Art After Deconstruction
Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
Editions 3, PB, 9780646552972
In 1999 the artist and art critic Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe published the now classic Beauty and the Contemporary Sublime. The book was an alternative history of art and its relationship to technology and an argument for the return of beauty in contemporary art. It was seen as part of a whole wave of books advocating the revival of aesthetics in the wake ... More/Buy
Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship
Claire Bishop
Verso Books, PB, 9781844676903
For over a decade, conceptual and performance art has been dominated by participatory art. its champions, such as French curator Nicolas Bourriaud (who invented the term "relational aesthetics" to describe it) and American art historian Grant Kester, believe that by encouraging an audience to join in, the artist can promote new emancipatory social relations. Artificial Hells is the first historical and ... More/Buy
At Home in Sprawl: Selected Essays on Architecture
Aaron Betsky
RMIT University Press, PB, 9781921426858
Over more than two decades of writing, Aaron Betsky as used his knowledge of architecture and urbanism to argue for the ways in which buildings, cities and landscapes help us understand where we are, where we have come from, and where we are going. He has argued for modernist design as a way of making ourselves at home in the ever-changing ... More/Buy
Australian Symbolism: The Art of Dreams
Denise Mimmoccho
Thames & Hudson, HB, 9781741740769
Featuring paintings, sculpture, photographs and decorative arts, Australian Symbolism is the only book on this subject & provides a fresh context for the work of some of the most well-known Australian artists of the late 19th & early 20th centuries. It investigates two main streams of Symbolist art: those artists—such as Rupert Bunny, Bernard Hall, George Lambert, Arthur Loureiro & Bertram ... More/Buy
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall
Will Ellsworth-Jones
Aurum Press, PB, 9781781310342
For someone who shuns the limelight by concealing his real name, never showing his face and never giving interviews except by email, Banksy is remarkably famous. Such is the commercial value of his work that people have hacked an entire wall off a building because it bears an example of his art. But who is this man; how did he become ... More/Buy
Carnal Aesthetics: Transgressive Imagery and Feminist Politics
Marta Zarzycka, Bettina Papenburg
I B Tauris, PB, 9781780760131
Art today is an increasingly multifaceted phenomenon, encompassing transgressive works that intervene in war, inequalities, ecological disasters, and revolutionary changes in technology. Carnal Aesthetics is a fascinating new examination of this aspect of contemporary visual culture. Employing recent theories of transgressive body imagery, trauma, affectivity and sensation, it provides a fresh look at the meeting point between the politics of representation ... More/Buy
Designed for Habitat: Collaborations with Habitat for Humanity
David Hinson, Justin Miller
Routledge, PB, 9780415891097
If you're looking for ways to give back to your community, then this book, the first to profile thirteen projects designed and built by architects and Habitat for Humanity, will help. Detailed plans, sections, and photographs show you how these projects came about, the strategies used by each team to approach the design and construction process, and the obstacles they overcame ... More/Buy
Fish In Art
Christine E Jackson
Reaktion Books, HB, 9781861898999
Fish have inspired artists for thousands of years. They are present in the work of many Dutch and Flemish old masters, as well as French, English and American painters. Yet until now the social and cultural significance of the artistic representation of fish has been overlooked. In Fish in Art, Christine E. Jackson surveys a large number of paintings from 2000BC ... More/Buy
Issues in Curating Contemporary Art and Performance
Judith Rugg, Michele Sedgwick (eds)
Intellect Ltd, PB, 9781841505367
To stay relevant, art curators must keep up with the rapid pace of technological innovation as well as the aesthetic tastes of fickle critics and an ever-expanding circle of cultural arbiters. Issues in Curating Contemporary Art and Performance argues that, despite these daily pressures, good curating work also requires more theoretical attention. In this groundbreaking volume, a distinguished group of artists, ... More/Buy
Jindrich Heisler: Surrealism Under Pressure, 1938–1953
