Symbols of a deeper reality

"A book like the rooms of an imaginary museum." - La Libre Belgique, Brussels

"To clothe the idea in perceptible form," proposed the poet Jean Moréas in his 1886 Manifesto of Symbolism.

It was in France and Belgium, the cradles of literary Symbolism, that Symbolist painting was born. It plunged headlong into the cultural space opened up by the poetry of Baudelaire and Mallarmé and by the operas of Wagner. Symbolist painters sought not to represent appearances but to express "the Idea," and the imaginary therefore plays an important part in their work. "Dream" was their credo; they execrated, with a fanatical hatred, impressionism, realism, naturalism, and the scientistic. The main principle of Symbolism, that of "correspondences," was to attain harmony between all the different arts, or even to realise the total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk) that Wagner had dreamt of creating.

What we rediscover today, after a period of neglect, is this: Symbolist painting is essential to our understanding of modern art, not only because it spread across the world like wildfire, creating disciples from Russia to the United States, from Northern Europe to the Mediterranean, but because it was the source of a series of mutations without which modern art would not be what it is.

The author:

Michael Gibson is an art critic, art historian, anthropologist, writer, independent scholar and philosopher (currently editor in chief of UNESCO's World Heritage Review) who has been writing on art over the past forty years for numerous publications, including the International Herald Tribune. He has published numerous books, including studies of Bruegel, Gauguin, Duchamp and Calder.

The editor:

Gilles Néret (1933–2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'Œil and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.

Emotional intelligence. A synthesis of form and feeling

First applied to the poems of Stéphane Mallarmé and Paul Verlaine in 1886, the term symbolist was soon applied to the visual arts where a realistic depiction of the natural world gave way to imaginary dream scenes of psychological, sexual, and mystical content.

Symbolism was a broad international phenomenon but particularly present in France, where painters such as Gustave Moreau and Odilon Redon turned their backs on realism, naturalism, and impressionism to populate their canvases with esoteric, often erotic, visions. In place of Monet s light-suffused landscapes or the frank working-class subjects of Courbet, the Symbolists turned to figures from literature, the Bible, and Greek mythology to express experiences of love, fear, anguish, death, sexual awakening, and unrequited desire.

With featured work from Edward Burne-Jones, Puvis de Chavannes, Gustav Klimt, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Gustave Moreau, Odilon Redon and many more, this book introduces Symbolism s great reach, intensity, and influence.

About the series

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Genre series features:

- approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions
- a detailed illustrated introduction plus a timeline of the most important political, cultural and social events that took place during that period
- a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each of which is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and with an interpretation of
the respective work, plus a portrait and brief biography of the artist

Takashi Murakami’s irreverent, pop culture-infused art has made him one of the most recognized Japanese artists today. His bright, contemporary boisterousness, however, belies his deep scholarship and engagement with traditional Japanese art.

Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics presents key examples of Murakami’s work alongside a rich selection of Japanese masterpieces spanning several centuries and arranged here according to concepts laid out by his mentor and foil, leading Japanese art historian Nobuo Tsuji. Beautifully illustrated with Tsuji’s selections from the pre-eminent Japanese art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as some of Murakami’s best-known works of painting and sculpture, the combination of old and new in this groundbreaking volume enriches our understanding of each, and ultimately shows us how contemporary art can be seen as part of a continuum or lineage.

About the Author:

Takashi Murakami has become recognized as one of the most prominent contemporary artists of his time. His work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions at museums and art institutions throughout the world. Recent shows include the travelling retrospective ©MURAKAMI and the Château de Versailles’s solo exhibition of his works on the palace grounds. Massimiliano Gioni is the associate director and director of exhibitions for the New Museum in New York and the curator of the exhibition Murakami – Ego for the Qatar Museums Authority.

Today, the most clever brand communication is self-promulgating.

Anyone currently working in brand communication is facing fundamental yet compelling challenges. In an age in which we are flooded with information, consumers are becoming more critical and discerning. They are deploying ever finer filters so that only the most relevant pieces of information ever reach them. Because of this development, traditional brand and advertising messages are far less likely to be seen.

