Разные книги об искусстве

During its heyday one hundred years ago, the American circus was the largest show-biz industry the world had ever seen. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling American circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping super-heroes and scantily-clad starlets, fearless animal trainers, and startling freaks gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows of its day, and ultimately paved the way for film and television to take root in the modern era. Long before the Beat generation made “on the road” expeditions popular, the circus personified the experience and offered many young Americans the dream of adventure, reinvention, and excitement.

With 670 pages and nearly 900 color and black-and-white illustrations, this book brings to life the grit and glamour behind the circus phenomenon. Images include photographic gems by key early circus photographers such as Frederick Whitman Glasier and Edward Kelty, about 180 of the earliest color photographs ever taken of the circus from the 1940s and 1950s, 200 posters by the famous Strobridge lithographers, iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady, Cornell Capa, Walker Evans, Weegee, Lisette Model, and little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames; also included are rare color and black-and-white lithographs and engravings from the 16th–19th centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus, as well as original sideshow banners by legendary sideshow banner artists Nieman Eisman, Fred G. Johnson, and David “Snap” Wyatt.

Organized into nine thematic chapters, the book sheds new light on circus history, from a behind-the-scenes look at life on the move, to the freedoms enjoyed by early female performers, to the innovative production skills that demanded as much know-how as a modern-day film production. For the first time ever, contemporary readers can now experience the legend of the American circus in full effect. The book’s broad subject matter, riveting images, and diverse visual material will appeal both to the circus aficionado and those who have never before been to circus.

Sex is a powerful supernatural force. In this book you will find succubi, mermaids, and vampires, creatures of pure sexual desire – symbols of lust given form and purpose.

An international showcase of the very latest and most sensual fantasy erotic art.

Exclusive interviews with all the featured artists.

Inside information from the creators on how they produced their masterpieces.

The editor Paul Peart-Smith is a cartoonist, illustrator and designer. His clients include DC Comics, Marvel UK, Sony Entertainment, and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Buxom bombshells. Pictures from an age when eroticism was still innocent

They've been exciting generations of men, on calendars and covers, as centrefolds or even on playing cards: pin-ups. What started as an exercise in oils was soon taken up in various media - pin-up mascots graced the fuselages of American fighters, and became an essential feature of the male world of garages and barracks. And the age of political correctness hasn't ended their appeal.

This book tells the tale of a genre as utterly American as the paintings of Edward Hopper, describing its origins and development in detail and showcasing the most important artists. With over 500 illustrations, The Great American Pin-Up is a comprehensive studies of the genre.

The authors:

Charles G. Martignette was an art dealer and collector of original paintings by 20th century American illustrators and artists. His gallery in Hallandale Beach, Florida, housed the world’s largest collection of commercial illustration art. As of 1975 he published numerous articles about magazine, advertising, calendar, pulp, paperback, glamour and pin-up art. Paintings from his collection have been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution as well as many other American and European museums. Charles G. Martignette died in 2008 in Hallandale, Florida.

Louis K. Meisel, owner-manager of one of the oldest galleries in New York’s Soho, has published several books and articles on contemporary art. In addition to art, he collects pin-up work.

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Посмотреть книгу  1000 Pin-Up Girls

Посмотреть книгу  Gil Elvgren. The Complete Pin-ups

This elegant book features exquisite reproductions of a rare 17th-century album of floral illustrations.

Very little is known about The Green Florilegium. Neither signed nor dated, it is generally attributed to the German painter Hans Simon Holtzbecker and originates from the library at Gottorp Castle in Schleswig, on the border of Germany and Denmark. The album now resides at the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Recently the book was painstakingly restored, allowing the delicate illustrations to come to a new life in their original colours. This beautiful volume reproduces the original work of 400 botanical illustrations on 178 plates. It also includes an introductory essay and captions with basic information on each flower. Published for the first time, this lovely book is a must-have for lovers of botanical illustration and a sublime example of the art of conservation.

