Art & Architecture Guide: eBooks

Featuring quirky illustrations and easily digestible information, this book is a compilation of 100 things you need to know about art.

A crash course in designing and constructing buildings Too often, textbooks turn the noteworthy details of architecture into tedious discourse that would put even Frank Gehry to sleep. Architecture 101 cuts out the boring explanations, and instead provides a hands-on lesson that keeps you engaged as you explore the world's greatest structures. Featuring only the most important facts, building styles, and architects, you'll enjoy uncovering the remarkable world of architecture with this book. Inside, you'll also find fascinating elements like: Illustrations of popular building styles, such as Georgian and Greek Revival Drawings of the essential parts of different buildings Unique profiles of the most inspirational figures in architecture From Norman Foster and Frank Lloyd Wright to the Beauvais Cathedral and the Empire State Building, Architecture 101 is packed with hundreds of entertaining architecture tidbits that you can't get anywhere else!

Here, from Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Paul Goldberger, is the first full-fledged critical biography of Frank Gehry, undoubtedly the most famous architect of our time. Goldberger follows Gehry from his humble origins-the son of working-class Jewish immigrants in Toronto-to the heights of his extraordinary career. He explores Gehry's relationship to Los Angeles, a city that welcomed outsider artists and profoundly shaped him in his formative years. He surveys the full range of his work, from the Bilbao Guggenheim to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in L.A. to the architect's own home in Santa Monica, which galvanized his neighbors and astonished the world. He analyzes his carefully crafted persona, in which an amiable surface masks a driving ambition. And he discusses his use of technology, not just to change the way a building looks, but to revolutionize the very practice of the field. Comprehensive and incisive, Building Art is a sweeping view of a singular artist-and an essential story of architecture's modern era.

Being creative takes courage. It can be scary to create something. Before you can even work on your craft, you have to face down the fear of messing up or looking silly, the perfectionism that keeps you from even starting, and the negative voices inside your head that say you don't have anything valuable to offer. Well, you dohave something to offer! Being creative is a right, and in this book, National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr will help you get started. Her advice and encouragement are paired with exercises to help you face down your fears, let go of expectations, stop comparing yourself to others, and make your art with courage. A perfect gift for anyone who wants to be creative but doesn't know where to start, or for people who've been doing creativity for a while but want more inspiration, Courageous Creativitywill empower readers to express themselves with self-confidence, bravery, and joy.

Creative block presents the most crippling--and unfortunately universal--challenge for artists. No longer! This chunky blockbuster of a book is chock-full of solutions for overcoming all manner of artistic impediment. The blogger behind The Jealous Curator interviews 50 successful international artists working in different mediums and mines their insights on how to conquer self-doubt, stay motivated, and get new ideas to flow. Each artist offers a tried-and-true exercise--from road trips to 30-day challenges to cataloging the medicine cabinet-- that will kick-start the creative process. Abundantly visual with more than 300 images showcasing these artists' resulting work, Creative Block is a vital ally to students, artists, and creative professionals.

What good are the arts? Why should we care about the past? For millennia, humanity has sought to understand and transmit to future generations not just the "know-how" of life, but the "know-why"--the meaning and purpose of our existence, as expressed in art, architecture, religion, and philosophy. This crucial passing down of knowledge has required the radical integration of insights from the past and from other cultures. In Culture, acclaimed author, professor, and public intellectual Martin Puchner takes us on a breakneck tour through pivotal moments in world history, providing a global introduction to the arts and humanities in one engaging volume.

100 Buildings and Architectural Forms (Draw Like an Artist) shows readers step by step how to draw a global survey of culturally significant buildings and their details, from ancient to modern.

Hilarious childhood biographies and full-color illustrations reveal how Leonardo da Vinci, Beatrix Potter, Keith Haring, and other great artists in history coped with regular-kid problems. Every great artist started out as a kid. Forget the awards, the sold-out museum exhibitions, and the timeless masterpieces. When the world's most celebrated artists were growing up, they had regular-kid problems just like you.Jackson Pollock'sfamily moved constantly-he lived in eight different cities before he was sixteen years old.Georgia O'Keeffelived in the shadow of her "perfect" older brother Francis. AndJean-Michel Basquiattriumphed over poverty to become one of the world's most influential artists. Kid Artiststells their stories and more with full-color cartoon illustrations on nearly every page. Other subjects includeClaude Monet,Jacob Lawrence,Leonardo da Vinci,Vincentvan Gogh,Pablo Picasso,Frida Kahlo,Beatrix Potter,Yoko Ono,Dr. Seuss,Emily Carr,Keith Haring,Charles Schulz, andLouise Nevelson.

Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition is a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary encyclopedia, now with fully updated and expanded with 75 new entries to present a total of 200 laws, guidelines, and considerations that are important to successful design. Richly illustrated and easy to navigate, this essential design guide pairs clear explanations of every design concept with visual examples of the ideas applied in practice.

Many of us think of the arts as entertainment--a luxury of some kind. In Your Brain on Art, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross show how activities from painting and dancing to expressive writing, architecture, and more are essential to our lives. We're on the verge of a cultural shift in which the arts can deliver potent, accessible, and proven solutions for the well-being of everyone. Magsamen and Ross offer compelling research that shows how engaging in an art project for as little as forty-five minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol, no matter your skill level, and just one art experience per month can extend your life by ten years. They expand our understanding of how playing music builds cognitive skills and enhances learning; the vibrations of a tuning fork create sound waves to counteract stress; virtual reality can provide cutting-edge therapeutic benefit; and interactive exhibits dissolve the boundaries between art and viewers, engaging all of our senses and strengthening memory. Doctors have even been prescribing museum visits to address loneliness, dementia, and many other physical and mental health concerns. Your Brain on Art is a portal into this new understanding about how the arts and aesthetics can help us transform traditional medicine, build healthier communities, and mend an aching planet. Featuring conversations with artists such as David Byrne, Renée Fleming, and evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, Your Brain On Art is an authoritative guide to neuroaesthetics. The book weaves a tapestry of breakthrough research, insights from multidisciplinary pioneers, and compelling stories from people who are using the arts to enhance their lives.