Thames&Hudson

In 1931, Diego Rivera was the subject of The Museum of Modern Art's second monographic exhibition, which set new attendance records in its five-week run. The Museum brought Rivera to New York six weeks before the show's opening and gave him on-site studio space. There he produced five portable murals — large blocks of frescoed plaster, slaked lime and wood that feature bold images drawn from Mexican subject matter and address themes of revolution and class inequity. After the opening, to great publicity, Rivera added three more murals, now taking on New York subjects through monumental images of the urban working class and the city during the Great Depression. Published in conjunction with an exhibition that brings together key works made for Rivera's 1931 show, this catalogue casts the artist as a highly cosmopolitan figure who traveled between Russia, Mexico and the United States and examines the intersection of artmaking and radical politics in the 1930s. Illustrated with reproductions of each panel as well as related paintings, drawings, prints and documentary photographs, the book's essays investigate the international politics of muralism, Rivera's history with MoMA, the iconography of the portable murals and technical aspects of the artist's working process. Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was a central figure in the development of Mexican muralism, an ambitious public art initiative intended to relay Mexico's ideals after the Revolution (1910-1920). A highly cosmopolitan artist, Rivera had spent many years in Europe before returning to Mexico in 1921, and in 1927 he traveled to the Soviet Union where he met Alfred Barr, the soon-to-be founding director of The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Rivera's artistic celebrity benefitted from major commissions in the United States, including murals for the Pacific Stock Exchange, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, MoMA and the Detroit Institute of Arts. By the 1930s, he enjoyed an unrivaled status at the center of international debates about public art and politics...

In the visual history of the western world, some images and authors have become real icons for entire generations of painters, photographers, and common people. How could they remain so vivid in our memory, defeating oblivion? What was their secret? In this essay, Max Kozloff talks about one of the most emblematic and fascinating artists of our visual tradition, Johannes Vermeer; about his XVII century Dutch interiors, plunged into a palpable and magic light; and about his ability to create refined images and atmospheres that are still able to move and seduce contemporary society. In this book, the author attempts to decipher the symbols hiding in Vermeer's paintings and to find out the secret thanks to which his works have managed to remain so popular and appreciated even today.

The greening of facades with plants gives a piece of nature back to the city. But a green facade is much more than a charming view: Thanks to its insulating effect, it evens out extreme swings in temperature, protects against UV radiation and improves sound insulation. In that regard one does not have to always rely on the usual ivy. Other evergreen or fruit bearing plants and even exotic flowers can be used as facade decoration. In that way varied and creative greening can be created which lend a colorful aesthetic tone to the cityscape. The 50 projects presented here give an overview of this current trend in landscape architecture.

Published to accompany the major exhibition at The Van Gogh Museum, this lavish volume is the first to trace Vincent Van Goghs decade-long achievement as a draughtsman. It features about 110 of the artists finest works in pen and ink, graphite, chalk, charcoal and watercolour, as well as a group of related paintings, all of which offer extraordinary insight into Van Goghs ongoing development as an artist.

This unique visual reference guide will be an invaluable resource to professional designers from architects to illustrators, production designers, art directors, decorators, film concept artists, sculptors and painters. It uses colour photographs to illustrate a wide range of locations and styles of architecture throughout Egypt, particularly highlighting universal architectural elements that may be incorporated into a variety of designs and styles including arches, doorways, windows, balconies, wall finishes and more. Photographic plates of modern and ancient Egypt, showing markets, buildings, temples, tombs and daily life are cross-referenced with enlarged details and grouped for functional comparisons to cater to the various approaches a designer may take from conception to completion. With some 1,000 colour illustrations, thorough referencing and detailed observation, this book will serve a very specific need while also appealing to a wider audience as a visual celebration of many aspects of Egypt, familiar and unfamiliar.

What makes a magazine into a design classic? How can timeless ideas be incorporated into an ever-changing contemporary context? While many books on editorial design simply illustrate great work, this book, now updated with a new chapter covering independent magazines and revised illustrations throughout, presents a huge range of examples from an amazing collection of international magazines and uses them to illustrate the principles of classic editorial design. Horst Moser discusses the design challenges facing art directors today, showcasing the most successful solutions, from the cutting edge of modern style to classic techniques. With over 1,000 colour illustrations, it is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for students and professionals, and an essential and authoritative guide for anyone involved in magazine design.