Die Entdeckung eines botanischen Meisterwerkes

Das Grüne Florilegium ist ein herausragendes Werk der Blumen- und Pflanzenmalerei. Erstmals wird dieser hinreißende Schatz botanischer Kunst präsentiert – in einer edel ausgestatteten Prachtausgabe mit hochwertigen Reproduktionen in nahezu Originalformat.
Das Florilegium stammt aus dem 17. Jahrhundert und umfasst 178 Tafeln mit ca. 400 botanischen Motiven, die in Lebensgröße und mit außerordentlicher Präzision gemalt wurden. Die künstlerisch erstklassigen Gouachen auf Pergament zeigen blühende Pflanzen im Jahreslauf, darunter botanisch exakte Abbildungen von Rosen, Tulpen, Narzissen und Lilien. Weder signiert, noch datiert, wird es Hans Simon Holtzbecker (1649–1671) zugeschrieben, einem der bedeutendsten Blumenmaler, der auch den berühmten Gottorfer Codex geschaffen hat. Das Florilegium befindet sich im Besitz des Statens Museum for Kunst in Kopenhagen, wo es über mehrere Jahre hinweg aufwendig restauriert wurde und jetzt endlich wieder in vollem Glanz erstrahlt.

Martin Luther's Bible, first printed in 1534, was not only the first complete German publication of the Bible but also a major event in the history of Christianity. Luther's revolutionary translation, very modern in vernacular and interpretation, made the Bible accessible to laypeople for the first time in history and gave life to a new religion: Protestantism. The Luther Bible remains the most widely used version in the Germanic world today. In commemoration of Year of the Bible (2003), TASCHEN is publishing a sumptuous reprint of this seminal book. Including both the Old and New Testaments, separated into two volumes totaling over 1800 pages, TASCHEN's complete Luther Bible has been meticulously reproduced from a rare colored copy of the original. Careful attention has been paid to woodcuts and elaborate ornaments from the workshop of Lucas Cranach, which are printed in color and gold so as to be perfectly faithful to the original. Contained in a third volume is Stephan Füssel's introduction, providing an overview of Luther's life, a discussion of the significance of his bible, and detailed descriptions of the illustrations.

Art of Enchantment. The world’s greatest magicians from the Middle Ages to the 1950s

Take a truly magical mystery tour with this sparkling compendium of magic and trickery from medieval thaumaturgies to 20th-century showmen. Featuring hundreds of rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings, The Magic Book follows this special performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s.

Magic has enchanted humankind for millennia, evoking terror, laughter, shock, and amazement. Once persecuted as heretics and sorcerers, magicians have always been conduits to a parallel universe of limitless possibility — whether invoking spirits, reading minds, or inverting the laws of nature by sleight of hand. Long before science fiction, virtual realities, video games, and the Internet, the craft of magic was the most powerful fantasy world man had ever known. As the pioneers of special effects throughout history, magicians have never ceased to mystify us by making the impossible possible.

This book celebrates more than 500 years of the stunning visual culture of the world’s greatest magicians. Featuring more than 750 rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by Hieronymus Bosch and Bruegel among others, The Magic Book traces the history of magic as a performing art from the 1400s to the 1950s. Combining sensational images with incisive text, the book explores the evolution of the magicians’ craft, from medieval street performers to the brilliant stage magicians who gave rise to cinematic special effects; from the 19th century’s golden age of magic to groundbreaking daredevils like Houdini and the early 20th century’s vaudevillians.

The authors:

Mike Caveney is a writer, collector, professional magician, and the publisher of over 50 books on the theory, practice, and history of magic. His biographical works include Kellar’s Wonders (2003) with Bill Miesel, and Carter the Great (1995). An avid collector and performer for over four decades, he has appeared onstage or on TV in more than 20 countries.

Jim Steinmeyer is the author of many books on magic history and practice, including Los Angeles Times bestseller Hiding the Elephant (2004) and The Glorious Deception (2006). He has created deceptions featured by magicians such as Doug Henning, David Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy, and critically acclaimed illusions for Broadway hits Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and Into the Woods.

