This book guides young readers on a quest for fascinating and unforgettable fantasy creatures through the diary of a young apprentice who studies information, legends and details. Two sections dedicated to the Creatures for Beginner Keepers (the most docile and sweet) and the Creatures for Expert Keepers (the most dangerous). Short, fun, approachable stories that describe each creature and explain how to catch sight of it, how to tame it and what makes it angry at the end of the story, the readers will find a short test, similar to the one the book’s narrator must take, so that they’ll get their Certificate of Fantastic Creatures Keeper, that children can detach from the book and fill. Ages: 7 plus
The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the only patriarchal basilica of the four in Rome to have retained its paleo-Christian structures. The Basilica dates back to 425 AD and in this elegant and triumphal photographic masterpiece accomplished at the height of today’s technology, we can admire in detail the grandeur of all its artistic details: the mosaics of the nave; the ceremonial arch dating to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440 AD); those of the apse made at the behest of Pope Nicholas V (1288-1292); the Cosmatesque floor; the coffered ceiling designed by Giuliano da San Gallo; the Nativity scene by Arnolfo di Cambio; the High Altar by Ferdinando Fuga; the Borghese, Cesi, Sforza, and Sistine Chapels; and the Crucifix and St. Michael chapels by Luigi Valadier.
The Basilica is Pope Francis’ final resting place.
Tradition has it that the Virgin Mary herself inspired the choice of the Esquiline Hill for the church’s construction. Appearing in a dream to both the Patrician John, the landowner of the Esquiline Hill, and Pope Liberius, she asked that a church be built in her honour on a site she would miraculously indicate.
Text in English and Italian.
Discover the magic of beloved the classic fairy tale Peter Pan with The Storyteller sound books. This innovative collection offers young children a new way to experience these timeless tales: designed for those who are not yet able to read independently, each book allows children to explore the stories by turning the pages while listening to the corresponding text read aloud at the touch of a button. The book becomes a modern storyteller, presenting the fairy tales with beautiful illustrations and engaging narration that brings the stories to life.
Other titles in the collection include:
9788854421714 The Storyteller: Pinocchio
9788854421691 The Storyteller: Little Red Riding Hood
9788854421721 The Storyteller: Snow White
Ages 4 plus.
The Never-Taken Images documents a unique long-term project that Swiss photographers Françoise and Daniel Cartier have been pursuing since 1998. They have put together a vast collection of unfixed photographic papers, glass negatives, and films, mostly dating from 1880 to 1990. Samples of these are mounted and displayed, and, exposed to light over the course of several exhibitions, evolve towards colour saturation. Instead of looking at still images, the Cartiers’ installations, titled Wait and See, allow the viewers to perceive a kind of reality for themselves.
The book features on around 100 pages the entire test catalogue that the Cartiers have put together to date, showing some 900 different papers and photosensitive supports. These facsimiles offer an almost real impression of their formats, colours, and materiality. Essays by Kathrin Schönegg, photo historian and curator, Thilo Koenig, scholar of art history and critic, and Christophe Brandt, former director of the Institute for the Conservation of Photographs at the University of Neuchâtel, supplement the images and place the Wait and See project in the art historical and technological context of abstract media art.
The Never-Taken Images also celebrates the industrially manufactured photo-sensitive support, representing the long central pre-digital period in the history of photography.
Text in English, French and German.
“The Cynic’s Guide to Wine, by Sunny Hodge… is one of the best wine books I have read in a long while.” — Yorkshire Post
“All in all it’s a very useful and enjoyable read…” — Life
“…if you are remotely curious about the science of wine, this is an excellent guide. I found myself questioning some of my own beliefs, and while I may not be ready to discard them, “The Cynic’s Guide to Wine” is a timely reminder of the importance of skepticism in all facets of wine.” — NY Times
Much of what is written about wine, whether in wine books, on bottle labels or in the Sunday supplements uses language that gives wine an air of mystery. While compelling and enticing for the consumer this can also lead to confusion regarding the science of wine as well as fear on the part of the inexperienced wine drinker of ‘getting wine wrong’. In The Cynic’s Guide to Wine Sunny Hodge strips wine back to its basic science and unravels the facts behind wine flavours, showing readers a clear path through the verbiage. The text takes in elements of horticulture, soil science, botany and sensory science as well as oenology and is provided in bite-sized chunks aimed at the curious non-scientist. This is a straightforward and eye-opening book for anybody who has ever wanted to question the stories told around wine but was afraid to ask.
