On July 21, 1969, the first man set foot on The Moon. When Neil Armstrong was asked if this made him feel big, he answered: “No, it made me feel really, really small.” 50 years later, this publication celebrates that special moment that put life on earth into a totally different perspective. It collects pictures of the world’s best photographers from the 1840s until today. Next to historical photographs and imagery printed in media, the publication features many artists that each in their own way reflect on this mystical celestial body, we call ‘moon’. The book shows the diversity of meanings of The Moon, it’s relation to mankind and to nature. The Moon has always both attracted and scared people around the world. It is our everyday connection to the unfathomable universe. Since time immemorial it is revered for its beauty, its stillness and mysterious appearance and yet also feared for its supernatural-seeming qualities. In mythology The Moon has always been given a central place. With its magnetic forces it changes the tides and has a direct and uncontrollable impact on mankind from above. In 1840, barely three years after the invention of photography, J.W. Draper makes the first picture ever made of The Moon and since that day photographers have never stopped following his example. The paradoxical aspects of the moon continue to fascinate and inspire. Like a photograph The Moon depends on sunlight to be visible. It has no light of its own and no apparent strength to resist our nightly city lights either. Photographers feel this close connection to The Moon’s characteristics and find the perfect object in its aesthetics. The landing on The Moon was a culmination point of the1960’s Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, which quickly became a symbol of the Cold War. The images of the landing became the bearer of values and symbols of the United States and were widely spread through various media. In 1973 NASA abolished its moon program. The Moon had been conquered and the public seemed to have had lost interest. However, today people still find The Moon fascinating, and humanity continues to dream about setting foot on the sun’s shadow.

“An excellent resource for educating and inspiring young minds on the subjects of architecture, engineering, and the built environment” – Architect’s Toy Box

Aimed at young, enquiring minds, An Igloo on the Moon explores how and why we build. Beginning with the igloo, whose origins are lost in time, and culminating in the latest 3D-printing technology for lunar habitation, the book weaves together themes and ideas to create an unfolding visual story. Illustrated with a sequence of extraordinary collages, specially created by artist Adrian Buckley, the book ranges through history and across continents. Underlying the narrative is an awareness of environmental issues and the need to reconnect with sustainable patterns of building. It is a book to engage the next generation of architects – and their parents and teachers. The title has won the DAM Architectural Book Award 2015 and was exhibited in Frankfurt.

“Thank you for your beautiful book it reminds us what architecture is about!” Renzo Piano

“In the beginning, there was tagging and writing on the walls.” From Style Writing to Art is the first anthology of Street Art ever published worldwide. Magda Danysz, the internationally renowned Street Art gallerist, guides the reader on this immersive journey into the heart of the most interesting artistic movement at the turn of the century. This book grapples with Style Writing, Graffiti, and Street Art. It focuses on the fascinating emergence of the movement amongst the graffiti pioneers of the 1960s, their first appearance in galleries in the 1980s, right up to the cutting-edge works made by the Street Artists of today. Spanning over four decades, the book is divided into three sections with each containing detailed accounts of the surfacing of different styles and techniques. Each period is complete with extensive biographies and analysis covering 50 legendary artists including Seen, JR, Miss Van, JonOne, Shepard Fairey, Quik, Blade, Doze Green, and Keith Haring. “Let me repeat myself,” Danysz writes, “if only for the sceptic eye, for the blind and lost or for the latecomers who ve simply just missed the boat: I believe this type of urban art to be the most important artistic movement at the turn of the century.”

This important exploration of Chinese mythology focuses on the diverse and evocative associations between women and water in the literature of the T’ang dynasty, as well as in the enormous classical canon it inherited. By extension, it peers from medieval China back into the mists of ancient days, when snake queens, river goddesses, and dragon ladies ruled over the vast seas, great river courses, and heavenly sources of water, deities who had to be placated by shaman intercessors chanting hymns lost even by the T’ang. As with his other notable works, Professor Schafer’s meticulous researches into the material culture of the past, coupled with a delightful writing style, allow us to better appreciate the literature of the T’ang by clarifying important contemporaneous symbols of fertility, mutability, and power, including the wondrous and ubiquitous dragon.

From the author of the best-selling Famous Japanese Swordsmen: The Warring States comes more solid sword history in the guise of thrilling narrative. The Two Courts Period was a turning point in Japan’s medieval era – a time when an unbridgeable rift appeared in the fragile fabric of Japanese feudal society. On each side stood a separate imperial court, each with its own army and its own agenda. As the schism deepened and the positions hardened, every warrior faced the terrible choice between loyalty and friendship. Two such men were Nennami Okuyama Jion and Chûjô Hyôgo no Kami Nagahide. Jion, an impoverished warrior monk who had lost his father through the treachery of a Bakufu official, joined the side of the loyalists, the forces fighting on behalf of the Southern Court. Nagahide, whose ancestors had stood at the cradle of feudal society and had risen to high rank within the Bakufu, was bound by duty to the Northern Court. Their stories, set against the greater historical backdrop of ruthless political intrigue and vast military campaigns, tell of loyalty, of betrayal, and of seemingly insurmountable setbacks; they describe the tragedy of civil war experienced at the personal level.