The contributing author:

Ricky Jay, who has contributed the introduction to this book, is one of the world's great sleight of hand artists, and a distinguished actor, historian, and best-selling author. His Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women and Jay’s Journal of Anomalies were both New York Times "Notable Books of the Year," and he defined the terms of his art for The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and Encyclopedia Britannica.

The editor:

Noel Daniel is a graduate of Princeton University and a former Fulbright Scholar to Berlin. She earned an MA in London and was director of a photography gallery before editing books. Her TASCHEN publications include Kay Nielsen's A Thousand and One Nights and East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Wintertime Tales, Magic, and The Circus.

Of all institutions, common to all societies throughout human history, slavery is the only constant. It would not be wildly inaccurate to suggest that well over 90% of all humanity has been subjected to slavery of some description. In one form or another, the institution has been the basis of human progression. For example, slaves built the Egyptian pyramids, as they did the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in the Americas; the Golden Years of Greece and Rome were the result of slavery; slaves built the Parthenon. Today through China, India, Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, the Americas and Indonesia - through varying degrees of indentured labour - slavery continues to underpin our lives, and what we consume.

The Slave Route is an entertaining account of one man s journey through distant lands. Artist Harry Holcroft visits over twenty countries across Africa and America as he retraces the path of the ancient slave routes, adopting the various historical means of travel along the way. An enthusiastic storyteller, Holcroft s diary conveys the idiosyncratic charm of these exotic lands and a unique collection of over 100 paintings and sketches capture the haunting atmosphere of some of the world s most evocative places.

This beautiful and comprehensive work illustrates a seemingly inexhaustible selection of the oil and electric light fixtures issued by the Tiffany studios: table and floor lamps, chandeliers and sconces. Also included are the other metalware items produced by the firm, including fancy goods, desk sets, miscellaneous household goods such as toiletry and smoking accessories, inkstands, candlesticks, photograph frames, book ends, tea screens, clocks, tobacco jars, humidors - the list is almost endless.

Tiffany Lamps and Metalware is the ultimate pictorial reference work for both enthusiasts and collectors of Tiffany. There is a comprehensive index that cross-references the firm's original model numbers to the illustrations.

In 1998, TASCHEN introduced the world to the masterful art of Touko Laaksonen with The Art of Pleasure. Prior to that, Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, enjoyed an intense cult following in the international gay community but was largely unknown to the broader audience. The Art of Pleasure gave Tom well-deserved recognition and increased his following exponentially; Tom of Finland XXL will fix him forever in the realm of fine art.

At 29 cm x 40.5 cm and 666 pages, Tom of Finland XXL contains over 1,000 images, covering six decades of the artist's career. The work was gathered from collections across the US and Europe with the help of the Tom of Finland Foundation, and features many drawings, paintings and sketches never previously reproduced. Other images have only been seen out of context and are presented here in the sequential order Tom intended for full artistic appreciation and erotic impact. This elegant oversized volume showcases the full range of Tom's talent, from sensitive portraits to frank sexual pleasure to tender expressions of love and haunting tributes to young men struck down by AIDS.

Completing this collector's edition are eight specially commissioned essays on Tom's social and personal impact by Camille Paglia, John Waters, Armistead Maupin, Todd Oldham, and others, plus a scholarly analysis of individual drawings by art historian Edward Lucie-Smith. For the man - or woman - who thinks bigger is better, Tom of Finland XXL is certain to satisfy.

Tom's private pastime. The secret art of an English gentleman

Thomas Leycester Poulton was an English magazine and medical book illustrator, born in 1897. Upon his death in 1963 it was discovered he was also a prolific and imaginative erotic artist who produced hundreds of sketches and finished drawings of women proudly and exuberantly displaying themselves in ways shocking to conservative post-war Britain.

Once one gets past the shock value it becomes clear that Poulton’s greatest talent was in portraying the human body in the sexual act, and since he did it with such rare insight many have argued he must have actually witnessed the orgies he put on paper. His ties to certain players in the 1963 Profumo scandal, breaking at the time of his death, hint that he may, in fact, have been the in-house artist at the parties that rocked the British Parliament.

