Book picks similar to
A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art by Ian Chilvers


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1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die


Tom Moon - 2008
    The most exciting book on music in years. A book of treasure, a book of discovery, a book to open your ears to new worlds of pleasure. Doing for music what Patricia Schultz—author of the phenomenal 1,000 Places to See Before You Die—does for travel, Tom Moon recommends 1,000 recordings guaranteed to give listeners the joy, the mystery, the revelation, the sheer fun of great music. This is a book both broad and deep, drawing from the diverse worlds of classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues, country, folk, musicals, hip-hop, world, opera, soundtracks, and more. It's arranged alphabetically by artist to create the kind of unexpected juxtapositions that break down genre bias and broaden listeners’ horizons— it makes every listener a seeker, actively pursuing new artists and new sounds, and reconfirming the greatness of the classics. Flanking J. S. Bach and his six entries, for example, are the little-known R&B singer Baby Huey and the '80s Rastafarian hard-core punk band Bad Brains. Farther down the list: The Band, Samuel Barber, Cecelia Bartoli, Count Basie, and Afropop star Waldemer Bastos. Each entry is passionately written, with expert listening notes, fascinating anecdotes, and the occasional perfect quote—"Your collection could be filled with nothing but music from Ray Charles," said Tom Waits, "and you'd have a completely balanced diet." Every entry identifies key tracks, additional works by the artist, and where to go next. And in the back, indexes and playlists for different moods and occasions.

The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity


Julia Cameron - 1992
    An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist’s life. Still as vital today—or perhaps even more so—than it was when it was first published one decade ago, it is a powerfully provocative and inspiring work. In a new introduction to the book, Julia Cameron reflects upon the impact of The Artist’s Way and describes the work she has done during the last decade and the new insights into the creative process that she has gained. Updated and expanded, this anniversary edition reframes The Artist’s Way for a new century.

Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations + Explorations


Susan Tuttle - 2008
    There's something for everyone at this art expo. Whether you want to sharpen digital-imaging skills, make your own jewelry or listen to the stories behind provocative works, you're sure to find plenty to keep you busy--all included with the price of admission.Amidst a full-color feast for your eyes, you will: Discover ways to turn your art mistakes" into meaningful creationsSit in on mixed-media demonstrations, guiding you through techniques for layering, transferring, altering and moreBe introduced to the works and inspiration of 36 artists, including: Lisa Falzon, Sheri Gaynor, Claudine Hellmuth, Katie Kendrick, Deryn Mentock, Karen Michel, Ted Orland, Izabella Pierce, Richard Salley, Suzanne Simanaitis, Roben-Marie Smith, Jonathan Talbot and many more!Take on creative challenges to push your art-making into new directions Enter the "Exhibition 36" experience--your ticket to an amazing gallery of mixed-media inspiration."

Understanding Shutter Speed: Creative Action and Low-Light Photography Beyond 1/125 Second


Bryan Peterson - 2007
    Now author Bryan Peterson brings his signature style to another important photography topic: shutter speed. With clear, jargon-free explanations of terms and techniques, plus compelling “before-and-after” photos that pair a mediocre image (created using the wrong shutter speed) with a great image (created using the right shutter speed), this is the definitive practical guide to mastering an often-confusing subject. Topics include freezing and implying motion, panning, zooming, exposure, Bogen Super Clamps, and rendering motion effects with Photoshop, all with helpful guidance for both digital and film formats. Great for beginners and serious amateurs, Understanding Shutter Speed is the definitive handy guide to mastering shutter speed for superb results.

Essential Dali (256 Art Books)


Kirsten Bradbury - 1999
    While many of these are among his most famous, others may be less well known, but they are all essential to the development of Dalis artistic philosophy.

Pranks


V. Vale - 1987
    Although not regarded as poetic or artistic acts, pranks constitute an art form and genre. Here, pranksters such as Mark Pauline, Monte Cazazza, Jello Biafra, Joe Coleman, Karen Finley, Henry Rollins, John Waters and Henry Rollins challenge the sovereign authority of words, images and behavioral convention. Some tales are bizarre, as when Boyd Rice presented the First Lady with a skinned sheep's head on a platter. This iconoclastic compendium will dazzle and delight all lovers of humor, satire and irony. A great quotations section is also included.

The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti


Rafael Schacter - 2013
    Today, urban art has traveled to nearly every corner of the globe, shifting and morphing into a highly complex and ornate art form. Displaying their art within what is effectively the largest, most open museum in the world, urban artists unveil their beliefs and imaginations to a public unable to avoid their work. Yet, at its best, urban art is not simply an aesthetic based on slogans, political posturing, or personal promotion: it is an art form deeply committed to the diversity of the street and to a spontaneous creativity that is topographically connected to the architecture of the metropolis.From Inkie in Bristol to Steve Powers in Philadelphia, and from JR in Paris to Os Gêmeos in Brazil and Drewfunk in Australia, The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti is the definitive reference guide to international urban art. It focuses on the most influential and significant urban artists across the world and identifies the key locations of their work. Organized geographically, the text focuses on the individual practitioners within each country or region and explores the historical background to their works. This book strives toward a more nuanced understanding of what has become a widespread art practice.Since the lives and works of urban artists are inextricably bound to streets and places, this definitive reference locates the meeting point between art and atlas, between urban artists and their personal understanding of public spaces, not via a cartographic bird’s-eye view, but through a more intimate, human-centered perspective that challenges contemporary ideas about the mapping of urban space.

