Claes Olderburg and Coosje van Bruggen: Kansas City’s Shuttlecocks By: Edward J. Olszewski Claes Olderburg and Coosje van Bruggen: Kansas City’s Shuttlecocks is a study of the commission and vicissitudes of a project by the world-renowned sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen for a major art museum and a public setting. The controversy that the commission initiated presented a challenge to explain a misunderstood work of art in an attempt to confirm the rightness of its acceptance. It is important for the reader to appreciate how artists resolve conflicts, how modern art functions, and to understand something of the cognitive issues undertaken by collaborative artists in the creative process.
In 1985, the Sohio oil company commissioned Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to design and construct a large outdoor sculpture for its new corporate headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. The result was Free Stamp, a bold and distinctive installation that captured both a Pop Art sensibility and a connection to the city’s industrial past. Sohio executives approved the design, and work was already underway, when British Petroleum acquired the company. The new owners quickly decided that the sculpture was “inappropriate” for their building and attempted to rid themselves of Free Stamp by donating it to the city of Cleveland—a gift that the city initially had no desire to accept. After much debate and public protest, the sculpture found a home in Willard Park, where it stands today. This is the first study of any sculpture by Oldenburg and van Bruggen to examine the genesis of their art from conception to installation. Edward J. Olszewski has put together a fascinating narrative based on interviews with the artists, archival material from city records, and in-house corporate memoranda, as well as letters to the editor and political cartoons. He traces the development of the sculpture from the artists’ first sketches and models to the installation of the completed work in its urban environment.
Tourism is an astonishingly complex phenomenon that is becoming an ever-greater part of life in today’s global world. This clear and engaging text introduces undergraduate students to this vast and diverse subject through the lens of geography, the only field with the breadth to consider all of the aspects, activities, and perspectives that constitute tourism. Indeed, geography and tourism have always been interconnected, and Velvet Nelson reinforces the relationship between them by using both human and physical geography to interpret all facets of tourism—economic, social, and environmental. She shows how geography provides the tools and concepts to consider both the positive and negative factors that affect tourists and destinations as well as the effects tourism has on both peoples and places. Her real-world case studies, based both on research and on the experiences of tourists themselves, vividly illustrate key issues. This comprehensive, thematically organized introduction will enhance students’ understanding of geographic concepts and how they can be used as a way of viewing and understanding the world.
When Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened to the public in 1933, it was viewed as a miracle, an oasis of culture in a Midwestern town whose image was still largely one of cowboys and steaks. In an engaging style, Kristie Wolferman tells the history of the Nelson-Atkins from its founding to the present day, a fascinating combination of people, events, and circumstances that culminated in an art museum that now holds its own among the finest in the world. Wolferman begins by relaying how the trustees of the estates of the reclusive widow Mary Atkins and the family of Kansas City Star newspaper editor William Rockhill Nelson joined forces to establish a museum from scratch, then goes on to consider all of the highly talented people who directed and staffed the Nelson-Atkins along the way, their efforts resulting in many bold innovations, among them new collections, grounds, and educational programs and offerings. With 100 color and black and white photographs, this book will be treasured by all who love and admire this remarkable institution, one that attracts half a million visitors—from across the city, state, nation, and world—each year. This is a co-publication of the University of Missouri Press and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Grab your pen and seize the day! Make art a part of your everyday life, and everyday life a part of your art. Vast opportunities and great joy await you as you learn sketching "on the spot"--be it in your own backyard, amid the bustle of a busy market, on a hike or wherever you happen to find yourself. Cathy Johnson leads you on this thrilling expedition as you explore ways to turn everyday sights and experiences into a cache of visual memories. She and other artists have opened their sketchbooks to share their favorite subjects, ranging from nature's paraphernalia to aging buildings, crashing waves and beloved pets. You will travel the world through sketches and stories, through deserts and deep woods, cities and small towns. Along the way, you'll pick up helpful tips and clever, on-location improvisations for making your sketching sessions pleasurable, safe and productive. • Chapters focus on sketching subjects close to home, on travels, in nature, in urban settings and from everyday life. • 10+ artists share favorite sketches, tips and techniques. • 15+ demos reveal on-the-spot sketches as they come together. • Includes expert advice on getting the best results from a range of mediums, including graphite, ink, colored pencil, watercolor and gouache. The Artist's Sketchbook is pure delight, full of passion and possibility, ideas and inspirations. You'll learn ways to be prepared, simplify, still your inner critic, embrace the here and now, and in doing so, discover wonders you never thought to look for.
Vast sums of money spent to design, construct, and maintain museum additions demand great accountability of museum leaders and design professionals towards visitors and employees. Museum visitors today come not only to view works of art, but also to experience museum architecture itself, resulting in most major cities competing to build new museum additions or new museum buildings to become world class tourist destinations. Shedding New Light on Art Museum Additions presents post-occupancy evaluations of four high-profile museums and their additions in the United States and helps museum stakeholders understand their successes, shortcomings, and how their designs affect both visitors and employees who use them every day. The book helps decision-makers assess the short-term and long-term impacts of future proposals for new museum additions and illuminates the critical importance of investing in employee work environments, and giving serious consideration to lighting, wayfinding, accessibility, and the effects of museum fatigue that arise from the lack of public amenities. Museum leaders, curators, architects, designers, consultants, patrons of the arts and museum visitors will find this book to be a useful resource when planning and evaluating new building additions.
The Art of Discovery. The Discovery of Art. The History of Art! Warhol, Michelangelo, and da Vinci. Picasso, Monet, and Rembrandt, Ai WeiWei and Jenny Holzer. What were they thinking when they created their masterworks? While we can't always know an artist's exact thoughts, The Handy Art History Answer Book examines their benefactors, their wealth or poverty, their passions, the politics, and the world events that inspired and influenced them. Explore their techniques and materials, the forms, colors and styles, the movements and schools of thoughts, and discover the varied forms and nature of artistic expression. Tracing art history from cave paintings to contemporary installations, along with Romanticism, Impressionism and the numerous “isms” in-between, The Handy Art History Answer Book guides you through the major art movements, artists, and important art pieces from 35,000 B.C.E. to today. This fascinating book provides an overview of art from its history and basic principles to its evolution, philosophy, and the masters who created groundbreaking works that changed its course forever. Accessible and entertaining, this captivating book answers over 600 questions, such as ... What is beauty? What tools did Paleolithic artists use? Why do Egyptian figures have two left feet? What is the difference between weaving and tapestry? What happened to the Venus de Milo's arms? Why is Emperor Comoodus dressed as Hercules? What are the Classical Greek Orders of Architecture? What do the Yoruba consider beautiful? What was the first Gothic cathedral? How was single-point perspective invented? What makes the Mona Lisa such a great work of art? What is the difference between Art Nouveau and Art Deco? What is a Zen garden? Why wasn’t photography considered art in the 19th century? How did Cezanne “astonish Paris with apples”? Why did Jackson Pollock splatter paint all over his canvases? Why do Jeff Koons’ balloon animals sell for millions of dollars? Who is Ai Weiwei? The Handy Art History Answer Book covers not only paintings, but every medium imaginable, including sculpture, architecture, pottery, photography, installation art, and even video games. The concise and clearly written text is enhanced by nearly 150 color images illustrating artistic concepts and highlighting important and memorable artworks. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.
