Books, Arts & Photography, Reference

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Sarah Thornton
Seven Days in the Art World
by W.W. Norton & Co. (Hardcover)

A fly-on-the-wall account of the smart and strange subcultures that make, trade, curate, collect, and hype contemporary art. The art market has been booming. Museum attendance is surging. More people than ever call themselves artists. Contemporary art has become a mass entertainment, a luxury good, a job description, and, for some, a kind of alternative religion.In a series of beautifully paced narratives, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings in Takashi Murakami's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in a notorious art-school seminar, and the wonderland of the Venice Biennale. She reveals the new dynamics of creativity, taste, status, money, and the search for meaning in life. A judicious and juicy account of the institutions that have the power to shape art history, based on hundreds of interviews with high-profile ...

Betty Edwards
The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence
by Tarcher (Hardcover)

illustrated with 12-page color photo insert and line art throughoutA revised and expanded edition of the classic drawing-instruction book that has sold more than 2,500,000 copies.When Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain was first published in 1979, it hit the New York Times bestseller list within two weeks and stayed there for more than a year. In 1989, when Dr. Betty Edwards revised the book, it went straight to the Times list again. Now Dr. Edwards celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her classic book with a second revised edition.Over the last decade, Dr. Edwards has refined her material through teaching hundreds of workshops and seminars. Truly The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, this edition includes:* the very latest developments in brain research;* new material on using drawing techniques in the corporate world and in education;* instruction on self-expression through drawing;* an updated section on using color; and* detailed information on using the five ...

Lawrence Lessig
Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy
by Penguin Press HC, The (Hardcover)

The author of Free Culture shows how we harm our children—and almost anyone who creates, enjoys, or sells any art form—with a restrictive copyright system driven by corporate interests. Lessig reveals the solutions to this impasse offered by a collaborative yet profitable “hybrid economy”. Lawrence Lessig, the reigning authority on intellectual property in the Internet age, spotlights the newest and possibly the most harmful culture war—a war waged against our kids and others who create and consume art. America’s copyright laws have ceased to perform their original, beneficial role: protecting artists’ creations while allowing them to build on previous creative works. In fact, our system now criminalizes those very actions. For many, new technologies have made it irresistible to flout these unreasonable and ultimately untenable laws. Some of today’s most talented artists are felons, and so are our kids, who see no reason why they shouldn’t do what their ...

Rudy De Reyna
How to Draw What You See (Practical Art Books)
by Watson-Guptill (Paperback)

•A best-seller for 35 years• A timeless classic that has taught generations of artists—and will teach generations moreWhen it was originally published in 1970, How to Draw What You See zoomed to the top of the publisher’s best-seller list—and it has remained there ever since. "I believe that you must be able to draw things as you see them—realistically," wrote Rudy de Reyna in this introduction. Today, generations of artists have learned to draw what they see, to truly capture the world around them, using de Reyna’s methods. How to Draw What You See shows artists how to recognize the basic shape to draw the object, no matter how much detail it contains.

Jonathan Lopez
The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Hardcover)

It's a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of World War II: a lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge Vermeers, one of which he sold to Hermann Goering, making a mockery of the Nazis. And it's a story that's been believed ever since. Too bad it just isn't true. Jonathan Lopez has done what no other writer could--tracking down primary sources in four countries and five languages to tell for the first time the real story of the world's most famous forger. Neither unappreciated artist nor antifascist hero, Van Meegeren emerges in The Man Who Made Vermeers as an ingenious, dyed-in-the-wool crook--a talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush, who worked virtually his entire adult life making and selling fake Old Masters. Drawing upon extensive interviews with descendents of Van Meegeren's partners in crime, Lopez also explores the networks of illicit commerce that operated across Europe between the wars. Not only was ...

Don Thompson
The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art
by Palgrave Macmillan (Hardcover) (Release Date: 2008-09-16)

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock’s drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million?             Intriguing and entertaining, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark is a Freakonomics approach to the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world. Why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, with astonishing new heights reached in 2007? Don Thompson explores the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art world in an attempt to determine what makes a particular work valuable while others are ignored.            This book is the first to look at the economics and the marketing strategies that enable the modern art market to generate such astronomical prices. Drawing on  interviews with both past and present executives of auction houses and art dealerships, artists, and the buyers who move the ...

David Bayles, Ted Orland
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
by Capra Pr (Paperback)

An artist's survival guide, written by and for working artists. The authors explore the way art gets made, the reasons it doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way.

Henry M. Sayre
A World of Art/Artnotes: A Study Guide and Lecture Companion
by Pearson Publications Company (Paperback)

For one semester courses in Art Appreciation.   A World of Art teaches students how artists create by helping them understand that creativity starts with critical thinking. By guiding students through a rich array of aesthetic elements and artistic media, along with an overview of art history, this text encourages students to develop an appreciation for a diverse range of art. Author Henry M. Sayre demystifies the creative process by showing how artists use critical thinking and problem solving to create great works of art. Studying art also requires critical thinking and problem solving, and this text shows students how to use these skills to understand and explore the world of art. used good condition

Sylvan Barnet
A Short Guide to Writing About Art
by Back Stage Books (Paperback)

Key Benefit: A Short Guide to Writing About Art, Eighth Edition, the best-selling book of its kind, equips students to analyze pictures (drawings, paintings, photographs), sculptures and architecture, and prepares them with the tools they need to present their ideas in effective writing. Key Topics:This concise yet thorough guide to “seeing and saying” addresses a wealth of fundamental matters, such as distinguishing between description and analysis, writing a comparison, using peer review, documenting sources, and editing the final essay. Market: This book is a perfect complement to any art course where writing is involved

David Harris
The Calligrapher's Bible: 100 Complete Alphabets and How to Draw Them
by Barron's Educational Series (Spiral-bound)

Both hobbyists and students of design will value this easy-to-use self-teaching book. Each of its 100 sections shows a complete A-to-Z calligraphy alphabet, with lessons on correct pen strokes and advice on avoiding errors. Beginners will find sound basic instruction, while experienced calligraphers can extend their repertoire with letter styles that range from classic Roman to clean and elegant contemporary styles. In addition to analysis of each alphabet’s features, the book’s detailed instruction provides information on— Tools and materials * Layout basics * Numerals and punctuation * Illumination and ornamentation * Tips for the left-handed calligrapher . . . and more. Readers will also find examples by master calligraphers from past eras. This book’s spiral binding ensures that pages lay flat when opened, allowing calligraphers to study and copy each pen stroke with ease. The Calligrapher’s Bible is printed in color and features more than 350 illustrations.

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