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Art & today / by Eleanor Heartney. 2008
"Art & Today" is an innovative and extensive survey of international contemporary art from the 1980s to the present. Over four hundred of the most significant contemporary artists from around the world are represented in this comprehensive overview - some emerging, some mid-career, and others long established. Each of the book's sixteen chapters address recurring and relevant themes as diverse as "Art & Popular Culture," "Art & Its Institutions," and "Art & Globalism," rather than follow a strict chronological, geographical, or stylistic structure. Lively and up-to-date, "Art & Today" explores an era in which art defies simple categorization. The result is a surprising and original yet clear and reasoned perspective on contemporary art that breaks from prescribed classifications to offer a survey as expansive as the art it describes.For instance, in the chapter "Art & the Body," one might find performance discussed alongside figurative painting, sculpture and photography alongside video, and North American artists alongside Asian artists.
(Amazon)
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British prints from the machine age : rhythms of modern life 1914-1939
/ edited by Clifford S. Ackley ; with contributions by Stephen Coppel and others.
2008
Published to accompany the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this catalogue examines the impact of Futurism and Cubism on British modernist printmaking from the beginning of World War I to the beginning of World War II. Imagery ranges from powerful artistic impressions of the first fully mechanized war, to radical geometric abstractions, to the colourful, streamlined jazz age images of speed, sport and diversion which the Grosvenor School artists created in order to introduce a broader public to modern art and design. Interest in this era is peaking among collectors, curators and art historians and this is an ideal moment to introduce these innovative British printmakers to a wider public.
(Amazon)
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In England / Don McCullin. 2007
Don McCullin's view of England is rooted in his wartime childhood and growing up around Finsbury Park in the fifties. His first published photograph was a picture of a gang from his neighbourhood, which appeared in a newspaper after a local murder; McCullin always balanced his anger at the unacceptable face of the nation with tenderness or compassion."In England" combines some of his greatest work with an entirely new body of photographs. McCullin sees his home country with its perpetual social gulf between the affluent and the desperate in mind. He continues in the same black and white tradition as he did between foreign assignments for the "Sunday Times" in the sixties and seventies, when his view of a deprived Britain seemed as dark as the conflict zones from which he'd just escaped. This book marks his return to the cities and landscape he knew as a young photographer. At a time when we might believe the world has changed beyond our imagination, McCullin shows us a view of England where the line between the wealthy and the deprived is as defined as ever. This time he adds wry humour to his lyricism, as if the nation is as absurd as it is tragic.
(Amazon)
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Photo art : the new world of photography / edited by Uta Grosenick and
Thomas Seelig. 2008
This lavishly illustrated, accessible survey presents the work of nearly 120 international artists at the forefront of the boom in photography, among them Elina Brotherus, Tacita Dean, Luc Delahaye, Alec Soth, Jens Ullrich and Michael Wesely. Each artist is introduced by a brief essay, followed by four pages of their superbly reproduced work. This is a valuable and forward-looking reference book for photographers, collectors and photography lovers everywhere.
(Amazon)
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The revolution continues : new art from China / introduction by Jiang
Jiehong ; [published in conjunction with exhibitions at] Saatchi Gallery. 2008
As world attention focuses on the economic development and massive cultural upheavals of China, all of which are embodied in the transformation of Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics, Chinese artists have emerged after years of containment by the strictures of the national ideology. The Western art world, hungry for new spectacle, has consumed the new art with an appetite, but the art is changing so fast the Western viewer has little means of assessing or understanding the background to these extraordinary developments. "The Revolution Continues" provides a link between the rebellious spirit of the current generation of Chinese artists and the mood of rebellion that was so explicitly evident during the years of the Cultural Revolution that ran from 1966 to the death of Mao and the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976.In his text Jiang Jiehong argues that the widespread destruction of traditional Chinese treasures by the Red Guards, especially in the early period of 1966, overshadows the entire period. Today's rebellious artistic spirit is, in fact, an extension of Mao's legacy.
The extensive Saatchi collection of new Chinese art is presented in conjunction with Joshua Jiang's examination of the use of the colour red, the iconography of Mao, the sense of the collective and the use of textual language that derives from the calligraphy of the propaganda poster. This dramatic material will be published to coincide with one of the opening exhibitions at the new Saatchi Gallery.
