Prestel

The Surrealist movement that developed in Europe following the devastation of World War I emerged out of a feeling by writers and artists that the world itself was going mad — and that they, the artists, were the sane ones. This introduction to Surrealism shows how the movement swept energetically through all kinds of media as artists found expression in the interaction between an imaginative pictorial language and an often-oppressive intensity of expression. The result was unique works that have lost nothing of their irresistible attraction to this day. Each work is featured on a beautifully illustrated double-page spread. An informative text highlights each work's classic characteristics as well as unusual aspects, its significance in the Surrealist movement, and its influence on the history of art in general and on contemporary art. Including brief biographies of each artist, this book is a beautifully illustrated primer to Surrealism.

Formerly a symbol of immense urban waste, the Fresh Kills Landfill is being transformed into an enormous urban parkland that is destined to exemplify the values of ecological restoration and environmental sustainability. Part of that transformation includes a competition for a site-specific public artwork designed to operate as a source of clean energy for the city's utility grid. This volume features many of the top submissions to the LAGI competition, which aims to create sustainable design solutions that integrate art and technology into renewable energy infrastructure around the world. The book creates a much-needed connection between two critical issues of sustainable development — energy generation and waste management — highlighting design solutions that address both problems at once, thereby creating economically beneficial hybrid utility installations.

Allen Ginsberg began photographing in the late 1940s when he purchased a small, second-hand Kodak camera. For the next fifteen years he took photographs of himself, his friends and lovers, including the writers and poets Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs and Gregory Corso, as well as Beat personality Neal Cassady. He abandoned photography in 1963 and took it up again in the 1980s, when he was encouraged by photographers Berenice Abbott and Robert Frank to reprint his earlier work and make new portraits; these included more images of longtime friends as well other acquaintances such as painters Larry Rivers and Francesco Clemente and musician Bob Dylan. Ginsberg's photographs form a compelling portrait of the Beat and counterculture generation from the 1950s to the 1990s. Far more than historical documents, his photographs and the extensive inscriptions he added to them years later preserve what he referred to as 'the sacredness of the moment,' the often joyous communion of friends and the poignancy of looking back to intensely felt times. More than seventy prints are brilliantly reproduced in this book and accompanied by Sarah Greenough's essay on Ginsberg's photography in relation to his poetry and other photographers of the time, a chronology of his photographic activity, and selections from interviews with Ginsberg between 1958 and 1996.

Dale Chihuly has been exploring the plastic potential of blown glass for over forty years. His spectacular pieces challenge the apparent fragility of the medium and transport us to a magical world. This exquisite volume follows Chihuly's career through photographs of his series works as well as his monumental site-specific installations. Inspired by nature, Chihuly's pieces explode with color and vibrate with life. Their expressiveness and spontaneity recall Jackson Pollock's action paintings, yet their visceral physicality and playfulness have made these pieces some of the most broadly acclaimed works in contemporary art. As this book shows, Dale Chihuly's work is at once mesmerizing, thought provoking, and visually seductive.

Emilie Floge was only a teenager when she met the painter Gustav Klimt, but their friendship soon evolved into a complex and loving relationship that lasted the rest of their lives. Alfred Weidinger, an acclaimed expert on Klimt and his contemporaries, has compiled an exhaustive collection of photographs relating to the artist and his designer muse. While Klimt took many of these shots, other photographers include Carl Schuster, Victor von Spitzer, Hugo Henneberg, Pauline Kruger Hamilton, Anton Trcka, and unknown individuals who had access to the couple's private lives. Presented chronologically, they offer insight into the creatively charged world that Klimt and Floge inhabited — a world they influenced with their enormous talent and passions.

Since the attack on the World Trade Center, Afghanistan has evolved from a country few people thought twice about to a place that evokes our deepest emotions. Time magazine photographer Robert Nickelsberg has been publishing his images of this distant yet all too familiar country since 1998, when he accompanied a group of mujahedeen across the border from Pakistan. This remarkable volume of photographs is accompanied by insightful texts from experts on Afghanistan and the Taliban. The images themselves are captioned with places, dates, and Nickelsberg's own extensive commentary. Timely and important, the book serves as a reminder that Afghanistan and the rest of the world remain inextricably linked, no matter how much we long to distance ourselves from its painful realities.

