Based on original archival research, Early Cinema, Modernity and Visual Culture: The Imaginary of the Balkans is the first study on early cinema in the region from a transnational and cross-cultural perspective. It investigates how the unique geopolitical positioning of the Balkan space and its multiculturality influenced and shaped visual culture and cinema. Countering Eurocentric modernity paradigms and reframing hierarchical relations between centres and peripheries, this book adopts an alternative methodology for interstitial spaces. By deploying the notion of the haptic, it establishes new connections between moving image artefacts and print media, early film practitioners, the socio-political context and cultural responses to the new visual medium.

Offering a wealth of perspectives on African modern and Modernist art from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, this new Companion features essays by African, European, and North American authors who assess the work of individual artists as well as exploring broader themes such as discoveries of new technologies and globalization. * A pioneering continent-based assessment of modern art and modernity across Africa * Includes original and previously unpublished fieldwork-based material * Features new and complex theoretical arguments about the nature of modernity and Modernism * Addresses a widely acknowledged gap in the literature on African Art

CONSTANTIN BRANCUSI

Constantin Brancusi is one of the greatest of all sculptors, and a key sculptor of the modern era, with Auguste Rodin and Pablo Picasso. Brancusi's influence can be seen in a wide range of Western sculptors, including Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Henry Moore, Jean Arp, Barbara Hepworth, Minimalists and land artists.

This new book studies the religious and mythical dimensions of Constantin Brancusi's distinctive scultpural forms, the 'eggs', 'fishes', 'heads' and 'columns'. His central quest was for the 'essence of things', which resulted in purifying a form until only the essence was left.

It was Constantin Brancusi's project to strip away the detritus that had accumulated around sculpture, Henry Moore said, and to offer the pure, simple shape. What Brancusi did was 'to concentrate on very simple shapes, to keep his sculpture, as it were, one-cylindered, to refine and polish a single shape to a degree almost too precious.'

As well as being a sculptor, Constantin Brancusi was also an accomplished photographer. Quite a few artists (not all of them sculptors) have expressed for Brancusi's photographs, and the way he would set up his sculptures inhis studio and photograph them at particular times of the day, when the lightingwas just right. They are early examples of installation art (and some of the best, too). Andy Goldsworthy said he admired how Brancusi created the right conditions in his studio so that his work 'comes alive at a particular time of the day as the light momentarily touches it'. For Goldsworthy, Brancusi's works were at their best when they were arranged by the sculptor in his studio and photographed. Somehow, it wasn't quite the same when they were displayed in modern art museums (such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris or the Museum of Modern Art in Gotham, which have important Brancusi pieces).

Fully illustrated, including many photos of Brancusi's studio in Paris, Brancusi's works in museums in New York, Washington and L.A., and the art of his contemporaries.

With bibliography and notes. ISBN 9781861713391. 180 pages.

This new (4th) edition has been revised.

www.crmoon.com

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The art of Constantin Brancusi never ceases to fascinate and inspire, and it always seems fresh, as if it had been created fives minutes ago, no matter how many times you look at it. When you encounter a Brancusi sculpture in a museum, it pops out, clear and direct; there is simply nothing else like Brancusi's art in history. I have tried to explore the key elements of Brancusi's art, and the important events in his development as a sculptor. I have also included comparisons with other artists of the period, and also how Brancusi's art has influenced many subsequent artists.

Volume 3 of Visual Century: South African Art in Context 1907-1948 is part of a four-volume publication that reappraises South African visual art of the twentieth century from a postapartheid perspective. Edited by Mario Pissarra, the volume looks at the years 1973 to 1992. The forw0rd by Rashied Araeen titled `Art and Human Struggle', sets the theme for this period. Bracketed by porous transitional moments in the early 1970s and 1990s, this volume covers a period characterised by a deepening of the struggle for democracy, a time when historical preoccupations with race were increasingly complemented with growing discourses on class and gender. It was a time when unprecedented internal and external pressure resulted in heightened introspection and action in and through the visual arts. The essays address a multiplicity of ways in which artists responded directly and indirectly to the challenges of this period, mostly as individuals but also through organisations. Resistance and complicity, and the spaces between, found expression in the use of everyday themes, biblical sources, ethnically derived themes, subtle and extreme forms of humour, as well as through representations of conflict. This is a period when challenging art was produced in community arts centres, universities and in public places, a time when the cultural boycott simultaneously united and polarised artists, and exiles mediated the ambivalences of `home'.

