Going South


Ella Yelich-O'Connor (Lorde) - 2021
    It documents her experience visiting the continent of Antarctica in January 2019 with photos taken by New Zealand photographer Harriet Were. Lorde expressed an interest in exploring the region of Antarctica since she was old enough to read. In January 2019, she visited Scott Base and McMurdo Station, Antarctica, travelling as an Antarctic Ambassador. During her visit, she observed microscopic species in environmental laboratories and spoke with scientists. Lorde described the book as "sort of a perfect precursor" to her upcoming third studio album. It will feature over 100 pages of images taken by New Zealand photographer Harriet Were and writings from Lorde. All proceeds will be used to fund a postgraduate scholarship created by Antarctica New Zealand, a government agency.

Requiem: By the Photographers Who Died in Vietnam and Indochina


Tim Page - 1997
    This book is a memorial to those men and women, and in many cases it includes the last photographs they took.    Horst Faas and Tim Page, two photographers who worked and were wounded in Vietnam, have gathered many thousands of pictures by those who were killed. Their search has taken them through the archives in Hanoi as well as those of Western agencies. In some cases families have generously provided access to private files where unknown bodies of work have lain unseen for more than forty years.    The list of the dead includes some of the greatest photographers of the century, such as Robert Capa and Larry Burrows, and some who had been working in Vietnam for only a matter of days before their deaths. A number of the Cambodian photographers working for the Western press were executed. Other photographers, like Sean Flynn and Dana Stone, disappeared. Their loss inspired Tim Page to begin this memorial.    The resulting sequence of photographs follows the course of the war and the transformation of the serene landscapes of Cambodia and Vietnam into scenes of nightmarish devastation. At the moments of intense battle one is reminded not only of the courage of the photographers but of the compassion amid the brutality of war. These photographers were intimate with war to a degree that may well be denied future generations. That intimacy led to their deaths. Their photographs are their legacy.

Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye


Gilles Mora - 1989
    Evans documented the look and feel of much of his native country in a notably distinct way throughout the majority of the twentieth century. This definitive retrospective of Evans's career, which received France's Prix de Nadar and England's Krasna-Kraus Award when first published in hardcover, is now available for the first time as a reduced-format paperback." "Prepared by John T. Hill in cooperation with Gilles Mora, Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye begins with the artist's early abstractions and his project on the Brooklyn Bridge done in collaboration with American poet Hart Crane, and continues through Evans's photographic studies of New England and New York Victorian buildings; his travels to Tahiti and Cuba; his work in Florida and New Orleans; and his three-year involvement with the Farm Security Administration. A highlight of this volume is the material from Evans's highly influential show American Photographs at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, re-created in exactly the sequence that Evans established for the original exhibition." No broader or more comprehensive view of this important, innovative, and distinguished photographer exists to date. With all of the images superbly reproduced from negatives prepared by Thomas Palmer, this volume will long stand as a tribute to an American original.

Girl in a Green Gown: The History and Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait


Carola Hicks - 2011
    This haunting gem of medieval art, a subtle and beautiful portrait of a wealthy Bruges merchant and his wife, intrigues all who see it. Is the painting the celebration of marriage or pregnancy, a memorial to a wife who died in childbirth, a fashion statement or a status symbol? Using her acclaimed forensic skills as an art historian, Carola Hicks set out to decode the mystery.She also tells the fascinating story of the painting's survival through fire and battle, and of its owners. Uniquely, for a masterpiece of its age, its provenance can be tracked through every single owner - from the mysterious Mr Arnolfini via various monarchs to being an early star of the National Gallery in 1842- and these owners have a cameo appearance too, in this enthralling story of how an artwork of genius can speak afresh to each new generation.

The Art of Getting Over: Graffiti at the Millennium


Stephen Powers - 1999
    From Sprite commercials to The Source magazine to Soho art galleries, the elements and vernacular of the graffiti aesthetic are apparent in today's society. This book examines graffiti's influence from its earliest days to its undeniable ubiquity now. Written by an insider, it includes a general history, in-depth interviews with both the progenitors of the form and current artists, and full-color illustrations of the most important works over the last 30 years. Unlike other subcultures that have been corrupted by the media and the mainstream, graffiti has maintained its sense of the underground and its clandestine feel. The purity and integrity that have defined the graffiti writer's mission have never faltered. The Art of Getting Over offers an unprecedented glimpse into this deeply affecting urban art form.

The Xibalba Murders


Lyn Hamilton - 1997
    On arrival, her friend puts off their meeting and then disappears. After Lara witnesses a brazen robbery of a valuable statue of the ancient Mayan civilization and stumbles on a corpse in a museum of antiquities, she becomes a police suspect. Afraid of the police and unsure whom to trust, Lara follows clues pointing to black marketeers and zealous revolutionaries. This dangerous trail takes her to remote archaeological ruins, lush jungles, and bustling streets filled with revelers. Lara engages in a thrilling battle of wits and courage to unmask a killer and stop a tomb-robber in the shadowy world of Xibalba, the Lords of Death.@71, 330 words

Looking at Pictures


Susan Woodford - 1983
    Some pictures are easily appreciated at first glance, but others - often the most rewarding - require some explanation before they can be fully understood. This clearly written and enjoyable book is intended to increase pleasure and stimulate thought. It tackles many aspects of looking at paintings as well. Starting with familiar ideas, Dr Susan Woodford moves on to explore subtler, less obvious concepts. For example, she shows how paintings can be appreciated as patterns on a flat surface emotional effect; how ordinary objects can conceal hidden meanings and how knowledge of tradition improves our understanding of revolutionary works.