Joy of Zentangle: Drawing Your Way to Increased Creativity, Focus, and Well-Being


Suzanne McNeill - 2012
    This book will introduce readers to the basic theory of Zentangle and provide instructions for drawing over 100 tangle patterns from such Certified Zentangle Teachers as Suzanne McNeill, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, and Marie Browning. This beautiful book is filled with examples of Zentangle drawings as well as other art projects and compelling stories from those who have improved their well-being through Zentangle.

What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in a Nutshell


Will Gompertz - 2012
    Rich with extraordinary tales and anecdotes, What Are You Looking At? entertains as it arms readers with the knowledge to truly understand and enjoy what it is they’re looking at.

The Four Books of Architecture


Andrea Palladio
    The wide spread of Palladianism was due partly to the private and public buildings he constructed in Italy, the designs of which were copied throughout Europe. But of even greater consequence was his remarkable magnum opus, "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura"; translated into every major Western European language in the two centuries following its publication in 1570, it has been one of the most influential books in the history of architecture. The Four Books of Architecture offers a compendium of Palladio's art and of the ancient Roman structures that inspired him. The First Book is devoted to building materials and techniques and the five orders of architecture: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. Palladio indicates the characteristic features of each order and supplies illustrations of various architectural details. The Second Book deals with private houses and mansions, almost all of Palladio's own design. Shown and described are many of his villas in and near Venice and Vicenza (including the famous Villa Capra, or "The Rotunda," the Thiene Palace, and the Valmarana Palace). Each plate gives a front view drawing of the building and the general floor plan. The Third Book is concerned with streets, bridges, piazzas, and basilicas, most of which are of ancient Roman origin. In the Fourth Book, Palladio reproduces the designs of a number of ancient Roman temples. Plates 51 to 60 are plans and architectural sketches of the Pantheon.In all, the text is illustrated by over 200 magnificently engraved plates, showing edifices, either of Palladio's own design or reconstructed (in these drawings) by him from classical ruins and contemporary accounts. All the original plates are reproduced in this new single-volume edition in full size and in clear, sharp detail. This is a republication of the Isaac Ware English edition of 1738. Faithful and accurate in the translation and in its reproduction of the exquisite original engravings, it has long been a rare, sought-after work. This edition makes The Four Books available for the first time in more than 200 years to the English-speaking public.

National Geographic Complete Photography


National Geographic Society - 2011
    Not just a how-to book, it is a how-does-it-work book, focusing on cameras, photographs, and photographers. Throughout, voices and photographs from the greatest of National Geographic photographers add authority to these pages. Chapters build from camera basics—like how a digital camera works, what different lenses do, and the definition of exposure—to advanced and specific techniques—such as taking the best family candids, underwater photography, or techniques for capturing fireworks on film. Every chapter includes a feature called "My Perspective," highlighting a National Geographic photographer and his or her work with a personal note on photography. Every chapter ends with a feature called "What Makes This Photograph Great?"—twelve different iconic National Geographic photographs are analyzed thoroughly for their subject matter, composition, lighting and exposure—by James P. Blair, longtime National Geographic photographer. A fascinating illustrated timeline of photography places milestone moments in the developing technology and art of photography into historic context. With something for everyone, novice and experienced amateur alike, designed in such a way that a reader can dip in and out of page after page, this complete reference will become a family favorite, to which young and old will refer over and over for years to come.

Paul Klee: Painting Music


Hajo Düchting - 1997
    A talented violinist as well as a painter, Klee drew much of the inspiration for his abstract art from musical rhythms and structure. Like a composer, he developed and harmonized pictorial themes, weaving a complex series of signs and symbols into his painting. Art historian Hajo Duchting focuses his study primarily on Klee's decade-long tenure at the Bauhaus, where the artist's theories and practice first merged, and where he was to develop his Color Spectrum, Square and Polyphone painting series. Illustrated throughout with full-color reproductions of Klee's paintings and etchings, as well as entries from his diaries, this unique study sheds light on an important aspect of Klee's work while providing insights into his development as an abstract artist.

Color: A Natural History of the Palette


Victoria Finlay - 2003
    Extracted from an Afghan mine, the blue “ultramarine” paint used by Michelangelo was so expensive he couldn’t afford to buy it himself. Since ancient times, carmine red—still found in lipsticks and Cherry Coke today—has come from the blood of insects.

Manet (Taschen Basic Art)


Gilles Néret - 2003
    His Dejeuner sur l'herbe remains one of the most memorable images of the 19th century.

Collage: Contemporary Artists Hunt and Gather, Cut and Paste, Mash Up and Transform


Danielle Krysa - 2014
    This showcase of cutting-edge contemporary art from across the globe features galleries of collage by 30 practitioners, from the surreal landscapes of Beth Hoeckel to Fabien Souche's humorous appropriations of pop culture. Each artist has also created a new piece especially for this book—all using the same original image, but with results as wildly diverse as the medium of collage itself. This collection is visual inspiration for art lovers and an appreciation of the transformation of old into new.