America's Top 10 Construction Wonders by Tanya L. Stone @ Art & Architecture book

America's Top 10 Construction Wonders by Tanya L. Stone
Introduces ten unique American constructions including the Sears Tower, the Erie Canal, the Lincoln Tunnel, the Alaska pipeline, the Grand Coulee Dam, the Lousiana Superdome, the Seattle Space Needle, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gateway Arch, and Disney`s Epcot Center.

AUTHOR: Tanya L. Stone
PUBLISHER: Gale Group
FORMAT: Hardcover
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture

The Mediation of Ornament by Oleg Grabar
In this richly illustratcd book Oleg Grabar not only shares a veteran art historian`s love for the sheer sensuality of Islamic ornamentation, but also uses this art to show how ornament in general enables a direct, immediate encounter between viewers and art objects from any culture and time period. Based on universal motifs, ornamentation occurs in many artistic traditions, although it seems to reach its most expressive, tangible, and unique form in the art of the Islamic world. Grabar analyzes early and medieval Islamic objects, ranging from recently discovered frontispieces in Yemen to tilework in the Alhambra, and compares them to Western examples, treating all pieces as testimony of the work, life, thought, and emotion experienced in one society. From this discussion ornament emerges as a consistent intermediary between viewers and artistic works throughout time. Grabar defines ornaments as agents that are not logically necessary to the perception of a visual message but without which the process of understanding would be more difficult - they in fact often draw us into a work by strengthening the pleasure derived from looking at it. A major portion of this book explores four particularly influential forces on the development of ornament: writing (calligraphy), geometry, architecture, and nature. Throughout Grabar seeks to serve admirers of Islamic art as well as readers interested in the ways of perceiving and understanding the arts in general.

AUTHOR: Oleg Grabar
PUBLISHER: Princeton University Press
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture

How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand
Like people, buildings change with age, forced to adapt to the needs of current occupations. This provocative examination of buildings that have adapted well, and some that haven't, calls for a dramatic rethinking in the way new buildings are designed, one that allows structures to grow and change easily with the environment. Photos.

AUTHOR: Stewart Brand
PUBLISHER: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture

At Home with Thimbleberries Quilts by Lynette Jensen
A renowned quilter makes it easy to recreate her Thimbleberries style in this lavish, quilter-friendly volume. 300 color photos. 200 color illustrations.

AUTHOR: Lynette Jensen
PUBLISHER: Rodale Press, Incorporated
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture

The Story of Painting by Patricia Wright, Wendy Beckett
This collection of Western art spans the major historical eras, with hundreds of photographs, illustrations, documents, and drawings. Sister Wendy Beckett is a British nun and self-taught art critic whose books and television art tours have made her internationally renowned and beloved.

AUTHOR: Patricia Wright, Wendy Beckett
PUBLISHER: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Incorporated
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture

Designer's Guide to Color 3 by Jeanne Allen
Graphic presentations of over 1,000 color combinations in complex prints, patterns, paisleys, and plaids visually document the variety of effects produced by various color combinations in complicated designs. Full-color.

AUTHOR: Jeanne Allen
PUBLISHER: Chronicle Books LLC
FORMAT: Paperback
CATEGORY: Art & Architecture