Artists’ Postcards: A Compendium

Jeremy Cooper

Reaktion Books, HB, 9781861898524

Over the last 20 years an increasing number of artists have turned to expressing themselves through postcards. Whether by way of installation, collage, addition to, or alteration of existing postcards, or the production of postcards themselves, many prominent artists employ the medium in some form. From surrealists to Fluxus and conceptual artists, this book includes an array of over 400 historical ... More/Buy

Be the Worst You Can be: Life's Too Long for Patience and Virtue

Charles Saatchi

Abrams, PB, 9781419703737

Charles Saatchi founded the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency in 1970, which grew to become the largest of its kind in the world. At the same time he started collecting art and, later, opened his first gallery in London. He championed young British artists, such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, and became a major figure on the international art scene. ... More/Buy

Beyond Speculation: Art and Aesthetics without Myths

Jean-Marie Schaeffer

Seagull Books, HB, 9780857420428

In his well-known work of art criticism Art of the Modern Age, Jean-Marie Schaeffer offered a lucid and powerful critique of what he identified as the historically dominant thinking about art and aesthetics from the Jena Romantics, to Nietzsche, Heidegger, Adorno, and beyond, which he termed 'the speculative theory of art'. Here, in Beyond Speculation, Schaeffer builds from this significant work, ... More/Buy

Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition

Helen C Evans

Yale University Press, HB, 9780300179507

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Empire’s southern provinces, the vibrant, diverse areas of North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, were at the crossroads of exchanges reaching from Spain to China. These regions experienced historic upheavals when their Christian and Jewish communities encountered the emerging Islamic world, and by the 9th century, an unprecedented cross-fertilization of cultures had taken ... More/Buy

Caoir Gheal Leumraich / A White Leaping Flame: Collected Poems

Sorley Maclean

Polygon, HB, 9781846971907

All the poetry of Sorley Maclean, the most significant 20th century Gaelic poet, is gathered together in one volume for the first time. Over 150 poems, some never published before, are given in Gaelic alongside their English translation. The book brings together published poetry from MacLean’s own edited volumes of poetry, poetry previously published in various magazines, literary journals & anthologies, ... More/Buy

Contemporary Australian Drawing 1

Janet McKenzie

Macmillan, HB, 9781921394539

Recognition of the importance of drawing has sometimes wavered in recent times, but most artists would agree that drawing, in whatever medium and however it is executed, is an essential process in the development of ideas leading to creative outcomes. Her book introduces works by 78 selected artists from across the country. They include prominent figures such as Peter Booth, Allan ... More/Buy

Death in Florence: The Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance

Paul Strathern

Vintage, PB, 9780099546443

By the end of the fifteenth century, Florence was well established as the home of the Renaissance. As generous patrons to the likes of Botticelli and Michelangelo, the ruling Medici embodied the progressive humanist spirit of the age, and in Lorenzo the Magnificent they possessed a diplomat capable of guarding the militarily weak city in a climate of constantly shifting allegiances ... More/Buy

Design Like You Give a Damn 2: Building Change from the Ground Up

Architecture for Humanity

Abrams, PB, 9780810997028

Design Like you Give A Damn [2] is the indispensable handbook for anyone committed to building a better a more sustainable future. With the rise in social demand for recycling programs and sustainable living this second title in the Design Like you Give A Damn repertoire, documenting more than 1 00 new projects from around the world tunes into this fever ... More/Buy

'Do-It-Yourself' Artwork: Participation from Fluxus to New Media

Anna Dezeuze

Manchester University Press, PB, 9780719087479

Viewers of contemporary art are often invited to involve themselves actively in artworks, by entering installations, touching objects, performing instructions or clicking on interactive websites. Why have artists sought to engage spectators in these new forms of participation? In what ways does active participation affect the viewer's experience and the status of the artwork? Spanning a range of practices including kinetic ... More/Buy

How to Decorate: An Inspriational & Practical Handbook

Shannon Fricke

Lantern, HB, 9781921382901

How to Decorate is a gorgeous, practical, down-to-earth guide to decorating your home from start to finish — with love, attention and style. Layer by creative layer, stylist, decorator and homewares designer Shannon Fricke takes us through her decorating workshop in a book, explaining how to find your own story, create a decorating concept perfectly suited to you and your space, ... More/Buy

Make Your Own Robot

Magma

Laurence Kind, PB, 9781856699037

Carries EU Toy Safety Directive 'Unsuitable for children ages 0-3' warning logo. Have you ever dreamt of building your own robot? Or having the most amazing robot collection on your shelf? For robot obsessive's of all ages, this box-set includes 15 different robot templates, 12 of which have been illustrated by influential artists, plus three blank DIY sheets for you to ... More/Buy

Mark Rothko: A Biography

James E B Breslin

University of Chicago Press, PB, 9780226074061

A book of heroic dimensions, this is the first full-length biography of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century - a man as fascinating, difficult, and compelling as the paintings he produced. Drawing on exclusive access to Mark Rothko's personal papers and over one hundred interviews with artists, patrons, and dealers, James Breslin tells the story of a life ... More/Buy

