The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Art Collection And Plaza Memorials

The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Art Collection And Plaza Memorials
Nelson A. Rockefeller, one of the greatest art patrons of the recent past and as yet unheralded for the extraordinary legacy he left behind, had an inspired vision for New York State’s capital. While governor of the state from 1959-1973 he undertook what was at the time the most ambitious public art project ever conceived-one which set the standard for public funding in the arts. The result of this ambitious project was an unrivaled collection of modern and contemporary art, which boasts nearly 100 works of art, all of which are in public view in Albany. The collection includes work by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, David Smith, Robert Motherwell and many other important artists. The beautifully illustrated volume, which features six 4page gatefolds, includes expert essays by major scholars and curators including John Elderfield, Robert Storr and Pepe Karmel, all of The Museum of Modern Art. Glenn Lowry, current director of The Museum of Modern Art contributes a substantive essay on the collection and Rockefeller’s extraordinary efforts to form it. The second essay, written by the collection’s curator, offers the first indepth look at the politics surrounding the formation of the collection.

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Creating the New American Townhouse

Creating the New American Townhouse
Once the bastion of the haute bourgeoisie, the town house has now been embraced by families with young children, single urban professionals, and retired couples, all looking for more comfortable city or suburban living. Architect Alexander Gorlin explores a spectacular array of diverse town house designs (often referred to by different terms in different parts of the country) that carry this familiar symbol of architectural innovation and refinement into the twenty-first century. Creating the New American Town House features cutting-edge town houses that each draw from architectural tradition while achieving originality by both breaking from and adhering to the limitations of the town house form. Within the typical five-story frame and two parallel walls presented here are ingenious and exquisite and, above all, extremely livable design solutions to the constraints of this classic housing type.
Ranging from sites in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, each of the buildings featured in Creating the New American Town House represents an eloquent contribution to the form and is designed by such celebrated architects as Steven Ehrlich, Hugh Newell Jacobson, Stanley Saitowitz, and 1100 Architect. Each project is extensively illustrated with full-color photography that showcases the interior design as well as plans and drawings. Alexander Gorlin’s insightful text continues the discourse begun in his The New American Town House, surveying the adaptation of this beloved urban dwelling to the demands of a new century.

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The Art Lovers’ Guide: New York: The finest art in New York by museum, artist, or period

The Art Lovers Guide: New York: The finest art in New York by museum, artist, or period
The best guidebook for those who want to experience the finest art in New York. The first fully illustrated guide to the collections of New York’s Museums and Galleries that actually works the way people like to see art. Rather than taking the old fashioned approach of listing the city’s various museums and then describing highlights, this book focuses on the art. Arranged chronologically from ancient art through today, the book is part guide and part art history – each section is devoted to a certain period, and then highlighted where the best works of that period are to be found. Rather than spending an entire day at the Metropolitan Museum with its overwhelming collections, this book allows you to choose one period, style or individual artist and trace a tour through the city finding all the relevant masterpieces – museum by museum, gallery by gallery. This truly innovative organization mimics the way most people actually prefer viewing art and will make this guide the must have for any art lover – whether you are a beginner or a longtime connoisseur. This is the first city guide book to focus solely on those who travel to see great art – both classic and contemporary. The book is organized roughly chronologically into 25 chapters sorted into three sections – Early Art (ancient Egyptian, classical antiquity, medieval art), the Western Tradition (Northern and Southern Renaissance, Golden Age of Dutch Painting, Realism, Romanticism, etc.), and Modern Art (Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism and up to today’s contemporary scene). A fourth section provides references including maps, indices of museums and artists, and other helpful suggestions for navigating the city and finding the art masterpieces of you seek.

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Harlem: A Century in Images

Harlem: A Century in Images

A century of Harlem, through the eyes and lenses of some of the most important artists and photographers of the twentieth century. The vibrant and bustling neighborhood occupying the upper reaches of Manhattan has been at the crossroads of the artistic, literary, and political currents of the African-American community since the early days of the twentieth century.

Home to writers and revolutionaries, artists and agitators, Harlem has been both subject and inspiration for countless photographers. This sweeping photographic survey includes nearly two hundred images that tell the story of Harlem – its distinctive landscape and extraordinary inhabitants – throughout the twentieth century. Featured artists include: Gordon Parks, James VanDerZee, Eve Arnold, Alice Attie, Cornell Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Dawoud Bey, Chester Higgins, Jr., Helen Levitt, Aaron Siskind, Bruce Davidson, Roy DeCarava, Leonard Freed, Carl Van Vechten, and Weegee. The book features essays by leading scholars of African-American studies and art - including Deborah Willis, Cheryl Finley, Elizabeth Alexander, and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. – which are paired with the work of eighty artists and photographers, affording this enclave the richest chronicling in its history.