Christian Reister’s black-and-white photographs capture the surreal, threatening and ethereal character of Berlin at night. As an insider, the German photographer scans the city for unstaged, unexpected moments and seeks out the strange night-time energy of a place and its people. See Berlin as it comes alive after dark and get lost in the underground scene of Europe’s most exciting city for alternative nightlife.

One of the lesser-known though nevertheless brilliant members of British photography Paul Trevor has an impressive collection of documentary photos of this iconic corner of London. Brick Lane is, perhaps, one of the most photographed streets in the East End, yet these elegant black and whites taken in the 70s, 80s and 90s capture a lost era full of surprise, joy and humanity. This is street photography in the very best tradition of Cartier Bresson.

Award-winning photographer Peter Zelewski has spent years capturing the faces and stories of identical twins. Some inexplicably lost their hearing at the exact same time, others unlock each others’ phones with their indistinguishable fingerprints, but perhaps more surprisingly, some don’t get on. Appearing alongside personal quotes, these arresting portraits tap into one of the most fascinating of all human relationships.

A remarkable private collection formed over the last thirty years is the focus of this richly illustrated book that introduces the reader to English silver spanning a century and a half from a little before the Tudor age (1485-1603) to the threshold of the Civil War (1642-51). This was a period when England changed out of all recognition. At the beginning it was still essentially a medieval country dominated by an autocratic king and a rich and powerful Church; by the end of the period the Church had lost virtually all of its power and, with the execution of Charles I in 1649, the monarchy itself was abolished. To a degree, this changing world is mirrored in the styles represented by the silver featuring in the collection. Besides setting the silver against its social and historical background the book examines the wide range of techniques used by silversmiths at the time to shape and adorn silver objects.

Be NY is an original city guide about the most intriguing city in the world, and also a manual that quickly and simply teaches you how to be a New Yorker. Discover together with Patrick van Rosendaal the life, preferences and habits of 24 colorful New Yorkers. They happily share their experiences and give you a unique look, from a different perspective, on life in the city. What are their favorite places to enjoy art, culture or tasty food? Where do they go for some peace and quiet, or to have a good time? Which bars do they frequent, and where should you go for the best cup of coffee? Which museums are trendy, and which galleries are up and coming? Where can you find the best deals, and which shops are absolute musts? Patrick’s stories, knowledge and tips are the ultimate preparation for your adventure in The Big Apple.

The career of Y.G. Srimati – classical singer, musician, dancer and painter – represents a continuum in which each of these skills and experiences merged, influencing and pollinating each other.

Born in Mysore in 1926, Srimati was part of the generation much influenced by the rediscovery of a classical Sanskrit legacy devoted to the visual arts. Soon swept up in the nationalist movement for an independent India, she was deeply moved by the time she spent with Mahatma Gandhi. For the young Srimati, the explicit referencing of the past and of religious subjects came together in an unparalleled way, driven by the conscious striving for an indigenous agenda. This experience gave form and meaning to her art, and largely defined her style.

As John Guy demonstrates in this sumptuous volume, as a painter of the mid and late twentieth century, Y.G. Srimati embodied a traditionalist position, steadfast in her vision of an Indian style, one which resonated with those who knew India best.

On 22nd February 2015, Syed Haider Raza turns 93. Widely acknowledged as a master of modern Indian art, for nearly six decades his work, vision and life have attracted critical attention from various points of view. Raza returned to India, his home country, after spending 60 years in France and now lives in Delhi and continues to paint.

Raza has created nearly 50 new paintings in past six months. Raza’s art has been analysed, explored and evaluated in many books and continues to evoke new responses, also because he is still painting significantly and passionately. Collectors of his paintings exist worldwide.

This fresh collection of essays offers new insights into the artistic career and life of a truly dynamic visionary of our times.

The DVD accompanying this volume is an invaluable recording of Raza creating his collection Aarambh. Thus, this fresh perspective on his art is enriched by the knowledge of how that art came to be.

Contents: Foreword; The Cartographer of Lost Continents; The Isolation of All the Forces that Comprise Art; Almost a Love Poem; The Innovation of Consciousness; The Seed and the Tree: The Creative Process; The Topographer; Ideas and Claims on Identity; Celebrations and Prayer; Cosmographs of Modern Life.

