San Antonio College Library

On museum visits, we pass by beautiful, well-preserved vases from ancient Greece-but how often do we understand what the images on them depict? In Image and Myth, Luca Giuliani tells the stories behind the pictures, exploring how artists of antiquity had to determine which motifs or historical and mythic events to use to tell an underlying story while also keeping in mind the tastes and expectations of paying clients. Covering the range of Greek style...

"What is art? Why does it matter to us? What does it tell us about ourselves? Normally, we look to works of art in order to answer these fundamental questions. But what if the objects themselves are not what matter? in 'Strange Tools: Art and Human nature, ' the philosopher and cognitive scientist Alva Noë, art argues that our obsession with works of art has gotten in the way of understanding how art works on us. For Noë, art isn't a phenomenon...

"From humans' first impulses to create form out of raw materials to the most modern of gallery installations, people around the world have always been drawn to image-making. Styles and periods have come and gone, and yet intriguing links between seemingly unconnected traditions remain to be discovered. The author uses a wide range of objects - both familiar and less well known - to reveal how part is a product of our shared experience; how, like a...

"As its teachings spread from the Indian subcontinent in all directions across Asia, Buddhism influenced every culture it touched--from Afghanistan to Korea, from Mongolia to Java. Buddhist art is a radiant reflection of the encounter of the Buddha's teachings with the diverse civilizations that came under their sway. It is also an intriguing visual record of the evolution of Buddhist practice and philosophy over a period of more than two millennia....

A collection of the author's essays from the New York Times and the magazine Horizon.

"A new type of Jewish art emerged in Late Antiquity, when artists produced visual depictions that had not existed earlier within a Jewish context--figural images (including pagan motifs), biblical scenes, and religious symbols. Visual Judaism locates this phenomenon in the wider context of Late Antiquity, revealing new insights into the role of visual culture in Jewish society, in which individual communities determined what forms of artistic expression...

From ancient Germany's "Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel" to James Turrell's 1995 photograph "Roden Crater," chronologically presents one thousand examples of art from different countries, cultures, and civilizations and discusses what makes each piece both unique and representative.

"Discover the secret symbols and meaning behind 62 featured paintings in this unique volume. Ranging from Giotto's 14th-century painting of the Last Judgment to the 19th-century symbolist Gustave Moreau's depiction of Jupiter and Semele, each work has been selected for its own symbolic enigma. This book's innovative design pairs each painting with a page of die-cut windows that help the reader focus on specific aspects of each painting and features...

"For the fifth edition of his internationally renowned The Arts of China, Michael Sullivan has thoroughly revised and expanded every chapter of this classic history of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present day. This new edition reflects the latest archaeological discoveries, pays greater attention to the art of calligraphy, provides more information on Chan (Zen) art, and takes a close look at contemporary art. New images have been...