(Amazon) |
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Previous new art books
NEW GRAPHICS BOOKS JUNE 2008
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Best of business card design 8. 2008
The Best of Business Card Design series features an innovative collection of the most current and best work by top designers worldwide. The "go-to" sourcebook for business card design inspiration, this volume contains no text-other than design credits-which provides for pages packed with business cards, showing front, back, and special elements and materials. This unrivaled resource will be sought by professional designers, corporate executives, and in-house marketing departments as an essential identity and branding tool. (Amazon)
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LogoLounge 4: 2000 international identities by leading designers. 2008
The fourth volume in the best-selling LogoLounge series provides 2,000 totally new logos from designers worldwide. This book, like the previous titles in the series, is compiled in association with LogoLounge.com, a website that was launched by Bill Gardner in 2002. The first portion of the book profiles 10 top designers recent work in the area of logo design; the second part of the book contains almost 2,000 logos organized by logo design (typography, people, mythology, nature, sports, etc.). (Amazon)
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HKDA (Hong Kong Design Awards) 2. 2008
The Hong Kong Designers Association Awards 07 are widely acknowledged by designers around the world as one of the most important multi-disciplinary design awards in the Asia-Pacific region. This bi-annual awards show has become a benchmark for design professionals everywhere. On the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the HKDA and the 21st HKDA Awards, 2,700 entries from across Asia were submitted in 4 main categories: Graphic, Product, New Media and Spatial. These were subsequently divided into 32 sub-categories that span commerce, culture, arts, society and politics. Some of this year's themes were as exhilarating as they were controversial. (Amazon)
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Logo mondo / Hitoshi Nagasawa. 2007
This is a replete typography and logo collection, reflecting today’s urban aesthetic. The collection is a tour de force, brimming with individuality and selected from thousands of entries submitted from hundreds of designers worldwide. The content is divided into categories, including typographic, icons, and illustrations, and further classified into categories, like Hip-Hop, Neo-Baroque, kanji, kana, psychedelic, 60s to 70s, corporate, erotic, and other distinct groups. This book features more than 1,000 works and is not only an idea source book, but also is comprehensive in its coverage of typography and design fonts. (Amazon) |
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Comic art now : the very best in contemporary comic art and illustration. 2008
This book showcases the creme de la creme of contemporary comic book creators, whether they're established professionals or hot new bucks making waves in the industry. From superlative superheroes to heart-stopping horror, the artwork is divided into today's most popular comic-book genres. This book takes a rare holistic approach, incorporating small, self-published projects, through independent artists work, right up to big established names working for Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. What qualifies them for inclusion is the quality of their work, regardless of genre, labels or preconceptions. "Comic Art Now" is at the razors edge of one of the most important, relevant and misunderstood artforms on the planet. (Amazon) |
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How to be an illustrator / Darrel Rees. 2008
At last! Here is real practical help for budding freelance illustrators. This book helps you avoid the pitfalls that can ruin a career, with advice on crucial first impressions, how to create a portfolio and approach clients, how to negotiate contracts, and how to handle, deliver and bill the first job. It discusses setting up a studio, maintaining a steady flow of work and managing time and money, and also provides information on successful self-promotion, self-publishing, and the pros and cons of agents. Packed with useful tips gleaned from the authors own career and his work as an agent handling major artists in the US and UK, this book includes interviews with 9 big-name illustrators. (Amazon) |
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About our graphic arts collection:-
The library is endeavouring to build up a collection of current, up to the minute books on graphics, to meet the demand from designers and students in this area. These are the new titles we have recently added to the collection. It's not always easy keeping up with what's absolutely current though, so if you have any suggestions please let us know through our web site suggestion form.
It's also not always easy to find what you want, as graphics is spread over several areas - so here are some useful Dewey numbers to help you if you are browsing in the library:
Graphics magazines :
Ampersand - quarterly D&AD members magazine.
Eye : the international review of graphic design - stylish English publication
Their website
Illustration - an American graphic arts magazine
Their website
Juxtapoz - funky new magazine featuring kitsch, psychedelic, and popular art
Their website
Parkett
Published in Switzerland, this (3 issues a year) magazine concentrates on European and American contemporary art. Each issue covers several important artists and is produced in close collaboration with those artists.
For information on individual issues see this website.
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Art Websites
New Zealand | Other
Colin McCahon website
This database and image library was compiled by the Colin McCahon
Research and Publication Trust. It is published by The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The research project has been supported by the McCahon family, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Rutherford Trust,
Creative New Zealand: Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa,
Jenny Gibbs, Alan Gibbs.
See also the McCahon French Bay house site
Discover
Discover is a database of resources selected for use by New Zealand schools., but is also very useful for everyone interested in NZ arts images, since over 2,500 multimedia items are available. Almost all are from National Library of New Zealand collections. Access to Discover is free.