Poulton’s archive remained hidden from public view until the late 90s, when it turned up among the artifacts of an aging professional yachtsman who was dispersing his vast collection of erotica.

Though Tom Poulton’s work tells us much about English society between 1948 and 1963, there is a universal quality to these images of joyous, uninhibited sexuality that transcends time and place.

The immediacy and accessibility of video makes it an ideal medium for artists who want to work with sound and moving image; no sooner than video cameras were available to the public in the 1970s were artists already beginning to experiment with the possibilities of video. Though it took decades for it to be widely embraced by mainstream art, video is now firmly accepted as an important medium, thanks to the work of artists such as Matthew Barney, Bruce Nauman, Bill Viola, and Gillian Wearing.

Artists featured: Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Chris Cunningham, Matthew Barney, Fischli/Weiss, Gary Hill, Nan Hoover, Christian Marclay, Steve McQueen, Mariko Mori, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler, Marcel Odenbach, Nam June Paik, Pipilotti Rist, Sam Taylor-Wood, Bill Viola, Gillian Wearing.

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre Series features:

* a detailed introduction with approximately 35 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, etc.) that took place during the time period
* a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work and brief biography of the artist as well as additional information such as a reference work, portrait of the artist, and/or citations

How long is it since you last went to an exhibition or an event of any sort? What information or amusement did you get from it? Did you enjoy it?

We present our latest title When Space Meets Art / When Art Meets Space which offers a comprehensive taste and feel of what goes on in all sorts of events.

Internationally acclaimed for his compelling work in glass, William Morris approaches the demands of glassblowing and glass sculpting with an experimental eye and an innovative hand. Morris, who lives and works near Seattle, has collaborated with master glass blowers as well as renowned painters and sculptors in making art that is widely admired by artists, sought by collectors, and praised by critics. For him, glass is an endlessly intriguing material-fragile yet timeless, preserving the spontaneity of the creative moment unlike any other medium. In this strikingly handsome volume of recent work, Morris explores themes related to archaeology, animals, and the hunt. His Crows, Ravens, and Rhytons embody his intellectual interest in myth and ancient history, as well as his keenly intuitive understanding of the natural world.

This book is an extraordinary pictorial dictionary of musical instruments from around the world, containing over 1500 drawings. Each instrument has been selected to provide a balanced historical overview of musical development: aerophones, idiophones, membranophones, chordophones, mechanical and electrical instruments are all equally represented.

All of the drawings have been created specifically for the details of features such as strings, frets and keys, together with characteristic decorative patterns, have been painstakingly reproduced.

World Musical Instruments will serve both as a source of information and as an object of fascination for: scholars, musicians, artists and designers. The accompanying CD-ROM with high-resolution jpeg illustrations of all the instruments provides the reader with an invaluable resource.

Agile Rabbit Editions contain stunning images for use as a graphic resource, or inspiration. All the illustrations are stored in high-resolution format on the enclosed free CD-ROM and are ready to use for professional quality printed media and web page design. The pictures can also be used to produce postcards, or to decorate your letters, flyers, etc. They can be imported directly from the CD into most design, image-manipulation, illustration, word-processing and e-mail programs; no installation is required. For most applications, single images can be used free of charge.

This is the long-awaited colouring book from illustrator Yuko Higuchi. Follow a brother and sister on their magical, and at times surreal, trip through Yuko Higuchi’s museum, where they are transformed into the creatures they encounter - plants, mushrooms, mammals, reptiles, molluscs, birds and ancient creatures. Let your imagination run riot by adding colour to the illustrations. Created by cult Japanese illustrator Yuko Higuchi, this is a must for lovers of all things fantastical and bizarre.

About the Author:

Yuko Higuchi is a Japanese artist based in Tokyo. She has collaborated with various companies including Ladurée and UNIQLO, and has established a cult following.