Calum Colvin is one of Scotland’s most innovative and exciting contemporary photographers. In his work he creates a kaleidoscope of figures, symbols and ideas, which are blended into the most vibrant and stimulating images. With this project, Colvin has explored the mysterious world of Ossian. Ossian, a third century Celtic bard, was first discovered by James MacPherson, himself a poet but also a cultural entrepreneur and an adventurer. MacPherson published the ballads of Ossian in the years after 1760. These mournful elegies to the lost world of the Gael became a cause celebre in Enlightenment society. On the one hand, MacPherson was hailed as the discoverer and translator of a “Celtic Homer”, while on the other, he was accused by Samuel Johnson, of having perpetrated a cruel fraud on the public. While this dispute rumbled on, the poems of Ossian became feted throughout Europe and America and touched the art of poets, writers and composers such as Burns, Goethe, Longfellow and Mendelssohn. Colvin has taken these events as the basis for his surreal meditation on contemporary culture. Through the ideas and associations inspired by MacPherson’s Ossian, he has produced a discourse on national identity, “authenticity” and the human psyche. It is characteristic of Colvin that he has successfully explored these difficult themes while simultaneously creating accessible, provocative photographs.

The book features about 60 paintings mostly on handmade paper and some on silk. Executed in Bikaner style, the works have clearly been impacted by Mughal traditions, particularly in terms of the detailed anatomical depiction, and the richness of the palette. There is an impressive collection in the art track of ascetics, priests, sufi saints, sadhus, maulvis, and pilgrims each lost in their meditative trance, as the artist observed them during his sojourns to Khumbh or at Ganga Sagar Math or at the famous holy Dargah shrine at Ajmer, the sketches made on site were developed into paintings later in the studio. Images of Radha and Krishna, inspired by Geet Govind, Hanuman along with Ganesha also appears in various other incarnations. The repertoire also encompasses 24 distinct avatars or godly incarnations based on studies of Bhagwat Puran.

The Artscape of Mahaveer Swami brings alive the richness in the art tradition of Bikaner, inspired by his religious and artistic upbringing, along with his rigorous training.

Contents: Preface -Martin Gurvich; Mode and Material; The Artscape of Mahaveer Swami: Reliving the tradition of Bikaner art -Sushma K. Bah; The Art of Bikaner-Geet Govinda; Sadhus; Avatars Hanuman; Asta Ganesha; Spiritual India; Biography of Mahaveer Swami.

This work is the first full-length narration of the extraordinary life, immense literary output, manifold philosophical perspectives of Kumarajiva and his development of a new translation methodology. All his works, both extant and lost, are detailed. The author discusses at length Kumarajiva’s texts that became the foundation of sects and philosophical systems in East Asia. Around a hundred illustrations of murals and scrolls vividly portray the ambience of Kucha, Kumarajiva’s homeland. The book also includes a write-up by President Daisaku Ikeda, whose devotion to the unparalleled monk-translator adds to the deep understanding of the mind and message of Kumarajiva. President Ikeda discusses Kumarajiva’s new systematiZation of terminology to bring greater clarity to Buddhist thought and practice. Contents:
Foreword Preface Life and works of Kumarajiva Kumarajiva and his translation activities Kumarajiva’s biography in the Kao-seng-chuan of Hui-chiao AD-519 Biography of Sêng Jui Endnotes Chinese text of the life of Kumarajiva Index

Hidden away in the remote village of Lepakshi in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, merely a couple of hours’ drive from Bengaluru, is one of the most spectacular Vijayanagara temples. Unlike so many other religious monuments of the period that have suffered disfiguring additions, or have lost their original carvings and ceiling paintings, that at Lepakshi dedicated to Virabhadra, a fierce emanation of Shiva, is miraculously intact. Its architecture, sculptures and paintings showcase the finest artistic achievements in southern India during the first half of the sixteenth century. While the remarkable qualities of Lepakshi have long been recognized, particularly its unique series of ceiling paintings, this volume is the first to provide the temple with a comprehensive description. It is authored by three eminent scholars: George Michell, who has focused on Vijayanagara temple architecture; Anna L. Dallapiccola, who has extensively researched the sculptural and painting traditions of southern India; and Brigitte Khan Majlis, an expert on Indian textile designs and techniques. In addition to newly prepared architectural plans of the monument, the volume is illustrated with more than 250 specially commissioned photographs of the temple’s exterior and interior by Surendra Kumar. Contents: Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction – Anna L. Dallapiccola and George Michell; Architecture and Sculpture – George Michell; A Note on Game Boards – John M. Fritz; Ceiling Paintings – Anna L. Dallapiccola; Costumes and Textiles in the Paintings – Brigitte Khan Majlis; Bibliography; Glossary; Definitions of Textile Terms; Index of Indian Names.

