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Books : Arts & Photography : History & Criticism : Regional : Canadian
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The fascinating new book by the author of Brunelleschi’s Dome and Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling: a saga of artistic rivalry and cultural upheaval in the decade leading to the birth of Impressionism.
If there were two men who were absolutely central to artistic life in France in the second half of the nineteenth century, they were Edouard Manet and Ernest Meissonier. While the former has been labelled the “Father of Impressionism” and is today a household name, the latter has sunk into obscurity. It is difficult now to believe that in 1864, when this story begins, it was Meissonier who was considered the greatest French artist alive and who received astronomical sums for his work, while Manet was derided for his messy paintings of ordinary people and had great difficulty getting any of his work accepted at the all-important annual Paris Salon.
Manet and Meissonier were the Mozart and Salieri of their day, one a dangerous challenge to the establishment, the other beloved by rulers and the public alike for his painstakingly meticulous oil paintings of historical subjects. Out of the fascinating story of their parallel careers, Ross King creates a lens through which to view the political tensions that dogged Louis-Napoleon during the Second Empire, his ignominious downfall, and the bloody Paris Commune of 1871. At the same time, King paints a wonderfully detailed and vivid portrait of life in an era of radical social change: on the streets of Paris, at the new seaside resorts of Boulogne and Trouville, and at the race courses and picnic spots where the new bourgeoisie relaxed. When Manet painted Dejeuner sur l’herbe or Olympia, he shocked not only with his casual brushstrokes (described by some as applied by a ‘floor mop’) but with his subject matter: top-hatted white-collar workers (and their mistresses) were not considered suitable subjects for ‘Art’. Ross King shows how, benign as they might seem today, these paintings changed the course of history. The struggle between Meissonier and Manet to see their paintings achieve pride of place at the Salon was not just about artistic competitiveness, it was about how to see the world.
Full of fantastic tidbits of information (such as the use of carrier pigeons and hot-air balloons during the siege of Paris), and a colourful cast of characters that includes Baudelaire, Courbet, and Zola, with walk-on parts for Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cezanne, The Judgment of Paris casts new light on the birth of Impressionism and takes us to the heart of a time in which the modern French identity was being forged.
From the Hardcover edition.
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A fascinating exploration of the historical and cultural development of the French language from the bestselling authors of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong.
Imagine a language that is watched over by a group of forty “Immortals,” a language with rules so complex that few people ever completely master it, whose status as the world’s lingua franca has been declining for two centuries, whose use in global institutions is waning and whose speakers are so insecure they pass laws banning the use of other languages and spend millions of tax-payers’ dollars to make sure it gets used in literature, music and film. Now imagine a language that is second only to English for the number of countries where it is spoken officially, surpassing both Spanish or Arabic, a language that is the official tongue of two G-7 countries and three European nations, that is employed alongside English in most international institutions and that is the number-two choice of language students across the planet – a language with two million teachers and 100 million students worldwide, and whose number of speakers has tripled in the last fifty years.
This paradox is the backdrop for The Story of French, in which bilingual Canadian authors Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow unravel the mysteries of a language that has maintained its global influence in spite of the ascendancy of English. Mixing historical analysis with journalistic observation, and drawing on their experiences living in and travelling to French-speaking countries, they explore how the French language developed over the centuries, how it came to be spoken in the Americas, Africa and Asia, and how it has maintained its global appeal.
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A compact edition of an award-winning best-seller -- more affordable than the celebrated original, but otherwise identical.
At a critical time in Canada's history, the Group of Seven revolutionized the country's appreciation of itself by celebrating Canada as a wild and beautiful land. These paintings of the wilderness evoke the same response in viewers today as they did when first exhibited.
The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson includes many never -- before reproduced paintings and presents the most complete and extensive collection of these artists' works ever published. The 400 paintings and drawings reveal the remarkable genius of all 10 painters who at some point were part of the movement. Tom Thomson, who died before the Group was established, was always present in the public mind. Included are works by:
- Frank Carmichael
- Frank Johnston
- A.J. Casson
- Arthur Lismer
- Le Moine FitzGerald
- I.E.H. MacDonald
- Lawren Harris
- Tom Thomson
- Edwin Holgate
- F.H. Varley
- A.Y. Jackson
The artwork is organized by the various regions of Canada, with additional sections on the war years and still-life paintings. Introductory essays provide a context for a greater understanding and appreciation of Canada's most celebrated artists.
