Book picks similar to
African Forms: Art and Rituals by Laure Meyer
africa
african-art
art
Painting People: Figure Painting Today
Charlotte Mullins - 2006
A new generation of artists--as well as some who never abandoned figurative painting in the first place--is relishing the solitary, slow, subtle set of processes involved in not just painting, but painting people. They are choosing paint's unique ability to distill a lifetime of events rather than photography's glimpse of a frozen moment. Painting People, edited by the prominent London art historian and critic Charlotte Mullins, unites and contrasts the work of a key group of artists from around the world, and investigates their richly varied accomplishments in lucid text with detailed commentaries, accompanied by more than 150 reproductions. The list of contributing artists is stellar, ranging from photo-based painters like Luc Tuymans, Peter Doig and Marlene Dumas to Pop artists like Sigmar Polke and Alex Katz, photorealists like Chuck Close and Gerhard Richter, Neoexpressionists like Cecily Brown, and comics-inspired painters like Yoshitomo Nara, Inka Essenhigh and Takashi Murakami. There are erotic grotesques from John Currin and Lisa Yuskavage, meditations on the muse by Elizabeth Peyton and Lucian Freud, "Repro-realistic" work from Neo Rauch and of course self-portraits by Philip Akkerman and Marcel Dzama, among others.
You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes
Chris Hadfield - 2014
. .In You Are Here, bestselling author and celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield creates a virtual orbit of Earth, giving us the really big picture: this is our home, from space. The millions of us who followed Hadfield's news-making Twitter feed from the ISS thought we knew what we were looking at when we first saw his photos. But we may have caught the beauty and missed the full meaning. Now, through photographs - many of which have never been shared - Hadfield unveils a fresh and insightful look at our planet. He sees astonishing detail and importance in these images, not just because he's spent months in space but because his in-depth knowledge of geology, geography and meteorology allows him to reveal the photos' mysteries.Featuring Hadfield's favourite images, You Are Here is divided by continent and represents one (idealized) orbit of the ISS. This planetary photo tour - surprising, playful, thought-provoking and visually delightful - provides a breathtakingly beautiful perspective on the wonders of the world. You Are Here opens a singular window on our planet, using remarkable photographs to illuminate the history and consequences of human settlement, the magnificence of newly uncovered landscapes, and the power of the natural forces shaping our world and the future of our species.
A History of the World in 12 Maps
Jerry Brotton - 2012
Starting with Ptolemy, "father of modern geography," and ending with satellite cartography, A History of the World in 12 Maps brings maps from classical Greece, Renaissance Europe, and the Islamic and Buddhist worlds to life and reveals their influence on how we—literally—look at our present world. As Brotton shows, the long road to our present geographical reality was rife with controversy, manipulation, and special interests trumping science. Through the centuries maps have been wielded to promote any number of imperial, religious, and economic agendas, and have represented the idiosyncratic and uneasy fusion of science and subjectivity. Brotton also conjures the worlds that produced these notable works of cartography and tells the stories of those who created, used, and misused them for their own ends.
Foreign Gods, Inc.
Okey Ndibe - 2014
Ike's plan is fueled by desperation. Despite a degree in economics from a major American college, his strong accent has barred him from the corporate world. Forced to eke out a living as a cab driver, he is unable to manage the emotional and material needs of a temperamental African American bride and a widowed mother demanding financial support. When he turns to gambling, his mounting losses compound his woes.And so he travels back to Nigeria to steal the statue, where he has to deal with old friends, family, and a mounting conflict between those in the village who worship the deity, and those who practice Christianity. A meditation on the dreams, promises and frustrations of the immigrant life in America; the nature and impact of religious conflicts; an examination of the ways in which modern culture creates or heightens infatuation with the "exotic," including the desire to own strange objects and hanker after ineffable illusions; and an exploration of the shifting nature of memory, Foreign Gods is a brilliant work of fiction that illuminates our globally interconnected world like no other.
Footprints Of Lion
Beverley Harper - 2004
At stake: possession of a land rich in gold, diamonds and cheap human resources.Atrocities of the Anglo-Boer war take a terrible toll on soldiers and civilians alike. Lorna fears for her husband and sons - extrovert Cameron; brooding and secretive Torben; roguish Duncan; and Frazer, the youngest, softly spoken and artistic. She worries for her daughters - medically minded Ellie, who is never far from the front line, and headstrong Meggie, baby of the family. None are left untouched.From battlefields stained with blood and concentration camps rife with disease, to a pride of veldt lions thriving in the madness of war, Footprints of Lion is an action-packed sequel to Shadows in the Grass. Love, hate, revenge, triumph and much more stalk the pages of this unforgettable novel from Beverley Harper.
Fashion Photography 101
Lara Jade - 2012
Lara shares her experience of fashion photography in the digital age, including dedicated sections on retouching, genres of fashion photography, and making the best use of social media. Whether you're taking your first-ever shot, working with a professional model for the first time, or pitching to new clients, here is everything you need to produce moody, magical images that leap from the page straight into the viewer's imagination.
