Book categories

Across the Pacific

From Ancient Asia to Precolombian America

by Christian Lemoy

2011

In former times, even more than today, climatic changes had major influences on migratory flows, and consequently on ancient agrarian civilizations, leading to deep economic, social, political and religious chaos, history that we should meditate today to decide our future. This original book insists on the importance of the El Niño climatic phenomenon on the trans-Pacific migratory flows which occurred 5000 years ago, and presents comparisons between cultures and civilizations which existed on both sides of the Pacific, in Asia and America, in comparable epochs. Travelers who want to discover pre-Colombian America or ancient Asia, whether they are lovers of archeological sites or passionate about the cultural heirs of old civilizations, will be fascinated by the innovating content of thi...

The Mind at Hand: What Drawing Reveals

Stories of Exploration, Discovery and Design

by Michael J. Strauss

2013

The Mind at Hand explores how artists, scientists, writers, and others - students and professionals alike - see their world, record it, revise it and come to know it. It is about the rough-drawn sketch, diagram, chart, or other graphic representation, and the focus these provide for creative work that follows from them. Such work could involve solving a problem, composing a musical score, proposing a hypothesis, creating a painting, and many other imaginative and inventive tasks. The book is for visual learners of all kinds, for scientists as well as artists, and for anyone who keeps a journal, notebook, or lab book in order to think and create visually. It is also a book for teachers and educational administrators interested in learning about new active learning strategies involving dr...

Networks of Design

Proceedings of the 2008 Annual International Conference of the Design History Society (UK) University College Falmouth, 3-6 September

by Fiona Hackney, Jonathan Glynne, & Viv Minton (eds.)

2009

Networks of Design maps a new methodological territory in design studies, conceived as a field of interdisciplinary inquiry and practice informed by a range of responses to actor network theory. It brings together a rich body of current work by researchers in the social sciences, technology, material culture, cultural geography, information technology, and systems design, and design theory and history. This collection will be invaluable to students and researchers in many areas of design studies and to design practitioners receptive to new and challenging notions of what constitutes the design process. Over ninety essays are thematically organised to address five aspects of the expanded notions of mediation, agency, and collaboration posited by network theory: Ideas, Things, Technology,...

The Heart of Drawing

Stories and Images from Around the World

by Michael J. Strauss; Mags Phelan Stones; Abrah Griggs

2023

In this unique new book, The Heart of Drawing, 59 artists from 22 countries exhibit their art and talk about their process of creation to inspire readers and help them find inspiration for their own creative efforts. The book is about what happens during the creation of a drawing, NOT just about the final result. Drawing is described as an act of cognition that can help you develop eye-brain-hand coordination, conceptualize and analyze ideas, think creatively, and express yourself and communicate with others. It’s about Drawing to Learn, which is the main focus of the book. The words and images you see express a journey, and the artists are exploring their internal and external realities with shape, line and value. The book promotes gestural or expressive drawing, not necessarily a perf...

Life in Bright Colors

The Artist's Secrets by Maya Green

by Maya Green

2010

"Painting is my passion. Painting is as natural for me as breathing. Having been attached to painting since childhood, I felt that the necessity to paint grows bigger year after year. I respond creatively to everything that surrounds me."

This collection of original paintings by Maya Green displays her deep passion for color. Key in the works is her use of a palette knife, which allows her to apply pure color, delicate lines and perhaps most importantly, to express energy that no brush is able to capture.

How to Paint Tropical Sunsets

Step by Step

by Gina De Gorna

2010

How to Paint Tropical Sunsets is the first and only instructional book about the art of painting tropical sunsets. The book will be of interest to art enthusiasts of all ages. No previous painting experience is required. A list of all necessary materials is included, along with detailed step-by-step instructions and plenty of painting tips, beautiful samples, and colorful references. How to Paint Tropical Sunsets is a great tool for art therapy, art classes, self enjoyment, and stress relief.

"Anyone may enjoy a stunning sunset moment, but only an artist can always create one." --Gina De Gorna

A Chesley Bonestell Space Art Chronology

by Melvin H. Schuetz

1999

Chesley Bonestell has been called the "Father of Space Art." His photorealistic paintings of the Moon and planets, and other worlds beyond, have awed us since they were first published, over half a century ago. Moreover, he showed, long before Gagarin or Glenn, what it would be like for humans to explore the vastness of space. As author Howard E. McCurdy has written in his book, Space and the American Imagination: "No artist had more impact on the emerging popular culture of space in America than Chesley Bonestell. . . . Through his visual images, he stimulated the interest of a generation of Americans and showed how space travel would be accomplished." Considering his great influence on both the public interest in space flight and the actual development of a national space program, ...