Taken by Surprise is a collection of communication measures that are sophisticated and relevant enough to overcome these hurdles. They include limited special edition products and signature collaborations between brands, artists, and designers such as those between Julian Schnabel and Maybach, Issey Miyake and Dyson, Sagmeister and Levi’s, Olafur Eliasson and BMW, Jonathan Meese and Staehlemuehle, Terry Richardson and Colette as well as other innovative work by the likes of Damien Hirst, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, David Lynch, Geoff McFetridge, and Pharrell Williams.

These are the tales of an extraordinary journey: from the small towns of Sweden to the deserts of Nevada to the bitter chill of Siberia. A journey where children make friends with abandoned robots... in a world where dinosaurs roam freely.

These are the Tales from the Loop.

Stories told in both words and haunting illustrations, Tales from the Loop captures a not-too-distant reality that is both haunting and imminent: addressing the many ways developing technology and nature can create havoc and wonder in our world... and the hope we might still find in that future. 

About the Author:

Simon Stålenhag (b. 1984) is the internationally acclaimed author, concept designer and artist behind Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood. His highly imaginative images and stories depicting illusive sci-fi phenomena in mundane, hyper-realistic Scandinavian and American landscapes have made Stålenhag one of the most sought-after visual storytellers in the world. Tales from the Loop was ranked one of the "10 Best Dystopias" by The Guardian, along with such works as Franz Kafka's The Trial and Andrew Niccol's Gattaca.

__________

Пролистать книгу Tales from the Loop на Google Books.

For 'Tales of the Brothers Grimm' thirty-six celebrated and lesserknown of the unsanitized fairy tales collected by the illustrious brothers were carefully chosen by artist Natalie Frank, re-interpret- ed in seventy-five gouache and chalk pastel drawings, and cast in a Surrealist dreamscape. This will be the largest collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales ever illustrated by a fine artist. Frank’s irreverent palette, sophisticated use of color, and inventive depiction of these dark, far from storybook narratives, capture the original stories with a contemporary and unflinching eye. Each of the tales opens with a handdrawn title page, is framed by a unique border, and small drawings punctuate each story, all in the tradition of classic fairy tale editions.

The foremost Grimm scholar, Jack Zipes, introduces the book and contextualizes these stories and drawings within a history of the Brothers Grimm, its illustrations, and the tradition of the fairy tale. A complex and unique world of the imagination emerges from the pairing of these tales with Frank’s drawings, assembled by the celebrated designer, Marian Bantjes. Additional texts include a conversation between the artist and director Julie Taymor, as well as essays by Feminist art historian Linda Nochlin and curator Claire Gilman. This book marks Frank’s exhibitions of drawings based on the Brothers Grimm at The Drawing Center, New York, and Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas, Austin, in 2015.

From classicism to comedy, Kubrick to the Coen Brothers, this practical and instructive guide offers a straightforward approach to film in an accessible format: a perfect read for novices and experts alike. A fresh, engaging, and beautifully illustrated volume, Talk About Cinema is the ideal companion for those looking to gain a deeper understanding of cinema today. The main genres of contemporary cinema are clearly defined and exemplified, and chapters on major dates, turning points, and "firsts" since the turn of the twentieth century allow the reader to contextualize different cinematic movements. From Postmodernism and Expressionism to Teen Movies, Westerns, and Science Fiction, all the major trends and styles of recent times are explored and provide a detailed picture of the contemporary cinematic landscape. The portraits of thirty eminent contemporary filmmakers offer valuable insight into the creative and stylistic processes of some of the greatest names in world cinema, while a chapter on twenty seminal works from the last century details those films that have proved inspirational in shaping cinema as we know it today, such as The Twilight Zone, Scarface, and Night of the Living Dead. Hundreds of screenshots and original photographs of legendary actors and directors on set and on screen provide snapshots of their glamorous world, and an easy-to-use glossary ensures that the reader is never overwhelmed by jargon. If you want to understand and discuss film-related topics, Talk About Cinema effortlessly synthesizes a wealth of pertinent facts and ideas into a fun, didactic, and readable volume.

The tango is not a dance but an obsession. Erotic and passionate, haunting and melancholy, it involves not only the body but also the soul.