Currently Discover supports the Visual Arts and Music disciplines of the Arts/Nga Toi curriculum by providing a rich selection of works by some of New Zealand’s musicians, artists, photographers, designers and architects both historic and contemporary, Maori and Pakeha.
NZ arts resources website
A collection of links to arts resources in New Zealand. The visual arts section includes galleries as well as individual artists' sites.
New Zealand art and culture links
New Zealand art monthly
A contributor-driven forum for the arts in New Zealand.
A NZ crafts website
nzlive - New Zealand culture online
What's on in New Zealand - an online calendar of events including the arts
Taranaki artists website
A site which aims to showcase the work of Taranaki artists, set up by assemblage artist Dale Copeland. A variety of work in different mediums is displayed here, the images are good and can be enlarged for better viewing.
Tom Kreisler website
A website devoted to the work of Argentinian-born NZ artist Tom Kreisler (1938-2002) - a
searchable database for students, academics and the general public.
www.artfind.co.nz
A search facility designed to introduce the user to a range of NZ artists and galleries. You can search by artist or gallery, or browse on type of art. The site is not in competition with galleries but works for them.
Other websites
artcyclopedia.com
A kind of specialist search engine which has links to sites featuring over 7500 artists.
artmagick.com
An online art gallery specializing in paintings and poetry from the art movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, with an emphasis on "forgotten and neglected" artists. Over 1000 paintings are included which can be sent as free email postcards.
ArtsJournal.com
Keep abreast of breaking news in the arts world here. This site offers daily links to current news items related to dance, music, visual arts, theater, publishing, and more from more than 200 English-language publications.
Axis
A large interactive database of contemporary British art funded by the Arts Councils of England, Wales and Scotland and seven regional arts boards. Currently has over 12,500 images from 3,300 artists and makers.
British Council art collection online
The British Council has launched a database that provides information on the organization's 8,000 works of art in its permanent collection. The information includes images as well as writeups.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago
Museum of Modern Art (New York)
National Gallery of Australia
National Portrait Gallery (UK)
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (NPG)
Try out the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's new search interface which allows searching across over 80,000 portrait records.
Tate Britain & Tate Modern
Web Gallery of Art
"The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 13,900 reproductions. Commentaries on pictures, biographies of artists are available. Guided tours, free postcard and other services are provided for the visitors."
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A GUIDE TO SOME USEFUL ART SHELF NUMBERS
| 709 |
Art history, General | 746 | Textiles -
e.g. quilting, embroidery, etc. |
| 709.04 |
Art history 20th century -
e.g. Surrealism, Cubism, etc. | 747 | Interior decoration |
| 709.931 | New Zealand art | 751 | Painting techniques -
e.g. Oil painting, watercolour painting |
| 720 | Architecture | 759 | Painters & history of painting -
e.g. Monet, Picasso, etc. |
| 730 | Sculpture | 759.9931 | New Zealand painters & painting |
| 741 | Drawing | 760 | Graphic arts |
| 745.5 | Handicrafts | 770-779 | Photography |
SOME USEFUL REFERENCE TOOLS
INNZ (Index New Zealand)
Index to magazine & newspaper articles, including those on New Zealand art & artists.
NEW ZEALAND ARTISTS DATABASE
 This index is a guide to material held in Wellington City Libraries on New Zealand artists. At present that means mainly painters, photographers, sculptors, and mixed media and installation artists, but as the database is expanded craft artists, jewellers, potters and architects will gradually be included. The aim of the database is to be a useful resource for the general interested reader and students at secondary and tertiary levels. This means, we have not indexed every passing reference to an artist, but have aimed to include articles that are of reasonable length and have good images. (Serious researchers can find extra material, including theses, on INNZ - Index New Zealand).
As well as articles in magazines and newspapers, you will be able to find which books hold material and/or images of artists and art works you are interested in.
Try these search screens:
Basic search screen
Advanced search screen
Please note that entering all New Zealand artists and keeping entries up to date is a HUGE, if not impossible, task, so if there is no entry on a particular artist it doesn't necessarily mean we hold no material on them. Please make enquiries from a librarian!
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Magazines on NZ & Australian art
Graphics mags
Magazine news:
New Zealand design review is now ONLINE!
