The lavishly illustrated book brings the artist's exotic women, sinewy men, and fantasy worlds to life in over 110 full-color paintings. There are images of stunning winged women and muscled men fighting ferocious beasts, as well as strange alien worlds filled with metallic spacecraft and colorful citizens. Renowned fantasy author Nigel Suckling offers insight into Vallejo's work with fascinating and informative extended captions.

    Although technically Norman Rockwell was an academic painter, he had the eye of a photographer and, as he became a mature artist, he used this eye to give us a picture of America that was famliar�astonishingly so�and at the same time unique. Rockwell best expressed this vision of America in his justly famous cover illustrations for magazines like The Saturday Evening Post. 332 of these cover paintings, from beloved classics like "Marbles Champion" to lesser-known gems like "Feeding Time," are reproduced in stunning full color in this large-format volume, which is sure to be treasured by art lovers everywhere.

    Slight of build, shy by nature, prone to fits of depression, the 28-year-old Beijing photographer was nonetheless at the forefront of Chinese artists' battle for creative freedom. Like his champion Ai Weiwei, Ren was controversial in his homeland and wildly popular in the rest of the world. He said, -I don't really view my work as taboo, because I don't think so much in cultural context, or political context. I don't intentionally push boundaries, I just do what I do.- Why? Because his models, friends, and increasingly, fans, are naked, often outdoors, high in the trees or on the terrifyingly vertiginous rooftops of Beijing, stacked like building blocks, heads wrapped in octopi, body cavities sprouting phone cords and flowers, whatever enters his mind at the moment. He denies his intentions are sexual, and there is a clean detachment about even his most extreme images: the urine, the insertions, the many, many erections. In a 2013 interview VICE magazine asked, -there are a lot of dicks ... do you just like dicks?- Ren responded, -It's not just dicks I'm interested in, I like to portray every organ in a fresh, vivid and emotional way.- True though that may be, the penises Ren photographed are not just fresh and vivid, but unusually large, making one wonder just where he met his friends. In the same piece, Hang also stated, -Gender isn't important when I'm taking pictures, it only matters to me when I'm having sex, - making him a pioneer of gender inclusiveness. Young fans still eagerly flock to his website, Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr accounts. His photographs, all produced on film, have been the subject of over 20 solo and 70 group shows in his brief six-year career, in cities as disparate as Tokyo, Athens, Paris, New York, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Vienna, and yes, even Beijing. He self-published 16 monographs, in tiny print runs, that now sell for up to $600. TASCHEN's Ren Hang is his only international collection, covering his entire career, with well-loved favorites and many never-before-seen photos of men, women, Beijing, and those many, many erections. We take solace remembering Ren's joy when he first held the book, shared by his long-time partner Jiaqi, featured on the cover.Text in English, French, and German

    Determined to keep the family together, Zetta and their toddlers join Asa and her brothers at the Golden Gate coal camp just before Christmas 1922. She is eight months pregnant. During the first week in the dismal camp, Zetta suffers fearful nightmares of cut trees and fresh dirt--Appalachian signs of trouble. Asa dismisses his wife's pleas to return to their farm, insisting their three-month stay will provide the $400 they need to give their children better lives. Disappointed, Zetta draws strength from her plump red-haired neighbor, Dosha, and the strong willed granny woman, Clarie, who will deliver her baby. And each morning, she thanks the Lord they are one more day closer to home. Or are they?

