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Books > Arts & Architecture > General
A new book of dances is always a delight, and this book is set to
inspire the dancer, the caller and the teacher of social dances.
There are new dances, well-known dances, and dances that Greig does
differently in this book and thus it is an adventure of dance. The
calling hints come in very handy for the inexperienced caller. The
only up-to-date collection of the best in Scottish dancing.
Lying at the heart of the modern Action Cinema Canon is the concept
of transformation. As the action genre evolves and shifts into the
new millennia, innovative additions blend with nostalgic returns
– the move away from a male-dominated space to feature even more
prominent female roles co-exists alongside a revival of Arnold
Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton, and series such as Rocky and
Rambo return to the screens. Gender and Action Films 2000 and
Beyond: Transformations captures and explores the nuanced and
complex nature of change within Action Cinema. Dealing with the
notion of aging, the chapter authors consider how action heroes
confront and cope with getting older. Expanding the foundation of
research on geriaction stars, the advantages of mature masculinity
contrasts with themes of masculine fragility. Viewing the action
genre through a feminist lens, this edited collection traces the
evolution of the representation of women, suggesting how such roles
may develop in the future. Finally, a consideration of the
post-millennial boom of movie backdrops in turmoil analyses how
such pieces question and contribute to debates on global political
and social issues. Gender and Action Films 2000 and Beyond:
Transformations looks at Action Cinema from the old to the new,
offering an exciting interrogation of the portrayal of gender in
the new millennia. A necessity for academics, students and lovers
of film and media and those interested in gender studies.
This magnificent publication surveys the vital role of women in the
development of Abstract Expressionism by looking at more than 50
paintings, collages and sculptures all accompanied by carefully
selected quotes from the artists themselves. The dominant movement
of the New York and San Francisco art scenes of the mid-20th
century, Abstract Expressionism is celebrated as the first
development in American art to gain international status. The
movement is synonymous with the work of Jackson Pollock, Mark
Rothko, and Willem de Kooning, but also belonging to this
generation who changed the course of modern art were numerous
female artists; only in recent years have their contributions
received the recognition they deserve. The remarkable women in this
exciting new book - among them Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler,
Sonia Gechtoff, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell - studied at the
same art schools as the men, exhibited at the same galleries, and
were part of the same social scene. But their work was not shown
and reviewed as widely or considered as valuable as that of the
men. This beautiful book presents the works of the Levett
Collection, an unparalleled private collection of paintings,
drawings and sculpture by women Abstract Expressionists. Richly
illustrated essays by the scholars Ellen G. Landau and Joan M.
Marter, leading authorities on the subject, consider, respectively,
the vital role of women in the development of Abstract
Expressionism and the work of women sculptors of the movement. Full
of exuberant, explosive colour and densely layered expression, the
main part of the book is devoted to more than 50 paintings,
collages, and sculptures, all accompanied by pertinent quotes from
the women about their artistic practice and concerns. An
illustrated timeline and 35 artist biographies provide further
insight, making this volume an essential addition to the study of
Abstract Expressionist women, innovators in their own right, whose
time in the art-historical spotlight has finally come. AUTHOR:
Ellen G. Landau is Andrew W. Mellon Professor Emerita at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Joan M. Marter is
Distinguished Professor Emerita at Rutgers, the State University of
New Jersey. 170 illustrations
New information about the silent film star and Master of Make-up
who once prompted the remark, "Don't step on that spider -- it
might be Lon Chaney "
In Theses on Feuerbach, Marx writes, “The philosophers have
only interpreted the world differently; the point is to
change it.” This collection examines how filmmakers have tried to
change the world by engaging in emancipatory politics through their
work, and how audiences have received them. It presents a wide
spectrum of case studies, covering both film and digital
technology, with examples from throughout cinematic history and
around the world, including Soviet Russia, Palestine, South
America, and France. Discussions range from the classic Marxist
cinema of Aleksandr Medvedkin, Chris Marker, and Jean-Luc Godard,
to recent media such as 5 Broken Cameras (2010), the
phenomena of video-blogging, and bicycle activism films.
Because Timothee Chalamet's eyes gleam with the light of a thousand
suns. Because you'd let Zoe Kravitz get away with putting gum in
your hair. And because there really should be a national monument
dedicated to Gene Kelly's ass. From the tongue-in-cheek to the
righteously enraged, She Found it at the Movies explores women's
secret desires, teen crushes, and one-sided movie star love
affairs, flipping the switch on a century of cinema's male-gaze
domination. With misogyny and sexism still taking centre stage in
the real world -- what can women's relationships with movies tell
us about the wider landscape of sexuality, politics and culture?
Featuring writers you know and love from Buzzfeed, The Guardian,
and Vulture, these essays pose thoughtful questions about sex and
fantasy at the cinema. Like a guilt-free chat with your smartest
girlfriends, this book is a positive celebration of female
sexuality at its thirstiest.