- The wine book all novice wine drinkers need: strips away the pretension and explains what really matters when it comes to producing the flavours in your glass of wine.
- Questions many of the things we take for granted when it comes to wine, from terroir to the science of wine making.
- Author is the award-winning owner of two London wine bars who has earned a reputation as a disruptor in the wine trade.
15 Gameboards, Booklet and Poster. 15 boards containing cards and puzzles so that the child can carry out the suggested activities. A manual that provides explanations of the activities and offers some useful hints and also how to learn more about Montessori education and apply it in everyday life. Ages: 6 plus
Van Overstraeten is one of the oldest and most exclusive interior design companies in Belgium, started in 1891 and now with a worldwide reputation working with the best architects, interior designers and decorators for private and public projects. In this stunning debut monograph, beautifully presented with all new photography is a selection of more than 40 projects from recent years.
Text in English, French and Dutch.
“There have been volumes written on and by Terence Conran and Mary Quant, but this is the first time they have been placed together in a book. And it works.” – Colin McDowell, The Times “It is given to a fortunate few to be born at the right time, in the right place, with the right talents. In recent fashion there have been three: Chanel, Dior and Mary Quant.” – Ernestine Carter. Transporting you back to London at the height of the Swinging Sixties, this book provides vital context for two of the biggest and boldest names in ‘Pop’ fashion: Mary Quant, alleged mother of the miniskirt, and Terence Conran, the entrepreneur behind the new wave of ‘lifestyle’ stores. Friends, associates and allies in design, Quant and Conran stood at the head of an informal but influential bohemian group who steered the rudder of style during the Pop era. ‘The Chelsea Set’ resist definition; there was no comprehensive members list. Conran/Quant: Swinging London – A Lifestyle Revolution explores the contributions of designers and artists from Laura and Bernard Ashley to Eduardo Paolozzi, Nigen Henderson and Alexander Plunket Greene, all of whom were essential generators of Sixties Style.
“David Mellor …was the outstanding British flatware designer of the last century and a remarkable man who … understood, and insisted upon, the essential relationship between making things and designing them” Stephen Bayley, The Guardian
“Britain’s most serious, modest and greatest post-war product designer” Sir Terence Conran David
Mellor: Design is an introduction to the designer, his works and his importance within the British design landscape, post 1950. The wider world knows him for his cutlery, which although exquisite and important, is the tip of the iceberg. To see Mellor as ‘just’ a cutlery designer is to miss his depth: his love of public projects, street furniture or Church commissions. But then to see Mellor as ‘just’ a designer is to miss his influence as a patron of architecture, or his passion for retailing and promoting British crafts. He may be the ‘King of cutlery’ but that is just the beginning.
David Mellor (1930-2009) began his career at the RCA, developing sophisticated yet simple aesthetics which he displayed through his silver smithing. His cutlery continued in the Sheffield tradition whilst using some technologically advanced manufacturing methods and radically modern designs. He also designed public street furniture in the 50s and 60s which pulled Britain’s streets into the modern era. During the late 1960s he opened a shop in Sloane Square, London. His work as a retailer helped introduce the highest professional design standards into our equipment for cooking with and eating with. It followed the trail led by Elizabeth David, introducing continental cuisine to the country, a development that today seems so natural. Beautifully and comprehensively illustrated, this book opens up the wonderful work of David Mellor to a wider audience.
The Design series is the winner of the Brand/Series Identity Category at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2009, judges said: “A series of books about design, they had to be good and these are. The branding is consistent, there is a good use of typography and the covers are superb.”
