Has Modernism Failed?


Suzi Gablik - 1984
    In describing a world whose central aesthetic paradigm of modernism had lost its vitality, with an "avant-garde" that reflected the culture of consumerism, her book struck a chord in an audience that had once responded to the heroic idealism of modernism. Reprinted many times, Has Modernism Failed? became one of the most popular and influential works of contemporary art criticism. Now Gablik has revised and expanded her work to encompass developments over the last two decades. A new prologue looks at changes in the cultural context of art, especially at the radical split between artists who still proclaim the self-sufficiency of art, "in defiance of the social good," and artists who want art to have some worthy agenda outside of itself. In a new chapter, "Globalization," she looks at the ruthless cultural homogenization of a universal consumer society and how a number of artists and curators are challenging it. And in a passionate new chapter called "Transdisciplinarity" she offers a way forward for individuals to break free of the limiting ideologies of modernism and consumerism and shows how some artists are reflecting both spiritual and social concerns in their art.

Let's See: Writings on Art from The New Yorker: Writings on Art from The New Yorker


Peter Schjeldahl - 2008
    Blessed with an unerring eye, he tackles a myriad of subjects with wit, poetry, and perspicacity, examining and questioning the art before him while reveling in the power and beauty of language. His writing springs from a desire to be understood by all readers, and a determination to help them engage with art of every kind.Covering subjects drawn from a broad canvas of the history of art—from ancient Greece, Mexico, and Byzantium, through Raphael, Rubens, and Rembrandt, to Bruce Nauman, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and John Currin—the writings collected here seek out with precision and economy the essence of the individual artist or work under discussion, but they never lose sight of the bigger picture: What is beauty? What does it mean to be an American artist? What can the art we produce and admire tell us about ourselves?With an imaginative introduction—twenty questions, each one posed to Schjeldahl by a different artist or writer—this collection will appeal to anyone who considers the experience of art, and of writing on art, an invitation to a voyage.Coverage includes:     • large-scale exhibitions at leading institutions around the world     • shows at private galleries     • profiles of prominent members of the art world     • personal accounts of time spent with artists     • the influences of museum spaces on our experience of art

Gustav Klimt: 1862-1918


Gilles Néret - 1992
    In his own time, Kilmt (1862-1918) was a highly successful painter, draftsman, muralist, and graphic artist; in the intervening years, iconic works such as The Kiss have been elevated to nothing less than cult status. Klimt's unfading popularity attests to the appeal of not only his aesthetic sensibilities but also that of the recurrent universal themes in his work: love, feminine beauty, aging, and death. He once wrote, "I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night...Who ever wants to know something about me...ought to look carefully at my pictures." With this overview of Klimt's work, readers will delight in taking up that challenge.About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

M.C. Escher: His Life and Complete Graphic Work (With a Fully Illustrated Catalogue)


J.L. Locher - 1992
    The story of the artist's life is told here with the help of virtually his entire correspondence, the journals of his travels, and, to supply the facts about his youthful years, the journals kept by his father.

Bloodborne Official Artworks


FromSoftware - 2017
    Bloodborne: Official Artworks collects the hair-raising artwork behind this modern action role-playing classic. Included are character concepts, creature designs, location illustrations, weapons, items, and more!

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art


Scott McCloud - 1993
    Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics is a seminal examination of comics art: its rich history, surprising technical components, and major cultural significance. Explore the secret world between the panels, through the lines, and within the hidden symbols of a powerful but misunderstood art form.

The DC Comics Encyclopedia


Scott Beatty - 2004
    It includes brand-new artwork of some of DC's most famous characters, as well as recalling famous storylines and battles.

That's the Way I See It


David Hockney - 1993
    David Hockney has worked in almost every medium - painting, drawing, stage design, photography and printmaking. He has undertaken an ambitious experiment with ways of seeing and ways of representing sight - ranging from his paintings, with their challenges to perspective and brilliant colours, to his vivid multi-dimensional photo-collages and his fax art, computer printings and coloured laser prints.

Women: Selected Drawings and Illustrations


Frank Cho - 2006
    This 112-page collection will showcase Cho's past and present illustrations and you will see why he's considered one of the top modern masters of the female form.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes


Bill Watterson - 2005
    The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. The entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this New York Times best-selling edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.

