The Great Court at the British Museum

The Great Court at the British Museum

Author: Ken Powell

Publisher: Scala Books

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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The latest addition to Art Spaces series profiles one of the most famous and prestigious buildings in the world. The two-acre square, enclosed by a spectacular glass roof, transforms the Museum's inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe.


Norman Foster and the British Museum

Norman Foster and the British Museum

Author: Norman Foster

Publisher: Prestel Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13:

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A landmark in the history of the British Museum and one of Norman Foster's most significant projects to date, the Great Court has reclaimed and reinvigorated one of London's most important public spaces, transforming the Museum. Published to coincide with a major retrospective of Foster's work held at the British Museum, this volume brings together essays, design drawings and photographs to provide an account of the development and completion of Foster's project. An introductory essay by Deyan Sudjic presents the Great Court as the culmination of centuries of change within the Museum - a reconciliation of past and future which has both restored and transfigured the heart of this public institution. Spencer de Grey, a partner at Foster and Partners, documents the design and construction of the individual elements within the Great Court and the vast glazed canopy which surmounts them. The volume is introduced by Norman Foster and illustrated with photographs of the Great Court during its construction and in its spectacular finished state.


Colin St John Wilson

Colin St John Wilson

Author: Roger Stonehouse

Publisher: Black Dog Architecture

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781904772705

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Colin St John Wilson: Buildings and Projects is the definitive monograph on Sir Colin St John Wilson, one of the most important British architects of the second half of twentieth century. The book coincides with and celebrates St John Wilson's 85th birthday, spanning projects from throughout his career, from early works, to perhaps his most celebrated building, the British Library in London and its extension to his current project, the masterplanning of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. St John Wilson's peers include the likes of Reyner Banham, Philip Johnson and Louis Kahn, and he is one of the few living architects to have befriended both Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto. St John Wilson is also recognised as a leading theorist and teacher. Colin St John Wilson: Buidings and Projects presents detailed, newly commissioned scale drawings of all of St John Wilson's major work. This 496 page hardback book is beautifully illustrated with over 450 colour and black and white illustrations. Fascinating texts by respected architects and writers including Professor Roger Stonehouse and Eric Parry fully elucidate St John Wilson's contribution to modern architecture. St John Wilson himself contributes an essay on the making, writing and teaching of architecture. This erudite, comprehensive publication is the perfect companion to Black Dog Publishing's re-issue of St John Wilson's seminal The Other Tradition of Modern Architecture: The Uncompleted Project.


The Great Court and the British Museum

The Great Court and the British Museum

Author: Robert Anderson

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13:

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As one of the world's greatest museums approaches its 250th anniversary, the British Museum has undertaken a massive development programme, largely facilitated by the removal of the British Library from Bloomsbury. The Great Court, commissioned by the British Museum from Norman Foster and Partners following a prestigious architectural competition, is at the centre of plans to position the Museum for the new millennium and to present it as a great new civic space. A 6100 square metre glass canopy will cover the new cultural plaza that has been designed around the dome of the famous Round Reading Room. A link between the Museum's important architectural history and building design of the future, the Great Court project is destined to be one of the great architectural sights of Europe.


British Museum

British Museum

Author: Daljit Nagra

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2017-05-16

Total Pages: 74

ISBN-13: 0571333753

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Daljit Nagra possesses one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary English poetry. British Museum is his third collection, following his electrifying version of the epic Ramayana, and marks a significant departure of style to something quieter, more contemplative and inquisitive, at times valedictory. His political edge has been honed in a series of meditations and reflections upon our heritage, our legacy, and the institutions that define them: the BBC, Hadrian's Wall, the Sikh gurdwaras of our towns, the British Museum of the title poem. With compassion and charisma, Nagra explores the impact of the first wave of mass migration to our shores, the Arab Spring, the allure of extremism along with a series of personal poems about the pressures of growing up in a traditional community. British Museum is a book that asks profound questions of our ethics and responsibilities at a time of great challenge to our sense of national identity.


