Best of
Art-Design

2005

Art Forms from the Ocean: The Radiolarian Prints of Ernst Haeckel


Olaf Breidbach - 2005
    Although original editions of this book are extremely rare, it is now available for the first time in a paperback edition, beautifully reproducing his drawings and watercolours. While the variety and detail of Haeckel's drawings display an impressive understanding of biological structure, the skill with which Haeckel drew these tiny, aquatic protozoa renders them genuine works of art. This volume features commentary and descriptions of each of the radiolarians from Haeckel's work.

Detail In Typography


Jost Hochuli - 2005
    Hochuli begins with a consideration of how human beings read, moving on incrementally to considerations of letter, word, and line as well as word-space and line-space. Hochuli concludes by examining whole paragraphs and how they carry meaning. Produced in Switzerland to the highest standards, Detail in Typography embodies critical thinking and articulate design in its own physical form.

Book One: Work, 1986-2006


Chip Kidd - 2005
    At the forefront of a revolution in publishing, Kidd's iconic covers, with their inventive marriage of type and found images, have influenced an entire generation of design practitioners in many fields.Chip Kidd: Book One collects all of his book covers and designs for the first time, as well as hundreds of developmental sketches and concepts-annotated by Kidd and by many of the best-selling authors he's worked with over the years. The result is an important contribution to the design canon today as well as a visually dazzling (and often hilarious) insider's look at the design and publishing process.The book also showcases Kidd's work with comics and graphic novels, including his collaborations with leading artists and writers in the field. Featured are projects for DC Comics, including Batman and Superman, as well as Kidd's award-winning exploration of the art of Charles M. Schulz. Chip Kidd: Book One is sure to enthrall design aficionados, book lovers, pop-culture fanatics, comics fans, and design students.

Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005


Phil Baines - 2005
    Coupling in-depth analysis of designers - from Jan Tschichold to Romek Marber - with a broad survey of the range of series and titles published - from early Penguins and Pelicans, to wartime and 1960s Specials, Classics, fiction and reference - this is a distinctive picture of how Penguin has consistently established its identity through its covers, influenced by - and influencing - the wider development of graphic design and the changing fashions in typography, photography, illustration and printing techniques.

Chasing the Perfect: Thoughts on Modernist Design in Our Time


Natalia Ilyin - 2005
    According to Ilyin, "Modern design is based on deeply idealist notions, and its inherent perfectionism has dovetailed beautifully with our commodity-based economy's need to keep people itching so that they will buy things and keep the society chugging along. I began Chasing the Perfect because I started to become aware of this collusion, this silent pressure that a language of design based in perfectionism had brought to bear on how I developed as a person." Chasing the Perfect is especially relevant in our times as interest in graphic, industrial and architectural design moves more and more into mainstream culture. Each of the ten chapters features Ilyin's accessible and often hilarious writing, which is highlighted with a broad range of images--some quite unexpected--from the designed world around us. An excerpt: "The choices that designers and architects have made in the last hundred years silently mold us, silently direct us through the tunnels of Penn Station or up to the fifty-third floor of the Sears Tower. But they direct more than our movements. They direct us to notice one thing and not another, to value one thing over another, to identify with one thing rather than with another. Modernism, the guts of it, the strength of it, the egotistic beauty of it, carries with it effects we did not expect and fosters attitudes about ourselves and others that may have been dandy in a utopia, but do little good in our world. Why have we not changed this idea, moved on with our thinking? For even after the disbanding of the Bauhaus, the disintegration of the International Style, the exhausting of postmodernism, we're all still chasing the perfect."

Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture


Takashi Murakami - 2005
    Focusing on the youth-driven phenomenon of otaku (roughly translated as “geek culture” or “pop cult fanaticism”), Takashi Murakami and a notable group of contributors explore the complex historical influences that shape Japanese contemporary art and its distinct graphic languages. The book’s title, Little Boy, is a reference to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, thus clearly locating the birth of these new cultural forms in the trauma and generational aftershock of the atomic bomb.This generously illustrated book showcases the work of key otaku artists and designers, many of whom are cult celebrities in Japan, and discusses their feature film and video animations, video games and internet sites, music, toys, fashion, and more. In the process, the following questions are posed: What is otaku, and what does it tell us about contemporary social, economic, and cultural life in Japan and throughout the world? How is it related to the pervasive and curious fixation on “cuteness” evident in Japanese popular culture? What impact did the atomic devastation of World War II have on the development of Japanese art and culture?This brilliantly designed, bilingual (English and Japanese) publication examines these themes to explore how contemporary Japanese art has become inseparable from the subcultural realms of manga and animé (Japanese animation)—a world where meticulous technique, apocalyptic imagery, and high and low cultures meet.Little Boy concludes Murakami’s “Superflat” trilogy, a project conceived in 2000 to introduce a new wave of Japanese artists and to place their work in the historical context of traditional styles and concepts.

Process Recess: The Art Of James Jean


James Jean - 2005
    From his travelogue-sketchbooks of Vienna, London, New York, LA and Taiwan to his finished illustrations and paintings, we get to see a side of the artist that most have not seen. James's artwork blends media such as watercolor, oils, computer work, and sketching -- all of which is collected here in a beautiful hardcover format.

Anselm Kiefer Heaven and Earth


Anselm Kiefer - 2005
    From his earliest sculptures to his recent highly textured paintings, Anselm Kiefer has woven themes of heaven and earth into his work, exploring the polarities of these ideas while struggling to define the transcendent quality that places art squarely in between. Destruction and rebirth, glory and shame, sin and redemption all figure largely in Kiefer's often-controversial depictions of Germany's physical and cultural landscape. This catalog of more than sixty reproductions includes Kiefer's first work, "Heaven," as well as numerous other rare early works. It features watercolors produced specifically for the publication as well as an interview with the artist.

This Spectred Isle: A Journey through Haunted England


Simon Marsden - 2005
    Thomas, Earl of Lancaster stalks Dunstanburgh Castle carrying the mangled head which Edward II's bungling executioner took eleven strokes to sever. The Rollright Stones possess a strange force that can fling you to the ground and confuse the mind. The brooding towers of Reculver echo with the cries of a baby sacrificed by the Romans. Whether you are a believer in ghosts or not a visit to an historic site is bound to be enhanced by the stories that cling to it. And this journey through England focuses on the 'other side' of the picture. Guidebooks will tell you about the architecture, the history, the people who lived and worked and died in these historic places. But here you will find the legends and the mysteries, the tales of the unexplained, the shivery unknown, and the fascinating stories that bring the place to life and clothe the ruins. The stories are a journey, starting at Tintagel on the north Cornish coast, and ending in the far north-east, at Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island. They are a journey in time too, from the unknowable mysteriousness of the prehistoric through to the ghosts of the Second World War. castles, medieval abbeys, Tudor mansions and World War II airfields. Draw back the veil and meet the ghosts of England's haunted heritage. Simon Marsden is an internationally acclaimed photographer specialising in the fantastic and supernatural. He has written several books including The Twilight Hour; The Haunted Realm and Journal of a Ghosthunter.

Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics


Steven Heller - 2005
    Featuring witches, ghouls, ghosts, and jack-o-lanterns, the scariest postcards and decorations, the silliest costumes and candid photos are collected here. With an introduction tracing the unexpected history of Halloween and its traditions, Vintage Halloween is a nostalgic tribute to one of America's favorite holidays.

Slim Aarons: A Place in the Sun


Slim Aarons - 2005
    His subjects were the beautiful and the celebrated, the rich and the powerful, the talented and the privileged, high society and aristocracy. Slim Aarons captured their image for the picture magazines of the 1940s - '90s, and, in so doing so, defined the image of the Beautiful People - the post-war international Jet Set. Aarons always shows his subjects in their natural setting, in a circumstance synonymous with their station in life, and in so doing, he gained their trust and a most precious thing - access. And so he was welcomed into the exclusive precincts of the world's elite, in essence attaining the status of court photographer. The images included here are the fruit of that access.

