Beyond Words


Book Description




Science


Book Description

Since Jan. 1901 the official proceedings and most of the papers of the American Association for the Advancement of Science have been included in Science.




Chinese Aesthetics


Book Description

This singular work presents the most comprehensive and nuanced studies available in any Western language of Chinese aesthetic thought and practice during the Six Dynasties (A.D. 220–589). Despite a succession of dynastic and social upheavals, the literati preoccupied themselves with both the sensuous and the transcendent and strove for cultural dominance. By the end of the sixth century, their reflections would evolve into a sophisticated system of aesthetic discourse characterized by its own rhetoric and concepts. A prologue details the historical context in which Six Dynasties aesthetics arose and sketches out its major stages of development. The ten essays that follow bring fresh perspectives to bear on important writings on literature, music, painting, calligraphy, and gardening. Grounded in close readings of primary texts, they reveal the complex, dynamic interplay between life and art, the sensuous and the metaphysical, and the artistic and the philosophicaleligious that lies at the heart of the aesthetic thought and practice of the time. As a whole, the collection demonstrates that Six Dynasties achieved a sophistication in aesthetic thought comparable in many ways to that of the West: The discussion of disinterestedness in art, aesthetic judgment, and how mental images mediate between the supersensible and the sensible are reminiscent of Kant. The findings of various Chinese critics provide much food for thought in the broad fields of comparative literature and aesthetics. Chinese Aesthetics will fill a gap in Western sinological studies of the period. It will appeal to scholars and students in premodern Chinese literary studies, comparative aesthetics, and cultural studies and be a welcome reference to anyone interested in ancient Chinese culture. Contributors: Susan Bush; Zong-qi Cai; Kang-i Sun Chang; Ronald Egan; Robert E. Harrist, Jr.; Rania Huntington; Wai-yee Li; Shuen-fu Lin; Victor Mair; François Martin.







Performing Image


Book Description

An examination of how artists have combined performance and moving image for decades, anticipating our changing relation to images in the internet era. In Performing Image, Isobel Harbison examines how artists have combined performance and moving image in their work since the 1960s, and how this work anticipates our changing relations to images since the advent of smart phones and the spread of online prosumerism. Over this period, artists have used a variety of DIY modes of self-imaging and circulation—from home video to social media—suggesting how and why Western subjects might seek alternative platforms for self-expression and self-representation. In the course of her argument, Harbison offers close analyses of works by such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Yvonne Rainer, Mark Leckey, Wu Tsang, and Martine Syms. Harbison argues that while we produce images, images also produce us—those that we take and share, those that we see and assimilate through mass media and social media, those that we encounter in museums and galleries. Although all the artists she examines express their relation to images uniquely, they also offer a vantage point on today's productive-consumptive image circuits in which billions of us are caught. This unregulated, all-encompassing image performativity, Harbison writes, puts us to work, for free, in the service of global corporate expansion. Harbison offers a three-part interpretive framework for understanding this new proximity to images as it is negotiated by these artworks, a detailed outline of a set of connected practices—and a declaration of the value of art in an economy of attention and a crisis of representation.




The Thirst of God


Book Description

"There is a rich tradition of wonderful women and other contemplatives who are great resources for thinking differently about Christianity. They emphasized divine love, human compassion, and the radical possibilities of contemplative practices. They were not afraid to criticize the church and indeed thought of their challenge as crucial to their faith. We do not have to lose faith with the beautiful wisdom of this story of intimate and compassionate love, dwelling among us and within us, if we do not want to." —from the acknowledgments and note to readers To those seeking a more open, progressive approach to Christian faith, the Christian past can sometimes seem like a desert, an empty space devoid of encouragement or example. Yet in the latter years of the Middle Ages a quiet flowering of a more accessible, positive approach to Christian belief took place among a group of female mystics, those who emphasized an immediate, nonhierarchical experience of the divine. In this enlightening volume, Wendy Farley eloquently brings the work of three female mystics—Marguerite Porete, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Julian of Norwich—into creative conversation with contemporary Christian life and thought. From alternatives to the standard, violent understandings of the atonement, to new forms of contemplation and prayer, these figures offer us relevant insights through a theology centered on God's love and compassion. Farley demonstrates how these women can help to refresh and expand our awareness of the depth of divine love that encompasses all creation and dwells in the cavern of every human heart.




Monographs


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Law and Order


Book Description

In an innovative departure from the much-studied field of 'crime in the media', this lively book focuses its attention on the forces of law and order; how they visualize and represent danger and criminality and how they represent themselves as authorities. After two chapters covering basic terms and tools in the study of culture and representation, the book covers such topics as the history of justice - system methods for visualizing criminality, from fingerprinting to DNA; the emergence of a 'forensic gaze' that begins with Edgar Allan Poe and Sherlock Holmes and culminates in the American television show Crime Scene Investigation and the rise of ways of seeing urban space that constantly divide the city into 'good' and 'bad' areas. The final chapter uses some recent conflicts regarding the legal admissibility of 'gruesome pictures' to reflect on the importance of the visual in our everyday experiences, both of safety and of danger. Shortlisted for the Hart SLSA Book Prize 2007




Imagery from Beyond


Book Description

40 Abstract Designs + 10 Bonus Pages...Abstract Art with Tangled BordersThe drawings featured in our Messages From Beyond(r) Coloring Book series are allhand-drawn originals created specifically to help you get in touch with your innate intuitive ability. The abstract designs will allow your imagination and creativity to flow.We call our series Imagery From Beyond(tm) because Art by Ali(tm) is a unique style of drawing that seems to flow from Alice's pens as she creates each page. To some people, this is just a coloring book-a fun way to relieve stress and relax after a hectic day.To many others, this may become a meditation tool to promote healing as well as to facilitate communication with loved ones who are sending you messages.As you flip through the pages, you may be drawn to a specific image...that is the place to start. The designs and even the colors you select will hold a special meaning for you. Each design magically comes to life as color is applied, and depending on the colorist's view and direction the page is turned, the images can be quite different. Let your imagination and creativity soar as you color and create your own images within these pages. There is no right or wrong way to view the page-you may turn the book any way you desire­-great for left-handed colorists, too. The possibilities are endless-many people color the same design more than once, each time coming up with different patterns, images, and emotions. Use 1, 2, or many colors to bring the designs to life. You will begin to see various images while creating a piece of art that speaks directly to you. Pages are purposely sized for easy framing-even the borders alone are perfect for 8x10 photo frames. For best results, the preferred tools for coloring are colored pencils, crayons, gel pens, and fine or ultra-fine-point markers. If using markers, we suggest placing a protective page behind the drawing you're coloring to prevent bleed-through colors. There are bordered sheets at the end of this book to test your colors or use as a protective blotter page, or you can color and use as a photo frame! Please note: the artist has no control over the quality of the paper. This is a book published on demand by CreateSpace and Amazon, and the paper used is the best thickness available.Many people have told us, when coloring the images, they are taken to a place where healing can begin. The therapeutic benefits of coloring, along with the personal meaning you assign to your finished pages, may bring you healing and comfort as well.Thank you for choosing our book to be a part of your creative process.




Mind


Book Description

A journal of philosophy covering epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophy of logic, and philosophy of mind.