Mathematical Excursions to the World's Great Buildings

Alexander J Hahn

Princeton University Press, HB, 9780691145204

From the pyramids and the Parthenon to the Sydney Opera House and the Bilbao Guggenheim, this book takes readers on an eye-opening tour of the mathematics behind some of the world's most spectacular buildings. Beautifully illustrated, the book explores the milestones in elementary mathematics that enliven the understanding of these buildings and combines this with an in-depth look at their aesthetics, ... More/Buy

The Modern Art Doodle Book: Create your own Masterpiece

Allen & Unwin, PB, 9781743311202

Try your hand at rivalling the work of the great modern artists. The Modern Art Doodle Book encourages readers to awaken their creativity and emulate the imagination that lies behind every great work of art. Contains iconic pieces of art for budding artists to complete in the style of the original artist. Includes work from such greats as: Pablo Picasso, Georges ... More/Buy

Museum Objects

Sandra Dudley

Routledge, PB, 9780415581783

Museum Objects provides a set of readings that together create a distinctive emphasis and perspective on the objects which lie at the heart of interpretive practice in museums, material culture studies and everyday life. This reader brings together classic and up to date texts on the nature and definition of the object itself, the senses and embodied experience of objects. No ... More/Buy

Museums, Equality and Social Justice

Richard Sandell, Eithne Nightingale

Routledge, PB, 9780415504690

The last two decades have seen concerns for equality, diversity, social justice and human rights move from the margins of museum thinking and practice, to the core. The arguments — both moral and pragmatic — for engaging diverse audiences, creating the conditions for more equitable access to museum resources, and opening up opportunities for participation, now enjoy considerable consensus in many ... More/Buy

Neo Rauch & Rosa Loy: hinter den Gärten

Neo Rauch, Rosa Loy

Prestel Verlag, HB, 9783791351421

Neo Rauch and Rosa Loy live and work as a successful artist couple on the international stage. They have been married since 1985 and each of them produces independent works which profit from the differences as well as the similarities between the two artists. Neo Rauch’s works make reference to advertising graphics, the aesthetics of comedy, and the theatre. By contrast ... More/Buy

Olympic Visions: Images of the Games Through History

Mike O'Mahony

Reaktion Books, HB, 9781861899101

Since its creation in 1896, the modern Olympic Games have become a worldwide phenomenon viewed by billions across the globe. In Olympic Visions Mike O'Mahony explores how painters and sculptors, photographers and filmmakers, architects and designers have helped to shape the consciousness of spectators around the world. O'Mahony describes and analyses images made of the Olympics throughout history, such as documentary ... More/Buy

Peter Bialobrzeski: The Raw and the Cooked

Peter Bialobrzeski

Hatje Cantz, HB, 9783775731928

In The Raw and the Cooked Peter Bialobrzeski (born 1961) sets forth the most complete account of his vision of the Asian megacity. From the simplest shack to the tallest highrise, from vernacular buildings made from scavenged materials to corporate buildings made from steel, concrete and glass, Bialobrzeski records the demented proliferation as Asia’s cities reach higher into the sky and ... More/Buy

Railway Posters

Thierry Favre

Antique Collectors, HB, 9781851496723

Railway Posters is the story of train travel through the posters of American and European railway companies. The inventive graphics created by the poster artists convey the excitement and nostalgia that accompany today’s perceptions of train travel; taking the reader on a journey from their first experience of trains as miniature sets in their family home to the necessity of train ... More/Buy

Raw + Material = Art: Found, Scavenged and Upcycled

Tristan Manco

Thames & Hudson, PB, 9780500289914

Tristan Manco, perhaps the worlds most influential commentator on street art, showcases the work of 38 truly innovative and inspirational artists who use low-cost, low-tech media and often totally original techniques to produce work that defies categorization and pushes the boundaries of art itself. Many of them repurpose utilitarian or scrap materials, from unglamorous items of domestic waste, found wood and ... More/Buy

Ryan McGinley

Ryan McGinley

Rizzoli, HB, 9780847838318

Featuring over two hundred images of twenty-somethings frolicking and enjoying their carefree lives, Ryan McGinley chronicles a generation of fun-loving, hedonistic young adults discovering who they are in the first major volume on this important and prolific artist. In 2002, two years after Ryan McGinley, then a student, staged his first exhibition of photographs in a SoHo gallery, he created inexpensive ... More/Buy

Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

Mary Oliver

Ecco Press, PB, 9780807069141

‘Joy is not made to be a crumb,’ writes Mary Oliver, and certainly joy abounds in her new book of poetry and prose poems. Swan her twentieth volume, shows us that, though we may be ‘made out of the dust of stars,’ we are of the world she captures here so vividly. Swan is Oliver’s tribute to ‘the mortal way’ of ... More/Buy

Thomas Heatherwick: Making

Thomas Heatherwick

Thames & Hudson, HB, 9780500516126

'Heatherwick is Leonardo da Vinci of our times' Sir Terence Conran. Still just two decades into his career, British designer Thomas Heatherwick has been heralded as one of the most original creative talents for many decades. He has produced everything from sculptural chairs forged from the world's largest aluminium extruder, to a bridge that rolls open and closed and an exuberant ... More/Buy

The World of Mining

Richard Woldendorp, John Trudinger

Fremantle Press, HB, 9780415671897

Two world-renowned photographers team up with mining experts to illustrate the colourful history of mining and its importance to the development of civilisation as we know it. This beautiful tome presents that rare moment in which art, technology, the community and environmental consciousness ... More/Buy