First published in 1991, this book traces the history of glassmaking from its origins in Western Asia some 5000 years ago, through the invention of glassblowing around the first century BC, to the introduction of mechanised processes and new styles in the 19th and 20th centuries. It highlights the flourishing industries of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, the extraordinary achievements of the Roman Empire, the elegant vessels of the Islamic Near East, the superb mastery of Renaissance Venice and the wide-ranging experiments of modern Europe and America. A special feature of the book is the series of photographic sequences specially taken in the studio of a modern glassmaker as he reconstructs ancient techniques. With an all new final chapter by John P. Smith, Editor of The Glass Circle journal, to bring the book right up to date with the latest developments, 5000 Years of Glass is still the definitive single-volume general history of this most versatile art form.

Works of art make a substantial contribution to cultural identification. When they are placed in a public place this function is enhanced. However the artworks also acknowledge other tasks: they figuratively announce content in their traditional role, standing as the image of a ruler or at least serve as decoration, while in the Modern period they become increasingly space defining or shaping. In this volume around 150 works present the history of this species of art. By referring to important contemporary works, the development of contemporary art in public places during the last decades, which dominates the volume with about 350 examples, can be traced. Succinct texts locating the work, the artist and the style, concentrate on what is special about the works and explain the effect they have every day on passers-by according to Paul Watzlawick's axiom that One can not not communicate.

Creative Space looks at the studios, apartments, and homes of the designers, directors, stylists, artists, graffiti writers, curators, novelists and innovators who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary culture. These are interiors created by people who shop in Colette in Paris, live on the Lower East Side in New York and travel to Tokyo. The domestic spaces are often DIY and strongly reflect pop culture. Filled with post-modern pop collectables, vintage junk finds, camouflage and graffiti, clothing and toy collections, contemporary art resting in bookshelves and crammed onto walls, these homes are an antidote to the sterility of minimalism. Among the 30 homes featured in the book are those of artist Julie Verhoeven and Maharishi founder Hardy Blechmann in London, graffiti artist Fafi in Paris, artists Ryan McGinness and Wes Lang in New York, innovative creatives Jaybo and Lucio Auri in Berlin, Barcelona filmmaker Roger Gual, and in Tokyo cult photographer Yasumasa Yonehara and artist Aya Takano. In a new compact format and at a very special price, this book will provide ideas and inspiration to all those who want to make their own creative space.

Beckett is the result of a little-known encounter that took place over 30 years ago in Tangiers, between the then-burgeoning photographer Francois-Marie Banier and the great Irish-born writer Samuel Beckett. Banier kept spotting Beckett's iconically gaunt and tapering frame — a marsh-bird vanished in the middle of the crowd of Moroccans in djellabahs and indifferent tourists — and was so entranced by his curious movements and features that he determined to photograph him. Of course when they finally met Banier forgot all about his camera, preferring instead to listen to Beckett's tales of the 27 books he couldn't find a publisher for, of his wife Suzanne, of his friendship with Joyce, of his family in Ireland. Eventually recovering his photographer's eye, Banier stepped back behind the camera to take this fantastic sequence of photographs, published here for the first time, and unmatched as a portrait of the great writer.

This is a volume of living history the history of our times, as seen by the photographers who captured it. It is the most comprehensive anthology of Life photography ever assembled, and illustrates the strengths that made many of these individuals famous and Life great. This book, an enormous international success in hardback, is now available in a new, compact, paperback edition.

This book demonstrates and revels in the rich inventiveness of a designer who played a key role in the fashions of the 1980s and 90s, and one who — with fashion's recent return to harder edges — has become an inspiration for many contemporary designers.