Chic, sophisticated, seductive and enigmatic, the Parisienne
possesses a je ne sais quoi that makes her difficult to define. But
who or what is the Parisienne, and how is she depicted in cinema?
The first book-length study on the subject combines scholarship in
the fields of art history, literature and fashion to enrich our
understanding of this intriguing cinematic figure, simultaneously
offering new perspectives on film. Accessible and wide-ranging, it
will be of immediate interest to students and researchers working
in film studies, French studies and the broader humanities, as well
as cinephiles and Francophiles alike. -- .
Mondo: The Art of Soundtracks highlights the all original art
created exclusively for Mondo's vinyl releases by world-renowned
artists for film, television, and video game soundtracks. Featuring
stunning new takes on classic and modern material, this collection
reinvigorates the bygone era of unique and collectible vinyl record
artwork. From vintage re-creations to new interpretations, from
digital and painterly to photographic and abstract, the record art
compiled in this volume captures the spirit of the record label
that reinvigorated the soundtrack industry, in a beautiful mash-up
fit for a book -- or record -- shelf.
Snowdrops are known as the 'harbingers of spring' at a time when
there is little else in flower in the garden to brighten the dull
winter months. No-one should be without these dainty white gems
which can symbolize innocence, purity and hope. The author
describes all known snowdrop species, the cultivation of
garden-worthy varieties and their naming as well as their history
in early European and English literature. He includes the earliest
reference to the English word 'Snowe Dropps' in 1615, preceding the
previous earliest reference to 'Snow drops' in 1633. For novice
gardeners and those who have never grown snowdrops before he
describes how to grow just a few reliable varieties, with advice on
buying, planting, dividing, looking after snowdrops, labelling,
diseases and companion plants. He also dispels the myth that
snowdrops are difficult and don't survive well in gardens, giving
advice on all aspects of snowdrop culture. For galanthophiles
varieties are recommended to extend their collection. This advice
is based on personal experience from growing over 100 different
cultivars in his town garden in Oxford. The sequence of flowering
of different snowdrop varieties from October to March is described,
including the autumn-flowering Queen Olga's snowdrop. This diary
format of their emergence will help gardeners learn how there can
be snowdrops flowering for six months of the year. The book is
illustrated with a stunning selection of close-up images of
different varieties of snowdrops to help aid identification of
these dainty flowers. Included in the chapter on snowdrop art are
many historical images from the earliest-known snowdrop woodcut in
Dodoens' European Herbal, 1568 to more recent 19th century images.
No other author on snowdrops has attempted such an extensive
description of snowdrop art over the centuries, including advice
from Jacquie Hibbert on how to paint snowdrops, or has described
the evolution of this art form for snowdrops. The book concludes
with a useful index of all 22 recognized species and over 100
varieties with reference to international collections.
This conference proceeding (Sessions on "Otherness in Space and
Architecture", International Medieval Conference, Leeds, 2017 and
2018) is a compilation of articles written by both young and senior
scholars, who are working on the question of the 'self' and the
'other' in Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures. The articles
examine how material, 'oriental' objects and knowledge originating
in non-Western communities helped building and strengthening the
identity of Iberia's, southern France and northern Italian nobility
and its lineages. It is shown how, in the perception of Christians,
the public image of Jews and Moslems became constructed as that of
adversaries, while their cultural knowledge, at the same time,
would be integrated into Christian culture in a paradox manner, in
which the 'self' necessarily depends on the 'other' and how visual
tensions in art and space have been used as symbols of power.
Working from the premise that the stage performer's primary
functions derive from celebrative rituals, this book describes the
figure of the actor as anti-character in premodern popular theatre.
Particularly in plays belonging to the popular, performative
tradition, the actor simultaneously impersonated and subverted the
character of the playtext. By doing so, he affirmed the
ritual-celebrative authority of the performer and audience over the
ideological authority of the written text. Included are close
analyses of three major playtexts in performance: Aristophanes'
"Frogs, " the medieval mystery plays, and Shakespeare's "As You
Like It.
The introduction briefly lays out the basic theatrical theory
underlying the phenomenon of actor as anti-character. The book then
explores three paradigmatic figures: the god Dionysus, archetypal
model of the comic actor; the Devil, as both farcical individual
and wild demonic chorus, who brought carnival disruption to
medieval religious drama; and the Elizabethan boy player of
Rosalind in Shakespeare's "As You Like It" who, using the
marketplace techniques of traditional popular performance, colluded
with his rowdy audience to subvert a sophisticated character from a
literary romance.
This stunning coffee table book focuses on the storyboards for nine
of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movies – Vertigo, The Birds,
Psycho, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, Torn Curtain, Marnie,
Shadow of a Doubt and Spellbound. It includes never
before-published images and incisive text putting the material in
context and examining the role the pieces played in some of the
most unforgettable scenes in cinema. Hitchcock author and
aficionado Tony Lee Moral takes you through the last 100 years of
cinema, with the Master of Suspense as your guide.