Also available: Claud Lovat Fraser ISBN: 9781851496631 GPO ISBN: 9781851495962 Peter Blake ISBN: 9781851496181 FHK Henrion ISBN: 9781851496327 David Gentleman ISBN: 9781851495955 E.McKnight Kauffer ISBN: 9781851495207 Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious ISBN: 9781851495009 El Lissitzky ISBN: 9781851496198 Festival of Britain 1951 ISBN: 9781851495337 Harold Curwen & Oliver Simon: Curwen Press ISBN: 9781851495719 Jan Le Witt and George Him ISBN: 9781851495665 Paul Nash and John Nash ISBN: 9781851495191 Rodchenko ISBN: 9781851495917 Abram Games ISBN: 9781851496778
Lewis Foreman Day (1845-1910) is one of the most neglected figures in late nineteenth-century design. In exploring Day’s dual career as an industrial designer of extraordinary range and versatility and a major writer and critic, this well-illustrated book restores his place among the influential figures of his time. Day’s relationships with colleagues William Morris, Walter Crane, W.A.S. Benson and others situated him in the vortex of developments of design in Britain. Design historian Joan Maria Hansen examines Day’s work as a prolific industrial designer whose mastery of pattern, colour, ornament and superb draughtsmanship resulted in tiles and art pottery, clocks and furniture, wallpapers, textiles, stained glass, and interiors of remarkable diversity and beauty. Day embraced modern technology. His views on the role of the designer for industry, along with his unshakable belief that a marriage of design and industrial processes was essential to produce beautiful furnishings for the majority of people, reveal him to be startlingly modern in his attitudes and practice in the changing world of industrial production. Today, collectors prize Lewis F. Day’s clocks, furniture, tiles and art pottery, and books – which he both wrote and designed – and reproductions of his patterns for wallpapers and textiles are enjoyed by enthusiasts. Day’s textbooks on design continue to influence designers, and his magazine journalism provides insightful and balanced commentary on developments in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century design. This book – the very first full treatment of this major figure – is the definitive reference on Day’s life and work and is an invaluable reference for collectors and dealers, decorative arts professionals, designers, business historians and enthusiasts of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century design.
Nineteenth-Century European Painting: From Barbizon to Belle Époque represents a comprehensive guide to the range of stylistically diverse genres of nineteenth-century European painting. Accessible and insightful, this exquisitely illustrated volume presents the historical context behind the century’s essential artistic movements including Romantic Painting, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Realist Painting, Academic Painting, and Impressionist Painting. Influenced by an overwhelming wave of political, military and social change, nineteenth-century Europe represented an era more diverse in painterly subjects and styles than any before it. Indeed, it was a period that saw many European painters moving away from the strictures of the academy system, choosing instead to use their training to develop new techniques and traditions. A collection of independent stories, this book also outlines the unique progression between the different movements, exciting and enlightening the reader about the most magnificent period of art the world has ever known. Contents: Foreword; Dr. Vern G. Swanson; Introduction; Author’s Note; STYLES: The Barbizon School; Romantic Painting; Orientalist Painting; The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Realist Painting; Academic Painting; Impressionist Painting; The Newlyn School; Post-Impressionist Painting; SUBJECTS: Landscape Painting; Venetian View Painting; Maritime Painting; Sporting Painting; Animal Painting; Genre Painting; Cardinal Painting; Costume Painting; British Neoclassical Revival Painting; Belle Époque Painting; Conclusion; Endnotes; Bibliography. Featured works from museums and collections including: Louvre, Paris, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Wallace Collection, London, Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, The Tate Gallery, London, The Schaeffer Collection, New South Wales, The Royal Collection, The Royal Academy of Arts, England, The Musée D Orsay Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Collection), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, England, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Stanhope Forbes, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, PA, USA, Paisnel Gallery, London, National Gallery, London, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museo e Gallerie Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, Museo de Arte, Ponte, Puerto Rico, Musée Marmottan, Paris, Musée D Orsay, Paris, Auguste Renoir, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among many others.
At the end of the nineteenth century numerous painters succumbed to the charms of the Orient. Travel to distant lands was easier, and artists brought back voluptuous images filled with sun and colour. The noted specialist Lynne Thornton has studied almost 150 painters, from Delacroix to Ziem. This stunning reference work features numerous lesser known masters and is an essential reference work for collectors. It is also a marvellous invitation to travel.