The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve: The Story That Created Us


Stephen Greenblatt - 2017
    Here, acclaimed scholar Stephen Greenblatt explores it with profound appreciation for its cultural and psychological power as literature. From the birth of the Hebrew Bible to the awe-inspiring contributions of Augustine, Dürer, and Milton in bringing Adam and Eve to vivid life, Greenblatt unpacks the story’s many interpretations and consequences over time. Rich allegory, vicious misogyny, deep moral insight, narrow literalism, and some of the greatest triumphs of art and literature: all can be counted as children of our “first” parents.

Discoveries: Frida Kahlo, Painting Her Own Reality


Christina Burrus - 2007
    Frida Kahlo—born in 1907 near Mexico City—learned about pain at a very early age. She contracted polio at six, and then at eighteen suffered serious and permanent injury to her right leg and pelvis in a terrible bus accident. Young and undaunted, she went on to fall in love with the great mural painter Diego Rivera at a time when their native Mexico was going through a period of thrilling political and cultural upheaval. Rivera and Kahlo were a legendary couple—both were impassioned, lifelong communists while fervently attached to traditional Mexican Indian culture, and both were driven by a relentless artistic ambition that surmounted all the dramas that plagued their marriage.Later, Frida became the friend and lover of Leon Trotsky. She was greatly admired by the Surrealists and sat for some of the greatest photographers of her day. Her art largely consisted of self-portraits, like the famous paintings The Two Fridas and The Broken Column, though she also left many striking still-lives.In Frida Kahlo: Painting Her Own Reality, Christina Burrus assesses Frida Kahlo’s extraordinary work—a maelstrom of cruelty, humor, candor, and insolence reflecting the essence of a free, beautiful, courageous woman who concealed her physical pain behind peals of infectious laughter.

1000 Facts about Historic Figures Vol. 1


James Egan - 2018
    Martin Luther King had a pillow fight on the day he died. Osama Bin Laden loved Mr. Bean and Super Mario Bros. Pope Francis used to be a bouncer. Muhammad Ali starred in a Broadway show. Saddam Hussein played Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You during his 2002 campaign. Julius Caesar was never the emperor of Rome. Nelson Mandela said meeting the Spice Girls was “one of the greatest moments of my life.” The last thing Walt Disney said was “Kurt Russell.” Sigmund Freud tried to cure his daughter of being a lesbian. John F. Kennedy went out with Hitler’s ex-girlfriend. Abraham Lincoln took part in 300 wrestling matches. He only lost once. Michael Jackson tried to buy Marvel so he could play Spider-Man. Isaac Newton invented calculus when he was 25. He didn’t tell anybody for four years. Donald Trump tried to make a cartoon about him saving the world from aliens. Charles Manson never killed anybody in his entire life. Genghis Khan’s army killed 11% of every human being on Earth. Charles Darwin though the world was constantly growing in size. Historians believe they figured out the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Lady Mysterious


Wendy Soliman - 2018
    Lord Nathan Stanford, the guest of honour, is easily able to resist Melanie Latimer’s charms but is intrigued by Kyra’s secretive activities. Why did she leave her family home and why, at such a young age, has she withdrawn from the marriage mart? Nate makes it his business to find out more about the mysterious lady who single-handedly holds her fragmented family together. Shocked to the core by what he discovers, Nate sets out to protect her from the gambling curse that has destroyed her family and the evil man who wants to possess her. But at what cost to himself? Will he be able to help her find out why her brother’s wife disappeared without trace? And will Nate find a way to convince Kyra that spinsterhood doesn’t suit her…

Escape of the Amethyst


C.E. Lucas Phillips - 1957
    

Beth


M. Cowden - 2016
    But when the rest of her family dies of the plague, Beth is married off to an older man who wants to join the settlers in Oregon. Having little choice, she agrees and reluctantly starts her new life. Her strength is quickly noticed by her new husband, as she insists on driving one of the wagons on their journey. While enjoying the view from atop a cliff during a rest stop, the ground collapses from beneath her. After searching for her for hours and finding no trace, the wagon train must go on without her. She awakens days later in a teepee surrounded by Indians. What dangers lie ahead for this young woman, and will she find the happiness that has eluded her until now?

On the Warpath


James Willard Schultz - 2015
    Schultz was a noted author, explorer, Glacier National Park guide, fur trader and historian of the Blackfoot Indians. While operating a fur trading post at Carroll, Montana and living amongst the Pikuni tribe during the period 1880-82, he was given the name "Apikuni" by the Pikuni chief, Running Crane. Schultz is most noted for his prolific stories about Blackfoot life and his contributions to the naming of prominent features in Glacier National Park. On the Warpath, by James Willard Schultz, is a unique and odd story of a white man's experiences while living among Indians as one of themselves. It has an extraordinarily intimate effect, as if it might be a translation from some tale written in an Indian dialect. As a story it contains many incidents that will thrill young readers. For older ones it will be valuable as a study of Indian mental and spiritual life. This book originally published by Houghton Mifflin in 1914 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the reformatting.

1,077 Fun Facts: To Leave You In Disbelief


Charles Klotz - 2020