Showing titles in History & Criticism

Postmodernism has become the buzzword of contemporary society over the last decade. But how can it be defined? In this highly engaging introduction, the mysteries of this most elusive of concepts are unraveled, casting a critical light upon the way we live now, from the politicizing of museum culture to the cult of the politically correct. The key postmodernist ideas are explored and challenged, as they figure in the theory, philosophy, politics, ethics, and artwork of the period, and it is shown how they have interacted within a postmodernist culture. 

From two-time Academy Award winner from 16 nominations, and five-time BAFTA award winner from 11 nominations, Sir Roger Deakins - widely regarded as the greatest cinematographer of all time - a one-of-a-kind visual memoir, telling his life's story by way of his iconic, beloved films, including...

In 2010, the BBC and the British Museum embarked on an ambitious project: to tell the story of 2,000,000 years of human history using 100 objects selected from the museum's vast and renowned collection. Presented by the British Museum's then director Neil MacGregor, each episode focuses on a single object - from a Stone Age tool to a solar-powered lamp - and explains its significance in human history. 

Read by Tilda Swinton and Olivia Laing. ‘Wonderful and necessary’ ANNE ENRIGHT ~ ‘Constantly surprising’ GUARDIAN ~ ‘Stunning’ DEBORAH LEVY ~ ‘Compulsively fascinating’ NEW STATESMAN ~ ‘Beautiful’ HANYA YANAGIHARA ~ ‘Daring and seductive NEW YORK TIMES ~ ‘Profound...

First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images, which are continually inserted between experience and reality. When anything can be photographed, and photography has destroyed the boundaries and definitions of art, a viewer can approach a photograph freely, with no expectations of discovering what it means. This collection of six lucid and invigorating essays, with the most famous being "In Plato's Cave", make up a deep exploration of how the image has affected society.

Art & Fear explores the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. This is a book about what it feels like to sit in your studio or classroom, at your wheel or keyboard, easel or camera, trying to do the work you need to do. It is about committing your future to your own hands, placing free will above predestination, choice above chance. It is about finding your own work.

A passionate, provocative and blisteringly smart interrogation of how we experience art in the age of #MeToo, and whether we can separate an artist's work from their biography. What do we do with the art of monstrous men? Can we love the work of Roman Polanski and Michael Jackson, Hemingway and...

A ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is a brilliant idea that is ahead of its time. So many breakthroughs in arts or science were like this, lost on their initial audience and only later revived and acknowledged to be great. This book asks, why do some ideas fall asleep? And how do they wake up? We love to...

An unbelievable table of greed, looted treasures and stolen history in the world's biggest art heist. In the shattered aftermath of Cambodia’s civil war, temples that had stood for centuries were found ransacked - sacred sculptures hacked from pedestals, towering statues of Hindu gods and...

Western art, with its lineage from the ancient world to the present, has given us works of genius by the likes of Phidias, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Van Gogh, and many more. In the 25 engrossing lectures of Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks, you’ll explore the larger themes, principles, and expressive currents that tell the story of Western art, and which shed light on its deeper meanings.

Brought to you by Penguin. Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase into New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They're the guards in dark blue suits, keeping careful watch over this vast treasure...

In 1900, an 18-year-old Spaniard named Pablo Picasso made his first trip to Paris. It was in this glittering capital of the international art world that, after suffering years of poverty and neglect, he emerged as the leader of a bohemian band of painters, sculptors, and poets. Fueled by opium and alcohol, inspired by raucous late-night conversations at the Lapin Agile cabaret, Picasso and his friends resolved to shake up the world.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand. He revealed next to nothing about his life in his extensive writings, yet countless pages have been written about him that assign him an identity: genius, entrepreneur, celebrity artist, outsider. Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of What Are You Looking At? by Will Gompertz, read by Roy McMilllan. What is modern art? Why do we either love it or loathe it? And why is it worth so much damn money? Join Will Gompertz on a dazzling tour that will change the way...

Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher. This short "handbook", which was actually written down by one of his pupils, is a guide to daily living. It has been read by countless people over the centuries because of its sensibility and its easy application to daily living. Unlike some of his forefathers in philosophy, like Plato and Aristotle, he focuses on how to practically apply oneself on a philosophical level.

A LIVELY AND ILLUMINATING HISTORY OF BRITAIN FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ELEANOR AND EIGHTEEN, ALICE LOXTON From an image carried by St Augustine when he landed on our shores in 597AD and a glittering portrait of a Tudor queen to Stubbs’ majestic rendering of Whistlejacket and L.S...

Brought to you by Penguin. How many women artists do you know? Who makes art history? Did women even work as artists before the twentieth century? And what is the Baroque anyway? Discover the glittering Sofonisba Anguissola of the Renaissance, the radical work of Harriet Powers in the...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Die Geschichte der Reptilien Clans und der Erde komplettes Hörbuch zum...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Die Geschichte der Reptilien Clans von welcher Galaxie die stammen wie sie die Erde besiedelten und die Menschheit beeinflussen bis hin zum göttlichen...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. Die Geschichte der Reptilien Rasse und die Geschichte der...