In the tradition of Anna Quindlen’s Good Dog. Stay., the iconic
star of the Dr. Phibes films shares the heartwarming tale of his
mischievous mutt. Actor Vincent Price won acclaim for his
performances as a menacing villain in dozens of macabre horror
films, such as House of Wax. Less well known, though, is Price’s
lifelong love of animals, especially his fourteen-year-old mutt,
Joe. From his wife’s passion for poodles to film set encounters
with all types of creatures, including goats, apes, and camels,
Price’s life was full of furry, four-legged friends. But it was
Joe who truly captured his heart. Intelligent, courageous, and
devoted to his owner, Joe was a special dog with a personality all
his own. In this touching and light-hearted memoir, with a
new introduction by Bill Hader and a preface by Vincent Price’s
daughter, Victoria, Joe gets involved in all sorts of hijinks: At
one point, the actor has to defend his canine companion in court!
Despite some bad habits, like stealing guests’ shoes, pursuing
lustful trysts with neighboring dogs, or belly flopping into the
garden fishpond—crushing more than a few fish—Price loves his
Joselito, whose unconditional loyalty more than makes up for his
minor indiscretions. And when Price’s elderly cousin who comes to
stay with him is stricken with cancer, Joe never leaves her side.
Price’s tender and witty recollections of his time spent with Joe
will bring joy to any animal lover’s heart. The Vincent
Price Family Legacy will donate a portion of the proceeds from this
book to the Fund for Animals.
The second Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation Forum explores the
current and future role of private foundations in sustaining
contemporary art in the Asia-Pacific region during a time of rapid
development, transition, and change. The participants address the
nature and economics of giving while taking into account the
regional and international context in which art is produced and
circulates.
Nicholas Jose is chair of Australian studies at Harvard
University. Other contributors include Elaine W. Ng, Carrillo
Gantner, Britta Erickson, and Gene Sherman.
Celebrated for his compelling lyrical films and video art
installations, Isaac Julien is one of the leading artists working
today. This landmark book reveals the scope of Julien’s
pioneering practice of over forty years, from the early 1980s to
the present day, showcasing works from early films to large-scale,
multi-screen installations which investigate the movement of
peoples across different continents, times and spaces. It includes
some of his early projects as part of Sankofa Film and Video
Collective (1983–92); his critically acclaimed ten-screen video
installation Lessons of the Hour 2019, a portrait of the life and
times of Frederick Douglass, the visionary African American orator,
philosopher and self-liberated freedom-fighter; and Once Again …
(Statues Never Die) 2022. The wide range of writers and
collaborators who have contributed to this book highlight Julien's
critical thinking and the way his work breaks down barriers between
different artistic disciplines, drawing from film, dance,
photography, music, theatre, painting and sculpture by using the
themes of desire, history and culture. Featuring strikingly
beautiful reproductions of these extraordinarily powerful works,
this publication enriches our understanding and appreciation of a
remarkable artist.
During the Second World War, the popularity and importance of the
cinema in Britain was at its peak. In this groundbreaking book,
Richard Farmer provides a social and cultural history of cinemas
and cinemagoing in Britain between 1939 and 1945, and explores the
impact that the war had on the places in which British people
watched films. Although promising the possibility of escape from
the hardships and terrors of wartime life, the cinema was so
intimately woven into the fabric of British society that it could
not itself escape the war. Drawing on a wealth of contemporary
sources, and on the memories of wartime cinemagoers, Cinemagoing in
wartime Britain, 1939-45 is the first book to offer an in-depth
exploration of the impact that phenomena such as the black out, the
blitz, food rationing, evacuation and conscription had on both the
exhibition industry and the experiences of the picturegoers
themselves. -- .
Dance music plays a central role in the cultural, social,
religious, and family lives of the people of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Among the various genres popular in the
capital city of Kinshasa, Congolese rumba occupies a special place
and can be counted as one of the DRC’s most well-known cultural
exports. The public image of rumba was historically dominated by
male bandleaders, singers, and musicians. However, with the
introduction of the danseuse (professional concert dancer) in the
late 1970s, the role of women as cultural, moral, and economic
actors came into public prominence and helped further raise
Congolese rumba’s international profile. In Congo’s Dancers,
Lesley Nicole Braun uses the prism of the Congolese danseuse to
examine the politics of control and the ways in which notions of
visibility, virtue, and socio-economic opportunity are interlinked
in this urban African context. The work of the danseuse highlights
the fact that public visibility is necessary to build the social
networks required for economic independence, even as this
visibility invites social opprobrium for women. The concert dancer
therefore exemplifies many of the challenges that women face in
Kinshasa as they navigate the public sphere, and she illustrates
the gendered differences of local patronage politics that shape
public morality. As an ethnographer, Braun had unusual access to
the world she documents, having been invited to participate as a
concert dancer herself.
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