Self Portraiture has long been one of the most important genres in fine art, and as photographers like Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin demonstrate, offers unique possibilities for the creative photographer, too. The digital age and in particular, the photosharing site flickr has opened up the field, throwing up a generation of talents who, in presenting images of themselves to the world, offer new ways of seeing oneself. Foremost among these is Natalie Miss Aniela Dybisz. In Self-Portrait Photography, the only book of its kind, she offers a wealth of practical expertise and conceptual finesse. Her startlingly original work is deconstructed: she offers step by step worked examples of how unique effects were achieved, and other leading photographers in the genre profile themselves and their work too, all adding up to introducing a wealth of inspirational and technical ideas for todays digital photographer. Photographers at all levels will be inspired to take another look at the model closest to hand themselves.

Reuters photojournalists are continually bearing witness to events as they happen across the globe. They submit some 1,500 photos a day, creating an annual archive of over half a million images. This award-winning work pushes the boundaries of what news photography is and can be: it ranks among the finest photojournalism of our times. Our World Now 4 draws upon this unparalleled resource to document a year in the life of our vibrant, troubled, beautiful planet. Sometimes funny, sometimes devastating, always compelling, the images in this book encompass the fantastic diversity of trends, moods and stories that have defined 2010.

This marvellously illustrated book is a blend of the avant-garde, the unconventional and the delightful. Showcasing 591 contemporary rings by almost 300 international designers who stimulate the imagination by challenging traditional practices and standard definitions. The finished products are sculpture for the hands, and range from the simple to the abstract, from everyday rings to those that are more challenging. Here are rings made of gold, platinum and precious stones, of wood, bones, fibre and shells Without exception, they are all beautifully made and intriguing in their own way. «New Rings» presents a unique snapshot of the work of the best art jewellers at work in the world today and includes biographies and contact details of every featured artist.

The retrospective of portraits of Mick Jagger, one of the worlds most photographed performers, was a highlight of the 2010 Arles photography festival. This book gathers together all the photographs from that exhibition, introduced by the Festivals director, Francois Hebel. Hebel writes, 'In order to consider the rock portrait, we have chosen to focus on different unities: unity of face, in the form of Mick Jagger, and unity of genre the posed portrait, as opposed to stage photography or candid shots.' Published to coincide with the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition in May 2011, this book spans Jagger's entire career, from Mankowitz's portraits of the young artist in the 1960s and Cecil Beaton's on set shots from Performance to Anton Corbijn's shoot for Rolling Stone in 2005. This book includes photographs by Bryan Adams, Kevin Cummins, Karl Lagerfeld, Annie Leibovitz, Terry O'Neill, Herb Ritts, Ethan Russell, Andy Warhol and many more.

From the groves and vineyards of Provence to the dry hills of California, the farms of Australia and the forests of Canada, Gilles de Chabaneix's stunning photographs capture the distinctive rural architecture, homely decorative schemes, awe-inspiring landscapes and rustic details that make country living universally desirable. In this comprehensive exploration of the pleasures of country living, traditional and contemporary elements are treated with the same sympathetic eye: an airy, minimalist sitting room looks out on an ancient piazza; bunches of herbs and antique tools hang from rough-hewn beams beside a roaring fire; a stone floor, worn smooth with age, shines through the sleek glass top of a modern dining table, where a bowl of fruit from the local market awaits a guest. More than a comprehensive sourcebook of decorative ideas, for anyone who dreams of living in the country or is lucky enough to live there already this is the ultimate guide to timeless rural living: beautiful, regional and quirkily individual.

Claudia Walde spent over two years collecting alphabets by 154 artists from 30 countries. Each artist received the same brief: to design all 26 letters of the Latin alphabet within the limits of a single page of the book. The result is a unique typographical sourcebook featuring over 150 specially designed, original alphabets exclusive to this book.

Publishing the results of the most recent annual World Press Photo Contest, this exceptional book contains the very best press photographs from the year 2010 pictures submitted by photojournalists, picture agencies, newspapers and magazines throughout the world. Universally recognised as the definitive competition for photographic reporting, it has been described by Michael Rand as the international photographic contest. Selected from thousands of images, these prizewinning photos capture the most powerful, moving and sometimes disturbing images of the year.

