From the beginning of time, armor and amulets have been used for protection and are found in cultures across the globe, and those who crafted them have been esteemed as artists by their communities. The contemporary examples showcased here, in 200 eye-catching images, demonstrate the enduring artistry of the forms and the crucial role such objects can play in safeguarding body and soul, especially in our current Age of Terror. An exciting array of protective hardware (armor, barriers, wearable weaponry) and protective "software" (charms, amulets, talismans), reveal a broad range of strategies for human defense. Focusing on work from the twenty-first century, this captivating book features some of today's finest artists and metalsmiths and testifies to the continued relevance of this creative pursuit. An introductory essay charts the wider cultural terrain of protective ornament--touching on issues of history, anthropology, and psychology, while portfolio sections spotlight subsets of defensive and offensive wear. Among the works of art are helmets, elaborate knuckledusters, pendants, collars, rings, bracelets, metal jackets, and chain mail, all designed for safety.

Works by nearly 100 of today's most prominent artists-including Willie Cole, Mark Dion, Mona Hatoum, Peter Saul, Yinka Shonibare, and Laurie Simmons-raise questions about the many issues that firearms trigger, leaving answers up to the reader. This invigorating survey of contemporary art and guns offers insight into the mixed associations of firearms in our culture. Situating these artworks within the contexts of fire domestication, weapon history, social movements, and art history, the book touches on subjects of power, equality, and access, and the current debates surrounding gun use. What emerges is the inherently dualistic nature of firearms, which are both protective and destructive, empowering and enfeebling, supporting peace and war, life and death. While this central ambivalence can't be captured in statistical data or media sound bites, it thrives within these complex visual works. This collection reveals a striking diversity of viewpoints on guns, highlighting their inescapable duplicity and the compelling role they have come to play within our lives and imaginations.

Dive into the art world of the closely allied artists Mark Dion & Alexis Rockman. Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld accompanies the first two-person survey exhibition of these closely allied artists, offering a compelling tour through ecological concerns central to their celebrated careers and into the shadowy depths of the threatened natural world. Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman were among the earliest contemporary artists to address, and even anticipate, the epic ecological problems we now face. This publication unites some twenty-five sculptures and paintings by both artists along with selected works on paper and a major new collaborative diorama. As explored in the book’s introduction, an essay by Lucy R. Lippard, and a new joint interview, the artists probe our strained relationship with the environment and the consequences of reigning ideologies about nature.