Czech action art--a medium similar to performance art that does not require an audience--emerged out of the political and social turmoil of the 1960s. This movement has received little critical attention, however, as the Iron Curtain prevented its dissemination to an international audience. Here the[...]

In the London circles of Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Frederic Leighton, the notion of "art for art's sake" became a shared concern: if art is not created for the sake of preaching a moral lesson, or supporting a political cause, or making a fortune, or any other objective, what might art be? Art hist[...]

This self-teaching course instructs beginning and intermediate artists in methods for creating fantasy characters of all kinds, from the classic fairy princess, to witches, wizards, monsters, and aliens from outer space. As important as the fantasy characters themselves are the worlds where they liv[...]

Art mirrors life; life returns the favor. How could nineteenth and twentieth century technologies foster both the change in the world view generally called postmodernism and the development of new art forms? Scholar and curator Faye Ran shows how interactions of art and technology led to cultural ch[...]

Relax and rediscover two of the biggest artistic movements from the beginning of the 20th century Art Nouveau and Art Deco by colouring in 100 expertly drawn motifs and illustrations. Dating from the turn of the century, Art Nouveau is a celebration of the beauty and variety of nature and of the fem[...]

A two-sided photographic tour of the world of modern American burlesque and fetish includes in the first part a cultural history of burlesque complemented by the author's provocative tips on erotic fashion and sensuality, and in the second part a photographic celebration of fetish style.[...]

From the moment Europeans were introduced to the birds of paradise in the early sixteenth century, their unique beauty was recognized and commemorated in the first name that they were given - birds so beautiful they must be from paradise. Originally they were thought not to have legs and therefore n[...]

The Lost Art of War by Sun Tzu II (commonly known as Sun Bin) was unearthed in 1972 in an ancient Chinese tomb. Translated into English for the first time, this stunning discovery has been hailed as a worthy sequel to The Art of War. Packed with precise strategies and detailed tactics that can be ad[...]