The Wellington Architectural Centre began the two-monthly publication of Design Review in 1948. The Wellington Architectural Centre was founded in 1946, and began the first architectural school in Wellington (1947) and the first town planning school in New Zealand (1949). The Centre was unique at the time of its founding in that it invited members interested in a broad range of design and the arts, rather than restricting membership to professional architects and architectural students. Internationally it is one of the oldest organisations of its type.
The Design Review addressed design topics as broad as furniture, town planning, theatre and stage design, packaging, church design, book-binding, poster design, industrial design and of course architecture.
Check it out! for forties and fifties design
ART NEW ZEALAND
A quarterly magazine, published in Auckland, featuring New Zealand art and artists, reviews of
exhibitions and book reviews. The oldest, most dependably long-lasting art magazine we have.
Held from 1976 onwards - indexes are also held (reference only 1st & 2nd floors)
Art New Zealand on the Web
ART ASIAPACIFIC
A quarterly magazine, published in Australia, which attempts to cover all of the Asian-Pacific
countries, including New Zealand. Sometimes lashes out with a whole issue devoted to New Zealand
, as in the very interesting "Focus on New Zealand" issue. no. 23, published last year.
This issue features essays on Bill Hammond, Ava Seymour, Michael Parekowhai, Colin McCahon and
the Maori prophets, and Shane Cotton, amongst others.
Held from 1993 onwards
Art AsiaPacific on the Web
ART NEWS NEW ZEALAND
An Auckland-based quarterly arts magazine published in association with the Auckland Society
of Arts. Includes articles on individual artists, events nationwide, book reviews, etc. Covers
theatre and literature as well as the visual arts.
Held from 1993 onwards
Art News New Zealand on the Web
ART ZONE
New Zealand's guide to galleries (quarterly)
Held from August 2003 onwards
Art zone on the Web
STATE OF THE ARTS - AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
A bi-monthly magazine published in Australia which covers art events in both countries.
Held from 1998 onwards
Other art magazines held in the library
Apollo (UK)
Art & Australia
Art in America
Artforum
ARTnews (US)
Arts of Asia
Asian art news
Australian art collector
Issue16(Ap-Je2001)-no23(Ja-Mr2003) & then no28(Ap-Je2004) onwards
All about the Australian art market with interviews with and articles on Australian artists and collecting Australian art quarterly)
Australian art collector on the Web
Artists and illustrators (UK)
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Some basic NZ art history reference books
A concise history of New Zealand painting / Michael Dunn. 1991.
The author's aim is to "provide a short, accessible account of ... the main developments" in New Zealand painting.
His focus is on painting rather than painters and therefore there is little biographical material included. The arrangement is by category in preference
to chronology. The author states that "traditional Maori art is not within the scope of this work", but there is a section entitled 'Images of the Maori, 1840-1914'
which covers Goldie, Lindauer and other European painters who painted Maori in this period. There are 69 colour plates and 62 black & white illustrations.
UPDATED EDITION 2003:
New Zealand painting : a concise history / Michael Dunn. 2003
Contemporary painting in New Zealand / Michael Dunn. 1996.
This study explores the different perspectives that have formed the current directions in New Zealand painting, including neo-expressionism, recent forms of abstraction and colour painting, the "new figuration" and the bi-cultural contribution of contemporary Maori painting.
The concise dictionary of New Zealand artists : painters, printmakers, sculptors / by Kate McGahey. 2000
Into the light : a history of New Zealand photography / David Eggleton. 2006
Maori : art and culture / edited by D.C. Starzecka. 1996.
A series of essays on Maori art which starts with Maori prehistory and ends with the Maori collections in the British Museum.
As well as art, history and culture are also discussed. Includes large sections on wood-carving and the fibre arts, maps and
many colour illustrations.
Te Maori : Maori art from New Zealand collections / edited by Sidney Moko Mead. 1984.
Aims to present an "overview, in photographs and authoritative texts, of the artistic
heritage of the Maori of New Zealand and its relationship to their culture and traditions". The book
was published to accompany a major exhibition of Maori art works which toured American museums
after opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 1984. The book is divided into two
sections - the first contains essays on Maori art and culture - the second catalogues in detail the 174
objects that were shown in the exhibition.
Mataora : the living face : contemporary Maori art / general editors, Sandy Adsett & Cliff Whiting. 1999.
This text presents a comprehensive artistic, cultural and political
statement about the state of contemporary Maori art. Includes the contributions of more than forty artists and writers,
such as carvers like Tuti Tukaokao, fibre and multimedia artists like Aromea Tahiwi, Roma Potiki and Jacqueline Fraser,
landscape artists and sculptors like Darcy Nicholas, Fred Graham, Emare Karaka, Robyn Kahukiwa and Michael Parekowhai,
artists working in clay like Baye Riddell and Paerau Corneal. Packed with coloured illustrations of the artists and their
work.