Foul Play!: The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics!


Grant Geissman - 2005
    Comics, a line of adventure, horror, and science-fiction comics whose influence on American graphic novels is undeniable, even today. Foul Play! is the perfect book for anyone wanting to understand the special place E.C. holds in the comic fan's heart -- or who just wants to read some real good comics!Foul Play! celebrates the fan-favorite creators of E.C. Comics, profiling their artists -- a veritable who's who of mid-20th century popular illustration -- and describing how they came to work with Bill Gaines and how their careers evolved after E.C.. Among the comics art legends profiled are Al Feldstein; Harvey Kurtzman; Johnny Craig; Jack Davis; Graham Ingels; Jack Kamen; Wallace Wood; Joe Orlando; Will Elder; John Severin; George Evans; Al Williamson; Reed Crandall; Bernie Krigstein; and more! Plus, the book includes a special bonus: a lost E.C. Comics story "Wanted for Murder!" originally intended to be published in 1956 but forgotten and unseen until now.When originally published, E.C. Comics titles like Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and Weird Science became best-selling titles, embraced by readers for their macabre wit and stunning illustration. Eventually, E.C. Comics ran afoul of a full Senate Subcommittee investigating (but never proving!) the link between comic books and juvenile delinquency, but not before winning a legion of fans that still treasure E.C.'s output. Foul Play! demonstrates -- in glorious, gory detail -- exactly why these are among the most beloved comics stories ever published.

Egon Schiele: Erotic Sketches / Erotische Skizzen


Egon Schiele - 2005
    Schiele’s fiercely drawn lines and confrontational compositions command our attention. His erotic art, most of all, evokes feelings of discomfort, titillation, curiosity, and even repulsion, and yet bears testimony to his talent and passion. This beautifully crafted collection of erotic masterpieces showcases the themes Schiele wove into all of his work: a fascination with the human psyche and sexuality, a desire to destroy the conservative facade of moral righteousness and expose the inner truth. Designed to resemble an artist’s sketchbook, this book offers viewers a chance to gain a better understanding of the technique and vision of this revolutionary painter.

Visual Music: Synaesthesia In Art And Music Since 1900


Kerry Brougher - 2005
    While early abstract paintings tended to approach music metonymically, the colour organs, films, light shows and installations from mid-twentieth century to the present day engage a range of perceptual faculties to create a plethora of sensations in the viewer. The most complete examination of this phenomenon to date, Visual Music features ninety major works of art plus related documentation, focusing on abstract and mixed-media art forms and their connections to musical forms as varied as classical, jazz and electronica. The book includes three scholarly essays, each discussing a distinct art historical period in depth, and an additional essay by Olivia Mattis that approaches the subject from a musicologist's perspective, as well as a chronology, artist biographies and a selected bibliography.

Advanced Origami: An Artist's Guide to Performances in Paper


Michael G. LaFosse - 2005
    Lafosse's complex and beautiful origami projects are well known around the world. Focusing on models from nature, Advanced Origami provides unparalleled instruction on how to create master-class level 3D origami paper folding projects. The origami designs are challenging—they require some folding experience—but the results are more origami art than craft. Paper folders will create projects that can be displayed or given as gifts.Sophisticated origami or paper crafts fans will appreciate the unique origami designs along with complete detailed instructions and easy-to-follow color photos and diagrams. Advanced Origami also features information on paper selection and preparation, advance techniques such as "wet folding," and making your own paper.This origami book contains:136 page, full-color book15 original and challenging projectsStep-by-step instructionsColorful diagrams and photographsAdvanced techniques and tipsIn recent years origami has evolved beyond simple folding and creasing into a true art form akin to sculpture. For those seeking to learn origami at such a level, Advanced Origami provides all the essential information and techniques. Soon you will be able to design and fold your own origami sculptures!Origami projects include:North American CardinalKoi FishOrigamido ButterflyPond FrogAnd many more…

