Based on two international conferences held at Cornell University and the Freie Universitat of Berlin in 2010 and 2015, this volume is the first ever to explicitly address the destruction of plaster cast collections of ancient Mediterranean and Western sculpture. Focusing on Europe, the Americas, and Japan, art historians, archaeologists and a literary scholar discuss how different museum and academic traditions - national as well as disciplinary -, notions of value and authenticity, or colonialism impacted the fate of collections. The texts offer detailed documentation of degrees of destruction by spectacular acts of defacement, demolition, discarding, or neglect. They also shed light on the accompanying discourses regarding aesthetic ideals, political ideologies, educational and scholarly practices, or race. With destruction being understood as a critical part of reception, the histories of cast collections defy the traditional, homogenous narrative of rise and decline. Their diverse histories provide critical evidence for rethinking the use and display of plaster cast collections in the contemporary moment.

The Hispanic Society of America in New York is the vision of Archer M. Huntington (1870-1955). From an early age, Huntington developed an abiding love both of Hispanic culture and of museums and libraries. He resolved to devote his considerable fortune to combining these two passions, and carried out his project so resourcefully that the collections he assembled remain exceptional for their depth and richness, displaying the culture of Spain and Latin America in the broadest sense. Their scope ranges from the prehistoric era to the early 20th century, including antiquities, decorative arts, Islamic works, manuscripts and rare books as well as superb canvases by Old Masters such as El Greco, Velazquez and Goya. This handsome new publication features an introduction to Archer M. Huntington and the Hispanic Society by Patrick Lenaghan, the Society's archivist, and plates and authoritative catalogue entries on some of its greatest treasures by the Society's curators.

American artist, Joan Jonas' experimental projects in the late sixties and early seventies were essential to the development of contemporary performance, video, and conceptual art. Born in New York in 1936, she is regarded as a pioneer of video art and performance. Her work fuses video, dance, theatre, sculpture, drawing. Her projects have included collaborations with dancers like Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer and composers like Alvin Lucier. She investigates space, perception and time, ritual gestures, symbolic objects and stereotypes (especially female cliches), and the magical role of the narrator who conveys a drama in each action.

Cookies, A sweet cake, typically round flat and crisp and one of the fastest and easiset things to make and every one just love to have a bite of it. A collection of popular cookie recipes, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies and all the other favorites from around the world in one book.