"A shed is the shortest line between need and shelter," writes Howard Mansfield. Drawing on material from his recent book Dwelling in Possibility, Mansfield explores the different types of sheds found around New England and beyond: covered bridges, barns, worksheds, "worship sheds" (meeting houses), extended farmhouses, bob houses for ice fishing. In lyrical style and supported by photographs by Joanna Eldredge Morrissey, Mansfield shows the connection between the design of these structures and their roles in our lives. "Sheds are like our lives - not the grandest building or the most graceful. Sheds are ordinary - and in that they are exalted."Anyone who has ever traveled the back roads of America will enjoy this beautifully photographed exploration of simple, useful structures.

This book has been conceived from a series of speeches which took place during the Filmforum Festival of Udine and Gorizia whose main theme was the use of moving images in the space of contemporary art. The aim of this publication is to create a scientific framework of some of the most important artistic experiences: from the use of archive images to the newest participatory practices. The book consists of essays selected during the Filmforum Festival and the MAGIS International Film Studies Spring School and texts from invited researchers. It examines the ways in which the transient qualities of time have been used in contemporary moving images production and in their display.

An important and strikingly beautiful book about the sacred Hindu practice of threshold drawing!In the Hindu world-view, threshold is a profoundly important concept that represents a passage between one space and place and another, creating a visual bridge between the secular and the sacred. Accordingly, the literal threshold a person crosses when entering and exiting a home or business symbolizes the threshold one crosses between the physical and spiritual realms of existence. Hindus have long believed it is possible to affect a person's well-being by using diagrams to sanctify the "threshold space." The diagrams do so by "trapping" ill will, evil, bad luck, or negative energy within their colorful and elaborate configurations, thereby cleansing those who traverse the space and sending them on their way with renewed spirit, positive energy, and good luck and fortune.The creation of the threshold diagrams is steeped in Indian history and culture going back thousands of years. Practiced by women, it was long considered a vernacular art. But, as this pioneering book reveals, the diagrams represent highly sophisticated mathematical and cosmological underpinnings that have been handed down from one generation of women to the next. As India has modernized and rapidly become more urban, however, more Indian women have acquired more complicated lives, allowing less time to continue the practice of threshold drawing and relying, increasingly, on homogenized pattern books. And so a long-standing and critically important expression of Indian life, religion, and culture is becoming less common to the point the tradition is threatened.Across the Threshold of India reveals, the story of the threshold drawings for the first time, history of how the threshold drawings evolved, what they have meant and represent in Indian and Hindu culture, and how the practice became a high form of vernacular art for religious and everyday life. By combining her unforgettable photographs—most of which are in the permanent collection of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, the nation's foremost research center for Indian culture and art—with the most recent scholarship on the history and art of the threshold drawings, Martha A. Strawn has given the world a unique and enduring gift. Her book is a work of visual ecology that perceptively portrays one of India's and the world's longest and least-known religious practices—the art of sanctifying space through the creation of threshold diagrams.By presenting the most recent scholarship on the history and art of the threshold drawings and combining that engaging tale with her wonderful fine-art and documentary photographs, Martha Strawn has given the world a unique and enduring gift: a work of visual ecology that perceptively portrays one of India's and the world's longest and least-known religious practices: the art of sanctifying space through threshold drawings.

Art in England fills a void in the scholarship of both English and medieval art by offering the first single volume overview of artistic movements in Medieval and Early Renaissance England. Grounded in history and using the chronology of the reign of monarchs as a structure, it is contextual and comprehensive, revealing unobserved threads of continuity, patterns of intention and unique qualities that run through English art of the medieval millennium. By placing the English movement in a European context, this book brings to light many ingenious innovations that focused studies tend not to recognize and offers a fresh look at the movement as a whole. The media studied include architecture and related sculpture, both ecclesiastical and secular; tomb monuments; murals, panel paintings, altarpieces, and portraits; manuscript illuminations; textiles; and art by English artists and by foreign artists commissioned by English patrons.

The Work Beyond examines the extraordinary work of French-born artist Henri Barande. Edited by art critic David Galloway, the book contains stunning reproductions of Barande s sculptures and paintings, together with a collection of essays by Henri Claude Cousseau, Romaric Sulger Buel and Michel Weemans that explore Barande s artistic achievements. This extensive monograph is published on September 8th 2016 and coincides with an exhibition at Saatchi Gallery which opens on October 4th. Booth-Clibborn Editions have chosen to reflect the extraordinary breadth and sequential nature of Barande s work in the book design. Each of the 3,500 book covers, all based on Barande s paintings , will be unique and numbered.

The Christopher Small Reader is the fourth and final book in Christopher Small’s legacy as a composer, pianist, teacher, friend, provocateur, and influential outsider in classical music studies. It is at once a compendium of, a complement to, and an important addition to Small’s prior books: Musicking; Music, Society, Education; and Music of the Common Tongue. The Christopher Small Reader brings previously published work, some of it available in disparate locations, together with key excerpts from his three books, and other writings that remained unpublished at his passing in 2011, making available ideas that were not included in the earlier books and presenting an overview of his thought over the course of his life. The collection is a fitting capstone, providing rich insights into Small’s understanding of musicking as a crucial way of relating to the world.

