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There is evidence of a sea-change in Western consciousness, which implies a fundamental rejection of the Arts of Humanism: cut off from society, from nature and the sacred. John Lane both celebrates the power and challenges the defects of this five hundred year old tradition, questioning among other matters the institution of the self-directed professional artist. Challenging and illuminating, A Snakes Tail Full of Ants looks forward to a time when creative expression is not lofty, professionali...

The use of interactive technology in the arts has changed the audience from viewer to participant and in doing so is transforming the nature of experience. From visual and sound art to performance and gaming, the boundaries of what is possible for creation, curating, production and distribution are continually extending. As a consequence, we need to reconsider the way in which these practices are evaluated. Interactive Experience in the Digital Age explores diverse ways of creating and evaluatin...

In 1876, the museum's annual report observed that Glaswegians 'possess an Art Gallery, which, in several respects, is entitled to rank with famous galleries, and an institution which they may not only enjoy themselves, but point out with pride to strangers as one of the sights of the city'. Although this referred to the predecessor of the current art gallery and museum, this feeling of pride is as strong as ever, with Kelvingrove having been voted Glasgow's favourite building. Kelvingrove Art Ga...

In Art Can Help, the internationally acclaimed American photographer Robert Adams offers over two dozen meditations on the purpose of art and the responsibility of the artist. In particular, Adams advocates art that evokes beauty without irony or sentimentality, art that "encourages us to gratitude and engagement, and is of both personal and civic consequence." Following an introduction, the book begins with two short essays on the works of the American painter Edward Hopper, an artist venerated...

Ask anyone the world over to identify a figure in buckskins with a feather bonnet, and the answer will be ""Indian."" Many works of art produced by non-Native artists have reflected such a limited viewpoint. In American Indians in British Art, 1700-1840, Stephanie Pratt explores for the first time an artistic tradition that avoided simplification and that instead portrayed Native peoples in a surprisingly complex light. During the eighteenth century, the British allied themselves with Indian tr...

After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, the new government took control of the art establishment in Russia, nationalizing all art collections and laying down the principles that were to govern the creation of works of art. During the next decades Socialist Realism became the mainstream movement, encompassing the work of nearly all Soviet artists: they were required to produce art comprehensible to the masses that would inspire admiration for the dignity of the working man and his task of buildin...

At the heart of many homes in Mexico is the "altarcito", or home altar: private shrines which have profound personal and familial meaning and reflect the vitality of Mexico's spiritual practices. The photographs in this collection depict the altars in detail. Some are constructed for special holidays - Christmas or the Day of the Dead - while others commemorate family members using photographs, mementoes and the deceased's favourite foods. For more than ten years, photographer Dana Salvo - a Gug...