Art

In this remarkable collection of 100 manifestos from the last 100 years, Alex Danchev presents the cacophony of voices of such diverse movements as Futurism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Feminism, Communism, Destructivism, Vorticism, Stridentism, Cannibalism and Stuckism, taking in along the way film, architecture, fashion, and cookery. Artists' manifestos are nothing if not revolutionary. They are outlandish, outrageous, and frequently offensive. They combine wit, wisdom, and world-shaking demands. This collection gathers together an inte... read more

Vitamin P is an image-heavy book offering an overview of the state of painting today, and documents the most recent concerns and ideas among contemporary painters. In the wake of new media such as installation, video, performance and digital art, the traditional medium of painting has enjoyed a renaissance among a recent generation of artists. Alongside the evergrowing reputation of significant living painters such as Gerhard Richter, Agnes Martin and Peter Halley, many younger artists have chosen painting over any other medium, an... read more

Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except maybe when it's squatting in the Tate or New York's Metropolitan Museum. Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cites throughout the world. Witty and subversive, his stencils show monkeys with weapons of mass destruction, policeman with smiley faces, rats with drills and umbrellas. If you look hard enough, you'll find your own. His statemen... read more

From London to Beijing to New York, art sales are booming, and the art world receives the sort of breathless media attention once reserved for celebrities and royals. In "Seven Days in the Art World", Sarah Thornton, a brilliant young sociologist, looks at all aspects of buying, selling, and creating serious art. Thornton has exceptional access, and brings a keen critical eye to her coverage of this glamorous milieu, offering the first authoritative account of what is now a multi-billion dollar global marketplace-cum-playground for... read more

McSweeney's is an award-winning American publishing house, known for its innovative design and use of illustration and its belief in the book as a desirable object. Founded by Dave Eggars, the author of books including "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and the novelisation of Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are", McSweeney's publishes books, a quarterly journal, a magazine ("The Believer"), DVD's and a website, all of which have evolved their own distinctive visual aesthetic. This book showcases the extraordinary ... read more

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are teaming up to launch The Adventures of Tintin in late 2011. This first of two movies brings to life the enormously popular books by Herge in performance-captured, 3D form. The conceptual design and visual effects for the movie are being created by Weta, the multi Academy Award-winning company who helped create global blockbusters such as Avatar, The Lord of the Rings, District 9, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia and many others. The very same Weta artists who are working on the movie wil... read more

Abstract expressionism refers to the non-representational use of form and color as a means of expression that emerged in America in the 1940s. These artists had striven to express pure emotion directly on canvas, via color and texture. This title is a Taschen 25 - Special edition! The language of paint, Abstract Expressionism refers to the non-representational use of form and color as a means of expression that emerged in America in the 1940s, largely thanks to the innovative work of Arshile Gorky. Interestingly, abstract expressio... read more

This title is Taschen 25 - Special edition! It presents Picasso and peers. Pioneered by Picasso and Braque, Cubism was the first avant-garde art movement of the 20th century. Heavily influenced by the stark power of African and Native American art and sculpture, it deconstructed conventions of viewpoint and perspective, revolutionizing painting and western art in general. With its flattened, geometric shapes, overlapping, simplified forms and fragmented spatial planes, Cubism was one of the most influential movements in 20th-century art.

The Museum Vrolikianum in Amsterdam was famous amongst scientists and medical men all over Europe in the nineteenth century. No visit to the city was complete without taking the opportunity to gaze in admiration at its five thousand specimens, ranging from curious stillbirths to human skeletons - healthy or diseased - and all kinds of exotic and not-so-exotic animals. Recent scientific publications have brought this exceptional collection back into the limelight. With its wonderful photographs by Hans van den Bogaard, this book is ... read more

Conceived by four of the most influential art historians of our time, this groundbreaking book has now been updated and expanded to include the most recent developments in contemporary art. The original authors have been joined by David Joselit to provide the most comprehensive history of art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries ever published.More than 120 articles are presented in a year-by-year structure, with each focusing on a crucial event from the creation of a seminal work to the opening of a major exhibition to tell... read more

"Graffiti World" is the ultimate graffiti book. With over 2,000 pictures of artworks from more than 180 international artists, no other book is remotely so comprehensive or up to date. Nicholas Ganz combines his own first-hand experiences with quotes from the artists themselves to offer a true insiders perspective of the key trends and style developments that have made graffiti what it is today: a global phenomenon.

A bookplate, or Ex Libris, is a small print for pasting inside the cover of a book to express ownership. The first books were highly valuable and prestigious objects to own, hence the first bookplates usually incorporated the decorative coats of arms of the fabulously wealthy. By the late nineteenth century, bookplates had developed into a highly imaginative form of the engravers and printmakers art in miniature. This delightful book showcases bookplates drawn from the rich collections of the British Museum, including works created... read more

Following in the tradition of Phaidon's "The Art Book", this is an illustrated dictionary which presents in alphabetical order the work of 500 great artists from the 20th century. Each artist is represented by a full-page colour plate of a key work and a short text about the work of the artist.

The 20th Century Art Book was hailed upon its release as an exciting celebration of the myriad forms assumed by art over the last century. Complementing the phenomenally successful Art Book, and most recently The American Art Book, it presents a new and original way of bringing art alive. Covering the truly international nature of the modern art scene, it encompasses established, iconic works of art and the classics of the future. 500 artists are showcased in alphabetical order, each represented by a full-page colour plate of a def... read more

The traditional landscape genre was radically transformed in the 1960s when many artists stopped merely representing the land and made their mark directly in the environment. Drawn by vast, uncultivated spaces of desert and mountain as well as by post-industrial wastelands, artists such as Michael Heizer, Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson moved earth to create colossal primal symbols. Others punctuated the horizon with man-made signposts, such as Christo's Running Fence and Walter de Maria's The Lightning Field. For Richard Long, jour... read more

From Banksy to Blek le Rat, JR to Futura, the street art phenomenon is sweeping the globe. With people turning up in their thousands to view the first street art exhibition at the Tate Modern in 2008, and with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Brad Pitt to Damon Albarn, street art has captured the imaginations of art-lovers everywhere. In this book, expert KET brings together a selection of awe-inspiring and extraordinary examples of urban art from around the world. "Street Art" is a great introduction and the perfect compan... read more

Explores the development of portrait painting in Northern and Southern Europe during the Renaissance, when the genre first flourished. This book considers the relationship between artists of the north and south to illuminate the notion of likeness. It offers research on some of the greatest portraitists of the period.

At one time dismissed by many as inaccessible, elitist or even facile, contemporary art has since entered the realm of popular culture and is enjoyed by millions of gallery visitors every year. This accessible and beautifully produced up-to-date guide pinpoints key artists and events, and so helps demystify a generation of rapid change in the art world. The A-Z listing (by artist's name) will feature 200 of the most widely exhibited and remarkable artists who have made substantial contributions over the past 40 years; with biograph... read more