     Blood moons that brought nothing. Shemitah years that have long passed. 10 horns that seem neither to be 10 countries of the failing European Union nor 10 Islamic nations. Yet 1900 years after John, the code of the Antichrist is finally clear and as failed ideologies of the recent past entice the younger generation through great deception, Nimrod is rising once again. The symbols of Daniel's and John's visions are no longer a mystery but hide in plain sight today. History you can verify for yourself right now will convince you of the global Antichrist to come, before the Second Coming. There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9). This book decodes simply the vision of John on the Number of the Beast, reliving the first lie in the garden of Eden. And it does not end at Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Nero Caesar or "nrwn qsr" You will see : Extraordinary proofs of God's omniscience in predicting the future movements of the human race, from the beginning of the world A dark agenda that is no longer a conspiracy theory, but is out in the open, operating in the halls of government worldwide Is America Mystery Babylon ? or as this book shows - has America stood time and again in the gap for Humanity against the real Beast for exactly over a 100 years now ? How World War 3 will be the global entry ramp for the Antichrist but wars are not the end (Matt 24:6) The rise of Homo Deus as prophesied (2 Thessalonians 2:4) Four horns or ten ? - Maps of the Middle East and the most likely regions of the Ten horns from a meeting that preceded even the European Union The coming enforcement of a trans-national "planetary regime" to enforce totalitarian population control measures and control of all renewable and non-renewable resources on earth, even OPENLY demanded by some politicians today. The goal of this future regime to fundamentally and irreversibly change human nature through government action A connection between two events that occurred more than two decades ago EXACTLY one year apart the first a political earthquake and the second, one that started small but today has irrevocably changed humanity. How FAKE news will be the ONLY news just before the return of Christ How the Antichrist will finally make peace between Israel and the Arabs and WHY this will have to happen, inevitably! New meaning in the prophecies of Isaiah and how Psalm 83 aligns perfectly with his prophecies of the changes surrounding the end times Why Mystery Babylon and the Headquarters of the Beast are the same TWO cities in the future as in the 1st century from prophecies of Jeremiah and John You will also see how the Apocalypse or "uncovering" will unfold through a new yet doomed-to-fail system of global government and two new technologies not fully here today

    Prophetic perspective concerning the Middle East, Israel, Australia, and the United States are all covered inside these pages. If you are searching for accurate, specific, and revelatory prophecy, the messages from heaven contained in this book will give leaders, saints, and intercessors a clear prayer agenda and tangible burden from God. The body of Christ must be prepared for the days ahead and the dreams, visions, and encounters inside these pages will do just that. Now is the time to seek the face of God like never before!

    Pieper shows that the Greeks understood and valued leisure, as did the medieval Europeans. He points out that religion can be born only in leisure - a leisure that allows time for the contemplation of the nature of God. Leisure has been, and always will be, the first foundation of any culture.He maintains that our bourgeois world of total labor has vanquished leisure, and issues a startling warning: Unless we regain the art of silence and insight, the ability for nonactivity, unless we substitute true leisure for our hectic amusements, we will destroy our culture - and ourselves.These astonishing essays contradict all our pragmatic and puritanical conceptions about labor and leisure; Josef Pieper demolishes the twentieth-century cult of "work" as he predicts its destructive consequences.