The Brutish Museums

The Brutish Museums

Author: Dan Hicks

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781786806833

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Walk into any European museum today and you will see the curated spoils of Empire. They sit behind plate glass: dignified, tastefully lit. Accompanying pieces of card offer a name, date and place of origin. They do not mention that the objectsare all stolen. Few artefacts embody this history of rapacious and extractive colonialism better than the Benin Bronzes - a collection of thousands of brass plaques and carved ivory tusks depicting the history of the Royal Court of the Obas of BeninCity, Nigeria. Pillaged during a British naval attack in 1897, the loot was passed on to Queen Victoria, the British Museum and countless private collections. The story of the Benin Bronzes sits at the heart of a heated debate about cultural restitution, repatriation and the decolonisation of museums. In The Brutish Museums, Dan Hicks makes a powerful case for the urgent return of such objects, as part of a wider project of addressing the outstanding debt of colonialism.


Museums Matter

Museums Matter

Author: James Cuno

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2011-12-15

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 0226126803

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The concept of an encyclopedic museum was born of the Enlightenment, a manifestation of society’s growing belief that the spread of knowledge and the promotion of intellectual inquiry were crucial to human development and the future of a rational society. But in recent years, museums have been under attack, with critics arguing that they are little more than relics and promoters of imperialism. Could it be that the encyclopedic museum has outlived its usefulness? With Museums Matter, James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, replies with a resounding “No!” He takes us on a brief tour of the modern museum, from the creation of the British Museum—the archetypal encyclopedic collection—to the present, when major museums host millions of visitors annually and play a major role in the cultural lives of their cities. Along the way, Cuno acknowledges the legitimate questions about the role of museums in nation-building and imperialism, but he argues strenuously that even a truly national museum like the Louvre can’t help but open visitors’ eyes and minds to the wide diversity of world cultures and the stunning art that is our common heritage. Engaging with thinkers such as Edward Said and Martha Nussbaum, and drawing on examples from the politics of India to the destruction of the Bramiyan Buddhas to the history of trade and travel, Cuno makes a case for the encyclopedic museum as a truly cosmopolitan institution, promoting tolerance, understanding, and a shared sense of history—values that are essential in our ever more globalized age. Powerful, passionate, and to the point, Museums Matter is the product of a lifetime of working in and thinking about museums; no museumgoer should miss it.


Hokusai

Hokusai

Author: Timothy Clark

Publisher:

Published: 2017-05

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780500094068

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A major publication on Hokusai's remarkable late work, incorporating fresh scholarship on the sublime paintings and prints the artist created in the last thirty years of his life


London Sketchbook

London Sketchbook

Author: Jason Brooks

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2015-01-26

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1780677146

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This follow-up to Jason Brooks's highly successful Paris Sketchbook is a stunning gift book that brings the big smoke to life through beautiful imagery. From the West End to the Square Mile and from Liberty to hipster hang-outs, Brooks explores modern-day London through his unique visual repertoire that unites high fashion, fine art, and traveler's sketches made on the fly. Although best known for his gorgeous fashion illustrations, which feature regularly in Vogue and Elle, travel has been a recurrent theme in Brooks's work and, with this new volume, his picturesque adventures continue to amuse and inspire. Part guide book, part illustrated journal, this whimsical take on the swinging city will appeal to both London lovers and fashionistas. Sumptuous production with different stocks and inks will make this a must for anyone who loves fashion illustration and beautiful books.


Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Author: Fredrik Talmage Hiebert

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 9780714111728

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Ancient Afghanistan was the crossroads of civilization in Central Asia. Its archaeological treasures date back more than four thousand years and bear the imprint of numerous cultures, attesting to Afghanistans pivotal importance in the exchange of goods and ideas from Asia to the Mediterranean. Nearly 230 artefacts from the rich mosaic of Afghanistans cultural heritage are explored in this outstanding book. The extraordinary objects presented here range in date from 2200 BC to AD 200 and are drawn from four different archaeological sites. This lavish volume not only focuses on the cultural significance of the objects but also relays the story of their discovery, excavation, and heroic rescue in modern-day Afghanistan.