The Pursuit of Art: Travels, Encounters and Revelations

The Pursuit of Art: Travels, Encounters and Revelations PDF Author: Martin Gayford
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500774897
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
One of our leading art critics and writers, Martin Gayford, recounts his travels and meetings with the world’s greatest artists. In the course of a career thinking and writing about art, critic Martin Gayford has traveled all over the world both to see works of art and to meet artists. Gayford’s journeys, often to fairly inaccessible places, involve frustrations and complications, but also serendipitous encounters and outcomes, which he makes as much a part of the story as the final destination. In chapters that are by turns humorous, intriguing, and stimulating, Gayford takes us to places as varied as Brancusi’s Endless Column in Romania; prehistoric caves in France; the museum island of Naoshima in Japan; the Judd Foundation in Marfa, Texas; and an exhibition of Roni Horn’s work in Iceland. Interwoven with these tales are journeys to meet artists—Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, Marina Abramovic´ in Venice, Robert Rauschenberg in New York—and travels with artists, such as a trip to Beijing with Gilbert & George. These encounters not only provide fascinating insights into the way artists approach and think about their art, but reveal the importance of their personal environments. A perceptive, amusing, and knowledgeable companion, in The Pursuit of Art Gayford takes readers on a tour of art that is immensely entertaining, informative, and eminently readable.

Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud

Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud PDF Author: Martin Gayford
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500770794
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 189

Book Description
“An extraordinary record of a great artist in his studio, it also describes what it feels like to be transformed into a work of art.” —ARTnews Lucian Freud (1922-2011), widely regarded as the greatest figurative painter of our time, spent seven months painting a portrait of the art critic Martin Gayford. The daily narrative of their encounters takes the reader into that most private place, the artist’s studio, and to the heart of the working methods of this modern master—both technical and subtly psychological. From this emerges an understanding of what a portrait is, but something else is also created: a portrait, in words, of Freud himself. This is not a biography, but a series of close-ups: the artist at work and in conversation at restaurants, in taxis, and in his studio. It takes one into the company of the painter for whom Picasso, Giacometti, and Francis Bacon were friends and contemporaries, as were writers such as George Orwell and W. H. Auden. The book is illustrated with many of Lucian Freud’s other works, telling photographs taken by David Dawson of Freud in his studio, and images by such great artists of the past as van Gogh and Titian who are discussed by Freud and Gayford. Full of wry observations, the book reveals the inside story of how it feels to pose for a remarkable artist and become a work of art.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness PDF Author: Bianca C. Williams
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 0822372134
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
In The Pursuit of Happiness Bianca C. Williams traces the experiences of African American women as they travel to Jamaica, where they address the perils and disappointments of American racism by looking for intimacy, happiness, and a connection to their racial identities. Through their encounters with Jamaican online communities and their participation in trips organized by Girlfriend Tours International, the women construct notions of racial, sexual, and emotional belonging by forming relationships with Jamaican men and other "girlfriends." These relationships allow the women to exercise agency and find happiness in ways that resist the damaging intersections of racism and patriarchy in the United States. However, while the women require a spiritual and virtual connection to Jamaica in order to live happily in the United States, their notion of happiness relies on travel, which requires leveraging their national privilege as American citizens. Williams's theorization of "emotional transnationalism" and the construction of affect across diasporic distance attends to the connections between race, gender, and affect while highlighting how affective relationships mark nationalized and gendered power differentials within the African diaspora.

The Secret Place

The Secret Place PDF Author: Dale A. Fife
Publisher: Whitaker House
ISBN: 0883689308
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
You hunger to live in the presence of God, and you yearn to know the Father’s heart in an intimate way. You desire revelation and passionate encounters with the Almighty, and you long to spend time in The Secret Place, getting to know the Father in a deeper way. This book will lead you into that place of revelation, the place that will satisfy your hunger for more of God. If you long to experience a greater intimacy with the Father, The Secret Place will draw you in and change your life!

Intaglio

Intaglio PDF Author: Robert Adam
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0500286612
Category : Antiques & Collectibles
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
This practical and inspirational book is a complete guide to creative intaglio printmaking. With clear step-by-step instructions and hundreds of illustrations, it describes methods that, while employing a strong traditional basis, avoid the use of toxic materials to achieve stunning prints the modern, safety-first way. Covering every stage of the plate-making and printing process, the book opens up creative possibilities for beginners and experienced printmakers alike. From setting up and equipping an intaglio studio, through choosing a printing method, to collating and presenting finished prints, this beautifully illustrated and comprehensive reference book is the only resource any art practitioner, educator, or student will ever need. 229 illustrations, 199 in color.