    One could not help but take notice at his meteoric ascendency to the presidency after publicly breaking every norm and social mores that polite society holds dear. The name “Donald” means world ruler, and no he is not the antichrist, but he is a man of destiny. Open a King James Bible and read Daniel chapter 8 with a dictionary and you cannot help but see that he is the prophesied king of the west who “at the time of the end” will fulfill the prophecy in making his nation “very great.” (Daniel 8:9) Televangelists are failing to inform their audiences of this prophecy that once served to predict the rise of Alexander the Great, as a mighty western Grecian king, who would conquer the Mideast; that no one could withstand. He put Europe on the map as a force to be reckoned with. The prophecy states in itself that it will again serve “at the time of the end” to identify a king of the west with the disposition of a “he goat” that no nation will be able to withstand as he makes his nation “very great” prior to the rise of four other nations out of whom the antichrist will rise “in the latter times,” whom Daniel calls “the little horn.” (Daniel 8:9). Daniel was famous for interpreting “the handwriting on the wall" in the kingdom of Babylon called Iraq today. This is the same Daniel of the lion’s den who wrote of a prophetic vision he had in front of an Iraqi river that was designated for an “appointed time” - “the time of the end.” His dual purposed vision points out that in the end times a “strong” leader of the west, whom Daniel identified as “king” with the character of a Billy goat will be known for his stubborn personality. The prophet wrote that this king of the west calling him in parable a he goat who will be moved with “choler.” Webster’s defines choler as “a ready disposition to irritation. 2) Irascible marked by a hot temper and easily provoked to anger.” Oxford dictionary defines “being moved with choler” as “a peevish temperament easily provoked to anger.” Daniel forecast that “at the time of the end” this king of the west will “be moved with choler” with his ire stirred against Persia, called Iran since 1936 (Daniel 8:5). The first portion of Daniel eight is in parable form describing the western leader as launching an air attack as a “he goat” whose “feet touched not the ground” as it tackled “the ram having two horns.” The parable is reveals later in the chapter describing the “two horns” as the kings of Media and Persia/Iran. Daniel prophesied that “at the time of the end” a king of the west will trample the leaders of Iraq and Iran into the dust. On September 11, 2001, a king of the west was caught flat-footed when he was reading a children’s book “My Pet Goat” to school kids in Florida, when his nation was air attacked as. Later, this western leader, President George W. Bush under his motto “Stay the course” initiated an unprovoked attack on Iraq in a war named “Iraqi Freedom” leading to its dictator (king according to Daniel) Saddam Hussein being toppled in death in 2003. This was the first stage of Daniel’s prophecy. Presently, in 2017, this war still endures, because Daniel predicted that the West’s attack near the territory of Media conquered by Alexander must also topple Persia’s\Iran’s leader. However, when this he goat king from the west defeats Iran\Persia, Daniel writes that his nation will become “very great.

    Americans embraced these visions and incorporated fantasy into reality: mid-century fashion, popular music, eating and drinking, and even architecture were influenced by the Tiki trend. With unfettered enthusiasm—ignoring scholarly authenticity and political correctness—American artisans molded the Tiki into their own image, creating a mid-century pop culture genre that was forgotten until the 2000s, when urban archeologist Sven Kirsten wrested the figure of the Tiki from obscurity with his pioneering TASCHEN books The Book of Tiki and Tiki Modern. This book traces the development of Tiki as romantic vision and kitschy cultural appropriation, from its earliest beginnings when James Cook “discovered” the Pacific Islands in the second half of the 18th century to Herman Melville’s South Sea adventure stories like Moby Dick and Gauguin’s exuberant, exotic paintings to the jungle fantasies of the Hollywood dream factory. Published in connection with an exhibition at the prestigious Musée du quai Branly in Paris, Tiki Pop the culmination of Sven Kirsten’s research efforts. With his widely lauded visual style, the author places venerable ancient godheads next to their Polynesian pop counterparts. With hundreds of previously unpublished images, the story of Tiki the 20th-century pop icon unfolds from its earliest beginnings to its spectacular downfall in the dawning awareness of the Western world’s colonial misdeeds.

    Since then, painting has been declared dead several times over, and contemporary art has now expanded to include just about any object, action, or event: dance routines, slideshows, functional hair salons, seemingly random accretions of waste. In the meantime, being an artist has gone from a join-the-circus fantasy to a plausible vocation for scores of young people in America.But why--and how and by whom--does all this art get made? How is it evaluated? And for what, if anything, will today's artists be remembered? In The Contemporaries, Roger White, himself a young painter, serves as our spirited, skeptical guide through this diffuse creative world.White takes us into the halls of the RISD graduate program, where students learn critical lessons that go far beyond how to apply paint to canvases. In New York, we meet the neophytes who assist established artists--and who walk the fine line between "assistance" and "making the art." In Milwaukee, White trails a group of friends trying to create a viable scene where rent is cheap, but where the spotlight rarely shines. And he gives us an intimate perspective on three wildly different careers: that of Dana Schutz, an emerging star who is revitalizing painting; Mary Walling Blackburn, whose challenging art defies market forces; and Stephen Kaltenbach, a '70s wunderkind who is back on the critical radar, perhaps in spite of his own willful obscurity.From young artists trying to elbow their way in to those working hard at dropping out, White's essential book offers a once-in-a-generation glimpse of the inner workings of the American art world at a moment of unparalleled ambition, uncertainty, and creative exuberance.

