Batik - in which a wax-resist is applied before dyeing to form a pattern in negative - has a very special place in the world of textiles. Practised from China to India to West Africa, it finds its most supreme expression in Indonesia, where the Javanese word batik gave it its name. No other cloth in Asia, perhaps in the whole world, contains so much symbolism and so many meanings, expressed in the philosophy of its marvellous colours and designs, and in the way it is made, folded and worn. R...
TOILETPAPER Maurizio Cattelan's newest body of work comprises startling photographs done in collaboration with commercial photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari and published in Cattelan's limited edition magazine Toilet Paper. Colliding commercial photography with twisted narrative tableaux and surrealistic imagery these images mark a new phase in Cattelan's art production. This important body of work is gathered here for the first time in book form re-edited by Dennis Freedman in collaboration with Ma...
An insightful and beautiful look at how New England’s summers have inspired American artists for decades With its stunning coastlines, mountains, lakes, forests, and scenic villages, New England has been an inspiration for American artists since the 19th century. This lively book considers the ways in which painters have responded to the region’s summer beauty as well as to its social and cultural preoccupations and characteristics. Works by such artists as Fitz Henry Lane, John Singer Sargent,...
Four Centuries of Quilts (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)
by Linda Baumgarten and Kimberly Smith Ivey
An exquisite and authoritative look at four centuries of quilts and quilting from around the world Quilts are among the most utilitarian of art objects, yet the best among them possess a formal beauty that rivals anything made on canvas. This landmark book, drawn from the world-renowned collection of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, highlights the splendor and craft of quilts with more than 300 superb color images and details. Fascinating essays by two noted scholars trace the evolution of...
Everything Is Connected (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (Metropolitan Museum of Art (MAA) (YUP))
by Douglas Eklund, Ian Alteveer, Meredith A. Brown, John Miller, and Kathryn Olmsted
A timely exploration of artists whose work addresses the subject of conspiracy and media manipulation in modern culture Shaped by events such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iran-Contra affair, and 9/11, conspiracy theories have flourished and influenced our collective worldview. This provocative book examines how artists from the 1960s to the present explore both the covert operations of power and the mutual suspicion between governments and their citize...
Marion Nicoll: Silence and Alchemy
by Curator Ann Davis and Elizabeth Herbert
A beautiful and simple introduction to the Book of Kells - now available in German. Here George Otto Simms, a world-renowned authority on the Book of Kells, reveals the mysteries hidden in this magnificent manuscript. He introduces the monks who made the book and guides the reader through the intricate detail of this ancient and exotic book. German edition
Artistic Exchange and Cultural Translation in the Italian Renaissance City
This book considers the reception of the early modern culture of Florence, Rome, and Venice in other centers of the Italic peninsula, such as Ferrara, Bologna, Ancona, San Gimignano, and Pistoia, which had flourishing local cultures of their own. Offering a perspective that focuses on dialogue and exchange between different urban centers and cultural groups, it also involves a reexamination of the Renaissance itself as a form of translation of a past culture, one that attempted to assimilate the...
The most accomplished female painter of her age, Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842) is best remembered for her many portraits of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. Her two-volume autobiography was published in France in 1835-7, and this English version (of which the translator is unknown) in 1879. It begins with a series of ten letters to a Russian friend, Princess Kourakin, describing her family and early life, her artistic training, and her rise to the position of portraitist to the queen. The...
By personalizing the experiences of American slaves, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a profound effect on public attitudes toward slavery on the eve of the Civil War, but Stowe’s narrative was not the whole story. Jo-Ann Morgan now reveals how prints and paintings of Uncle Tom and other characters in the novel also shaped public perceptions and how this visual culture had its own impact on history.Through illustrations in various editions of the book, advertisements for stage produ...
Textiles were the second-most-traded commodity in all of world history, preceded only by grain. In the Ottoman Empire in particular, the sale and exchange of silks, cottons, and woolens generated an immense amount of revenue and touched every level of society, from rural women tending silkworms to pashas flaunting layers of watered camlet to merchants traveling to Mecca and beyond. Sea Change offers the first comprehensive history of the Ottoman textile sector, arguing that the trade's enduring...
Illuminating in Micrography (Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World, #51)
by Dalia-Ruth Halperin
In Illuminating in Micrography, Dalia-Ruth Halperin analyzes the Catalan Micrography Mahzor, a fourteenth-century Barcelonan manuscript in Israel's National Library. Decorated with micrography, the Jewish scribal art typical of Bible manuscripts, this mahzor, which includes a rich full-page panel micrography cycle, is unique. Along with the codicological and paleographical analysis, essential for understanding the scribe's thought and working processes, the author's meticulous reading of the mic...
This vivid art book spotlights 50 artists of the Newbrow art, pop surrealism movement with over 180 striking color photos of their work. Artists from across the US, Denmark, Germany, and Australia are featured. The images themselves are filled with powerful social commentary, startling imagery, and sharp humor. The work ranges from that of street artists who trace back to the 1980s hip hop culture, using tools such as stenciling, wheat pasting, spray paint, and guerilla art installations, to ill...
The matter of meaning, for painter and viewer alike, is crucial to this book, a deeply felt and richly considered attempt to come to terms with one of the most challenging artists of our day. An illuminating look at an enigmatic painter, Figuring Jasper Johns also provides a way of approaching American art of the 1950s and 1960s. Fred Orton's reading of John's oeuvre focuses on three key works - Untitled (1972), Flag (1954-55), and Painted Bronze (1960). Adroitly combining formal theoretical ana...
Making Value, Making Meaning (Pre-Columbian Symposia and Colloquia)
by Cathy Lynne Costin
Common views of religion typically focus on the beliefs and meanings derived from revealed scriptures, ideas, and doctrines. David Morgan has led the way in radically broadening that framework to encompass the understanding that religions are fundamentally embodied, material forms of practice. This concise primer shows readers how to study what has come to be termed material religion-the ways religious meaning is enacted in the material world. Material religion includes the things people wear,...