The work of the Norwegian artist Bård Breivik unfolds over more than 1,000 pages in a stunning presentation of a career in sculpture and Conceptual art encompassing more than forty years. Thematically arranged source material, including interviews, sketches, anecdotes and reviews, elucidate the phenomenon that is Bård Breivik. The sheer volume of his oeuvre is also reflected in his choice of materials: he switches as if by sleight of hand between sand and snow, wood, rock and steel. In a series that has continued to evolve since 1986, he has persisted in working on vertically arranged forms 120 cm in length, which have been designed with the means of differing cultural traditions, thus retaining their uniqueness. Volume I: I’d Love the Key to the Master Lock Volume II: The Life and Art of Bård Breivik
The work of the Norwegian artist Bård Breivik unfolds over more than 1,000 pages in a stunning presentation of a career in sculpture and Conceptual art encompassing more than forty years. Thematically arranged source material, including interviews, sketches, anecdotes and reviews, elucidate the phenomenon that is Bård Breivik. The sheer volume of his oeuvre is also reflected in his choice of materials: he switches as if by sleight of hand between sand and snow, wood, rock and steel. In a series that has continued to evolve since 1986, he has persisted in working on vertically arranged forms 120 cm in length, which have been designed with the means of differing cultural traditions, thus retaining their uniqueness. Volume I: I’d Love the Key to the Master Lock
Volume II: The Life and Art of Bård Breivik
Glass is a threshold material, serving as both a divider and an opening, for one can always see what is behind it. This is a unique phenomenon and it is confounding, as well as being alluring and enhancing, making the space breathe. Florian Lechner (b. 1938) has dedicated himself to this unique material. He explores its substance and formal possibilities through architectural works and sculptural objects. He also experiments with it in combination with the media of light, sound and movement. For him it is essential to forge his work single-handedly, because only unrestricted personal creative input and the development of one’s own, often innovative ways of working can ensure an authentic result. However, the concepts behind his works and their spiritual roots are always more important to him than the process of their creation. Intellectual significance defines Florian Lechner as an artist. He takes an intellectual and philosophically motivated approach, but the result is always a sensory experience and never dominated by dry theory.
Text in English & German.
A ‘vessel for living’ – such were the words Glenn Adamson used to describe this remarkable residence. Richard Meier designed the Grotta home to house Sandra and Louis Grotta’s collection of contemporary studio jewellery and significant works in wood, ceramic and fibre. The building was conceived around the collection, framing the objects within the open architecture, which comprises an equal blend of glass and concrete. Nature, visible from many vantage points, plays an essential supporting role. The Grotta Home by Richard Meier: A Marriage of Architecture and Craft is rich in photographs of the collection and provides impressive insights into this exceptionally personal project. The accompanying essays afford the reader a greater sense of how the Grottas have not simply acquired art, but have immersed themselves in it.
The present publication is an essential part of the narrative of Wayne Higby’s retrospective exhibition – focusing on the concept of the artist scholar – at ASU Art Museum, in Spring 2013. It documents his ceramic work with over 150 images of 50 seminal works and gives context to the story behind the artwork. Wayne Higby’s international reputation both as an artist, a scholar and teacher will be explored in the contributions to this book that includes a detailed chronology of Higby’s life and career as well as highlights and excerpts from his well known writings on ceramic art. Essays on the American Landscape and American landscape art as the inspiration behind Higby’s work as well as his important, influential explorations into contemporary vessel aesthetics are included along with an essay that chronicles his central role in the development of contemporary Chinese ceramic art. Additionally, Higby’s recent, dramatic, late career move to large architectural installations is explored in detail. Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Wayne Higby received a B.F.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, in 1966, and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1968. Since 1973, he has been on the faculty of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY. Wayne Higby is recognised as one of the most important and influential ceramic artists of the late 20th, early 21st, century. In particular, his work is celebrated for its innovative use of the language of landscape. Contents: Helen Williams Drutt – Foreword; Peter Held – Overview/Statement; Henry Saye – The American Landscape; Tanya Harrod – The Vessel in Contemporary Art; Ezra Shales –The Artistic Scholar; Mary McInnes – Architectural Work; Carla Coch – China Journal; Appendix; Chronology; Biography; Works in Public Collections; Bibliography; Artist Statements; Artist’s Acknowledgements.
Petra Zimmermann occupies a unique position among emerging contemporary jewellery artists: she shares their exciting approach to the subject of jewellery and the quotable adoption of the pop culture label for defining the auteur jewellery concept in which she succeeds, this time through historical reference. The artist draws on past encounters with costume jewellery from the previous century for her rings, bracelets and brooches. Comprised of bright, colourful synthetic forms, these objects receive a framework in which their artificial appearance contrasts to the dusty splendour of the historic costume jewellery. Beguiling pieces of jewellery emerge, which combine the present fascination for glamour with an element of progression, thus referencing the costume jewellery as an essential component in the production and construction of glamour in the portrait photography of the Hollywood diva. In her latest series of works, the artist uses mass media images of models, floral motifs, architecture and design objects which broaden her scope of cultural and social interpretations. Thus behind the visual opulence of her work, she succeeds in handling relevant aesthetic and social themes in her pieces; relevant for a generation that no longer struggles against traditional conventions, but that negotiates much more in an increasingly complex environment in the search for personal and historical coherence.
