The first edition of this book, published in 1994, reshaped the direction of landscape studies by considering landscape not simply as an object to be seen or a text to be read, but as an instrument of cultural force, a central tool in the creation of national and social identities. This second edition adds not only a new preface, but five new essays--from Edward Said, W. J. T. Mitchell, Jonathan Bordo, Michael Taussig, and Robert Pogue Harrison-extending the scope of the book in remarkable ways.

The art of Makoto Azuma uses flowers and plants as its starting point, but juxtaposes their timeless yet transient beauty with an incredibly diverse range of striking settings. In a series of sculptures, installations and interactive events, he delights in blurring the boundaries between nature and artifice. Azuma founded the floral atelier Jardins des Fleurs in 2002, taking commissions from private clients as well as brands and corporations, both in Japan and all over the world. His parallel career as an artist began in 2005 and involves creating and exhibiting artworks that turn flowers and plants into a medium for self-expression. In 2008, Azuma founded AMKK (Azuma Makoto Kaju Kenkyujo), a group specializing in experimental floral creation, with the aim of seeking new forms of botanical beauty and new ways to exhibit them. His works have travelled the globe, from barren deserts to frozen expanses, from thousands of feet below the sea to the very edge of space. Featuring more than sixty projects captured in breathtaking photography, this beautiful book is the most comprehensive showcase of Azuma's art ever published.

A rare invitation into the mysterious lives of owls around the world, with spectacularly revealing photographs and fascinating details Perhaps no other creature has so compelling a gaze as the owl. Its unblinking stare mesmerizes; its nocturnal lifestyle suggests secrets and mystery. This lavishly illustrated book celebrates owls from every corner of the world and offers abundant details on fifty-three of the most striking and interesting species, from the tiny Elf Owl of southwestern American deserts to the formidable Blakiston's Fish Owl, the largest of all owls. Mike Unwin has long studied and admired these remarkable birds from cold northern forests to tropical rivers and beyond. He explains how owls evolved into the supreme feathered predators of the night, and he examines their breeding and hunting behaviors, unusual calls, and the cultural myths and superstitions that surround different species. More than two hundred dramatic color photographs in the wild, taken or selected by David Tipling, capture the wondrous beauty of each owl and the drama of life in its own home region.

This impressive book is richly illustrated with 91 gorgeous macro photographs - of flowers, and also some of their pollinators - by John Rodrigues, an artist who has taken that time to truly see. We invite you to sit back, maybe with a cup of hot Chamomile tea, and indulge in these images - taking the time to truly see these flowers, and to appreciate their inherent majesty. John Rodrigues takes an old lens and new camera and gives us a new look at an old photographic subject.

A sweeping exploration of animals in Japanese art and culture across sixteen centuries Few countries have devoted as much artistic energy to the depiction of animal life as Japan. Drawing upon the country's unique spiritual heritage, rich literary traditions, and currents in popular culture, Japanese artists have long expressed admiration for animals in sculpture, painting, lacquerwork, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, and woodblock prints. Real and fantastic creatures are meticulously and beautifully rendered, often with humor and whimsy. This beautiful book celebrates this diverse range of work, from ancient fifth-century clay sculpture to contemporary pieces. The catalog is organized into themes, including the twelve animals of the Japanese zodiac; animals in Shinto and Buddhism; animals and samurai; land animals, winged creatures, and creatures of the river and sea; and animals in works of humor and parody. Contributors address such issues as how animals are represented in Japanese folklore, myth, religion, poetry, literature, and drama; the practice of Japanese painting; and the relationship between Japanese painters and scientific study. Featuring some 300 masterpieces from public and private collections, many published for the first time, The Life of Animals in Japanese Art is a sumptuous celebration of the connections between the natural world and visual and creative expression. Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC Exhibition Schedule National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC June 2-August 18, 2019 Los Angeles County Museum of Art September 22-December 8, 2019

Now available in a new, large single volume with an appendix also listing the modern plant names, this classic collection by "the Audubon of botany" features more than 250 exquisite reproductions of Walcott's celebrated watercolors of wildflower life in the United States of America and Canada. Published in association with the Smithsonian Institution What does it take to paint a wildflower that blooms for a single day in a deep forest? For Mary Vaux Walcott, it involved spending up to seventeen hours a day out of doors with her paintbox to capture the shape, movement, and colors of delicate petals and leaves. Originally published in 1925 to enormous acclaim in five, oversized volumes, Walcott's sketches introduced the diversity and beauty of North American plants to the general public. A selection of some of the most stunning illustrations are now available in a single volume, these illustrations have lost none of their beauty or realism. Walcott's technique involved precise attention to detail, color, light, and perspective. Her art can also be appreciated as the work of a woman scientist battling the prejudices against her sex of the day. She was an intrepid explorer, skilled geologist, and generous benefactor to the Smithsonian Institution at a time when women's accomplishments were often overlooked or misattributed. As inspirational and informative as they are a pleasure for the eyes, this bouquet of nature's fleeting gifts is a lasting treasure of botanic and scientific artistry.

