/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.15332478]

What are some good art books?

Pic not completely related, I have not read it.

[Anonymous No.15332557]

>>15332478
>what are some good books about an entire sphere of creativity
you'll have to be a bit more specific anon
however, something by kenneth clarke would be a good starting point

[Anonymous No.15332689]

>>15332557
The kind of art book you'd put on your coffee table or keep on your bookshelf for when you want to look at some art.

[Anonymous No.15332736]

>>15332689
in that case anon you need something published by Taschen

[Anonymous No.15332863]

I'll hijack this thread to ask about books about art review, which talk about the history of paintings and artists and the cultural context etc
Mainly interested in 19th-20th century painting but will read anything good

[Anonymous No.15333158]

>>15332863
at what level?
try pic related as a starter. it's a coffee table book but it's surprisingly interesting
then look at more specific books about individual artists or movements

[Anonymous No.15334173]

>>15332478
Phaidon's a great house for art books, why not check out the catalog? Pic related (from a shelf if mine).

[Anonymous No.15334192]

>>15332478

[Anonymous No.15334351]

"Story of Art" by Ernst Gombrich is a good starting point in my opinion. He takes a historic approach by starting with primitive European and African art and showing the later developments of approaches to creating art. Youll get an understanding of why artists moved into different directions and an overview of the most important artists of each movement.

[Anonymous No.15334796]

>>15334351
Based

[Anonymous No.15335139]

>>15332478
Vibrant Vixens by Hajime Sorayama

[Anonymous No.15335299]

the best books (asides from the ones you like the most) are usually on some niche subject/topic, or at least covers only a single artist; otherwise the book loses focus and becomes quite a mess.

OP's book is fine but you'll be pretty lost by reading it: its not intended to be read from front tto cover in a single sitting, and its quite the definition of a coffee table book (not that there's inherently anything bad about that)

[Anonymous No.15335312]

>>15335299
point being is that there wouldn't be much of a "canon list" of art books, unless you are academic like that. if that's the case, then art since 1900 is pretty much the gold standard

[Anonymous No.15335327]

Only buy books about specific artists, collections or exhibitions.

[Anonymous No.15335333]

>>15332478
Good content? Good quality? What you mean anon?

[Anonymous No.15335348]

>>15332863
buy bundled art reviews.
like Naked Emperors: Criticisms of English Contemporary Art by Brian Sewell

[Anonymous No.15336579]

>>15332478
if you want a good doorstopper pic related is the essential work of the october school of criticism. it's written by year and each singles out a key artist, movement, or event. entries are also heavily cross-referenced with each other, so it's possible to take a hypertext-esque path through the book

[Anonymous No.15336608]

pic related was a very pleasing read and a great portrait of one the last great bohemians. lived a wild life, too

[Anonymous No.15336629]

a series of interviews conducted over the course of a decade or two with damien hirst. the book that sold me on him, i had no idea prior how rigorous his approach actually was

[Anonymous No.15337106]

>>15332478

That's actually a great start anon. Everything in that series is great, I have five of them.

>>15335327

Decent advice but not universally true, the OP book is a good counterexample of a survey done right.

[Anonymous No.15337162]

>>15337106
its a series? what other books in that exist?

>Decent advice but not universally true, the OP book is a good counterexample of a survey done right.
its near universal though, even single-artist focused texts are usually poorly done unless 1. its focused on a specific era/aspect of a major artist 2. a very niche artist; the academic study of art is one of the worst things ever: your book is likely bad if there is more text than pictures, but yes there are /rare/ exceptions

[Anonymous No.15337229]

>>15337162

About 20 years ago, Phaidon put out a series of "The _________ book" volumes, on various areas of the (visual) arts. The books follow a uniform format: 500 representative examples, with the page dominated by a large reproduction (let the art do the talking). Then if you want there's a few tiny sentences of basic info and interpretation, and "links" to related art/artists in the same book. The focus is typically standard western art, leaning toward modernism, with the odd eastern thing sprinkled in. Installments:

The Art Book
The 20th Century Art Book
The American Art Book
The Photo(graphy) Book
The Movie Book

There's maybe 4-5 others I don't have, including

The Fashion Book
The Garden Book
The House(?) Book

etc.

[Anonymous No.15337336]

>>15337229
its always nice to have books like those, but i think its more interesting to have relatively in-depth ones. it's very well known in the right circles, but Cinema as a Subversive Art is pretty canon/awesome for cult-ish movies

[Anonymous No.15337466]

>>15332736
>Taschen