Friday, 5 June 2015

Fresh in from the Book Shop


While magazines such as Spin and The Face have disappeared from newsstands and mailboxes, there has been an explosion of independent, creatively led magazines that are currently shaping the future of print. Non-traditional periodicals with names like Boneshaker, Lucky Peach, Anorak, WRAP and Kinfolk are taking their places on shelves and coffee tables everywhere. Print is Dead. Long Live Print is an eye-opening look into the fascinating field of independent print journalism, showcasing over 50 examples of innovative magazines from around the globe. The book divides the magazines into genres, including art and culture, travel, sports and style. Each periodical is represented by selected spreads and newly commissioned photography, along with a brief introductory text. Interviews with editors, art directors and founders from each magazine offer background information as well as insight into why they decided to start their publications and the challenges they face. A directory at the back lists dozens more magazines worth investigating. This paean to the printed word is filled with creativity and innovation as well as hope for the future of print media.

 

Digital technology now mediates much of our interaction with the world, and a vast majority of the images that we absorb daily come through a screen. The digital comes with its own aesthetic framework that cannot help but colour our experience of the world, and change our expectations of the objects that surround us. As the digital becomes ever more pervasive however, there is also a return to physical experiences that technology cannot satisfy. This is true across sectors, from immersive theatre to vinyl records, and although digital will undoubtedly dominate our future, there are pockets of resistance. This book will look at contemporary artisans who are deeply influenced by the digital world in which we live, but who reject processes such as 3D printing as a final output. Inspired by the internet and a screen-based aesthetic, they choose to craft things by hand, rendering a postdigital mindset in tactile materials, such as metal, glass and wood. It represents a return to the physical in the digital age.

 

Bursting with practical techniques, engaging artist profiles and inspirational galleries, Drawing & Painting combines an authoritative category killer approach with a contemporary aesthetic guaranteed to appeal to all artists. The books up-to-date approach is a far cry from the dry instructions and dated artwork that feature in more traditional art books. In contrast to other, largely project-orientated titles, Drawing & Painting places the emphasis on the techniques themselves, encompassing drawing, sketching and a range of painting styles. Covering everything from pen and ink to oils and acrylics, specially commissioned photography and artwork accompanies step-by-step techniques, while profiles of contemporary artists provide insight into various working methods, materials and techniques. Acknowledging the growing interest in digital tools as a medium, information is provided throughout the book on how effects can be created using Smart Pens, tablets and apps.




For centuries, China's export arts-jade, silks, porcelains, and, more recently, cinema-have fueled Western fantasies of an exotic East and served as enduring sources of inspiration for fashion. This stunning publication explores the influence of Chinese aesthetics on designers, including Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen, and Yves Saint Laurent. Drawing upon Chinese decorative arts, cinema, and costume-notably imperial court robes, the close-fitting cheongsam, and the unisex Mao suit-their designs are fantastical pastiches of anachronistic motifs. As in the game of "telephone," the process of cultural translation transforms the source material into ingeniously original fashions that are products solely of the designers' imaginations. In a similar way, contemporary Chinese film directors render fanciful, highly stylized evocations of various epochs in China's history-demonstrating that China's imagery is equally seductive to artists in the East and further inspiring today's designers. Juxtaposing modern fashions and film stills with their forebears in fine and decorative arts and historical dress, this book reveals the rich and ongoing creative dialogue between East and West, past and present.

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