Photographs are used as documents, records and evidence every day in courtrooms and hospitals, on passports and driving licences. But how did photographs come to be established and accepted, what sort of agencies and institutions have the power to enforce this status and, more generally, what concept of photographic representation is entailed and what are its consequences?
Bursting with practical techniques, engaging artist profiles and inspirational galleries, Drawing and Painting combines an authoritative ‘category killer’ approach with a contemporary aesthetic guaranteed to appeal to all artists.
The act of drawing has long been considered the foundation of an artistic education, and the life class essential to the formation of an artists style and technique. Yet in the contemporary art world drawing is increasingly regarded as a medium in its own right, and the figure as a subject for ongoing exploration well beyond the sketchbook.
Far more than being about a single artwork, this book participates in the myriad conversations and debates on the meaning of public art. The essays prise open critical questions about public space in Johannesburg; Oliver Barstow’s interviews with the various collaborators on the sculpture reveal the complexities and challenges of creating such a massive work in so short a time; and the images by John Hodgkiss of the making of the sculpture, alongside two photo essays suggest the metaphorical power of Fire Walker as well as the fragile hold of street vendors over their small share of city space.
Graffiti World, now updated, is the most comprehensive and bestselling survey of graffiti art ever published. The original collection of more than 2,000 illustrations by over 150 artists around the world is joined by a new section devoted to work created in the five years since the book’s first edition.
Impressionist painting is now so popular and familiar that we struggle to see it as shocking or avant-garde, yet it originally caused uproar and controversy which continued into the 20th century
First published in 1964, Indaba, My Children is an internationally acclaimed collection of African folk tales that chart the story of African tribal life since the time of the Phoenicians. It is these stories that have shaped Africa as we know it.
Balance, iron smelting and optical illusions: A recent encounter with master typographer and award winning graphic designer Jan Erasmus showed me that constructing a typeface is an art in its own right
Here, Trotsky emerges as a brilliant and brilliantly flawed man. Rubenstein offers us a Trotsky who is mentally acute and impatient with others, one of the finest students of contemporary politics who refused to engage in the nitty-gritty of party organization in the 1920s, when Stalin was maneuvering, inexorably, toward Trotsky’s own political oblivion.
Anyone who uses Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for image management, editing, and workflow knows it is great software, and it has only gotten better with each new version. But there comes a time in every Lightroom user’s life when they want to do something…and they just can’t do it. While Lightroom covers the vast majority of a photographer’s needs–many say it covers roughly 80% of a professional imaging workflow–it just can’t do everything a shooter needs to put the final touches on a great image.
Memling, Van Eyck, Antonello da Messina, Raphael, Holbein, Titian, Leonardo . . . these are the greatest names of the Renaissance which symbolize the ultimate in artistic achievement.
A fascination with the primitive lies at the heart of some of the most influential developments in Western art produced between 1890 and 1950 – a time that witnessed both the heroic period of modern art and the decline of Western colonial power. This work is an overview of this period.
Adam Habib, the most prominent and outspoken university official through the recent student protests, takes a characteristically frank view of the past three years on South Africa’s campuses in this new book. This book is both an attempt at a historical account and a thoughtful reflection on the issues the protests kicked up, from the perspective not only of a high-ranking member of university management, but also Habib as political scientist with a background as an activist during the struggle against apartheid.
Following the success of 2005’s groundbreaking book and exhibition “reGeneration: 50 Photographers of Tomorrow 2005-2025,” “reGeneration 2: Tomorrow’s Photographers Today” turns the spotlight yet again on the next generation of photography’s potential stars. Through over 200 images, this remarkable survey–the only anthology of its kind–showcases the inspiring creativity and ingenuity of 80 up-and-coming photographic artists.