Sometimes considered to be America's first indigenous modernist art style, Precisionism, a movement principally of the 1920s and 1930s, concentrated on depicting the urban and industrial landscape, emphasizing the formal geometrical qualities of solid mass and clean lines and rendering these vistas with simplified, sharp-edged shapes and smooth, unmodulated application of pigment, void of extraneous details and impersonal in tone. This annotated bibliography deals with Precisionism and its ten leading practitioners: George Ault, Peter Blume, Ralston Crawford, Charles Demuth, Preston Dickinson, O. Louis Guglielmi, Louis Lozowick, Morton L. Schamberg, Charles Sheeler, and Niles Spencer. Each artist's chapter begins with a biographical sketch and includes sections for Writings, Statements, and Interviews; Monographs and Exhibition Catalogues; Articles and Essays; Exhibition Reviews; Book Reviews; Dissertations and Theses; Reference Sources; and Archival Sources. A special section at the end of each chapter lists annotated reproductions of the artist's work appearing in any of approximately 225 source volumes. Coverage extends to painting, drawings, lithographs, and photographs. An opening chapter, also divided by types of materials, covers Precisionism in general and cites material in which two or more of the ten artists are discussed. A keyword index provides full citations for the source volumes. Three other indexes facilitate access by author, short-title of exhibition catalogues, and subjects. The only annotated bibliography on Precisionism, this volume will be a valuable aid to research on a variety of subjects relating to modern American art.

To many, chance and art are antagonistic terms. But a number of 20th century artists have turned this notion on its head by attempting to create artworks based on randomness. Among those, three in particular articulated a well-argued and thorough theory of the radical use of chance in art: Andre Breton (writer), John Cage (composer) and Francois Morellet (visual artist). The implications of such a move away from established aesthetics are far-reaching, as much in conceptual as in practical terms, as this book hopes to make clear. Of paramount importance in this "coincidentia oppositorum "is the suggested possibility of a correlation between the artistic use of chance and a system of thought itself organised around chance. Indeed placing randomness at the centre of one's art may have deeper philosophical consequences than just on the aesthetical level.

This guide summarizes and evaluates the available literature concerning the Dutch artistic movement De Stijl, which was headed by art critic and painter Theo van Doesburg and was comprised of such architects and artists as J.J.P. Oud, Piet Mondrian, Rovbert van 't Hoff and Georges Vantongerloo. The loose-knit group took its name from the avant garde journal they first published in October 1917: "De Stijl" (The Style). Although it was limited to Holland, De Stijl promoted ideas about a universal art, combining tenets of theosophy, an holistic view of the oneness of all things, including arts and culture, and socialism. This bibliography examines publications that deal with the movement and with affiliated groups and individual members.

Art historians and scholars of modern and of Dutch art and architecture will appreciate this comprehensive tool for further research. Within individual sections for the movement and for its members, entries are chronologically arranged with separate categories for books, monographs and catalogs, and periodicals. A final section analyzes and presents the contents of the journal "De Stijl."

Gothic effigy brings together for the first time the multifarious visual motifs and media associated with Gothic, many of which have never received serious study before. This guide is the most comprehensive work in its field, a study aid that draws links between a considerable array of Gothic visual works and artifacts, from the work of Salvator Rosa and the first illustrations of Gothic Blue Books to the latest Gothic painters and graphic artists. Currently popular areas such as Gothic fashion, gaming, T.V. and film are considered, as well as the ghostly images of magic lantern shows. This groundbreaking study will serve as an invaluable reference and research book. In its wide range and closely detailed descriptions, it will be very attractive for students, academics, collectors, fans of popular Gothic culture and general readers. -- .