How did a dance born in the slums of nineteenth-century Buenos Aires remain spectacularly alive for more than a hundred years to become an international cult? Tango! tells the rags-to-riches story of this extraordinary dance, drawing on the expertise of four well-known tango authorities.

• Simon Collier traces the tango’s roots in Buenos Aires and discusses its earliest dancers and musicians.
• Artemis Cooper recounts the astonishing upsurge of tangomania in Europe and North America before the First World War.
• The Golden Age of the tango in Argentina, from 1920 to 1950, is covered by Maria Susana Azzi.
• Richard Martin tackles the question of the tango and machismo, and discusses the immensely popular tango shows of recent years.

Illustrated with more than 250 photographs and including the sensational colour photography of Ken Haas, this book will delight tango enthusiasts, students of dance and all those who are fascinated by this seemingly unstoppable phenomenon.

Contains a book and 4 CDs. Tango is smouldering intimacy - the resonance of passion and melancholy expressed in movement. When Tango was born in the middle of the 19th century, cultures mingled in Argentina and Uruguay and musical styles were mixed. Since then, it has been embraced by people all over the world. The vivid photography in this book captures the sounds, beats and sizzling encounters so typical for this internationally popular music. "Tango" classics on four CDs paired with beautiful images invite the listener to dance into the heart of South America.

110 илл.

Современное искусство не существует без концепции, его эстетическая сторона порой даже уходит на второй план, уступая место идее. Художник Таня Баданина один из самых по­настоящему современных и актуальных авторов, многогранная философия ее произведений не нарушила эстетики образа. Примиряя смысл с формой, все, что ни делает Татьяна, воссоздает ли картину неба, рисует ли рай, любое творчество уподобляет акту божественного творения. В книге о Тане Баданиной – инсталляции, живопись, опыты конструирования одежды, современные жанры и вечные темы. Механизм познания рая и счастья творить откроется каждому читателю.

Andrey Tarkovsky was the most important Russian filmmaker of the post-war era, and one of the world’s most renowned cinematic geniuses.

Tarkovsky’s films are characterized by metaphysical themes, extended takes, an absence of conventional dramatic structure and plot, and a dream-like, visionary style of cinematography. They achieve a spiritual intensity and transcendent beauty that many consider being without parallel.

He directed the first five of his seven films – Ivan’s Childhood, Andrei Rublev, Solaris, Mirror and Stalker – in the Soviet Union, but in 1982 defected to Italy, where he made Nostalgia. His final film, The Sacrifice, was produced in Sweden in 1985.

This book presents extended sequences of stills from each of the films alongside synopses and cast and crew listings. It includes reflections on Tarkovsky’s work from fellow artists and writers including Jean-Paul Sartre and Ingmar Bergman, for whom Tarkovsky was ‘the greatest, the one who invented a new language.’

Extracts from Tarkovsky’s own writings and diaries offer a wealth of insights into his poetic and philosophical views on cinematography, which he described as ‘sculpting in time'. The book also reproduces many personal Polaroid photographs that confirm the extraordinarily poetic vision of a great artist who died aged only 54, but who remains a potent influence on artists and filmmakers today.

Contents List:

Essay by Andrej Tarkovsky Jr: The Closed Time • A Tarkovsky Biography • An Introduction to the Films by H. J. Schlegel • Essays on Tarkovsky • Private Photos and Polaroids: Russia

About the Author:

Andrey A. Tarkovsky is the son of filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.
Hans-Joachim Schlegel is a film historian and the editor and translator of the writings of Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky.

List of Contributors:

Lothar Schirmer, Hans-Joachim Schlegel, Jean-Paul Sartre, Sven Nykvist, Erland Josephson, Ingmar Bergman, Chingiz Aitmatov, Aleksandr Sokurov

Divine Decks. A visual history of Tarot

To explore the Tarot is to explore ourselves, to be reminded of the universality of our longing for meaning, for purpose and for a connection to the divine. This 600-year-old tradition reflects not only a history of seekers, but our journey of artistic expression and the ways we communicate our collective human story.