Seeing Things


Jim Woodring - 2005
    These crisply rendered images reflect his life-long obsession with hidden worlds, alternate realities and the inexplicable resonance of the unprecedented and irrational in lucid art.Seeing Things collects the most toothsome of these drawings and arranges them in four sections. "Lazy Robinson" is a series of portraits of forms taken by a cognizant object during the course of a specific and identifiable stream of thought. "Frogs" celebrates the tender proclivities of the most noble of all animals, by placing them in situations that would dismay a horde of saints. "The Visible World" is a roundup of appalling scenes of sub-rational political activity involving catalytic entities with a high ratio of motivation to altruism. And "The Portfolio in Color" appears like a rainbow at the end of all this exalted storminess to send readers out into the world whistling with delight. Many of these images were created for "Mysterio Sympatico," Woodring's multimedia stage collaboration with guitarist Bill Frisell. There is plenty of echoless, glowing furniture to add to that already crowded storeroom which is briefly, but brilliantly, illuminated in the pages of this stately book.

True Crime Detective Magazines


Eric Godtland - 2005
    With texts by magazine collector Eric Godtland, George Hagenaur and True Detective editor Marc Gerald, True Crime Detective Magazines is an informative and entertaining look at one of the strangest publishing niches of all time.

Farnsworth House: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe


Maritz Vandenberg - 2005
    Each volume contains a text by a respected author, a sequence of colour and black-and-white photographs, and a set of technical drawings and working details. The Farnsworth House is a seminal Modernist glass-and-steel house by Mies van der Rohe, one of the greatest twentieth-century architects.

An Artist Teaches: Reflections on the Art of Painting


David A. Leffel - 2005
    Written to be approached by students and professionals alike. These pages contain a revolutionary yet simple approach to learning to paint. The text if wonderfully complemented by over 140 full-color reproductions with key details enlarged to show the master's work.

Drop Dead Cute


Ivan Vartanian - 2005
    This next wave of painters and illustrators from the red-hot Japanese art scene blend aspects of manga, anime, and traditional art with their own idiosyncratic visions to create work that is international in appeal yet uniquely Japanese. This gorgeous book features profiles of the artists based on fresh interviews, along with a generous survey of their art. Also including new work by pioneering art world superstar Yayoi Kusama that salutes these extraordinary young artists, Drop Dead Cute is a must-have for fans of Nara and Murakami, as well as anyone interested in contemporary art and pop culture.interior image: Chiho Aoshima, Japanese Apricot 2, 2000. Inkjet printer on paper. 104.9 x 74.9 cm. Copyright 2005 Chiho Aoshima/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

The History of Art in Japan


Nobuo Tsuji - 2005
    to manga and modern subcultures, tells the story of how the country has nurtured unique aesthetics, prominent artists, and distinctive movements. Discussing Japanese art in various contexts, including interactions with the outside world, Nobuo Tsuji sheds light on works ranging from the Jōmon period to modern and contemporary art. Tsuji's perspective, using newly discovered facts, depicts critical aspects of paintings, ukiyo-e, ceramics, sculpture, armor, gardens, and architecture, covering thousands of years. This book, the first translation into English of Japan's most updated, reliable, and comprehensive book on the history of Japanese art, is an indispensable resource for all those interested in this multifaceted history.