The most influential 20th century architects espousing modernism are brought together in critical discussion and independent profiles. This is accomplished through a short but discriminating examination of each architect's design work, an essay outlining the historical course and events that confirms his or her vital position, and a substantial bibliography at the completion of each profile. This sourcebook examines the life and creative activities of such founding architects as Wright, Eisenman, Van der Rohe, and Kahn, as well as their disciples. This volume will be of interest to social and cultural historians, scholars, students of all ages, architects, and the appreciative lay audience.

The architects and or firms chosen for the sourcebook were selected as a result of many years of research that required extensive reading of materials by respected experts. From such research, the editors were able to determine the individuals or groups who have been most influential in charting the course of a Westernized modern architecture. From evidence of their productive activities--proof in timber--there is a consensus that each made a unique contribution. The nature and measure of the contribution is discussed within each profile. Those whose reputations are based on paper only, with few buildings to prove their worth, are not included. The editors believe that architecture is an experiential art: all the senses must participate, and that requires the actual built product.

Born in Mexico in 1907, Frida Kahlo learned about suffering at an early age. She fell victim to polio at the age of six, and was then seriously hurt in a bus accident at eighteen, resulting in injuries that affected her for the rest of her life. The young and indomitable Frida met Diego Rivera, the great mural painter, when Mexico was at a great cultural and political crossroads. They formed a legendary partnership, with a strong attachment to Mexican folk art, a deep commitment to the Communist struggle and a raging artistic ambition that survived all the trials of their marriage. Admired by the Surrealists and photographed by the greatest, Frida was most renowned for her self-portraits and unusual still lifes. This book traces the extraordinary life of this artist whose unforgettable imagery combined cruelty and wit, honesty and insolence, pain and empowerment.

Modern Art: A Critical Introduction traces the historical and contemporary contexts for understanding modern art movements, and the theories which influenced and attempted to explain them. This approach forgoes the chronological march of art movements and isms in favour of looking at the ways in which art has been understood. It investigates the main developments in art interpretation from the same period, from Kant to post-structuralism, and draws examples from a wide range of art genres including painting, sculpture, photography, installation and performance art. The book includes detailed discussions of visual art practices both inside and outside the museum. This new edition has been restructured to make the key themes as accessible as possible and updated to include many more recent examples of art practice . An expanded glossary and margin notes also provide definitions of the range of terms used within theoretical discussion and critical reference. Individual chapters explore key themes of the modern era, such as the relationship between artists and galleries, the politics of representation, the changing nature of self-expression, the public monument, nature and the urban,

For two centuries, Gesamtkunstwerk-the ideal of the "total work of art"-has exerted a powerful influence over artistic discourse and practice, spurring new forms of collaboration and provoking debates over the political instrumentalization of art. Despite its popular conflation with the work of Richard Wagner, Gesamtkunstwerk's lineage and legacies extend well beyond German Romanticism, as this wide-ranging collection demonstrates. In eleven compact chapters, scholars from a variety of disciplines trace the idea's evolution in German-speaking Europe, from its foundations in the early nineteenth century to its manifold articulations and reimaginings in the twentieth century and beyond, providing an uncommonly broad perspective on a distinctly modern cultural form.

In this collection of essays, a range of scholars from different disciplines look through the prism of technology at the much-debated notion of cultural memory, analyzing how the past is shaped or unsettled by cultural texts including visual art, literature, cinema, photographs and souvenirs.