Matthew S Witkovsky, Jindrich Toman
Yale University Press, HB, 9780300179699
Czech poet & photographer Jindrich Heisler (1914–1953) joined the Czech Surrealist Group in 1938, just as Nazi occupation of the country was driving the movement & Czech artists underground. Heisler published his 1st book of poetry a year later. In his brief and courageous career (he died suddenly at the age of 38) he produced some of the most remarkable assemblage ... More/Buy
Kamisaka Sekka: Dawn of Modern Japanese Design
Khanh Trinh, John Szostak
Art Gallery Of New South Wales, PB, 9781741740776
This lavishly illustrated book brings to light the diverse work and the growing influence of this early 20th century Japanese artist and designer. Kamisaka Sekka (1866–1942), little known until recent years, is being reappreciated and influencing a new generation of artists and designers in Japan and beyond. Sekka was awakened to an ancient and truly Japanese aesthetic through his travels in ... More/Buy
Knit: Step By Step - More than 200 techniques and stitch pattersn with 10 easy projects
Vikki Haffenden, Frederica Patmore
Dorling Kindersley, HB, 9781405362139
Knit Step by Step gives you the tools, techniques and stitch patterns you need to create beautiful and original knitted items. With more than 150 techniques and stitch patterns clearly photographed, pick up Knit Step by Step whenever you're looking for a new stitch to try or when you've got yourself in a knot. Plus 10 fun projects help you build ... More/Buy
Live Projects: Designing with people
Melanie Dodd et al (eds)
RMIT University Press, PB, 9781921426933
Live projects engage with real communities and are an increasing mode of practice within university design studio teaching. Such projects reflect a growing social and ethical commitment to expand the role of design education beyond the academy. The Live Projects collection of essays represents a diverse group of case-studies of university-led live design projects, gathered into a critical mass of design ... More/Buy
Marilyn in Fashion: The Enduring Influence of Marilyn Monroe
George Zeno
Running Press, PB, 9780762443321
She was an incandescent movie star, legendary sex symbol, and a woman whose private life fascinated the public - but the story never before showcased about Marilyn Monroe is her enduring impact on fashion. From the revealing nude sheath worn to sing 'Happy Birthday' to JFK to the pleated white dress from The Seven Year Itch, Marilyn's looks defied the 1950s ... More/Buy
Mark Whalen: Human Development
Mark Whalen
Gingko Press, HB, 9781937222000
Mark Whalen, also known as Kill Pixie, is an L.A. artist. His imagery resonates with a strange beauty all its own, with unexpected and often disturbing tableaus floating across gridded fields in the alternate universe he has created. Whalen’s skill as a painter contributes to the strength of the socially satirical worlds he creates and then upends worlds composed of strange ... More/Buy
The Modernity of Ancient Sculpture: Greek Sculpture and Modern Art from Winckelmann to Picasso
Elizabeth Prettejohn
I B Tauris, PB, 9781848859036
Modernism in the visual arts has been defined as a liberation from the classical inheritance. The excitement of modern art is often seen to lie in its radical break with the past. But according to one standard narrative, the modern dicipline of art history began only with a study of ancient art and sculpture. Johann Joachim Winckelmann's History of the Art ... More/Buy
Porosity: The Architecture of Invagination
Richard Goodwin
RMIT University Press, PB, 9781921426865
Porosity: The Architecture of Invagination changes our view of cities as collections of individual buildings. By prejudicing public space and finding previously undefined public spaces within them, 'Chiastic Space', it presents ideas for a radically transformed western city. By studying, defining and indexing these spaces, Goodwin has found 'what a building desires' to do next in its determination to facilitate new ... More/Buy
Postcards from The New Yorker: One Hundred Covers from Ten Decades
New Yorker
Particular Books, BX, 9781846144691
he New Yorker has published work from such acclaimed writers as John Cheever, Roald Dahl, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami, Vladimir Nabokov, J. D. Salinger, and Shirley Jackson. From the very first issue, featuring the now iconic monocled dandy Eustace Tilley, The New Yorker's covers have been unique and pointed. The striking and sometimes controversial images from such artists as Peter Arno, ... More/Buy
A Remote Dawn
Adam Derums