When Jane Gooch first camped at Lake O'Hara in 1975, she could not have foreseen how important the Rockies would become in her life. She travelled from her home in Vancouver many times during the summer months to hike in the mountains, and her love of the alpine landscape eventually inspired her to study the artists who have painted in the Rockies. Her great enjoyment of the outdoors and a lifelong interest in art were combined with her academic background in writing and research."Mount Robson: Spiral Road of Art" celebrates the centennial of Mount Robson Provincial Park with over a century of remarkable landscape paintings inspired by the Robson region in the Canadian Rockies. This volume includes an extensive Introduction with historical and cultural background to the 50 colour plates, all documented and described, illustrating artists' works in a variety of styles and media from 1907-2012. Early artists include A.P. Coleman, the first explorer, and Group of Seven members A.Y. Jackson and Lawren Harris. In addition, the works of 17 contemporary artists show that the Mount Robson area continues to stimulate landscape art up to the present. Only 10 of the images have been published before.

Images of working cowhands and their horses loom large in the mind's eye of many who love the American West. Those same images form the heart and soul of this lavishly illustrated book, which captures the viewpoints, values, and observations of twenty-four respected contemporary artists. The artists' own words illuminate the painting, sculpture, photography, and drawings of these award-winning, supremely creative individuals, allowing readers a glimpse into their creative processes. As Heidi Brady and Scott White demonstrate, these Western artists came to their work in a wide variety of ways. Some are studio-trained and learned to portray horses through formal classes; others simply began creating art on their own, learning through visual and tactile study of the horses they worked with each day. The two dozen artists profiled here include ranch owners, working hands, professional photographers, rodeo cowboys, art instructors, graphic designers, a saddle maker, and a former predator hunter. Readers will delight in these remarkable paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures depicting the freedom and spirit of the American West.

A unique collaboration between two photographers, which resulted in color (Robert Huber) and black and white (Stephan Vanfleteren) photos inspired by Elvis Presley Huber and Vanfleteren traveled trough the US looking for interesting places to shoot, using themselves as costumed protagonists for their photo series In 1999, photographers Robert Huber and Stephan Vanfleteren travelled through the US in the wake of their hero, Elvis Presley. Elvis (Huber) and Presley (Vanfleteren) invite you to share their journey across the American landscape, from Times Square to Death Valley. Decked out in glittering jumpsuits and big hair, this is the story of two European photojournalists who travelled across eleven states taking pictures of each other, Stephan Vanfleteren using black and white film, Robert Huber, color. This is the ultimate pop idol on a tour of America, interacting with the people, the places, the history, the cool glances, the warm embraces, the hot coffee and the cheap motels that define modern life."

"Ask the beast and it will teach thee, and the birds of heaven and they will tell thee." -Job 12:7 In the Middle Ages, the bestiary achieved a popularity second only to that of the Bible. In addition to being a kind of encyclopedia of the animal kingdom, the bestiary also served as a book of moral and religious instruction, teaching human virtues through a portrayal of an animal's true or imagined behavior. In A Jewish Bestiary, Mark Podwal revisits animals, both real and mythical, that have captured the Jewish imagination through the centuries. Originally published in 1984 and called "broad in learning and deep in subtle humor" by the New York Times, this updated edition of A Jewish Bestiary features new full-color renderings of thirty-five creatures from Hebraic legend and lore. The illustrations are accompanied by entertaining and instructive tales drawn from biblical, talmudic, midrashic, and kabbalistic sources. Throughout, Podwal combines traditional Jewish themes with his own distinctive style. The resulting juxtaposition of art with history results in a delightful and enlightening bestiary for the twenty-first century. From the ant to the ziz, herein are the creatures that exert a special force on the Jewish fancy.

Acadia National Park and Mount Desert Island are visited by over two million tourists every vacation season, but few know what the island and park are like during the rest of the year, the quiet season. For over a year, the author, a landscape photographer, explored the park daily, embracing the available light, capturing the experience of the moment, as he felt it. On blue-sky days; in storms, hurricanes, and blizzards; on winter nights on silent beaches; and in extreme cold, images and experiences were gathered, to be later shared. The work in this book represents a very personal and deep-felt intimacy with the park and the island that can evolve only by completely immersing oneself into the rhythm and flow of the land and sea, and then using all of his craft to express this deep love, his soul, that belongs to Acadia.