Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in ebook Art

A compact and accessible introduction to recent contemporary art history, Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980, Second Edition, focuses on seven important themes that have recurred in art over the past few decades: identity, the body, time, place, language, science, and spirituality. The opening chapter provides a concise overview of the period, analyzing how five key changes (the rise of new media, a growing awareness of diversity, globalization, the influence of theory, and interactions with everyday visual culture) have resulted in an art world with dramatically expanded boundaries. The remaining seven chapters each feature an introduction to one thematic topic; a brief look at historical influences; a detailed analysis of how contemporary artists have responded to and embodied aspects of the theme in specific works; and two profiles of artists who have extensively explored aspects of the theme in their work. The book’s thematic organization encourages students, gallery goers, and other readers to think actively and critically about the ideas expressed in the artwork instead of simply memorizing “who, what, when, and where.”

Themes of Contemporary Art, Second Edition, features more than 125 vivid illustrations (including 21 in color) that exemplify a wide variety of materials, techniques, theoretical viewpoints, and stylistic approaches from artists of diverse ethnic, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. It also includes an updated timeline that situates art within the context of the time it was created.

New to the Second Edition

*An additional chapter explores science as a theme in recent contemporary art
*Eight new artist profiles and revisions to existing chapters bring the examples well into the 21st century
*An updated timeline of world events and developments in art and pop culture
*Over 40 new illustrations of contemporary art

History as Art, Art as History: Contemporary Art and Social

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in ebook Art

History as Art, Art as History pioneers methods for using contemporary works of art in the social studies and art classroom to enhance an understanding of visual culture and history. The fully-illustrated interdisciplinary teaching toolkit provides an invaluable pedagogical resource-complete with theoretical background and practical suggestions for teaching U.S. history topics through close readings of both primary sources and provocative works of contemporary art.

History as Art, Art as History: Contemporary Art and Social Studies Education

Northern Renaissance Art (Oxford History of Art)

October 10th, 2010 No Comments   Posted in ebook Art

This book offers a wide-ranging introduction to the way that art was made, valued, and viewed in northern Europe in the age of the Renaissance, from the late fourteenth to the early years of the sixteenth century. Drawing on a rich range of sources, from inventories and guild regulations to poetry and chronicles, it examines everything from panel paintings to carved altarpieces.

While many little-known works are foregrounded, Susie Nash also presents new ways of viewing and understanding the more familiar, such as the paintings of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hans Memling, by considering the social and economic context of their creation and reception. Throughout, Nash challenges the perception that Italy was the European leader in artistic innovation at this time, demonstrating forcefully that Northern art, and particularly that of the Southern Netherlands, dominated visual culture throughout Europe in this crucial period.