Christopher Neve's classic book is a journey into the imagination through the English landscape. How is it that artists, by thinking in paint, have come to regard the landscape as representing states of mind? 'Painting', says Neve, 'is a process of finding out, and landscape can be its thesis.' What he is writing is not precisely art history: it is about pictures, about landscape and about thought. Over the years, he was able to have discussions with many of the thirty or so artists he focuses on, the inspiration for the book having come from his talks with Ben Nicholson; and he has immersed himself in their work, their countryside, their ideas. Because he is a painter himself, and an expert on 20th-century art, Neve is well equipped for such a journey. Few writers have conveyed more vividly the mixture of motives, emotions, unconscious forces and contradictions which culminate in the creative act of painting. Each of the thirteen chapters has a theme and explores its significance for one or more of the artists. The problem of time, for instance, is considered in relation to Paul Nash, God in relation to David Jones, music to Ivon Hitchens, hysteria to Edward Burra, abstraction to Ben Nicholson, 'the spirit in the mass' to David Bomberg. There are also chapters about painters' ideas on specific types of country: about Eric Ravilious and the chalk landscape, Joan Eardley and the sea, and Cedric Morris and the garden.

In Art and Politics, Segal explores the collision of politics and art in seven enticing essays. The book explores the position of art and artists under a number of different political regimes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, traveling around the world to consider how art and politics have interacted and influenced each other in different conditions. Joes Segal takes you on a journey to the Third Reich, where Emil Nolde supported the regime while being called degenerate; shows us Diego Rivera creating Marxist murals in Mexico and the United States for anti-Marxist governments and clients; ties Jackson Pollock's drip paintings in their Cold War context to both the FBI and the CIA; and considers the countless images of Mao Zedong in China as unlikely witnesses of radical political change.

This legendary book has been universally hailed as the best, the most readable and the most provocative account of modern art ever written. Through each of the thematic chapters Hughes keeps his story grounded in the history of the 20th century, demonstrating how modernism sought to describe the experience of that era and showing how for many key art movements this was a task of vital importance. The way in which Hughes brings that vitality and immediacy back through the well-chosen example and well-turned phrase is the heart of this book's success.

When and why did the turntable morph from music machine to musical instrument? Why have mobile phones evolved changeable skins? How did hip-hop videos inspire an edgy new look for the Cadillac? The answers to such questions illustrate this provocative book, which examines the cultural meanings of artifacts and the role of designers in their design and production. "Designing Things" provides the reader with a map of the rapidly changing field of design studies, a subject which now draws on a diverse range of theories and methodologies -- from art and visual culture, to anthropology and material culture, to media and cultural studies. With clear explanations of key concepts -- such as form language, planned obsolescence, object fetishism, product semantics, brand positioning and user needs -- overviews of theoretical foundations and case studies of historical and contemporary objects, " Designing Things" looks behind-the-scenes and beneath-the-surface at some of our most familiar and iconic objects. See more at: http: //designingthings.org/

Although the Holocaust represents one of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind, it is thought of by many only in terms of statistics--the brutal slaughter of over 6 million lives. The art of those who suffered under the most unspeakable conditions and the art of those who reflect on the genocide remind us that statistics cannot tell the entire story. This important and diverse collection focuses on the art expression from the inferno, documenting the Holocaust through sketches of camp life drawn surreptitiously by victims on scraps of paper, and through contemporary paintings, sculpture, and personal reflections. From an informative and comprehensive perspective, this book evokes a powerful response to the 20th-century catastrophe.

A new understanding of Francis Bacon’s art and motivations.

The second in a series of books that seeks to illuminate Francis Bacon’s art and motivations, and to open up fresh and stimulating ways of understanding his paintings.

Francis Bacon is one of the most important artists of the 20th century. His works continue to puzzle and unnerve viewers, raising complex questions about their meaning. Over recent decades, two theoretical approaches to Bacon’s work have come to hold sway: firstly, that Bacon is an existentialist painter, depicting an absurd and godless world; and secondly, that he is an anti-representational painter, whose primary aim is to bring his work directly onto the spectator’s ‘nervous system’.

Francis Bacon: Painting, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis brings together some of today’s leading philosophers and psychoanalytic critics to go beyond established readings of Bacon and to open up radically new ways of thinking about his art. The essays bring Bacon into dialogue with figures such as Aristotle, Hegel, Freud, Lacan, Adorno and Heidegger, as well as situating his work in the broader contexts of modernism and modernity. The result is a timely and thought-provoking collection that will be essential reading for anyone interested in Bacon, modern art and contemporary aesthetics.