For nearly half a century Roger Ballen has been shooting black-and-white film — a member of the last generation to work in that medium. He started his career taking portraits of rural Afrikaaners in their homes and has lately been moving toward more staged sets, and embellishing his photographs with expressionistic graffiti-type drawings. This retrospective book follows the development of line and drawing in Ballen's body of work, which is often characterized by complex interior arrangements of people, animals, and furnishings. In more recent work the artist has come out from behind the camera lens to engage with line more directly — including a luminous series of photographs that began with drawing on glass. Psychologically edgy and seductively beautiful images result. This volume also addresses the use of drawing and line in Ballen's newest work in videography. This astonishing collection reveals the breadth of Ballen's work, which moves fluidly between photography and drawing, harshness and beauty, raw expression and technical prowess.

Journalist Jan Kedves isn't afraid to ask a pointed question and his subjects certainly aren't afraid to answer. Whether it's Bruce Weber discussing nudity, dogs and Clint Eastwood; Juergen Teller talking about daring shoots with Charlotte Rampling, Victoria Beckham and the one time he may have gone too far; or Raf Simons waxing nostalgic about his days and nights as a club kid, this collection of interviews goes beyond the latest trends to distill what makes its subjects tick. A fashion world insider in his own right, Kedves knows how to talk to models, designers, photographers and artists, sharing his own opinions and recollections as a way of drawing out even the most reticent. As a result, his conversations with the likes of Pierre Cardin, Malcolm McLaren, Rick Owens, Lady Gaga, Helmut Lang and Veruschka can feel as intimate as a late night gabfest, and every bit as fun.

Since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the number of nations competing has grown from 14 to more than 200. This illustrated book includes well-grounded and fascinating essays that offer a global perspective on the phenomenon that the Olympic Games have become and trace its evolution from a great idea to a grand spectacle.

Since 1981 the German Architecture Museum has been recognising the best architecture its country has to offer. Opening with the DAM-prizewinning project — the new Art Museum in Ravensburg designed by Lederer + Ragnarsdottir + Oei — this volume also features a number of stunning buildings that include a synagogue and community center in Ulm, the new reading room at the Staatsbibliothek Unter den Linden in Berlin, a villa in South Germany, and an environmentally conscious glass house. The book's feature essay investigates the challenges associated with large-scale construction in Germany and beyond.

This magnificent volume considers every aspect of Albrecht Durer's astonishing oeuvre. Thematically arranged, the selection of paintings, drawings, prints, etchings, and illustrated books comprise a highly diverse and accomplished body of work. In order to fully understand Durer's reputation as one of the most important artists of his time, this volume also includes works by his predecessors and contemporaries. By comparing and contrasting these works, and by understanding Durer's influences and inspirations, readers can see for themselves the technical prowess and emotional power of Durer's art. Interspersed throughout the book are fascinating essays that address such topics as Italian influences on Durer's art, the Heller Altarpiece, his workshop, his journey to the Netherlands, and his role as inventor of the humanist iconography.

The art of optical illusion has been an integral part of painting since antiquity when it was used as a yardstick by which to judge an artist's level of mastery. In the centuries that followed — and continuing through contemporary times — artists from van Eyck to Gerhard Richter have delighted in tricking the eye. That practice has extended to outdoor spaces with the likes of Banksy and Cayetano Ferrer. This book presents a fascinating overview of the different methods of illusion practiced by artists over hundreds of years. Organized into five chapters — Optical Illusions, Distortions and Hidden Images, De-Figurations, Questioning Perception, and Overstepping Reality — it brings together artists from various time periods and disciplines. Dozens of illustrated examples offer intriguing comparisons of works by Magritte and Li Wei, Cindy Sherman and Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Michelangelo and Duane Hanson, and many more. Readers will come away with an understanding of how artists perceive our world and how their reflections and distortions are at once confusing and enlightening.

During his short career, Koloman Moser became a towering figure in Viennese culture. His varied work in interior and graphic design, furniture, textiles, jewellery, metalwork, glass and earthenware helped usher in the modern era. This book surveys the entirety of Moser's oeuvre. It examines his work as a graphic designer and his involvement with the Vienna Secession, with special focus given to his role as an illustrator for the journal Ver Sacrum (Sacred Spring). Moser's forays into textile design and ceramic work are also introduced. The book features his designs for the Vienna Secession, Thonet Brothers and the Mautner family, among others that characterise his early modern style. The book also explores Moser's seminal role as a founding member of the Vienna Workshops, along with architect Josef Hoffman and patron Fritz Waerndorfer. Included are many reproductions of Moser's masterpieces, including the window of the Steinhof Chapel, his exhibition posters, postage stamps and currency and elegant samples from his design portfolio, The Source.