    Images of the Buddha are everywhere: selling tea bags, mobile phones, holidays. But what is the true attraction of Buddhism? Why is it the fastest growing religion in the West? Check out the real goods on offer: freedom, compassion, awareness, wisdom and meditation in this clear introduction to the Buddhist path. This best-selling book explains the essential teachings and practices that underlie most forms of Buddhism and may even tempt you to try this practical way of transformation for yourself!

    Symbolist poets and writers — Stéphane Mallarmé and Maurice Maeterlinck among them — defended the play's literary brilliance. Beyond its notoriety, the drama's haunting poetic imagery, biblical cadences, and febrile atmosphere have earned it a reputation as a masterpiece of the Aesthetic movement of fin de siècle England.Written originally in French in 1892, this sinister tale of a woman scorned and her vengeance was translated into English by Lord Alfred Douglas. The play inspired some of Aubrey Beardsley's finest illustrations, and an abridged version served as the text for Strauss' renowned opera of the same name. This volume reprints the complete text of the first English edition, published in 1894, and also includes "A Note on Salomé" by Robert Ross, Wilde's lifelong friend and literary executor. Students, lovers of literature and drama, and admirers of Oscar Wilde and his remarkable literary gifts will rejoice in this inexpensive edition.

    . . The book as a whole offers a fascinating look at how this movie tells a timeless story.” —The Washington PostMrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you? When The Graduate premiered in December 1967, its filmmakers had only modest expectations for what seemed to be a small, sexy art-house comedy adapted from an obscure first novel by an eccentric twenty-four-year-old. There was little indication that this offbeat story—a young man just out of college has an affair with one of his parents’ friends and then runs off with her daughter—would turn out to be a monster hit, with an extended run in theaters and seven Academy Award nominations. The film catapulted an unknown actor, Dustin Hoffman, to stardom with a role that is now permanently engraved in our collective memory. While turning the word plastics into shorthand for soulless work and a corporate, consumer culture, The Graduate sparked a national debate about what was starting to be called “the generation gap.” Now, in time for this iconic film’s fiftieth birthday, author Beverly Gray offers up a smart close reading of the film itself as well as vivid, never-before-revealed details from behind the scenes of the production—including all the drama and decision-making of the cast and crew. For movie buffs and pop culture fanatics, Seduced by Mrs. Robinson brings to light The Graduate’s huge influence on the future of filmmaking. And it explores how this unconventional movie rocked the late-sixties world, both reflecting and changing the era’s views of sex, work, and marriage.

    It purposely makes the two biggest developments in end-user music in the last 30 years irrelevant. Zaireeka is not mobile. It is not personal. It is not solitary, cannot be easily controlled, and can't easily be consumed in small doses. So another way to think of Zaireeka is as a one-off piece of technology that comes in a highly inconvenient dead-end format, which is a rather extraordinary kind of thing for a rock band to make. The Flaming Lips' 1997 album Zaireeka is one of the most peculiar albums ever recorded, consisting of four CDs meant to be played simultaneously on four CD players. Approaching this powerful and complex art-rock masterpiece from multiple angles, Mark Richardson's prismatic study of Zaireeka mirrors the structure the work itself. Thoughts on communal listening and the "death of the album" are interspersed with the story of the Zaireeka's creation (with assistance from Wayne Coyne) and an in-depth analysis of the music, leading to a complete picture of a record that proved to be a watershed for both the band and adventurous music fans alike.

    Just when it seems things couldn't get any worse, he is visited by Sidney Lipton, a.k.a. A Messenger from God (and compulsive film buff) with a mission: test Joe's faith and report back to "the Boss." The jokes and Tests of Faith fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale like no other in this hilarious comedy.