Sculpture Off the Pedestal

Monuments and Their Makers

by Joan B. Altabe

2010

Sculpture Off the Pedestal is a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of 25 leading sculptors from the Renaissance to the present through their own words or those who knew them.

Aiming to avoid dry-as-dust art histories, Sculpture Off the Pedestal puts old and modern master sculptors by the reader's side, emptying their heads about their work and their ways of thinking. The book is intended not only for the art student or art lover, but also for the untutored and those who think of art as a remote subject.

Most art histories focus on painting. Chronicling the lives of sculptors in and out of their studios fills a gap.

"There is no such thing as a spirit in the stone!" Misrepresentations of Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture

An Anthropological Approach

by Olga Sicilia

2010

This work focuses on contemporary Zimbabwean Stone Sculpture - widely known until the early 1990s as "Shona Sculpture" - from the perspective of a critical anthropological analysis of cultural identity and representation. The analysis frames the inception of this art movement within the colonial socio-historical circumstances of its genesis, where discourse about the producers of this art form ("Shona discourse") was created. Drawing from the social context of inequality and racial (spatial) segregation, and from the concepts of the "primitive" in art and anthropology, the author aims to show how "Shona discourse" entails a primitivist construction of the Other (i.e., the sculptors' cultural identity) that is directly linked to modernist primitivism. "Shona discourse," as a temporalising d...

Abstraction and Transcendence

Nature, Shintai, and Geometry in the Architecture of Tadao Ando

by Pham Thanh Hien

1998

This thesis introduces Tadao Ando, a well-known Japanese architect, who is currently working on an emerging concept in the discourse of architecture, and is opening an approach of high sensibility (sensual, reflective, flexible, and complex, sensitively matching with every moment of life) and conceptualism (rational, logically approaching truth) that is widely considered one of the most important ways of thinking and designing architecture.In the introduction chapter, Tadao Ando's is introduced as a master of architecture and as a critic. Secondly, his goals, objectives, concepts and strategies are outlined. These aspects are grouped and developed into major themes. Those themes will later be interpreted in Chapter Four.In the second chapter of the thesis, the architecture of Tadao Ando i...

The Classroom Teacher as Art Coach

by Eloiese Krabbenhoft

2002

There is a difference between providing students with an art experience and teaching art. Classroom teachers as well as art specialists will appreciate information on art basics, classroom management, criteria and rubric for evaluating art work and a strategy for learning to draw.

The Sculpture of James Earle Fraser

by August L. Freundlich

2000

Fraser is best known for his End of the Trail and Buffalo Nickel. He also is the most prolific sculptor of Federalist Washington DC. He is represented by the portal figures at the Supreme Court, and others such as facades and pediments at Commerce, National Archives, and Agriculture; The Memorial Bridge, sculptures of Hamilton and Gallatin at Treasury, and major public works in New York, Chicago, and Jefferson City. In the first 5 decades of the 21st Century, Fraser was a leading artistic force. He served on the National Commission of Fine Arts and was President of the National Sculpture Society. He was closely allied with many of the American painters and sculptors including St. Haudens and French who were his early sponsors. He was involved with the Armory Show and The Eight, a clos...

Power, Identity, and the Rise of Modern Architecture

from Siam to Thailand

by Koompong Noobanjong

2003

Modern architecture is a creation of the West. In a non-Western context, it normally reflects a direct intervention of Western powers through colonization. Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is an exception. Thai people have argued that they adopted and assimilated modern architecture into their unique cultural tradition without being physically colonized. The shift toward Western culture and Modernity is evident in 19th and 20th century Thai architecture, particularly in the capitol city of Bangkok. Major public buildings signify the country's domestic political circumstances, its Westernization and Modernization processes, in addition to the discourse of colonialism and anti-colonialism. Many of the best-known works resulted in hybrids between European a...

How to Paint Abstract Sunsets

Step by Step

by Gina De Gorna

2011

How to Paint Abstract Sunsets: Step by Step is the first and only instructional book about the art of painting abstract sunsets. The book will be of interest to art enthusiasts of all ages. No previous painting experience is required. A list of all necessary materials is included, along with detailed step by step instructions and plenty of painting tips and beautiful samples.