When it emerged in the 1950s, the Pop Art movement presented a challenge to fine art with its incorporation of images from television, newspapers, and advertising. Artists used humor, provocation, and garish gestures to help dissolve the barriers between high and low culture. Over time, Pop Art developed into one of the most influential movements of the 20th century and many of its works have achieved iconic status. This introduction to Pop Art focuses on fifty of the movement's most important works, and covers every major artist of the style, including David Hockney, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Robert Indiana, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol. Each work is featured on a beautifully illustrated double-page spread. An informative text highlights the work's classic characteristics as well as unusual aspects, its significance in the Pop Art movement and its influence on the history of contemporary art, and art in general. Including brief biographies of each artist, this book is a beautifully illustrated survey of Pop Art.

Since its founding in Rome in 1884, Bulgari has become synonymous with ingenuity and luxury in jewellery design. This volume focuses on the 1950s through the 1980s — a period of eclectic creativity that helped to establish the signature Bulgari look and its status in the world of celebrity and high society. Along with a history of the jeweller, the book features approximately 150 pieces from this pivotal period. High-quality photographs of the objects share the spotlight with sketches, photographs and vintage advertisements from the Bulgari archives, as well as images of the celebrities who adorned themselves with these opulent works, such as Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. An introduction by Martin Chapman examines Bulgari in an American context, focusing on its famous clients and social history. An essay by Amanda Triossi provides a deeper look at Bulgari — its founding, history, designers, and innovations. Section introductions for the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s illuminate the trends in jewellery design for each decade, in addition to a chapter dedicated to the legendary Elizabeth Taylor collection.

Finding and naming colours and objects is an exciting activity for young children and what better way to teach them than through art? This ingenious book employs great works of art from a variety of genres and periods to ask children engaging questions. Children are also invited to play 'I Spy' with colours and objects in a medieval tapestry, a renaissance mural, an aboriginal work from Australia, or a painting by Hieronymus Bosch. In addition, each work is accompanied by a brief description for older readers. Filled with glorious colour, this introduction to important works will set the stage for a greater appreciation of art in later years.

The word 'Siberia' brings to mind a series of extremes — vast, bleak, harsh, alluring, wild, and beautiful. Our imagined notion of this largely unknown territory is so strong that the name itself has become a metaphor for things remote or undesirable. The reality, however, is that Siberia surpasses any singular idea. Not only does it span numerous time zones and feature enormously varied geography, but its inhabitants range from nomads herding reindeer and shamans communing with spirits to scientists in state-of-the-art laboratories and urbanites proud of their boutiques, museums, and opera houses. Spanning more than 130 years, this collection of images by more than fifty Russian photographers conveys as never before Siberia's enormity and diversity while bringing the region into concrete, human focus. It draws from the collections of Russian museums as well as the archives of established and emerging photographers. Leah Bendavid-Val's compelling commentary tells the stories behind the pictures and places them in historical and artistic context, quoting observations and memories of Siberia by explorers, settlers, and literary giants from Dostoevsky to Chekhov. As attested by the ever-growing number of books, news reports, and travelers to the region, Siberia is an enduring subject of fascination to many. This beautiful volume is at once a groundbreaking photographic event and a sublime introduction to one of earth's most intriguing places.

When Elinor Carucci gave birth to her twins, she discovered the highs and lows that are part of every new mother's experience. A noted photographer accustomed to documenting intimate moments, Carucci used her camera to deal with the maelstrom of emotions. She followed her babies as they grew into toddlers, then children, with their own complex relationships. This collection of gorgeous, sensual and poignant photographs will resonate with anyone who spends time with children or their parents. Carucci's dramatic use of light and shadow and her uncanny ability to capture the freedom with which children express themselves imbue her images with a marvelous clarity. By turns touching, surprising, funny, joyful and unflinching, these striking pictures convey moments that are at once personal and universal — a child's runny nose, a fight between brother and sister, a fast-food meal, a warm embrace, a sleepless night, an ice cream cone. The result, as Francine Prose remarks in her foreword, are images that 'seem new, no matter how well we may think we know... the experiences and feelings they depict... Nothing, we feel, is left out'.

