Art & Photography > Art

Episodes in Australian history as seen through the eyes of artists, with text accomanied by pictures from the Australian National Gallery.

In this sweeping collection of essays, Edmund Capon describes his lifelong fascination with art and the artists who, over centuries, have enlightened us and challenged the way we see the world. He shares his passion for topics as diverse as the art of China and the Renaissance Old Masters, talks of personal encounters with ar... read more

In "Mess", Keri Smith, creator of "Wreck This Journal", asks readers to explore what it feels like to throw themselves off balance - on purpose. Smith dares readers to drop some kind of coloured liquid (ink, tea, coffee) onto a page from a good height (at least five feet); draw in the dark (or with eyes closed); creatively mi... read more

Michelangelo and Leonardo lived five centuries ago, but their works still obsess our culture, with a popular and universal quality that nothing else matches. They have been equally revered and famous since their lifetimes, but our admiration for them exists mostly in isolation of each other. But in 1504 they competed with eac... read more

Florent Chavouet, a young graphic artist, spent six months exploring Tokyo while his girlfriend interned at a company there. Each day he would set forth, with a pouch full of colored pencils and a sketchpad, to visit different neighborhoods. This stunning book records the city that he got to know during his adventures, a grit... read more

This tiny book reflects the scale of a new series of sculptures by world renowned artist Antony Gormley. Gormley's 'Memes' assume 33 different postures, each signifying a psychoanalytic state or position and invite a new engagement with the human form. A remarkable new contribution to the field of contemporary sculpture.

The Art Museum is the finest art collection ever assembled between two covers. This revolutionary and unprecedented virtual art museum in a book, features 1,000 oversized pages of over 2,700 works of art. It is the most comprehensive and visually spectacular history of world art ever published. Ten years in the making, thi... read more

In Japan, the wrapping of a package is truly an art, as this classic study of the craft of Japanese packaging so beautifully shows. The traditional Japanese packaging materials, as depicted here in the more than two hundred black-and-white photographs, are supremely simple - mostly bamboo, rice straw, hemp twine, paper, or le... read more

The dangerous waters separating mainland Australia fromTiwi islands have seen blossoming of an art &culture unique to Tiwi people. Often abstract &geometric, with strong patterns, use of colour, it is basis for shapes of traditional carvings, such as that used in burial ceremonies, more recently, on fabric, paper, pot... read more

At the centre of the inside of the human brain's mind is the place where one can find the reasons why human beings behave in such peculiar, delightful and unpleasant ways. I, the author of this book (D.Shrigley BA (Hons)) shall take the reader on a journey around the human brain and along the way I shall point-out various th... read more

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"Milk and Honey: Contemporary Art in California" highlights new work by contemporary artists who are aesthetically and regionally joined through a variety of mediums and demographics. By showcasing unknown and emerging artists alongside established icons who all call California home, "Milk and Honey" recognizes the fact that ... read more

Following on from the acclaimed "Just Looking" and "Still Looking", "Always Looking" is an insightful collection of art criticism and a masterclass in appreciating art - from the great American man of letters, John Updike. "Always Looking" treats readers to a series of elegant and sensitive essays on art, and includes writing... read more

The Secret Museum is a unique treasure trove of the most intriguing artifacts hidden away in museum archives from all over the world - curated, brought to light, and brought to life by Molly Oldfield in a beautifully illustrated collection. Who knows what's hidden from view? Locked away in cabinets, secure storage and aircraf... read more

Spanning 125 years, Art and Queer Culture is the first major historical survey to consider the ways in which the codes and cultures of homosexuality have provided a creative resource for visual artists. Attempts to trouble the conventions of gender and sexuality, to highlight the performative aspects of identity and to oppose... read more

What is the true human cost of the war in Afghanistan? What are the real effects of the austerity measure? And how did the London riots spread so quickly? "Facts are Sacred", the "Guardian's" award-winning datablog, publishes and analyses seemingly benign data - released under the auspices of transparency - to bring its reade... read more

The reputations of artists are curious things, influenced by factors beyond the quality of the work. Affairs of the Art explores the role those left behind play in burnishing an artist's reputation after he or she dies. Through interviews with those handling the estates of artists including Fred Williams, Brett Whiteley, John... read more

Yoko Ono is an established avant-garde artist whose work spans installation, object, film, photography, and music. Named after her renowned exhibition "Half a Wind" at London's Lisson gallery in 1967, this volume features Ono's most important works. It also includes photographs of Ono surrounded by her art, either as creator ... read more

It was an exercise to learn how to see, to understand just one thing in its greatest detail. Stephen Taylor came across the 250-year-old tree while on a walk in Essex, England, six years ago, shortly after the deaths of his mother and close friend a tragic time that brought him back to painting and then to an obsession with r... read more

Andy Warhol kept these diaries faithfully from November 1976 right up to his final week, in February 1987. Written at the height of his fame and success, Warhol records the fun of an Academy Awards party, nights out at Studio 54, trips between London, Paris and New York, and surprisingly even the money he spent each day, down... read more