For many in the West, Tarot exists in the shadow place of our cultural consciousness, a metaphysical tradition assigned to the dusty glass cabinets of the arcane. Its history, long and obscure, has been passed down through secret writing, oral tradition, and the scholarly tomes of philosophers and sages. Hundreds of years and hundreds of creative hands — mystics and artists often working in collaboration—have transformed what was essentially a parlor game into a source of divination and system of self-exploration, as each new generation has sought to evolve the form and reinterpret the medium.

Author Jessica Hundley traces this fascinating history in Tarot, the debut volume in TASCHEN’s Library of Esoterica series. The book explores the symbolic meaning behind more than 500 cards and works of original art, two thirds of which have never been published outside of the decks themselves. It's the first ever visual compendium of its kind, spanning from Medieval to modern, and artfully arranged according to the sequencing of the 78 cards of the Major and Minor Arcana. It explores the powerful influence of Tarot as muse to artists like Salvador Dalí and Niki de Saint Phalle and includes the decks of nearly 100 diverse contemporary artists from around the world, all of whom have embraced the medium for its capacity to push cultural identity forward. Rounding out the volume are excerpts from thinkers such as Éliphas Lévi, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell; a foreword by artist Penny Slinger; a guide to reading the cards by Johannes Fiebig; and an essay on oracle decks by Marcella Kroll.

The editor and author:

Jessica Hundley is an author, filmmaker and journalist. She has written for the likes of Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, and has authored books on artists including Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, and Gram Parsons. Hundley often explores the counterculture in her work, with a focus on metaphysics, psychedelia, and magic.

The designer:

Thunderwing is a Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary studio co-founded in 2007 by Nic & J. B. Taylor. Collaborating on a diverse array of projects, Thunderwing creates branding and design for film, publishing, fashion, food, music, and interior design.

The contributing authors

Johannes Fiebig, born in Cologne in 1953, is one of the most successful authors on Tarot and a leading expert of the psychological interpretation of symbols and oracles. His main field of interest focuses on the use of Tarot and other symbolic languages as humanistic, psychological tools.

Marcella Kroll is an artist, tarot reader, metaphysical teacher, and host of the podcast Saved by the Spell. She is a program director for the Los Angeles Public Library, leading public classes for teens on Tarot and other divination subjects, and is the creator of two popular oracle decks.

This exhibition is the first solo presentation and one of the most important to be held in Europe on the work of the Brazilian artist Tarsila do Amaral (Capivari, São Paolo,1886-1973), a key figure in Brazilian painting and responsible for the introduction of the European avant-garde into that country. The exhibition has been devised and organised by the Fundación Juan March and is co-produced with the Fundación Caixa Galicia.The exhibition focuses on the work of the artist s dazzling middle period in the 1920s, when she lived between São Paolo and Paris, with a symbolic conclusion in Moscow (where she travelled in 1931). It emphasises her connections with the avant-garde in Paris, her training with painters such as André Lhote and Fernand Léger, and her friendship with some of the French avant-garde poets, in particular Blaise Cendrars. The exhibition comprises 50 paintings and drawings, most of them on loan from Brazilian museums and private collections, with the exception of three works from the Musée de Grenoble, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. It also features an introductory room that sets the artist in her context and offers an overview of the Brazilian art scene in the 1920s with works by some of the most important figures in modern Brazilian art as well as documentary material.

Your daily dose of cinema

A movie a day keeps the doctor away

Make every day a showpiece, with TASCHEN’s 365 Day-by-Day Movie Icons, the reusable calendar featuring a seminal movie image and related quote for each new date. Rediscover tantalizing scenes and terrific starlets; perfect villains and stunning sets; as well as that reassuring feeling of turning a page to mark the new day. You’ll also learn the birthdays of cinema’s greatest stars, so you can celebrate the dates on which the silver screen got that much brighter.

They'll always be there for you. A new pin-up to brighten your every day: TASCHEN's perpetual calendars

For those of you whose datebooks have been replaced by smartphones, TASCHEN has created the new 365 Day-By-Day series so that you can still enjoy the warm analog feeling of marking every day with the turn of a page. Each day you’ll discover a new image and a related quote - on special days you’ll also learn the birthdays of iconic pin-up models - ensuring a constant source of inspiration right on your desktop. At the end of the year, just turn back to the beginning and start again!