The Barnbrook Bible


Jonathan Barnbrook - 2005
    In this first book by and about him, The Barnbrook Bible features a great deal of never-before-seen work–much of which was created specifically for the book.Possibly best known as a result of his collaboration with major figures in the international art scene such as the Saatchi Gallery and Damien Hirst, Barnbrook has won numerous awards for motion graphics for his commercial film work. His most celebrated collaboration includes art directing Adbusters, the leading activist magazine. He also produces copyright-free work that highlights political and social injustices. Unafraid to express his political viewpoint, Barnbrook has garnered both praise and criticism for releasing subversive typefaces named in a confrontational manner, such as “Manson” (after the serial killer) that highlight the relationship of words to the letterforms that represent them. “Jonathan Barnbrook is a craftsman with a conscience: passionately committed to making a difference in the world and to making work of extraordinary beauty.” –Michael Bierut

Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings


Anne-Marie Logan - 2005
    Ranging from delightful renderings of children and elegant portraits of noblemen and women to vigorous animal studies and beautiful landscapes, Rubens’s drawings are renowned for their superb quality and variety. This exquisite book presents—in beautiful full-color reproductions—more than one hundred of the finest and most representative of Rubens’s drawings, from private and public collections around the world. Essays by Anne-Marie Logan and Michiel C. Plomp provide overviews of Rubens’s career as a draftsman and of the dispersal of his drawings among collectors after his death. The authors discuss the various functions of Rubens’s drawings as preparatory studies for paintings, sculpture, architecture, prints, and book illustrations. The volume also includes a sampling of the artist’s early anatomical studies and copies after antique sculpture as well as several sheets by other artists that Rubens retouched, restored, or reworked.

Off the Wall: Psychedelic Rock Posters from San Francisco


Jean-Pierre Criqui - 2005
    Groups and musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana and others rose to prominence and in turn influenced musical groups around the USA and in other parts of the world, from the Velvet Underground to Sly and the Family Stone to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The posters announcing the concerts that were held at places such as the fabled Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom matched the revolutionary music with their brilliant, swirling colours and hallucinogenic imagery. Created by some of the most inventive graphic designers of the era, including the 'Big Five' of psychedelic poster design - Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley and Stanley 'Mouse' Miller - these groundbreaking posters reflect a singular moment in the history of American culture. unconventional posters from this memorable period, stunningly printed in five colours to best reproduce the rich hues and dizzying patterns of the originals. The accompanying texts explain the influences ranging from Art Nouveau and Op Art on psychedelic poster design, and discuss the contributions of dozens of artists."

The Art Of Akira Yamaguchi


Akira Yamaguchi - 2005
    His work combines the techniques of classical Japanese painting with the observant eye of a modern-day Peter Breughel and the humor and draftsmanship of a manga cartoonist. Yamaguchi's landscapes of the imagination, compressions of time and space, and quixotic human/machine figures combine Eastern and Western sensibilities and techniques into artwork that transcends exoticism. This beautiful volume collects the artist's work from the past decade, including several pieces never before published, allowing Western readers to share the delight of Japanese critics and audiences in this fresh, new view of the world. Also included are an introduction by art historian Yuji Yamashita, 80 pages of full-color illustrative plates, and a magnifying glass for enhanced viewing of painting details.

Letterhead and Logo Design 9


Mine Design - 2005
    From logos to labels, business cards to envelopes, the creative techniques and full-color images portrayed in this broad range of work will inspire new design solutions for age-old challenges that beg for a fresh approach. Both design firms and their clients will find this an invaluable resource for inspiration and ideas that grab the viewer's attention and create a lasting impression.

Angels & Fairies


Iain Zaczek - 2005
    Angels & Faires is a beautiful reference book that takes a look at some of the art that has been produced as a result of a fascination with these nysterious beings.

Creating Your Perfect Quilting Space: Sewing-Room Makeovers for Any Space and Any Budget


Lois L. Hallock - 2005
    Orig

The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics


Milton Glaser - 2005
    Increasingly, people are feeling powerless and underrepresented because they have no voice.Designers, however, have a voice. They are among the most influential bystanders because their skills enable them to communicate a message easily through the Web or through posters and printed pieces. A picture is worth a thousand words and designers have used this adage to their advantage for years by creating simple yet powerful designs that immediately convey the message to the viewer. The Design of Dissent focuses on graphic work that designers have made as a result of social and political concerns. The time is certainly ripe as the U.S., and world, flares in opposition on so many important issues.