This lively, lavishly illustrated volume presents rare decorative arts from Asia – all of exceptional quality – from ornate handled daggers and exquisite silver fi ligree boxes to diamond-studded jewels, magnifi cent embroidered silk and divination bowls bymaster craftsmen. The decorative arts of South and Southeast Asia, and especially those of the 18th and 19th centuries, and trade items produced during the same period, constitute a much neglected area. Such items, which in a Europeanized context tend to be labelled objets de vertu, are under-represented in public and private collections. While the decorative arts of later Western Europe and North America might be strongly represented, when it comes to South and Southeast Asia, there is a bias towards the ancient, thereligious and the sculptural. And yet the decorative arts of Asia of recent centuries is a more accessible and tangible fi eld for many. The relative attractiveness of more recent Asian decorative arts, for which provenance issues need not be so acute, grows as the movement of archaeological and other early material across international borders becomes evermore complex and problematic, be it for commercial or for exhibition purposes. Seeking to redress the balance, this volume presents objects of exceptional quality that are often incredibly rare – ranging from ornate handled daggers and exquisite silver fi ligree boxes to diamond-studded jewels and magnifi cent embroidered silk. Only some of these objects were made for religious reasons, and, though old, few are ancient. Instead, they are the product of cultural infl uences that have crossed borders, produced in the quest for beauty. The catalogue also includes a selection of items usually designated as ‘tribal’ art. Many of these have a decorative as much as a ritualistic component. Among the objects from Nigeria are a stunning 19th-century processional staff , topped with the figure of a queen, two museum-quality divination bowls carved by master craftsmen, and a striking and possibly unique fi ve-headed dance costume. Most have been sourced from old UK and European collections, and most are likely to have been collected during the colonial era. This is important. Overwhelmingly, most ‘tribal’ art items available commercially today are reproduction pieces and have no place inserious collections. Michael Backman is widely published on Asian culture, art and politics. He is the author of six books that cover all aspects of Asia. His Asian Eclipse was named by The Economist among its ‘Books of the Year’ and appeared on several bestseller lists. His gallery in central London specializes in works of art from India, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, the Islamic World, and Colonial and Tribal art. The gallery sells to museums and important private collections across the world.

Exceptional colour photographs of the mid-twentieth-century motels of Wildwood, New Jersey, USA, the largest concentration of the exuberant architectural style sometimes known as 'doo wop' complete with neon signs and plastic palms. The images in this book are the result of a ten-year project by Mark Havens to capture the essence of these vanishing treasures. A number of the motels were photographed at the end of their last season, just prior to demolition. The images are accompanied by essays from Joseph Giovanni and Jamer Hunt.

There was a time when museums might have been regarded as rather forbidding and austere centres of learning, but today they are more likely to position themselves firmly within the tourism and leisure industry with all manner of food, fun and familyentertainment on offer. A high-profile museum brand often relies on a fast-changing menu of temporary exhibitions with an attractive programme of activities, cleverly marketed to ever-growing numbers of visitors. Many of these changes have been positive and beneficial but they have not been without risk to the central purpose of museums as repositories for collections that are looked after, researched anddisplayed with knowledge and sensitivity. The permanent collection should be the heart and soul of any museum. Nurtured and developed with intelligence, a collection can be an endless source of surprise and delight as well as a focus of local and national pride. The museum in this view is a setting for sustained encounters with objects and works of art, somewhere to be visited and revisited over the courseof a lifetime, a place that helps to bind communities, with collections that are cared for and shared as a reminder of the past and a source of inspiration for the present. The process of acquiring works for public collections is rarely easy in any setting. In the face of escalating prices on the art market and diminishing public funds it is all too easy for complacency and apathy to settle upon the museum community. But the task of building collections of national or local importance is never finished. It should not be about casual ‘shopping’ or satisfying the whims of museum directors or sponsors. It is about building a heritage that is richer, more complete and more relevant for future generations; with every successful acquisition, a museum’s collection gains in strength and character. The volume is dedicated to Peter Hecht, the great champion of public art collections, who throughout his career has worked to show us why museums matter and how their collections, large or small, national or local, can make a profound difference to the lives of those who use them. We hope that it will bring people the world over to realise the importance of collecting for the public, locally, nationally and internationally, and to acknowledge and encourage the role of private individuals, associations and institutions, as well as public bodies, in this vital endeavour.

