A fly-on-the-wall account of the smart and strange subcultures that make, trade, curate, collect, and hype contemporary art. The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for some, a kind of alternative religion. In a series of beautifully paced narratives, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings in Takashi Murakami's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in a notorious art-school seminar, and the wonderland of the Venice Biennale. She reveals the new dynamics of creativity, taste, status, money, and the search for meaning in life. A judicious and juicy account of the institutions that have the power to shape art history, based on hundreds of interviews with high-profile players, Thornton's entertaining ethnography will change the way you look at contemporary culture.

"The definitive reference for art lovers of any level of knowledge and understanding. Packed with paintings by popular and essential artists from all over the world, this comprehensive new book is organized by era to reveal the development of art over time."--p. [4] of cover.

Experience the uplifting power of art on this breathtaking visual tour of 2,500 paintings and sculptures created by more than 700 artists from Michelangelo to Damien Hirst. This beautiful book brings you the very best of world art from cave paintings to Neoexpressionism. Enjoy iconic must-see works, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper and Monet's Waterlilies and discover less familiar artists and genres from all parts of the globe. Art That Changed the World covers the full sweep of world art, including the Ming era in China, and Japanese, Hindu, and Indigenous Australian art. It analyses recurring themes such as love and religion, explaining key genres from Romanesque to Conceptual art. Art That Changed the World explores each artist's key works and vision, showing details of their technique, such as Leonardo's use of light and shade. It tells the story of avant-garde works like Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe (Lunch on the Grass), which scandalized society, and traces how one genre informed another - showing how the Impressionists were inspired by Gustave Courbet, for example, and how Van Gogh was influenced by Japanese prints. Lavishly illustrated throughout, look no further for your essential guide to the pantheon of world art.

"This business book is aimed at early career artists and helps to equip them with the practical tools needed to approach their careers, shining light upon some things that are often hidden from view. It has been written as a series of opinion pieces rather than a how-to guide, and covers such topics as how to exhibit and sell your works, as well as things like how to stay motivated, and how to deal with the periods of insecurity that a career in the arts can often create."--Publisher's web site (viewed on November 19, 2020)

Through a series of 36 interviews with leading contemporary artists and art world figures--including curators, collectors, museum directors, and dealers--Diamonstein investigates how artists view their own work and how the art world has changed in the past decade. Among those interviewed: Leo Castelli, Christo and Jeanne-Claude Christo, Jenny Holzer, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, and Richard Serra. Includes numerous photos of the interviewees in conversation. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Celebrating art and interpretation that take on social challenges, Doris Sommer steers the humanities back to engagement with the world. The reformist projects that focus her attention develop momentum and meaning as they circulate through society to inspire faith in the possible. Among the cases that she covers are top-down initiatives of political leaders, such as those launched by Antanas Mockus, former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and also bottom-up movements like the Theatre of the Oppressed created by the Brazilian director, writer, and educator Augusto Boal. Alleging that we are all cultural agents, Sommer also takes herself to task and creates Pre-Texts, an international arts-literacy project that translates high literary theory through popular creative practices. The Work of Art in the World is informed by many writers and theorists. Foremost among them is the eighteenth-century German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller, who remains an eloquent defender of art-making and humanistic interpretation in the construction of political freedom. Schiller's thinking runs throughout Sommer's modern-day call for citizens to collaborate in the endless co-creation of a more just and more beautiful world.

This text provides students with a wonderfully written introduction to art that emphasizes critical thinking and visual literacy.Developing Visual Literacy. The Themes of Art. Seeing the Value in Art. Line. Space. Light and Color. Other Formal Elements. The Principles of Design. Drawing. Printmaking. Painting. The Camera Arts. Sculpture. Other Three-Dimensional Media. Architecture. Design. The Ancient World. The Christian Era. The Renaissance Through the Baroque. The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. The Twentieth Century.For anyone looking to develop an appreciation for a diverse range of art.

Public Spaces / Private Passions critically examines the growth of private museums in the 21st century, their impact on public institutions and what the future might look like. It is essential reading for museum professionals, art collectors, critics and cultural commentators and anyone working in the art trade.

An insider's detailed chronicle of the inner workings of the contemporary art world, now in paperback.