How to Paint Abstract Sunsets is a great tool for art therapy, art classes, and stress relief.

See the Sunset

by Gina De Gorna

2011

See the Sunset is an almost true story about an artist inspired by the sunsets. The book contains beautiful illustrations of original sunset paintings and sunset poems by Gina De Gorna.

Contentment... is seeing a sunset, and knowing who to thank.

An Introduction to Sustainability and Aesthetics

The Arts and Design for the Environment

by Christopher Crouch, Nicola Kaye, John Crouch (eds.)

2015

This book introduces the idea of sustainability and its aesthetic dimension, suggesting that the role of the aesthetic is an active one in developing an ecologically, economically and culturally healthy society. With an introduction by Christopher Crouch and an afterword by John Thackara, the book gathers together a range of essays that address the issue of the aesthetics of sustainability from a multitude of disciplinary and cultural perspectives.

Glidden Pottery

Alfred Mid-Century Highstyle Stoneware

by Ronald J. Kransler

2011

This book is the fascinating story of the company and the people who produced Glidden pottery. The first section of the book tells about the history of the company, the important designers who worked there, and the wonderful designs they created. The second section of the book contains a richly-illustrated catalog of Glidden pottery. The photo illustrations show the patterns and shapes produced by the company, arranged by number, at a level of detail never before available. The catalog also features the author's informative commentary about individual pieces. This book is the most complete work on the subject available and is written in a style that will appeal to both avid collectors and casual readers. At the same time, it contains a level of detail that will be valuable to historians an...

The Role of Editorial Cartoons in the Democratisation Process in Nigeria

A Study of Selected Works of Three Nigerian Cartoonists

by Ganiyu Akinloye Jimoh

2011

Political Cartoons, otherwise known as Editorial Cartoons, are single panels of graphics that are satires of political events. Apart from serving as a corrective measure, they also serve as historical documents and are a 'snapshot' of the political climate of a given period. Over the years cartoons have shaped public opinions on societal issues that have sometimes resulted in tragedies in the manner in which information is transmitted to the public. In 2005, over 300 people were killed in the Northern part of Nigeria during a religious riot fueled by a Danish Editorial Cartoon publication which satirized the Islamic religious leader, Muhammed. Such occurrences show that cartoons are a formidable force and could serve as mirrors of society. Cartoons have played a major role in the dem...

Color Education in the Interior Design Curriculum

by Jessica Bantom

2012

This study was conducted in order to define what constitutes color education in the undergraduate interior design curriculum. The study was also intended to assess students' knowledge of color upon completing their design education and preparing to enter the profession. The research for this study was conducted via the following: an evaluation of the curriculum of 96 accredited interior design programs and several course syllabi and supporting materials; a survey of final-year students regarding their views of color education; an interview with a former Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) site visitor to define criteria for assessing color proficiency in a design program; and a color exercise administered to final-year students to examine their practical color application ...

Sanjuro, Jidaigeki's New Hero

His Goals, His Ordeals and His Salvation

by Alireza Vahdani

2012

Since the 1960s, a new subgenre (cruel-Jidaigeki) has been introduced to Japanese period films, with its own rules. This subgenre requires a new hero. During this research, I found out that Sanjuro, the first recognised hero of this genre, who appears in Yojimbo for the first time and stands as the model for the other cruel-period films, is indeed a complicated man. Firstly, he is after money. The idea is that because he exemplifies the modern Japanese man who is trapped in a new money-oriented society, he needs to represent the financial difficulties of common men. Secondly, in the course of the narrative in Yojimbo and then Sanjuro, he learns to control his personal conflicts and desires. As a result, he evolves from being his own hero and becomes a hero of the people. Thus, he can be a ...

A Study of Japanese Animation as Translation

A Descriptive Analysis of Hayao Miyazaki and Other Anime Dubbed into English

by Reito Adachi

2012

Despite the growing popularity and influence of Japanese animation in America and other parts of the world, the importance of anime studies as audio-visual translation has not been well-recognized academically. In order to throw new light on this problem, the author attempts to clarify distinctive characteristics of English dubs of Japanese animated films between the 1980s and the 2000s, including Hayao Miyazaki's, in descriptive ways: through a corpus-based statistical analysis of vocabulary and a qualitative case study approach to the multimodal text from a synchronic and diachronic point of view. Discussing how translation norms have changed on the spectrum from target-oriented to source-oriented, the author carefully examines what kind of shift occurred to translations of Japanese ...