The Watercolor Artist's Bible


Marylin Scott - 2005
    The stylish design of this book, along with the interior photographs, illustrations and diagrams, make the learning process simple and fun for beginning painters and provides useful tips for more advanced artists.This book is divided into three sections. In the first section, you will find practical advice on choosing the necessary tools and equiopment as well as hints on mixing colorsâ?¬â?one of the trickier skills to master until you have learned some of the basic properties of color. Next, the techniques used in watercolor painting are explained in detail, from the most basic like laying washes and reserving highlights to some of the more unusual and exciting methods like wax-resist or spattering paint.Tutorials and more than 100 step-by-step sequences demonstrate how to paint a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, buildings, people and still life. Over 180,000 copies sold worldwide.

Hussein Chalayan


Hussein Chalayan - 2005
    The Turkish-Cypriot-born designer's clothing is highly modern, delicately feminine and about as close to pure as it is possible for fashion to be. --The Independent, LondonWhile most fashion designers seem to focus mainly on glamour, Hussein Chalayan's work is conceptual, often political in nature, and inspired by subjects like science--DNA strands, archaeology, the impending extinction of wildlife--sculpture, technology and architectural theories. (In one of his most famous collections, chairs and tables were transformed into garments on the runway.) Through his compelling originality, unusual approach to design, beautifully tailored clothing, and innovative use of fabrics, Chalayan has garnered a loyal following of celebrity fans like Madonna, Sofia Coppola and Bj�rk. Hussein Chalayan celebrates the designer's 10th anniversary, and is the first in-depth monograph of his work.

Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre


Richard Thomson - 2005
    He became a painter, draftsman, and lithographer whose work was immersed in famously hedonistic, fin-de-si�cle Paris. In his hands, advertising posters were raised to a high art; he portrayed the nightlife of Montmartre-circuses, caf�s, dance halls, and brothels-with clear, bold color and a certain seamy panache that is instantly recognizable as his. His much mythologized life has found its way into many biographies and into two feature-length movies called Moulin Rouge.Lavishly illustrated with 370 color plates, Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre is the first major work to present the artist's oeuvre in the context of Montmartre's lively art scene from roughly 1885 to 1901. Accompanying an exhibition of the same name at the National Gallery of Art and The Art Institute of Chicago, the book features the important paintings, drawings, prints, and posters Toulouse-Lautrec made on Montmartre subjects. It also includes masterpieces by contemporaries he inspired or who inspired him-Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, and others-as well as rarely seen illustrations, lithographs, photographs, and ephemera of the era. And it discusses the artists, writers, actors, singers, and dancers who formed Toulouse-Lautrec's circle.The book's gracefully written essays by Richard Thomson, Phillip Dennis Cate, and Mary Weaver Chapin, with Florence E. Coman, address these themes in light of the rise of the color poster, the proliferation of new forms of entertainment, and the emergence of a celebrity-oriented popular culture. Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre evokes a colorful, chaotic era, and adds a new dimension to our understanding of the art of Toulouse-Lautrec.

Crafting Springtime Gifts: 25 Adorable Projects Featuring Bunnies, Chicks, Lambs and Other Springtime Favorites


Tone Finnanger - 2005
    The projects include bunnies, geese, hens, lambs and other springtime characters. Also included are applique and patchwork Easter cards, hearts, egg cosies, bags, and tea cosies.

Stencil Graffiti Capital: Melbourne


Jake Smallman - 2005
    Bansky, the well known British stencil artist, after a visit to Melbourne, in 2003 said: "The walls of Melbourne are very noisy...like the noise of a hundred drunk people talking among themselves. "He went on to say," It looks like the city belongs to anyone that wants it. It feels like there's more opportunity. "Through intimate interviews, dynamic layouts and a riot of examples the street artists are shown in the context of world street art culture. Important questions such as why they paint are closely examined. Melbourne's walls are both canvases and meeting place for ideas, making it the hot-bed for the best in stencil graffiti art.