In interpreting the philosophy and message of Rabindranath Tagore, the book interprets the Indian ideal of philosophy, religion, and art, of which his work is the outcome and expression. It is not known whether it is Rabindranath’s own heart or the heart of India that is beating here. In his work, India finds the lost word she was seeking. The familiar truths of Indian philosophy and religion, the value of which it has become fashionable to belittle even in the land of their birth, are here handled with such rare reverence and deep feeling that they seem to be almost new. Dr Radhakrishnan’s acquaintance with the soul of India, from which Rabindranath draws his inspiration, has helped him in this expository work.

Contents: Introduction; Preface to First Edition; Chapter 1-The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore-I; Chapter II -The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore-II; Chapter III – Poetry and Philosophy; Chapter IV -The Message of Rabindranath Tagore to India; Chapter V -The Message of Rabindranath Tagore to the World.

Mural Art – Studies in Paintings in Asia is a collection of 10 articles by the best scholars on murals in Afghanistan, China, Tibet, Burma, Thailand and Mongolia – from the 5th to the 18th century. Covering diverse issues including preservation and digital reconstruction of lost murals, this important new book provides information with challenging perspectives based on the latest findings and research. It also reveals murals never before published, recently rediscovered and endangered. This unique publication on murals in Asia counts as a precious testimony of a fragile and inspiring heritage.

This stunning black and white photographic book takes us on a journey through the forgotten backstreets and hidden neighborhoods of Bangkok revealing the fragile beauty and faded charm of the city that is about to disappear forever beneath a tidal wave of development.

From the splendid Old Customs House perched on the banks of the Chao Phraya river to the vibrant communities of Chinatown and sleepy canals lost in time, it evokes a city that despite successive waves of modernization still boasts an extraordinarily rich and diverse cultural heritage.

This catalog assembles sumptuous photographs of the world’s leading collection of Cham sculpture, along with the most recent insights of Vietnamese and international scholars. The Champa culture thrived in magnificent temples, sculpture, dance and music along the central and southern coast of today’s Vietnam from the 5th to the 18th century. A focused exploration here uncovers this brilliant yet almost lost culture to newcomers and experts alike. The Danang Museum has been recently expanded and refurbished to house what is generally considered the world’s greatest collection of Cham Art.

“Pure and beautiful, she glows like the moon behind clouds.”

The time is the 12th Century, the place Cambodia, birthplace of the lost Angkor civilisation. In a village behind a towering stone temple lives a young woman named Sray, whom neighbors liken to the heroine of a Hindu epic. Hiding a dangerous secret, she is content with quiet obscurity, but one rainy season afternoon is called to a life of prominence in the royal court. There her faith and loyalties are tested by attentions from the great king Suryavarman II. Struggling to keep her devotion is her husband Nol, palace confidante and master of the silk parasols that were symbols of the monarch’s rank.

This lovingly crafted first novel by former Washington Post correspondent John Burgess revives the rites and rhythms of the ancient culture that built the temples of Angkor, then abandoned them to the jungle.

In telling her tale, Sray takes the reader to a hilltop monastery, a concubine pavilion and across the seas to the throne room of imperial China. She witnesses the construction of the largest of the temples, Angkor Wat, and offers an explanation for its greatest mystery – why it broke with centuries of tradition to face west instead of east.

The complex oeuvre of the American artist Cy Twombly (1928-2011) comprises a time period of around six decades, during which it never lost any of its expressive power. Twombly was one of the most productive artists in the history of more recent art. Acclaimed as one of the most important painters of the second half of the 20th century, he fused the legacy of American Abstract Expressionism with European and Mediterranean culture. The book focuses to a degree never before seen on his major cycles: Nine Discourses on Commodus (1963), Fifty Days at Iliam (1978), and Coronation of Sesostris (2000). The artist’s development as a whole is traced based on nearly 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs. This thus provides unique insights into the overall intellectual and sensual richness of the oeuvre. From his early works at the beginning of the 1950s, which are characterized by the use of text, to his compositions of the 1960s, his reaction to the minimal art and conceptual art of the 1970s to his final paintings, the overview of the oeuvre underscores the significance of the series and cycles in which Cy Twombly invented history painting anew. With its polyphonic conception, the monograph offers numerous approaches with essays that shed light on the various aspects and phases of Twombly’s path as an artist. It comprises et al. the reflections and personal impressions of other artists as well as the memories of his assistant Nicola Del Roscio. These diverse testimonies make it possible to discover Cy Twombly not only as an artist, but also as an individual.

For ages silver ware has been the source of inspiraton for many an artist. The trade reached an unprecedented level thanks to religious silver ware. Unfortunately, orders dropped away in the course of the twentieth-century. More and more studios had to close their doors, and monumental silver were faded into the background. Gradually, even the training left much to be desired. Rob Thalen and his son Jaap want to again create ‘beauty’: silver objects, utensils, works of art that have long been lost. Monumental creations, demanding old craftmanship as well as the most advanced techniques. Based in Francorchamps, Belgium, their designs are valued all over the world. Text in English, Dutch, French and German.