With more than 25 million hits and counting since its uploading on YouTube in 2012, 'I Fink You Freeky' has brought its director Roger Ballen and its subject, rap group Die Antwoord, into the zeitgeist of young people around the globe. Shot in black and white and featuring imagery, scenes and subjects from Ballen's stunning photographic work, the video, with its infectious beat and Die Antwoord's ingenious blend of hip-hop, rap and rave, has been a huge critical success. This book features the brilliant photography that inspired the collaboration between photographer and band and shows how Ballen's images became part of the finished project. In addition, shots from the filming of the video and of band members in rehearsal and on the set, offer a fascinating glimpse of synergy in the making. Introduced by art critic Ivor Powell, this volume also features an interview between the members of Die Antwood and Roger Ballen. Roger Ballen has developed a unique and penetrating vision over the past forty years of taking photographs. His powerful black and white images, all taken in South Africa, integrate photography with drawing, painting and sculpture. He has received numerous awards for his work and his photographs are collected by some of the most important museums worldwide.

The Art Deco style is so recognisable and widespread that its original influence on the culture in which it emerged has been all but lost in the clutter of imitation. This book draws our attention back to the birth of Art Deco — a period between two devastating world wars when industrialization was flourishing, interest in archaeology was peaking, and movements such as Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Modernism were turning the art world on its head. Brilliantly designed to reflect the style it celebrates, Art Deco is filled with hundreds of examples of painting, architecture, interiors, jewellery, crafts, furniture, and fashion. Author Norbert Wolf traces the chronology of the Art Deco style by looking at the politics and culture of Europe in the 1920s and early 30s, and the artistic movements that paralleled its popularity. He follows Art Deco's influence in Europe, and its immigration to the Americas and Asia. Most importantly, this wide-ranging volume looks beyond the era of Art Deco's origination to the present day. Pointing to the numerous revivals and contemporary echoes in painting and even literature, this beautiful volume demonstrates that Art Deco is alive and well today — often in forms where we least expect it.

Antoni Gaudi is one of history's most recognized and beloved architects and designers. His masterpiece, the still-uncompleted Sagrada Familia, is one of the most visited monuments in Spain. But this Catalonian architect is especially inspiring to children, who marvel at the non-traditional forms he employed in his buildings and designs. Using pages of colourful stickers to inspire learning and creativity, this entertaining book will encourage young readers to build their own Gaudi-like creations, while teaching them much about the architect's life and accomplishments.

Taking a highly visual, detailed approach, Hats & Caps provides an insight into the enormous variety of styles and trends in the world of headwear. This book is a must for any designer looking for inspiration.

An exploration of visual phenomena, The Naked Eye is a treasure trove of unusual images from across the world, all the more extraordinary for being real, all the more fascinating for existing without computer manipulation. Some images are the works of artists and visionary architects, some showcase incredible natural phenomena, and others are incredible images snapped by chance at the perfect moment. Among these are an elephant balancing on his trunk, a dancing tree, an office building created to look like a gigantic shopping basket, and a man walking calmly up a palm tree. Alongside these startling images are stories, facts, and hidden histories, written in Saatchi's entertaining pithy style.

From the beginning of the 20th century to the period between the two world wars, Berlin and Vienna witnessed an explosion of artistic productivity and experimentation. Featuring works by Schiele, Hausmann, Hoffmann, Kokoschka, Dix, Grosz, Liebermann, Kirchner, and others, this volume documents how two very different cities developed artistic traditions that were unique to their individual cultures, while at the same time borrowing from each other's accomplishments. Starting with the Secessionist movements of both cities, this generously illustrated volume compares and contrasts Berlin's realism with Vienna's ornamentalism. World War I led to greater proximity between the two nations and to active artistic exchanges between them, both in relation to the rise of the Neue Sachlichkeit or New Objectivity and, in particular, in the context of stagecraft. Gaining in influence at the same time was Viennese kineticism, whose counterpart in Berlin was the Dada movement, which examined contemporary social issues in a critical and subversive manner. Designed to echo the stylistic elements of the early 20th century, this beautiful and unique book traces an important cultural exchange that helped shape both cities and had lasting effects on the development of modern art.