Art Instruction

The 20th Century Art Book was hailed upon its release as an exciting celebration of the myriad forms assumed by art over the last century. Complementing the phenomenally successful landmark, Art Book, and most recently The American Art Book, it presents a new and original way of bringing art alive. The new mini edition has all the visual energy and compelling insights of the original but in a lightweight and highly portable format, making it ideal both for dipping into and for using as a serious sourcebook.

Covering the truly international nature of the modern art scene, The 20th Century Art Book encompasses established and iconic works of art and the classics of the future. 500 artists are juxtaposed in alphabetical order, each represented by a full-page colour plate of a definitive work accompanied by an incisive text that sheds light on both image and creator.

This book is above all perfectly easy to use. There are cross-references help the reader make connections between artists, a jargon-free glossary of artistic terms and movements, and an international directory of museums and galleries lists the works on view to the public. Ideal for those approaching the subject for the first time, it is a fun and inviting look at the ever-expanding boundaries of art.

The metabolism of travel changed more in the last century than in the previous half-millennium, a stunning transformation triggered by American wanderlust. In less than 100 years, the U.S. mass-produced the automobile, invented airplanes, freeways, motels, even sent men to the Moon. Travel grew ever faster and easier. Above all, it was democratized -- enabling millions to explore distant lands, or see their own more fully.

At the start of the 20th century, only people with extensive disposable income and time to spare could enjoy leisure travel. By the century's end, journeys took hours, not days, and mass travel -- especially brief air flights -- became the new normal. Along the way, ocean liners broke speed records, aerodynamic trains roared down the tracks, stylish boat-plane clippers evolved into jumbo jets. Whether aboard high-speed locomotives or ships, jets or Greyhound buses -- or when setting their own schedule on the open road -- Americans demanded ever greater mobility and wider choice of destinations, thereby setting a new standard for travelers around the world.

A lush visual history of this national wanderlust, this volume features 400-plus print advertisements from the Jim Heimann Collection, which illustrate the evolution of leisure travel -- from domestic to global, exclusive to popular, exotic to standardized -- and its crucial role in American culture.

With an introduction, decade-by-decade analysis, and an illustrated timeline, this book highlights the cultural and technological developments that transformed travel from a cushioned journey of the elite into a convenient leisure pastime for the general public. 20th Century Travel takes us on a grand tour of travel's golden age.

The best-selling author of Seven Days in the Art World now tells the story of the artists themselves--how they move through the world, command credibility, and create iconic works.

33 Artists in 3 Acts offers unprecedented access to a dazzling range of artists, from international superstars to unheralded art teachers. Sarah Thornton's beautifully paced, fly-on-the-wall narratives include visits with Ai Weiwei before and after his imprisonment and Jeff Koons as he woos new customers in London, Frankfurt, and Abu Dhabi. Thornton meets Yayoi Kusama in her studio around the corner from the Tokyo asylum that she calls home. She snoops in Cindy Sherman's closet, hears about Andrea Fraser's psychotherapist, and spends quality time with Laurie Simmons, Carroll Dunham, and their daughters Lena and Grace.

Through these intimate scenes, 33 Artists in 3 Acts explores what it means to be a real artist in the real world. Divided into three cinematic acts--politics, kinship, and craft--it investigates artists' psyches, personas, politics, and social networks. Witnessing their crises and triumphs, Thornton turns a wry, analytical eye on their different answers to the question What is an artist?

33 Artists in 3 Acts reveals the habits and attributes of successful artists, offering insight into the way these driven and inventive people play their game. In a time when more and more artists oversee the production of their work, rather than make it themselves, Thornton shows how an artist's radical vision and personal confidence can create audiences for their work, and examines the elevated role that artists occupy as essential figures in our culture.