photographers William Shea and Patrick Lai release the first ever photo documentary about the Las Vegas street art and graffiti scene with the intention of creating awareness about the unseen talent and hidden benefits that street art contributes to the art community. The 8 x 10 book is made up of 200 pages, and consists of 252 high quality full color images. The project time frame covers several years, with photos from all parts of the valley and the Life is Beautiful Festival. Introduction by writer and journalist Ed Fuentes.

From the book description

The readers who enjoy being thrown into unfamiliar situations will certainly enjoy this vivid collection. This book is not widely available, so you may call your local book stores to order a copy for you. Enjoy!

Categories
Biographies Design Japan

Yoshitaka Amano: The Illustrated Biography-Beyond the Fantasy by Florent Gorges

Dear Readers, wishing you a very happy and a prosperous new year 2019! It seems like we cannot have enough of Japan, therefore, this month we present to you a wholesome collection of art presented in a biographical format. Those who are familiar with Yoshitaka Amano must know the dazzling fantasy world created and nurtured by this great artist of our times. Read on…

A beautiful celebration of the life and imagery of Japan’s master of fantasy and science fiction art! This handsome, landscape-style hardback contains nearly 400 illustrations and photos from the incredible career of Final Fantasy designer Yoshitaka Amano.

But Beyond the Fantasy covers far more than just the famous game series. Amano’s artistic journey goes back to his first job in 1967—age 15, working on Speed Racer! From animator, to illustrator, to internationally exhibited painter, this biography is a look not only into the work of Amano’s life, but the influences, techniques, philosophy, and family that have nurtured it.

From the book description.

This is a great book for all those readers who enjoy learning about Japan, If you are not familiar with fantasy world, you will learn a lot about it. This book is not widely available. Reserve your copy by calling your local book store ahead.

Categories
Ancient India Museums

Art and Archaeology of Ancient India: Earliest Times to the Sixth Century by Naman P. Ahuja

Wishing all our readers Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This month we bring to you a topic that is very close to us – Art in Ancient India. For those who know India also know about the wonderful art of Ancient India – be it through sculptures, statues, cave paintings, or other archaeological finds. This fascinating book from Naman P. Ahuja pulls all these resources together to create an engrossing volume on the subject. Read on…

• This book covers all early Indian objects (pre-600 AD) held by the Department of Eastern Art in the Ashmolean Museum • Contains previously unpublished material • New photography for all objectsThe Ashmolean Museum is fortunate in having the most comprehensive British collection of the art of the Indian subcontinent outside London. Especially strong in sculpture, this rich representation of Indian art from prehistory to the twentieth century has come about through the generosity of our benefactors over more than three centuries. The Museum’s first major Indian sculpture acquisition, a stone Pala-style Vishnu image of the eleventh century, was given in 1686 by Sir William Hedges, a governor of the East India Company in Bengal. From the late nineteenth century, a substantial core of the present collection was assembled at the University’s former Indian Institute Museum (1897-1962), precursor of the Department of Eastern Art, which opened within the Ashmolean in 1963. Since that date many more Indian objects of all periods have been acquired by gift, bequest or purchase.

From the book description

If you are still looking for a new year gift for yourselves or for someone else, this book will be an excellent purchase. Widely available now. Get your copy today.

Categories
Ancient Europe Roman

The Art of the Roman Empire: 100-450 AD by Jas Elsner

The Roman Empire and its rise and decline has been the subject of uncountable works. This ancient civilization continues to fascinate us with its so many contributions to the civilization that we know today. However, not many care about the Roman Empire’s art during its waning years. This month we bring to you an adventurous account of the Roman Art during its decline. Read on…

The passage from Imperial Rome to the era of late antiquity, when the Roman Empire underwent a religious conversion to Christianity, saw some of the most significant and innovative developments in Western culture. This stimulating book investigates the role of the visual arts, the great diversity of paintings, statues, luxury arts, and masonry, as both reflections and agents of those changes.

Jas’ Elsner’s ground-breaking account discusses both Roman and early Christian art in relation to such issues as power, death, society, acculturation, and religion. By examining questions of reception, viewing, and the culture of spectacle alongside the more traditional art-historical themes of imperial patronage and stylistic change, he presents a fresh and challenging interpretation of an extraordinarily rich cultural crucible in which many fundamental developments of later European art had their origins.

This second edition includes a new discussion of the Eurasian context of Roman art, an updated bibliography, and new, full colour illustrations.

This is a fascinating, almost groundbreaking work by an accomplished team. Followers of history will most definitely enjoy this academically oriented collection. Widely available at leading bookstores.

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