For five consecutive years Dublin-based photojournalists Tomasz Bereska and Tomasz Szustek have travelled to Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday to take photographic portraits of some of the 20,000+ pilgrims who climb the ‘Holy Mountain’, focusing on the incredible diversity and different backgrounds of the participants. In Atlantic Tabor they present 60 stunning colour portraits of the pilgrims, plus an additional 60 atmospheric B&W photos that add to the story. To complement the beautiful images, the photographers invited Dr Patrick Claffey, Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department for Study of Religions and Theology at Trinity College Dublin to contribute to the project. Dr Claffey provides a brilliant analysis of pilgrimage phenomena in general terms worldwide, as well as more detailed exploration of Croagh Patrick in particular. He explains how pilgrimages were once primarily sacred but increasingly have become secular; he lists many of the holy mountains of the world and their associated pilgrimages; he describes the myths, prehistory and early history associated with Croagh Patrick; he defines the role ‘the Reek’ has played over the centuries in Connaught Catholicism; and he shows in detail the various paths one can take to climb Croagh Patrick and what to expect at the summit.

Created to accompany the 2016 exhibition at Osborne Samuel Gallery, Modern British Art includes notable new acquisitions: a fine early Ben Nicholson; a collection of important etchings by Lucian Freud; early works by Henry Moore and Lyn Chadwick (shown for the first time); and rare pictures by Peter Lanyon and Alfred Wallis from a private collection. The exhibition was particularly strong in post war sculpture, focussing on the group of artists who came to fame at the Venice Biennales of 1952 and 1956. It includes work by Kenneth Armitage, Prunella Clough, Paul Feiler, Barbara Hepworth, and Peter Kinley.

For five decades, no American filmmaker has been as prolific -- or as paradoxical -- as Woody Allen. From Play It Again, Sam (1972) to Midnight in Paris (2011) and Blue Jasmine (2013), Allen has produced an average of one film a year; yet in many of these movies Allen reveals a progressively skeptical attitude toward both the value of art and the cultural contributions of artists.In this second edition Peter J. Bailey extends his classic study to consider Allen's work during the twenty-first century. He illuminates how the director's decision to leave New York to shoot in European cities such as London, Paris, Rome, and Barcelona has affected his craft. He also explores Allen's shift toward younger actors and interprets the evolving critical reaction to his films -- authoritatively demonstrating why the director's lifelong project of moviemaking remains endlessly deserving of careful attention.

First published to accompany a group exhibition at Piano Nobile, Aspects of Post-War Abstraction 1952-2002, this fully colour illustrated catalogue showcases seminal works of abstract art produced in Britain over the course of five decades. The publication features the work of internationally renowned artists including Terry Frost, William Scott, William Turnbull, Joe Tilson, William Crozier, Jack Smith, John Golding, William Pye, Anthony Caro, John Hoyland, Bridget Riley, and Anish Kapoor. Lavishly illustrated throughout, the catalogue presents exceptional paintings and sculptures, created by artists in dialogue with contemporaries and predecessors in Britain, and diverse international centres of abstraction. Highlighting pivotal artistic moments of transition and transformation in abstraction over the course of a half century, the catalogue presents an innovative vision of the international contribution of post-war British abstract art.

In recent years, the film industry in the People's Republic of China has found itself among the top three most prolific in the world. When the Chinese government introduced a new revenue-sharing system in 1994, the nation's total movie output skyrocketed with gross box-office receipts totaling billions of yuan. This newfound success, however, has been built on an alternately competitive and collaborative relationship between the ascendant global power of China and the popular culture juggernaut of America. In China's Encounter with Global Hollywood, Wendy Su examines the intertwining relationships among the Chinese state, global Hollywood, and the Chinese film industry while analyzing the causes and consequences of the rapid growth of the nation's domestic film production. She demonstrates how the Chinese state has consolidated power by negotiating foreign interest in the lucrative Chinese market while advancing its cultural industries. Su also reveals how mainland Chinese and Hong Kong filmmakers have navigated the often-incompatible requirements of marketization and state censorship.This timely analysis demonstrates how China has cannily used global capital to modernize its own film industry and now stands poised to step clear of Hollywood's shadow. The country's debates -- on- and offscreen -- over cultural change, market-based economic reforms, and artistic freedom illuminate China's ongoing efforts to build a modern national identity.

This is the first book devoted to the studio musicians who were central to Jamaica’s popular-music explosion. With colour portraits and interview excerpts, over 100 musical pioneers—such as Prince Buster, Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and many of Bob Marley’s early musical collaborators—provide new insights into the birth of Jamaican popular music in the recording studios of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Includes a listening guide of selected songs. A wonderful read aloud for K-3rd grade, this uplifting story is recommended for nature and science centres, children’s museums, and school and public libraries to support science and social studies sections. Author lives in Massachusetts and Missouri.

This catalogue was produced to accompany the exhibition at the Osborne Samuel Gallery from 9 May to 4 June, 2016. The exhibition was curated specifically to show diversity, originality and technical expertise, and the accompanying catalogue is laid out in various sections to give an approximate chronological order to the development of printmaking in Britain in the 20th Century. A Radical View conveys the modernist thread that flows through British printmaking from the revolutionary Vorticist prints of the early 1900s, through the two wars, the inter-war period and to the beginning of the print boom of the early 1960s. These prints are radically different to their late 19th century and early 20th century predecessors.