(20061202)
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Paul Watson was born with his right hand missing. To defy people's expectations, he becomes an avid war journalist, traveling to the most dangerous places on earth and staying long after it was wise or safe to do so. Then, with the click of a camera shutter, Watson's life changes forever.As one of the last remaining journalists in Somalia, hehears that a Blackhawk has been shot down over Mogadishu,and that a mob is dragging the body of a U.S. soldier through the streets. Watson risks his life to infiltrate the mob and snap the photo that garners him the Pulitzer Prize. But as the accolades pour in and Watson travels to other troubled areas of the world, he can think only of the damage he has done—to Sergeant Cleveland’s family, whose last image of their son would always be the battered, dusty corpse Watson had photographed; and, he fears, to the spread of terrorism, with the worldwide spectacle his photo created from that barbarity.From the jungles of Rwanda to the ruined streets of Somalia to the craggy mountains of Afghanistan, this intimate portrayal of war from the front lines is raw and deeply human, a tale for our time.
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Jeff Wall is foremost among the artists who since the late 1960s have brought photography to the forefront of contemporary art. This revised and expanded edition of the definitive monograph on the Canadian artist, first published in 1996, includes a new fully illustrated essay on Wall's recent work by the French historian of art and photography Jean-François Chevrier, in addition to the artist's recent writings. Describing himself as 'a painter of modern life', Wall produces huge transparencies mounted onto light boxes which diffuse a brilliant glow through his photographs of contemporary urban scenes and 'constructed' social situations. These images employ the latest technology to create tableaux which are evocative of subjects ranging from Hollywood cinema to nineteenth-century history painting. When installed they evoke both the seduction of the cinema screen and the physical presence of minimalist sculptures. Wall engages at a sophisticated level with theories of representation both as an artist and as a theoretical writer on contemporary art and culture. Major surveys of his work have been presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (1995); the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris (1995); the Whitechapel Art Gallery, London (1996), and the Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal (1999).
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Originally published in 1981, The Art of Robert Bateman was the first of many best-selling books by the internationally acclaimed wildlife artist and naturalist. In this twenty-fifth-anniversary edition, Bateman's exquisitely rendered paintings, accompanied by the artist's recollections and observations, are presented in a stunning new volume for art lovers and nature lovers alike to enjoy.
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This completely updated and expanded guide to tiki culture in North America and abroad lists, describes, and reviews every known tiki bar, Polynesian restaurant, and other site of interest to fans of “Polynesian Pop.” From tiki godfathers such as Edgar Leeteg and Don the Beachcomber to contemporary tiki artists like Shag and Bosko, this resource covers all things tiki in prose that is witty, entertaining, and essential for anyone who has ever stepped up to a bar, glanced up at the pufferfish hanging from the ceiling, and ordered a Singapore Sling. An expanded offering of recipes for classic cocktails, a larger glossary of tiki terms, and more resources for buying tiki goods and artifacts are included in this revised edition. Reminiscences of famous points of interest that have closed are provided for the completist, for historical perspective, and for those seeking information on the current status of a favorite tiki site.
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The Prodigal Tongue takes a look at the wild, wacky and sometimes baffling road our language–English and others–is taking in its evolution. Where in the world will it end up?!
Mark Abley, author of Spoken Here, has created an entertaining and informative exploration of the way that languages–English, Japanese, French, Arabic and other major tongues–are likely to transform and be transformed by their speakers during the twenty-first century. Grammar and vocabulary are just the beginning; more importantly, this book is about people.
In places like Los Angeles, Tokyo, Singapore and Oxford, Abley encounters hip-hop performers and dictionary makers, bloggers and translators, novelists and therapists. He talks to a married couple who were passionately corresponding online before they met in “meatspace.” And he listens to teenagers, puzzling out the words they coin in chatrooms and virtual worlds. Everywhere he goes, he asks what the future is likely to hold for the ways we communicate.
Abley balances a traditional concern for honesty and accuracy in language with an untraditional delight in newly minted expressions. Lively, evocative, passionate and playful, this is a book for everyone who cherishes the words we use.
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Now running into its tenth season, South Park has still not “jumped the shark”. Satirically edgier than The Simpsons, South Park responds immediately to cultural controversies: four days after Saddam Hussein’s capture an episode lampooned it, and the show has no fear in tackling subjects like Terri Schiavo, The Passion of The Christ, and Michael Jackson, while co-opting disparate elements such as Kill Bill and Janet Jackson’s nipple into one episode. Its mixture of iconoclasm, cultural referents, and intertextuality makes it the perfect lens through which to examine contemporary popular culture in America – and television’s role in the creation of that culture.Blame Canada! is a smart, readable book that will appeal to the show’s many fans as much as to scholars and researchers of contemporary television.