Petra Zimmermann is one of the most ambitious artists in contemporary jewellery. This book provides the first overview of her fascinating and exciting creative jewellery works with sumptuous images and scholarly articles.
Ulla and Martin Kaufmann have developed their aesthetic agenda together. The techniques used by gold and silversmiths are the focal point of their work and represent the basic thematic focus of their tableware, jewellery and cutlery. It rests on their exploratory approach to materials and the diverse possibilities it provides for expression. Ulla and Martin Kaufmann have been working in their own studio in Hildesheim for nearly forty years. The two artists have thus acquired unique skills over years of experience especially the knowledge of the properties of silver and gold, their materials of choice. This profound knowledge is an essential part of the indissoluble union of design and execution. The connotations are always dual: the form of objects stems from practical considerations; is, therefore, close to ideas of functional design. At the same time, individual expression born of the artists’ mastery of their craft and their exacting aesthetic standards surrounds these pieces with the aura of works of art. This book reveals the secrets and beauty of the stunning pieces made by Ulla and Martin Kaufmann. In showcasing these objects, it establishes their aesthetic permanence as timelessly practical works. Text in English & German.
Structural Packaging Art has it all wrapped up, literally! Presenting the most innovative and imaginative graphic designs and technical constructions using paper and cardboard to promote a range of products from snacks to stationery, to teabags and truffles. All are designed to create a unique identity and brand within a highly competitive consumer market, colourful and eye-catching, quirky and desirable these wrappings are about first impressions with the focus on presenting each item as a ‘gift’ to be purchased, then savoured and enjoyed as an essential feature of the whole product experience.
Today, well-designed spaces are essential for every company. They have an inside and an outside effect and create interaction between employees and customers. The better they feel, the more emotional the connection to the company and the brand can be. As a result, the importance of corporate interiors as a marketing tool is rapidly increasing. This book on the basics of corporate design shows the most important premises for the conception of interiors and gives a general overview of the topic with more than 100 examples. It contains detailed presentations including plans and projects in the following fields: retail/shop/stores, hotels/gastronomy/leisure/education, office and manufacturing. The book looks at both small and large companies.
Text in English and German.
In keeping with an editorial strategy that aims to bring to public attention all of the various groups of works belonging to the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, a book devoted to its drawings and watercolours has been published. Featuring texts by Manuela Fidalgo, who worked as a curator at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum until her retirement, this edition is the product of several years of thorough research underpinned by technical and scientific rigour and the involvement of several international experts in the art of drawing.
This publication therefore plays an essential part in raising awareness of one of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum’s least-well known collections, which includes works produced in the main centres of European art (France, Holland, Flanders, England and Italy) between the 16th and early 20th centuries by great masters such as Dürer, Watteau, Boucher, Turner and Sargent, among others. This book also gives us a clearer picture of Calouste Gulbenkian’s artistic sensibility as a collector: despite claiming not to be attracted to drawing, the beauty and quality of the works brought together here were such that he could not resist purchasing them.
Kifwebe masks are ceremonial objects used by the Songye and Luba societies (Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are worn with costumes consisting of a long robe and a long beard made of plant fibres. As in other central African cultures, the same mask can be used in either magical and religious or festive ceremonies. In order to understand Kifwebe masks, it is essential to consider them within the cosmogony of the python rainbow, metalworking in the forge, and other plant and animal signs. Among the Songye, benevolent female masks reveal what is hidden and balance white and red energy associated with two subsequent initiations, the bukishi. Aggressive male masks were originally involved in social control and had a kind of policing role, carried out in accordance with the instructions of village elders. These two male and female forces acted in a balanced way to reinforce harmony within the village. Among the Luba, the masked figures are also benevolent and appear at the new moon, their role being to enhance fertility. Although the male and female masks fulfil functions that do not wholly overlap, they do have features in common: a frontal crest, round and excessively protruding eyes, flaring nostrils, a cube-shaped mouth and lips, stripes, and colours. Art historians and anthropologists have taken increasing interest in Kifwebe masks in recent years.