Star Wars exploded onto our cinema screens in 1977, and the world has not been the same since. After watching depressing and cynical movies throughout the early 1970s, audiences enthusiastically embraced the positive energy of the Star Wars galaxy as they followed moisture farmer Luke Skywalker on his journey through a galaxy far, far away, meeting extraordinary characters like mysterious hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, space pirates Han Solo and Chewbacca, loyal droids C-3PO and R2-D2, bold Princess Leia Organa and the horrific Darth Vader, servant of the dark, malevolent Emperor. Writer, director, and producer George Lucas ... |
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To explore the Tarot is to explore ourselves, to be reminded of the universality of our longing for meaning, for purpose and for a connection to the divine. This 600-year-old tradition reflects not only a history of seekers, but our journey of artistic expression and the ways we communicate our collective human story. For many in the West, Tarot exists in the shadow place of our cultural consciousness, a metaphysical tradition assigned to the dusty glass cabinets of the arcane. Its history, long and obscure, has been passed down through secret writing, oral tradition, and the scholarly tomes of philosophers and sages. ... |
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From the beginning of human history, individuals across cultures and belief systems have looked to the sky for meaning. The movement of celestial bodies and their relation to our human lives has been the central tenant of astrology for thousands of years. The practice has both inspired reverence and worship, and deepened our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. While modern-day horoscopes may be the most familiar form of astrological knowledge, their lineage reaches back to ancient Mesopotamia. As author Andrea Richards recounts in Astrology, the second volume in Taschen's Library of Esoterica ... |
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Anguished art: The tortured talents of a post-Impressionist master. Today, the works of Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) are among the most well-known and celebrated in the world. In Sunflowers, The Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, and many, many paintings and drawings beyond, we recognize an artist uniquely dexterous in the portrayal of mood and place through paint, pencil, charcoal, or chalk. Yet as he was deploying the lurid colors, emphatic brushwork, and contoured forms that would subsequently make his name and inspire generations of expressionist artists, van Gogh battled not only the disinterest of ... |
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Zaha Hadid was a revolutionary architect, who for many years built almost nothing, despite winning critical acclaim. Some even said her audacious, futuristic designs were unbuildable. During the latter years of her life, Hadid's daring visions became a reality, bringing a unique new architectural language to cities and structures as varied as the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, hailed by The New York Times as the most important new building in America since the Cold War; the MAXXI Museum in Rome; the Guangzhou Opera House in China; and the London 2012 Olympics Aquatics Centre. At the time of her ... |
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Fall under the spell of Gustav Klimt . Over a century after his death, Viennese artist Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. In this neat, dependable monograph, we gather all of Klimt's paintings alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged archival material from Klimt's own archive to trace the evolution of his astonishing oeuvre. With top-quality illustration, including new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze, the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the Secessionist movement of 1897, his ... |
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From the moment Star Wars burst onto the screen in 1977, audiences have been in equal parts fascinated and appalled by the half-man / half-machine hybrid Darth Vader. In 1999, creator George Lucas began the story of how Anakin Skywalker grew up to train as a Jedi under Obi-Wan Kenobi, found love with the Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala, before turning to the dark side of his nature and becoming more machine than man. After driving the development of nascent digital technology, George Lucas perceived how he could create new creatures and new worlds on a grander scale than ever before. He created the first digital ... |
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40th Anniversary Edition. ... Antoni Gaudi merged Orientalism, natural forms, and new materials into a Modernista aesthetic that made Barcelona a mecca for architecture fans. With new photography, plans, Gaudi's drawings, and a complete appendix of his works including unfinished projects, this book takes us into the proud Catalonian's unique worldview. Freedom of form with the Dante of architecture. The life of Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man he joined the Catalonian nationalist movement and was critical of the church; toward the end of his life he devoted ... |
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Изданието е триезично - на английски, немски и френски език. 40th Anniversary Edition. ... "The works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude are monuments of transience. Gigantic in scale, they are always temporary, created to exist only for a limited time and to leave unique, unrepeatable impressions. From the smallest of the Packages made in Paris in the early 1960s, to the delicate pattern of hundreds of branches embraced by a translucent fabric veil... in Christo and Jeanne-Claude's works there is nothing abstract, nothing imagined; it is all there - corporeal and tangible." Lorenza Giovanelli Part biography, ... |
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In endless odes to the female form, Amedeo Modigliani (1884 - 1920) traced elongated bodies, almond eyes, and his own name into art history. His languid female subjects are as instantly recognizable as they are startling, sensual, and swan-necked. Modigliani's unique figuration corresponded to his own personal idea of beauty, but drew upon a rich variety of visual influences, including contemporary Cubism, African carvings, Cambodian sculptures, and 13th-century painting from his native Italy. Although most renowned for his nude females, he applied similar stylistic techniques to portraits of male artistic ... |
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A century after his death, Viennese artist Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) still startles with his unabashed eroticism, dazzling surfaces, and artistic experimentation. This monograph gathers all of Klimt's major works alongside authoritative art historical commentary and privileged access to the artist's archive. With top quality illustration, including new photography of the celebrated Stoclet Frieze, the book follows Klimt through his prominent role in the Secessionist movement of 1897, his candid rendering of the female body, and his lustrous golden phase when gold leaf brought a shimmering tone and texture to ... |
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Multilingual Edition. ... They debuted in 1963, but weren't the instant sensations that the Fantastic Four or Spider Man had been; twenty years later, they were the most exciting (or x-citing!) property in comics. Fans couldn't get enough of Wolverine! Storm! Cyclops! Beast! Nightcrawler! Jean Grey! Not to mention Professor X, and his nemesis, Magneto! The X-Men brought a level of nuance and storytelling sophistication that hadn't been seen in mainstream comics, and now, with thousands of comics, and ten feature films to date, the X-Men have cemented their place as one of the greatest super hero teams in ... |