New Zealand sculpture : a history / Michael Dunn. 2002
Painted histories : early Maori figurative painting / Roger Neich. 1993.
This volume explores the flowering of figurative painting in the decoration of Maori meeting houses in the latter half of the 19th century. This style was created in response to missionary criticism of Maori church decoration, and later developed several distinctive figurative traditions.
In this beautifully illustrated book, Roger Neich, Curator of Ethnology at Auckland Museum, describes the figurative paintings of more than
80 meeting houses, including many that have now disappeared. The most famous of these houses still intact, Rongopai, features in many of the coloured illustrations.
Two hundred years of New Zealand painting / Gil Docking. Rev. ed., 1990.
The original book, by Gil Docking, director of the Auckland
City Art Gallery from 1965-72, covered from 1769-1969 ; Michael Dunn, art historian and lecturer, has updated the text
for the years 1970-90, adding the work of 23 more recent artists, including Richard Killeen,
Tony Fomison, Robin White and others. This new edition features more than 170 paintings, with
more than 90 in colour.
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Useful Books on NZ Artists
100 New Zealand craft artists / Helen Schamroth. 1998.
Includes the work of contemporary artists making ceramics, jewellery, glass, fibre works, furniture and books. Intended as a companion to the other "100" art books mentioned in this section.
Great colour illustrations but as with the other publications in this series, usually only one per artist. This can either leave the reader unsatisfied, or, more positively, tempt them to
search further afield for more information about the artists. Since there has not been a book about New Zealand craft published since 1981 (Craft New Zealand) this is a very welcome
addition to our library stock. Both established and new artists are represented and there is a useful alphabetical list of those included at the beginning.
100 New Zealand paintings by 100 New Zealand artists / Warwick Brown. 1995.
As the title suggests, this work contains short biocriticisms of 100 painters.
The author states that "the aim of this book is to make it easier for students and collectors of New Zealand 0art to acquire
a broad understanding of the present state of contemporary painting in New Zealand". Not intended to be a list of the "top" 100 painters, but rather a
compilation of 100 paintings which cover a wide range of styles. Unfortunately only 1 colour reproduction is included for each artist.
Arranged alphabetically by artist for quick reference.
Another 100 New Zealand artists / Warwick Brown. 1996.
A companion to '100 New Zealand paintings' which introduces more contemporary artists whose focus is in an area other
than painting, including printmakers, photographers, assemblage and graphic artists. Preference has been given to what the author
calls "senior artists", and, more specifically, to those whose work is deemed "accessible" and able to stand the test of time.
The alphabetical arrangement again is very useful for quick reference.
Contemporary New Zealand art / Elizabeth Caughey & John Gow.
Four volumes have been published so far of this series, which the authors say "will offer readers an overview of contemporary New Zealand artists working at the end of the 20th century - a generously illustrated series covering the wide variety of media in which they work." Twenty artists are featured in each volume, with short biographies and colour reproductions of their work.
Contemporary New Zealand painters. Volume one, A-M / photographs by Marti Friedlander ; text by Jim & Mary Barr. 1980.
Intended as an introduction to the life and work of 20 New Zealand painters, from established artists such as Colin McCahon and Milan Mrkusich to the "new" eighties artists such as Richard Killeen and Robert McLeod. A wonderful collection of images and words which retains its place in the forefront of New Zealand art publishing. Alas volume two was never published.
Contemporary New Zealand photographers / foreword, Hannah Holm and Lara Strongman, edited by Lara
Strongman. 2005
A major survey of recent New Zealand art photography.
Lands & deeds : profiles of contemporary New Zealand painters / Gregory O'Brien. 1996.
Focuses on the work of 18 New Zealand painters, including Shane Cotton, Pauline Thompson, Richard Killeen, Bill Hammond and others. The book aims to show how these artists have reinterpreted and reinvented notions of place and history, lands and deeds. Includes interview-based profiles of each artist and over 200 colour and monochrome reproductions of their work.
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CONTACT US
This page is written and maintained by Pauline Hayter. My aim is to keep you informed about the visual & graphic arts section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. You can find updated lists of new materials on other arts subjects, such as handicrafts & general design, on the MyLibrary pages. I would be pleased to hear from you about this page:
Contact Pauline Hayter (pauline.hayter@wcc.govt.nz)
Last updated 23 June 2008
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