Looking Modern

"Looking Modern: East Asian Visual Culture from Treaty Ports to World War II examines multiple dimensions of visual modernity in East Asia from the nineteenth century through the early decades of the twentieth. The papers were drawn from two symposia held at the Center for the Art of East Asia in the Department of Art History, the University of Chicago, which brought out important themes in East Asian Art and visual culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries including photography, cinema, and fashion, changing roles of women, commercialization of art, and the impact of Western cultures. They undertook a broad interpretation of visual modernity to include visual dimensions of human endeavor traditionally seen as outside of artistic production in order to encourage exploration of new and understudied materials across disciplinary boundaries. This volume not only provides important background in the growth of modern visual culture in East Asia, but also is a collection of seminal research on specific topics that have a broad impact upon present-day visual arts of China and Japan." -- Publisher's description

Every kind of exploration is touched in some way by a philosophy of persons; touched and often vitally enhanced. This collection sets out to mine this rich seam of influence, bringing together authors keen to strike new developments and applications. Together, they have put their philosophy of persons to work in fields as wide-ranging as the moral and the metaphysical, the practical and the political, the cultural and the cosmological. In doing so, they have drawn on and illustrated the depth and breadth of modern Personalist thought, demonstrating its crucial relevance to debates across the entire philosophical spectrum. Whether they are familiar with the Personalist tradition or no, readers from every corner of the philosophical world will find much here to challenge and stimulate them. Most importantly, they will find a new and badly needed philosophical perspective.

A fascinating exploration of how photography, graphic design, and popular magazines converged to transform American visual culture at mid-century This dynamic study examines the intersection of modernist photography and American commercial graphic design between 1930 and 1960. Avant-garde strategies in photography and design reached the United States via European émigrés, including Bauhaus artists forced out of Nazi Germany. The unmistakable aesthetic made popular by such magazines as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue—whose art directors, Alexey Brodovitch and Alexander Liberman, were both immigrants and accomplished photographers—emerged from a distinctly American combination of innovation, inclusiveness, and pragmatism. Beautifully illustrated with more than 150 revolutionary photographs, layouts, and cover designs, Modern Look considers the connections and mutual influences of such designers and photographers as Richard Avedon, Lillian Bassman, Herbert Bayer, Robert Frank, Lisette Model, Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, Cipe Pineles, and Paul Rand. Essays draw a lineage from European experimental design to innovative work in American magazine design at mid-century and offer insights into the role of gender in fashion photography and political activism in the mass media.

This companion text to the author's Learning to Look at Paintings addresses some of the questions most commonly asked about modern art, covering key movements of the modern and postmodern periods in a richly illustrated and engaging volume.

A veteran art critic helps us make sense of modern and contemporary art The landscape of contemporary art has changed dramatically during the last hundred years: from Malevich's 1915 painting of a single black square and Duchamp's 1917 signed porcelain urinal to Jackson Pollock's midcentury "drip" paintings; Chris Burden's "Shoot" (1971), in which the artist was voluntarily shot in the arm with a rifle; Urs Fischer's "You" (2007), a giant hole dug in the floor of a New York gallery; and the conceptual and performance art of today's Ai Weiwei and Marina Abramovic. The shifts have left the art-viewing public (understandably) perplexed. In The Art of Looking, renowned art critic Lance Esplund demonstrates that works of modern and contemporary art are not as indecipherable as they might seem. With patience, insight, and wit, Esplund guides us through the last century of art and empowers us to approach and appreciate it with new eyes. Eager to democratize genres that can feel inaccessible, Esplund encourages viewers to trust their own taste, guts, and common sense. The Art of Looking will open the eyes of viewers who think that recent art is obtuse, nonsensical, and irrelevant, as well as the eyes of those who believe that the art of the past has nothing to say to our present.

Modern Indian History, particularly the Indian National Movement, has been one of the essential parts of UPSC Civil Services Examination and other competitive examinations conducted by Union Public Service Commission and State Public Service Commission. This book is written in lucid language, covering the timeline from 1707 to the modern times. A special feature of the book is that it mentions not only factual data about various topics but also gives information about different interpretations put forward by Western and Indian historians, with an integrated analysis. This makes the book equally useful for undergraduate students of History.

It is one of the bestselling books on Modern Indian History covering the time line from 1707 to the modern times. The book covers the entire gamut in a very unique style- it mentions not only factual data about various topics but also provides information about different interpretations put forth by Western and Indian historians, with an integrated analysis. This makes the book equally useful for undergraduate students of History and aspirants appearing for various competitive examinations

This is a fiction book about biblical icons who come back to earth in order to listen to and judge their supporters. Jesus comes back and faces Moses and Aaron. For Christians, Jesus is the symbol of purity and deity. For Jews, Moses is the prophet who produced the laws for all humanity. Moses is considered in the book of Genesis to be the humblest of all men. While Moses, Jesus, Paul, and Aaron are having a serious talk, a heated debate is taking place here on earth among Bible lovers and objective scholars. Community leaders organize conferences in several towns around the country and invite spiritual leaders, scientists, and anthropologists to discuss the concept of creation versus evolution. In the fictive world of our biblical icons, more and more historic figures appear and join the circle of discussion and debate about the original biblical laws and how some laws have been changed throughout history. It is being exciting. Back on earth, a friendly but frank dialogue on the Judeo-Christian relations takes place. Rabbis, men of church, and scientists vent their opinions about the sour and happy moments, which took place during the last 2,000 years, between Jews and Christians. Efforts are made between both parties to clear several myths, which separated the two camps throughout history. While the above is taking place, Moses, Jesus, and the others are invisible to the audience. The readers of this project are led to realize that, after a painful and historic confrontation between our biblical icons, a somewhat positive and constructive bridge has been formed. Their mutual understanding is based on the biblical commandments, which are accepted by both religions. Several doubts have been cleared. The multiple conferences between humans ended up establishing a long list of findings, thus enabling a constructive rapprochement between both religions. It was concluded that, despite some differences, both religions could live comfortably with each other within mutual respect and mutual tolerance.