Despite the wonders of the digital world, people still go in record numbers to view drawings and paintings in galleries. Why? What is the magic that pictures work on us? This book provides a provocative explanation, arguing that some pictures have special kinds of beauty and sublimity that offer aesthetic transcendence. They take us imaginatively beyond our finite limits and even invoke a sense of the divine. Such aesthetic transcendence forges a relationship with the ultimate and completes us psychologically. Philosophers and theologians sometimes account for this as an effect of art, but How Pictures Complete Us distinguishes itself by revealing how this experience is embodied in pictorial structures and styles. Through detailed discussions of artworks from the Renaissance through postmodern times, Paul Crowther reappraises the entire scope of beauty and the sublime in the context of both representational and abstract art, offering unexpected insights into familiar phenomena such as ideal beauty, pictorial perspective, and what pictures are in the first place.

Despite the wonders of the digital world, people still go in record numbers to view drawings and paintings in galleries. Why? What is the magic that pictures work on us? This book provides a provocative explanation, arguing that some pictures have special kinds of beauty and sublimity that offer aesthetic transcendence. They take us imaginatively beyond our finite limits and even invoke a sense of the divine. Such aesthetic transcendence forges a relationship with the ultimate and completes us psychologically. Philosophers and theologians sometimes account for this as an effect of art, but How Pictures Complete Us distinguishes itself by revealing how this experience is embodied in pictorial structures and styles. Through detailed discussions of artworks from the Renaissance through postmodern times, Paul Crowther reappraises the entire scope of beauty and the sublime in the context of both representational and abstract art, offering unexpected insights into familiar phenomena such as ideal beauty, pictorial perspective, and what pictures are in the first place.

Holzer (vice president of communications, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City) has produced a complete account of the creation by Prang, a printer known as the "father of the Christmas card," of a series of chromolithographs of Civil War scenes. Holzer's lengthy introduction describes in detail the process involved in creating the prints, setting the project in the larger context of Prang's print business in late 19th-century Boston. The extensive texts that originally accompanied the prints are included, along with good- quality color reproductions of the prints. c. Book News Inc.

Photography books tend to be long, technical, and full of complicated jargon. For the amateur or pro who just wants to get quick-hitting tips and loads of inspiration, this is the book that does the job. In 355 handy, easy-to-grasp hints, this book gives you what you need to know to grasp the basics of lighting, composition, gear, working with models, and much, much more. Pro tips make this much more than a beginner’s guide. Taking amazing pictures is getting easier and easier with the advances in digital photography, and The Complete Photo Manual is here to help you take full advantage! Organized into three useful chapters (Gear & Setup, Shooting & Composing, and Processing & Beyond), this book from the experts at Popular Photography magazine helps you select and use cutting-edge cameras and accessories; teaches you to see the world as a photographer does and shoot in the moment to capture great shots as they happen; and then tweak your images in photo-processing software for next-level effects. From the subtle (adjusting the color in a picture to create a different mood) to the artistic (compositions merging several photos to dramatic effect) to the downright amazing (how to photograph yourself levitating . . . it’s easier than you think!), The Complete Photo Manual opens up a whole world of photographic possibility. Set-ups and techniques are described in detail, with easy-to-understand illustrations and diagrams, and a wealth of beautifully inspirational photography. Beginners will learn ways to quickly move into new realms of expertise, and even old pros will pick up some new tricks. Anyone who has ever looked at an amazing composition or a skillful composite and said, “How did they do that?” will find this book irresistible.

A picture-rich field guide to American photography, from daguerreotype to digital. We are all photographers now, with camera phones in hand and social media accounts at the ready. And we know which pictures we like. But what makes a "good picture"? And how could anyone think those old styles were actually good? Soft-focus yearbook photos from the '80s are now hopelessly—and happily—outdated, as are the low-angle portraits fashionable in the 1940s or the blank stares of the 1840s. From portraits to products, landscapes to food pics, Good Pictures proves that the history of photography is a history of changing styles. In a series of short, engaging essays, Kim Beil uncovers the origins of fifty photographic trends and investigates their original appeal, their decline, and sometimes their reuse by later generations of photographers. Drawing on a wealth of visual material, from vintage how-to manuals to magazine articles for working photographers, this full-color book illustrates the evolution of trends with hundreds of pictures made by amateurs, artists, and commercial photographers alike. Whether for selfies or sepia tones, the rules for good pictures are always shifting, reflecting new ways of thinking about ourselves and our place in the visual world.

"A fascinating, revelatory portrait of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its treasures by a former New Yorker staffer who spent a decade as a museum guard"--

Arguing that art can bridge the gap between philosophy's traditional striving for generality and completeness, and the concreteness and contingency of humanity's basic relation to the world, Crowther proposes an ecological definition of art.

I Am Perfectly Designed is an exuberant celebration of loving who you are, exactly as you are, from Karamo Brown, the Culture Expert of Netflix's hit series Queer Eye, and Jason Brown—featuring illustrations by Anoosha Syed. In this empowering ode to modern families, a boy and his father take a joyful walk through the city, discovering all the ways in which they are perfectly designed for each other. "With tenderness and wit, this story captures the magic of building strong childhood memories. The Browns and Syed celebrate the special bond between parent and child with joy and flair...Syed's bright, cartoon illustrations enrich the tale with a meaningful message of kindness and inclusion."—Kirkus

Gruesome photographs document the victims of lynchings and the society that allowed mob violence.