In examining the diverse functions and types of portraits, study the important elements of facial presentation and the subject's position and gaze with relation to the viewer and the pictorial space. See how Rembrandt added dramatic power to his group "corporation" portraits, and how David carefully rendered Napoleon in symbolic terms.

The richness of signs (signifiers) in art includes the use of symbols, icons, and indexes as they reveal layers of meaning. See how, in different historical eras, symbolic associations change over time, how icons visually represent a subject, and how indexes exhibit direct connections with the thing signified.

Discusses whether the brutal imagery present in reality and entertainment will shock society into a less alienated state and help create a just social order or whether focusing on representations of cruelty makes society more cruel.

Bary Avrich's documentary lifts the curtain on the provocative contemporary art scene, a glamorous and cutthroat game of genius versus commerce. Go behind the scenes to discover how art is created, exhibited, and sold around the globe. Featuring insider accounts from the most influential and powerful players in the industry, audiences will hear from renowned artists such as Julian Schnabel and Marina Abramovic, experts from prominent museums like...

"The Supermodel and the Brillo Box follows Don Thompson's bestseller The $12 Million Stuffed Shark and offers a further journey of discovery into what the Crash of 2008 did to the art market, and the changing methods that the major auction houses and dealerships have implemented since then. It describes what happened to that market after the economic implosion following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and offers insights and art-world tales from dealers,...

"When a boy notices the new girl collecting litter on their walks home, he wants to know why. She shows him the mural she's created that reminds her of the home she left behind. They both find how wonderful it is to make a new friend"--

From Mount Fuji to the temples of Kyoto, "Japan Journeys" offers a unique perspective on the country's most famous travel destinations. Art historian Andreas Marks has gathered together approximately two hundred Japanese woodblock prints depicting scenic spots and cultural icons that still delight visitors today. Many of the prints are by masters such as Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, and Utagawa Kunisada, and currently hang in prestigious galleries...

A brilliant book by a Nobel Prize winner, "The Age of Insight" takes readers to Vienna in 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind--our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions--and how mind and brain relate to art.