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The role of art in the rise of totalitarian ideologies is the focus of an international group of scholars and curators whose goal - unlike other publications on the period - is not to expose the ties between art and power, but to go to the heart of that power : biology. By focusing on the period s fascination with biology, they compare two impacted areas: the arts, where the idea of metamorphosis produced an aesthetic revival; and politics, where the struggle to bring about a eugenic and racist renewal had unprecedented consequences for society. Highlighting the enormous stylistic diversity and sociopolitical complexity of the times, this thematically-driven publication takes the form of a story in nine episodes. The complexity is reflected in the works of the artists who dealt with dramatic upheavals according to their personal convictions, fears, hopes or disappointments. Richly illustrated with works by, notably, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, August Sander, Alexander Rodchenko, Lisette Model, Jean Arp, Jackson Pollock, Walker Evans and Diego Rivera
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The core of this powerful assemblage is an exploration of the extraordinary achievement of Haida art, as art. Interwoven throughout the text and the finely reproduced images is a skillful intermingling of key themes: the defining myths of origins; the structures of ownership and privilege; the relationship of the people to the land; the influence of the early master-carvers; the monumental achievements of Charles Edenshaw, Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, and many others; the Haida and colonialism; and hybrid tendencies in contemporary Haida art. From oral histories and genealogies to the breakout aesthetics of contemporary Haida work in many media, this book celebrates a great art in a contemporary context.
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A bestseller in Canada, this book will fascinate the legions of devoted readers of Anne of Green Gables and Montgomery's other Anne books.
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) kept extensive journals for most of her life, beginning them in 1889 when she was fourteen and continuing them until shortly before her death. Spontaneous and frank, they are unusual for their narrative interest: Montgomery's gifts as a storyteller are as much in evidence here as in her novels. This first volume takes her to 1910, the year before her marriage, and culminates with the publication of Anne of Green Gables.
The autobiographical content will intrigue every dedicated fan of the Anne books. But the Mongomery journals are especially interesting because they provide a unique social history and the privelege of viewing closely the life of a remarkable woman.
About the Author:
Mary Rubio is Literary Adviser to the Estate of L.M. Montgomery and is preparing the authorized biography. Elizabeth Waterston is Professor of English at the University of Guelph. Together they edit CCL: Canadian Children's Literature: A Journal of Criticism and Review
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Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874?1927) is considered by many to be the first American dadaist as well as the mother of dada. An innovator in poetic form and an early creator of junk sculpture, "the Baroness" was best known for her sexually charged, often controversial performances. Some thought her merely crazed, others thought her a genius. The editor Margaret Anderson called her "perhaps the only figure of our generation who deserves the epithet extraordinary." Yet despite her great notoriety and influence, until recently her story and work have been little known outside the circle of modernist scholars.
In Baroness Elsa, Irene Gammel traces the extraordinary life and work of this daring woman, viewing her in the context of female dada and the historical battles fought by women in the early twentieth century. Striding through the streets of Berlin, Munich, New York, and Paris wearing such adornments as a tomato-soup can bra, teaspoon earrings, and black lipstick, the Baroness erased the boundaries between life and art, between the everyday and the outrageous, between the creative and the dangerous. Her art objects were precursors to dada objects of the teens and twenties, her sound and visual poetry were far more daring than those of the male modernists of her time, and her performances prefigured feminist body art and performance art by nearly half a century.
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Neil Young is an icon, plain and simple. The Words and Music of Neil Young follows the evolution of Young's musical work from the late 1960s to the present, with special focus on the enduring elements that have made his music successful. Neil Young cannot be simply labeled. He has recorded as a solo artist, as a member of a hard rock trio, and with numerous other musician configurations. He can move from the soft sounds of early 1970s acoustic folk to the distorted, fuzz guitar sound of Crazy Horse, while his compositions have responded to musical trends from punk rock to grunge, and to social issues like racism, the Vietnam War, and war in Iraq as well. Individual chapters cover Young's musical output album by album, and song by song--from his debut work with Buffalo Springfield, to his time with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, to his solo work within various genres and for various causes (some political, but all artistic). In his conclusion, author Ken Bielen sums up Neil Young's accomplishments and places his work in the context of contemporary culture. A discography and bibliography round out the work.
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Known as the father of Russian Futurism, David Burliuk is one of the least understood of 20th century avant-garde artists. The dispersal of his paintings over three continents and his evolutive style have made it difficult to assess his place in Modernist art history. Due to unprecedented access to a major private collection, this publication marks the first North American survey of his career in over 40 years. Accompanied by numerous colour plates, three essays provide an overview of Burliuk s early years where he, along with poet Vladimir Maiakovsky, established the first Futurist group. We follow his travels through Siberia and Japan and to his eventual settling in the United States in the 1920s. Here he developed the painting style known as Radio-Modernism, a synthesis of Futurism, Expressionism and a fascination with technology.