A Year in the Art World

A Year in the Art World PDF Author: Matthew Israel
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500775583
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
An insider’s detailed chronicle of the inner workings of the contemporary art world. The world of contemporary art has become more globalized and transparent in the last few decades, yet it is still perceived as closed-off and obscure. In A Year in the Art World, Matthew Israel takes the reader on a cross-continental journey through a year in the field of art, lifting the veil on a culture that emerges as diverse, adventurous, nuanced, and meaningful. From Los Angeles and New York to Paris and Hong Kong, Israel encounters artists, curators, critics, gallerists, and institutions, uncovering the working lives of these art-world figures from the renowned to the unseen. Drawing on exclusive interviews and expertly researched content, Israel ventures into the inner workings of the art industry to ask: What is it that people in the art world actually do? What drives interest in working with art? How do artworks acquire value? And how has technology transformed today’s art world? Anchoring the narrative in the history, economics, and cultural dynamics of the field, this fascinating story reveals how “the art world” describes a realm that is both surprisingly vast and deeply interconnected.

Art Day by Day: 366 Brushes with History

Art Day by Day: 366 Brushes with History PDF Author: Alex Johnson
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 0500777063
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 403

Book Description
A daily almanac that presents a selection of art historical events for every day of the year, from momentous and headline-grabbing to intimate, amusing, and illuminating. Taking a novel approach to the history of art, Art Day by Day aims to change the pace at which the story is told. Presenting snapshots of the most exciting, unusual, and noteworthy art events from around the world and throughout history through direct testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and contemporary chroniclers, this volume is a unique look at the past. Drawing on articles, diaries, interviews, letters, speeches, transcripts, and more, Art Day by Day offers an important event that happened on that day in the history of art. Here are the stories of famous paintings, ancient sculptures, comic strips, photographs, murals, manifestos, and marriages, from terracotta soldiers to a self-shredding Banksy. Each day has its own section, starting with an extended quote giving artists, critics, and commentators their voice to speak directly to us, followed by a brief explanatory text, and ending with other important events in art on that day such as births, deaths, and exhibition openings. Not every entry is momentous, but each one is significant. Yes, there are thefts, murders, artistic mishaps, and eureka moments, but there are also episodes such as President Theodore Roosevelt’s doodles, Michelangelo writing to his nephew about his kidney stones, and Monet getting the green light for his water garden. Every day has a story to tell. An informative overview of culture throughout the ages, Art Day by Day is as enlightening as it is entertaining: the perfect armchair companion and reference for art lovers everywhere.

Beauty (and the Banana)

Beauty (and the Banana) PDF Author: Brian C. Nixon
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725285320
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
What is it that makes something beautiful? Is beauty solely in the eye of the beholder, or something deeper, more significant? In Beauty (and the Banana), Nixon writes as an introductory book for Christian leaders, providing the reader an overview of the historical, hermeneutical, and heuristic considerations of beauty. Using the artwork Comedian (a banana taped to a wall) by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan as a springboard, Nixon addresses various fundamental factors of beauty—ontology (being), teleology (form and understanding), and immutability (transcendence and eternality). Integrating poetry and classical ideals throughout, Beauty (and the Banana)’s response to the above questions may surprise all who read—beauty is more than meets the eye.

Venice: City of Pictures

Venice: City of Pictures PDF Author: Martin Gayford
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
ISBN: 050077837X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 595

Book Description
A visual journey through five centuries of the city known for centuries as, “La Serenissima”—a unique and compelling story for both lovers of Venice and lovers of its art. Enchanting, captivating, precious—Venice is one of the most cherished cities in the world. For centuries it was the heart of a global maritime power and a crossroads for diverse cultures. Today the city attracts millions of visitors each year, enticed by its irresistible beauty. Art lovers are drawn here by the paintings, prints, drawings, and films made by generations of artists who have captured its magical allure. It is through images—both of the city and the art created there—that Venice’s identity has been forged and spread so powerfully. Venice was a major center of art in the Renaissance: the city where the medium of oil on canvas became the norm. The achievements of the Bellini brothers, Vittore Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, and Paolo Veronese are a key part of this story. Nowhere else has been depicted by so many great painters in so many diverse styles and moods. Venetian views were a specialty of native artists such as Canaletto and Francesco Guardi, but the city has also been represented by outsiders: William Turner, Claude Monet, John Singer Sargent, Howard Hodgkin, and many more. Then there are those who came to look at and write about art. The reactions of Henry James, George Eliot, Richard Wagner, and others enrich this tale. Nor is the story over. Since the advent of the Venice Biennale in the 1890s, the city has become a shop window for the contemporary art of the whole world. In this elegant volume, Martin Gayford takes us on a visual journey through the past five centuries of the city known as “La Serenissima,” the “Most Serene.”

The Third Enlightenment (or Globalizing Meritocracies)

The Third Enlightenment (or Globalizing Meritocracies) PDF Author: Sławomir Magala
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527566064
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 150

Book Description
Arguing that political correctness cripples public debate, limits growth of knowledge and threatens democracy, this book will serve to make the reader aware of these threats. In addition, it shows that meritocracies have become contaminated by the radioactive dust from the propaganda of cultural wars. Why are media professionals and fellow teachers still following the instructions issued by the masters of the Cold War universe in order to control damage?