"A collection of quotations from the influential contemporary Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat"--

A collection of fascinating and provocative quotations from the world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramović is arguably the most important and influential performance artist of our time. For decades, she has broken boundaries in iconic works such as The Artist Is Present (2010), where she sat in silence across from members of the public at the Museum of Modern Art for up to eight hours a day for three months, and Rhythm 0 (1974), a six-hour performance in which she stood next to a table holding seventy-two objects, including a scalpel and a loaded gun, and a sign suggesting audience members could do to her whatever they wanted. Gathered from interviews, lectures, writings, and other sources, Abramović-isms is a unique collection of quotations that offers a window into the mind of this iconic trailblazer. “Artists have to be free human beings. They have to have the complete freedom to express their ideas with no restrictions.” “Our body is an absolute replica of the Universe, and this is why I took to studying myself—by studying myself, I can understand everything else and everybody else.” “Beauty doesn’t have a definition. What is important is what moves you.” “Don’t ever call me the grandmother of performance art. Just call me a warrior.”

A collection of compelling quotations from JR—the renowned French photographer, street artist, and activist JR is perhaps best known for taking portraits of regular people, reproducing the images at a monumental scale, and pasting them on the sides of buildings in the subjects’ neighborhoods. Among his many other notable projects are a gigantic photo of a child peering over the top of the barrier at the US-Mexico border and an enormous mural of inmates that covers the ground of an outdoor exercise yard at a California prison. Collected from interviews, writings, and other sources, JR-isms is an inspiring and thought-provoking collection of quotations from the exciting artist and activist, whose work reaches far beyond the traditional art world, from the streets of New York to the suburbs of Paris and the favelas of Brazil. “I was writing my names on walls to say ‘I exist,’ then I started pasting pictures of people with their names to say they exist.” “Art is not supposed to change the world. It can offer a new perspective, a new look, break down the walls we build between us, and humanize the ‘other.’ ” “I always make sure in my art that I even confront my own perspective.” “You know what they say, that the criminal always goes back to the crime scene? It works the same for the artist. When you do something in the street, you come back to see how people approach it. No one knows it’s you, but you’re right there.”

A revelatory collection of the artist’s sketches and preparatory drawings, featuring many that have never been published before The great Russian modernist painter and theorist Wassily Kandinsky was one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art. Few documents provide more insight into his evolution from figural to abstract art—or into the development of abstraction in the early twentieth century—than the pages of his sketchbooks. Featuring previously unpublished drawings, Wassily Kandinsky: The Sketchbooks is a comprehensive selection of hundreds of sketches from twelve notebooks Kandinsky kept between 1889 and 1935. Beginning with early figure studies, architectural sketches, and landscapes, the notebooks reveal a process of exploration that would lead Kandinsky from his first experiments in geometric abstraction to paintings that reshaped modernism. Demonstrating Kandinsky’s mastery of color, line, shape, composition, and movement, the book includes notes and preparatory studies for major paintings, such as the “analytical drawing” for Composition VII (1913), the first study for Several Circles (1926), and Study for Composition IX, a preliminary working of his 1936 masterpiece. Visually stunning, the book offers a remarkable, intimate look at how Kandinsky sought to discover nothing less than a spiritually transcendent form of art.

A collection of essential quotations from the renowned fashion designer, DJ, and stylist Abloh-isms is a collection of essential quotations from American fashion designer, DJ, and stylist Virgil Abloh, who was a major creative figure in the worlds of pop culture and art. Abloh began his career as Kanye West’s creative director before founding the luxury streetwear label Off-White and becoming artistic director for Louis Vuitton, making Abloh the first American of African descent to hold that title at a French fashion house. Defying categorization, Abloh’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at museums and galleries, most notably in a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Gathered from interviews and other sources, this selection of compelling and memorable quotations from the designer reveals his thoughts on a wide range of subjects, including creativity, passion, innovation, race, and what it means to be an artist of his generation. Lively and thought-provoking, these quotes reflect Abloh’s unique perspective as a trailblazer in his fields. Select quotations from the book: “I believe that coincidence is key, but coincidence is energies coming towards each other. You have to be moving to meet it.” “Life is collaboration. Where I think art can be sort of misguided is that it propagates this idea of itself as a solo love affair—one person, one idea, no one else involved.” “Black influence has created a new ecosystem, which can grow and support different types of life that we couldn’t before."

Understanding Photography packs an enormous amount of detail into a handy, attractive guide tracing the evolution of photography through a series of interconnected trends, groups, themes and movements – from the invention of the photographic process to the post-internet age. Organised chronologically, this is a uniquely international, comprehensive guide to photography with concise, readable and jargon-free but scholarly insight into major photographers, movements and themes of the past 170 years. In an age where photography is of more resonance and interest than ever before, Understanding Photography offers an in-depth and clear exposition of photography for the interested general reader or student.

The quotable Ai Weiwei This collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai Weiwei's thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life. A master at communicating powerful ideas in astonishingly few words, Ai Weiwei is known for his innovative use of social media to disseminate his views. The short quotations presented here have been carefully selected from articles, tweets, and interviews given by this acclaimed Chinese artist and activist. The book is organized into six categories: freedom of expression; art and activism; government, power, and moral choices; the digital world; history, the historical moment, and the future; and personal reflections. Together, these quotes span some of the most revealing moments of Ai Weiwei's eventful career—from his risky investigation into student deaths in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to his arbitrary arrest in 2011—providing a window into the mind of one of the world's most electrifying and courageous contemporary artists. Select Quotes from the Book: On Freedom of Expression "Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it." "A small act is worth a million thoughts." "Liberty is about our rights to question everything." On Art and Activism "Everything is art. Everything is politics." "The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay." "Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don't feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy." On Government, Power, and Making Moral Choice "Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country." "I feel powerless all the time, but I regain my energy by making a very small difference that won't cost me much." "Tips on surviving the regime: Respect yourself and speak for others. Do one small thing every day to prove the existence of justice." On the Digital World "Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what's on his mind. A fairy tale has come true." "The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It's as simple as that." "The Internet is the best thing that could have happened to China." On History, the Historical Moment, and the Future "If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future." "We need to get out of the old language." "The world is a sphere, there is no East or West." Personal Reflection "I've never planned any part of my career—except being an artist. And I was pushed into that corner because I thought being an artist was the only way to have a little freedom." "Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom." "Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it."

A creative poetic biography based on the dreams and many thoughts of the author, Tim O'Bryan, A Pittsburgh Pennsylvania native, former South Carolinian who now lives in Ohio with his wife and kids.

The work of renowned contemporary artist Daniel Arsham blurs the lines between art, architecture, archeology, and design. In his distinctive style, he takes ancient art works and objects from twentieth-century pop culture and casts sculptures of them in geological materials such as quartz or volcanic ash, colliding past, present, and future in haunted yet playful visions that prompt viewers to question their everyday surroundings. Gathered from interviews and other sources, Arsham-isms is a collection of lively, thought-provoking, and memorable quotations from this exciting young creative talent on a wide range of subjects-including art, architecture, film, design, pop culture, the art world, and what it means to be a globally recognized artist today.

"Essential quotations from renowned artist and pop icon Keith Haring"--