Concepts of Modern Art


Nikos Stangos - 1974
    With Edward Lucie-Smith on Pop Art, Suzi Gablik on Minimal Art, Norbert Lynton on Expressionism, and Sarah Whitfield on Fauvism, to name a few, these scholarly essays illuminate each particular artistic movement of the century, and together form an entire history of modern art. 123 illus.

Mind Fields


Harlan Ellison - 1994
    30 color photos.ContentsThe Creation of Water • (1994) • short storyTwilight in the Cupboard • (1994) • short storyAmok Harvest • (1994) • short storyTheory of Tension • (1994) • short storyBack to Nature • (1994) • short storyInternal Inspection • (1994) • short storyMetropolis II • (1994) • short storyIn the Oligocenskie Gardens • (1994) • short storyEurope • (1994) • short storyFever • (1994) • short storyAttack at Dawn • (1994) • short story; interior artwork is a variant of the cover artSusan • (1993) • short storyBetween Heaven and Hell • (1994) • short storyShed of Rebellion • (1994) • short storyTo Each His Own • (1994) • short storyEruption • (1993) • short storyThe Inquisition • (1994) • short storyBeneath the Dunes • (1994) • short storyThe Silence • (1994) • short storyDarkness Falls on the River • (1994) • short storyParadise • (1994) • short storyExpress Delivery • (1994) • short storyThe Agitators • (1994) • short storyTruancy at the Pond • (1994) • short storyAmmonite • (1994) • short storyBase • (1994) • short storyForaging in the Field • (1994) • short storyTraffic Prohibited • (1994) • short storyAfternoon with the Bros. Grimm • (1994) • short storyThe Cosmic Barnyard • (1994) • short storyUnder the Landscape • (1994) • short storyEllison Wonderland • (1994) • short storyPlease Don't Slam the Door • (1994) • short storyAfterthoughts • (1994) • essay

The Complete Illuminated Books


William Blake - 1974
    For Blake, religion and politics, intellect and emotion, mind and body were both unified and in conflict with each other: his work is expressive of his personal mythology, and his methods of conveying it were integral to its meaning. There is no comparison with reading books such as Jerusalem, America, and Songs of Innocence and of Experience in Blake's own medium, infused with his sublime and exhilarating colors. Tiny figures and forms dance among the lines of the text, flames appear to burn up the page, and dense passages of Biblical-sounding text are brought to a jarring halt by startling images of death, destruction, and liberation. Blake's hope that his books would obtain wide circulation was unfulfilled: some exist only in unique copies and none was printed in more than very small numbers. Now, for the first time, the plates from the William Blake Trust's Collected Edition have been brought together in a single volume, with transcripts of the texts and an introduction by the noted scholar David Bindman. Includes: Jerusalem; Songs of Innocence and of Experience; All Religions are One; There is No Natural Religion; The Book of Thel; The Marriage of Heaven and Hell; Visions of the Daughters of Albion; America a Prophecy; Europe a Prophecy; The Song of Los Milton a Poem; The Ghost of Abel; On Homers Poetry and] On Virgil; Laocoon; The First Book of Urizen; The Book of Ahania; The Book of Los.

Doonesbury's Greatest Hits: A Mid-Seventies Revue


G.B. Trudeau - 1978
    Reprints DOONESBURY comic strips from 1975-7.

Tintin: The Art of Hergé


Michel Daubert - 2013
    Millions followed Tintin from the wilds of the Congo to the streets of Prague, Moscow, New York, and more. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, original plates, and ephemera, Tintin: The Art of Hergé offers fresh insight into the story behind this iconic character, with unprecedented access to original sources from the Hergé Museum in Belgium. Offering a new and nuanced look into the world of Tintin, journalist Michel Daubert explains how the artist Georges Remi became the world-famous Hergé. The book also includes profiles on the beloved characters, selections from Hergé’s earliest work, and chapters that trace the development of a rough sketch into a masterpiece. With its dynamic narrative and visual treasures, Tintin underscores the artist’s varied inspirations, revealing how Hergé’s creations have become modern classics. Praise for Tintin: The Art of Hergé: Working with the Hergé Museum in Belgium, journalist Michel Daubert has produced Tintin: The Art of Hergé, a rich collection of photographs, early works, character profiles, and more that trace the life and artistic development of Tintin creator Georges Remi, aka Hergé.” —Publishers Weekly