Stanley Donwood: There Will Be No Quiet
Stanley Donwood - 2019
His influential work spans many practices over a 23-year period, from music packaging to installation work to printmaking. Here, he reveals his personal notebooks, photographs, sketches, and abandoned routes to iconic Radiohead artworks. Arranged chronologically, each chapter is dedicated to a major work—whether an album cover, promotional piece, or a personal project—and is presented as a step-by-step working case study. Featuring commentary by Thom Yorke and never-before-seen archival material, this is the first deep dive into Donwood’s creative practice and the artistic freedom afforded to him by working for a major music act. It is a must-have for fans of the band and anyone interested in graphic design and popular culture.
Design Thinking Workshop: The 12 Indispensable Elements for a Design Thinking Workshop
Pauline Tonhauser - 2016
In this e-book you will learn what exactly is needed to run a successful Design Thinking Workshop which is fun and at the same time generates great results. In this e-book Pauline Tonhauser, founder of designthinkingcoach.de, shares her best practices.
Lovers and Others Strangers: Paintings by Jack Vettriano
Jack Vettriano - 1997
Illustrated with 100 of his paintings, the book is accompanied by an elegant biographical portrait of the artist’s life and achievements.
The Dancing Face
Mike Phillips - 1998
He enlists the aid of Dr Akinye Okigbo - but Okigbo sees Gus as the perfect tool to further his political ends - by stealing the Dancing Face, an African artefact of huge talsimanic significance.
The Africa Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the Continent
Matt Phillips - 2007
Herds of wild animals crossing acacia-dotted plains, remote cultures that time seems to have forgotten, the monumental vestiges of crumbled empires, as well ast he dire realities of war, disease and famine - Africa is all this and much more. From Cape Town's gleaming shopping arcades to the remote tribal settlements on Lake Turkana's shores, The Africa Book draws together a definitive collection of the sights, sounds and tastes of this spellbinding continent.Here's how to start - open at any page and begin your own journey. Float down the Nile in a felucca, visit the mountain gorillas of Rwanda, catch mbalax fever on Dakar's glittering dance floors, relax under the palms on Zanzibar's powdery white beaches. Let Lonely Planet's photographers, authors and travelers lead you through five regions, 54 countries and inspire you to embark on the journey of your life.
Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
Jacqueline L. Tobin - 1999
With the admonition to "write this down," Williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But just as quickly as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn the rest when she was "ready."During the three years it took for Williams's narrative to unfold--and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew--Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history professor and well-known African American quilter, to help unravel the mystery.Part adventure and part history, Hidden in Plain View traces the origin of the Charleston Code from Africa to the Carolinas, from the low-country island Gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the North, and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one amazing American story.
The Master Blaster
P.F. Kluge - 2012
This captivating novel intertwines the stories of several inhabitants on Saipan, America's least-appreciated tropical island. George Griffin is a jaded writer who comes for a press junket and stays far longer than expected; Stephanie Warner is a university professor recently on "trial separation" from her husband; Mel Brodie is an elderly entrepreneur; and Khan is a Bangladeshi laborer who comes to Saipan ("America") to escape hunger. Their voices circle the enthralling element of Saipan-and the hopes that originally drew them to the island. With the versatility that won Kluge accolades as the writer behind Dog Day Afternoon, The Master Blaster is a rare wonder of contemporary storytelling.
Eye Against Eye
Forrest Gander - 2005
The three long poems in Eye Against Eye convey the wrought particulars of intimate human relations, perceptions of the landscape, and the historical moment, tense with political exigencies. Mayan ruins invoke the collapsing Twin Towers, love between parents and child blister with tension, and a bicycle thief shatters the narcotic illusion of a private accord. Also contained is Late Summer Entry, a series of poetic commentaries on Sally Mann's landscape photographs. Eye Against Eye, Forrest Gander's third book with New Directions, cries out an ethical concern for the ways we see each other and the world, the potential to share a vision that acknowledges our commonality. As always with Gander's poetry, suspensions and repetitions drive toward a complex emotional experience, evoking the multifaceted, multi-vocal surge of our present.
The Republic of Gupta: A Story of State Capture
Pieter-Louis Myburgh - 2017
Since then, they have become embroiled in allegations of state capture, of dishing out cabinet posts to officials who would do their bidding, and of benefiting from lucrative state contracts and dubious loans. The Republic of Gupta investigates what the Gupta brothers were up to during Thabo Mbeki’s presidency and how they got into the inner circle of President Jacob Zuma. It shines new light on their controversial ventures in computers, cricket, newspapers and TV news, and coal and uranium mining. And it explores their exposure by public protector Thuli Madonsela, their conflict with finance minister Pravin Gordhan, and the real reasons behind the cabinet reshuffle of March 2017.Pieter-Louis Myburgh delves deeper than ever before into the Guptas’ business dealings and their links to prominent South African politicians, and explains how one family managed to transform an entire country into the Republic of Gupta.