Fremantle Press, PB, 9780980727241
For the past twenty years Adam Derums has made artworks that question what is beauty and how we experience it. This book allows us to explore the creative evolution of one of our most significant artists over his substantial career. A Remote Dawn is a fully illustrated account of Derums' work with essays by Julian Goddard, Tony Godfrey, Ric Spencer ... More/Buy
Russian Revolutionary Posters: From Civil War to Socialist Realism, From Bolshevism to the End of Stalinism
David King
Tate Gallery, HB, 9781849760195
"Russian Revolutionary Posters" tells the story of the development of the Soviet poster, from the revolutionary period through to the death of Stalin, revealing the way in which tumultuous events within the Soviet Union were matched by equally dramatic shifts in graphic art and design. Written and designed by David King, one of the world's foremost experts on Soviet art and ... More/Buy
Seizure Issue Three: Style
Alice Grundy (ed)
Seizure, PB, 9771836755006
Seizure is an invigorating new literary journal showcasing the talents of some of Australia’s best young editors, writers and designers. Each issue tackles a different genre and challenges writers’ and readers’ expectations. Our first issue, ‘Food’ explored our ongoing obsession with all things culinary; our second issue ‘Sci-Fi’ examined technological change and humans’ role in a rapidly changing world. Issue three ... More/Buy
Shooting Around Corners: Photographs by Mark Tedeschi
Mark Tedeschi
Beagle Press, HB, 9780947349592
This comprehensive collection of Mark Tedeschi’s photographs provides a sample of 25 years of his work—a prolific output considering the other side of his life as the Senior Crown Prosecutor for NSW, prosecuting some of the most significant criminal trials in the State. The photographs cover a wide gamut of topics from indigenous urban & rural communities to constructed scenes of ... More/Buy
Speculating Daguerre: Art and Enterprise in the Work of L J M Daguerre
Stephen Pinson
Chicago University Press, HB, 9780226669113
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) was a true 19th century visionary—a painter, print maker, set designer, entrepreneur, inventor & pioneer of photography. Drawing upon previously unpublished correspondence & archival sources, Stephen Pinson mixes biography with an incisive study of Daguerre’s wide-ranging involvement in visual culture. From his work as a commercial lithographer to his coinvention of the Paris Diorama—a theatre in ... More/Buy
Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists
Anthony M Amore, Tom Mashberg
Palgrave, PB, 9780230339903
Published to widespread media attention, Stealing Rembrandts is a glimpse into the criminal world of international art theft, which exceeds $6 billion a year. Art security expert Anthony M. Amore and award-winning investigative reporter Tom Mashberg reveal the actors behind the major Rembrandt heists in the last century. Through thefts around the world - from Stockholm to Boston - the authors ... More/Buy
What The Hell Are You Doing?: The Essential David Shrigley
David Shrigley
Canongate, PB, 9781847678638
By turns hilarious, satirical, and brilliant, David Shrigley's full-page illustrations - a combination of drawing, comics, photography, and sculpture - are sui generis: uproariously funny, pleasantly unnerving, and, most of all, really, really cool. Neither "graphic novel" nor "art book," What the Hell Are You Doing? celebrates the surreal world of the artist who created Ants Have Sex in Your Beer ... More/Buy
Women from the Ankle Down: The Story of Shoes and How They Define Us
Rachelle Bergstein
Harper Collins, HB, 9780061969614
Bergstein shows how the story of shoes is the story of women, told from the ankle down. Beginning with the well-heeled suffragettes in the 1910s, women have fought for greater freedom and mobility, a struggle that exploded in the 1960s with the women's liberation movement and culminated in the new millennium with our devotion to personal choice. Featuring interviews with designers, ... More/Buy
Writing on Drawing: Essays on Drawing Practice and Research
Steve Garner
Intellect Ltd, PB, 9781841506043
An increased public and academic interest in drawing and sketching, both traditional and digital, has allowed drawing research to emerge recently as a discipline in its own right. In light of this development, Writing on Drawing presents a collection of essays by leading artists and drawing researchers that reveal a provocative agenda for the field, analyzing the latest work on creativity, ... More/Buy