This is the never-before-published wardrobe of a timeless star, for lovers of fashion, photography and film history. Greta Garbos influence over fashion has transcended time. Her dresses, suits, impeccably-tailored coats with a slightly masculine look and the indispensable accessories (shoes, bags, glasses, foulards) has created a style emulated, imitated, even occasionally reviled, but never fully examined. For the first time a catalogue of great glamour and a travelling exhibition detail this extraordinary wardrobe whose minimalism fits so well with current fashion trends.

In this new book from one of the great authorities on graphic design, some 100 of the worlds leading graphic designers open up their private sketchbooks, giving the reader an unparalleled insight into their creative development, design philosophies and visual influences. Samples range from typographical explorations to fully fledged illustration ideas, from scrappy scribbles and eccentric handwriting to photographic collages. Contributors include such world-recognized names as Stefan Sagmeister, Christoph Niemann, Sara Fanelli, Christoph Abbrederis, Shogo Ota, Art Spiegelman, Uwe Loesch, Milton Glaser, Michael Bierut, Bruce Mau, Francois Chastanet and Jordi Duro. Graphic is a treasure trove of design inspiration for professionals, students or anyone engaged in the visual industries.

Technical drawings, or flats, are essential for anyone working in the fashion industry. Used to convey design ideas and garment details to pattern cutters and machinists, it is essential that they are drawn accurately to avoid misunderstanding and costly mistakes in sampling and production. «Technical Drawing for Fashion» explains how to create a technical fashion drawing using a simple and straightforward step-by-step method accompanied by some time-saving tips. This method is explained for those who wish to use Adobe Illustrator as well as for those who prefer to draw by hand. The second part of the book presents over 250 technical drawings of garment types, styles and construction details, the basic key shapes of which are shown alongside a specially created and photographed calico toile. Accompanying each illustration will be a list of all the terms by which that garment is known. This unique presentation illustrates the relationship between the three dimensional garment and the two-dimensional drawing, allowing readers to really understand how to render technical drawings.

This is a detailed, illustrated look at the life and works of the most influential female Impressionist painter: Berthe Morisot. Berthe Morisot won over the Impressionists with her talent and became the first woman of the group alongside Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley. Likewise, she was heralded by the greatest writers of her time; in this tribute to her, an anthology of citations from Paul Valery, Stephane Mallarme, and Jean Cocteau offers an intimate portrait of the artist and her work. Morisots paintings demonstrate how far ahead of her time she was when she created them, pioneering a new style of painting. However, she was underestimated for more than a century most probably because she was a woman. This book showcases the life and works of this influential artist, focusing on the important stages of her career, including her first participation in the Salon de Paris at the age of twenty-three in 1864. Moreover, the book assesses the significance of the time certain paintings were created, taking into consideration what was happening in the artists life during that period. For example, in 1874 Berthe married Eugene, Manets brother, and gave birth to their daughter, Julie Manet, who became the subject of many of Morisots subsequent paintings. Berthe Morisot includes personal correspondence between Morisot and other important figures of the Impressionist movement, providing unique insight into this fascinating period. This book is an essential read for any lover of Berthe Morisots work, and indeed for anyone who appreciates the work of the Impressionist artists.

A showcase of the most exciting, innovative and successful window displays worldwide, this book offers inspiration and guidance to visual merchandisers and retailers who need to create eye-catching window designs that will increase sales. Stores have to deliver their merchandise in a competitive, imaginative and distinctive style, and never more so than now, when consumers have less to spend. The challenge is not only to grab customers attention and encourage them to shop, but to promote a stores brand and keep shoppers informed of fashion trends. Seven chapters cover key topics for the visual merchandiser, each with a gallery of photographs of stores in Belgium, Spain, Italy and Hong Kong as well as London and New York demonstrating how and why each window is successful. Colour is a great tool to promote a trend, Seasonal Windows exploit the key shopping seasons and encourage the buying of gifts, while following Trends, in fashion, food or homewares, and translating them quickly into a window display is a key skill for a visual merchandiser. Graphics and Photography are cost-effective and efficient tools for delivering a message or inform the customer, or use Lighting to add drama, whether spotlighting products or flooding an entire window. Theatre shows off exuberant and avant-garde displays created to wow an audience of passers-by. Quirky Windows allow the merchandiser to realise their wildest ideas, with spectacular results.