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Sex in N.Y. City: An Illustrated History

This book celebrates sex and demonstrates that New York is the sexiest city in the world. It vividly documents the city’s erotic history through a dramatic gallery of images: early prints and drawings, cartoons, news clippings, rare archival photographs, and art. The book shows how civilization has been pitted against nature in the city and covers urban life from the first startling encounters between colonists and native Americans to today’s sexual carnival. Sex in N.Y. City chronicles social mores and unveils a riveting spectacle of voyeurism and exhibitionism, from the peaks of celebrity to the decadent underground. New York is revealed as the city of a million insatiable appetites.

The first book to showcase four centuries of a lustful approach to life, Sex in N.Y. City will delight all readers of erotica and lovers of New York City, both gay and straight.

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Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

There is a burgeoning movement afoot, a return to the art of making things by hand. A growing group of aware and committed people are seeking out high-quality handmade goods, and New York City is at the forefront of this renaissance.

This book takes the reader into the studios of master artisans in fields such as glassblowing, masonry, and wood carving as well as hatmaking, embroidery, and calligraphy. It provides the ultimate sourcebook for objects with real character—whether for renovating the home, re-creating a look from the past, searching for a one-of-a-kind gift, or restoring a beloved antique. The reader will discover hidden gems such as hand-turned ceramic bowls, tables made from a single piece of wood, baskets fashioned from rare black ash, and hand-blocked wallpaper. The tradespeople profiled here have reached a level of expertise attained only through years of practice. These professionals are obsessive about quality and are driven by a profound passion for their work. Most of them toil in obscurity and normally can be found only through word of mouth—until now.  

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Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

There is a burgeoning movement afoot, a return to the art of making things by hand. A growing group of aware and committed people are seeking out high-quality handmade goods, and New York City is at the forefront of this renaissance.

This book takes the reader into the studios of master artisans in fields such as glassblowing, masonry, and wood carving as well as hatmaking, embroidery, and calligraphy. It provides the ultimate sourcebook for objects with real character—whether for renovating the home, re-creating a look from the past, searching for a one-of-a-kind gift, or restoring a beloved antique. The reader will discover hidden gems such as hand-turned ceramic bowls, tables made from a single piece of wood, baskets fashioned from rare black ash, and hand-blocked wallpaper. The tradespeople profiled here have reached a level of expertise attained only through years of practice. These professionals are obsessive about quality and are driven by a profound passion for their work. Most of them toil in obscurity and normally can be found only through word of mouth—until now.  

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Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

Made in New York: Handcrafted Works by Master Artisans

There is a burgeoning movement afoot, a return to the art of making things by hand. A growing group of aware and committed people are seeking out high-quality handmade goods, and New York City is at the forefront of this renaissance.

This book takes the reader into the studios of master artisans in fields such as glassblowing, masonry, and wood carving as well as hatmaking, embroidery, and calligraphy. It provides the ultimate sourcebook for objects with real character—whether for renovating the home, re-creating a look from the past, searching for a one-of-a-kind gift, or restoring a beloved antique. The reader will discover hidden gems such as hand-turned ceramic bowls, tables made from a single piece of wood, baskets fashioned from rare black ash, and hand-blocked wallpaper. The tradespeople profiled here have reached a level of expertise attained only through years of practice. These professionals are obsessive about quality and are driven by a profound passion for their work. Most of them toil in obscurity and normally can be found only through word of mouth—until now.  

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Ryan Trecartin: Any Ever: Co-Published with Elizabeth Dee, New York

Ryan Trecartin: Any Ever: Co-Published with Elizabeth Dee, New York
“What [Trecartin] has unleashed is larger than himself, which is why both his sudden appearance and continuing evolution are such cause for hope.”—Roberta Smith, New York Times

“The most consequential artist to have emerged since the nineteen-eighties, he is being hailed as the magus of the Internet century.” –Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker

Since the debut of his first feature-length video, the 2004 A Family Finds Entertainment, Ryan Trecartin (b. 1981) has been hailed as one of the most exciting artists of his generation. His movies layer the visual and the aural in virtuosic combinations of color, form, drama, and montage to produce a sublime, stream-of-consciousness effect that feels bewilderingly true to life. This volume, the first monograph on Trecartin, includes extended illustrated sections on his seven-part epic Any Ever, 2009–10, as well as I-Be Area, 2007, and A Family Finds Entertainment. A trio of essays by curators Lauren Cornell, Kevin McGarry, and Linda Norden focus on Trecartin’s repurposing of language, his open-source approach to personality and gender, and his extended amplifications of consumer culture. An interview with Trecartin by artist Cindy Sherman provides a revealing glimpse into his collaborative process.

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Catskills Country Style

Catskills Country Style

The Catskills is the favored new retreat for New Yorkers. Only ninety minutes from the city, it’s closer than the Hamptons and much more affordable. As a consequence, this once thriving area is having a huge revival as a weekend-vacation place. Catskills Country Style, the first book of its kind on the Catskills and its new style–what might be called urban-country-folk design–showcases this new style in the cottages and cabins of the region. Intriguing historic houses are included as well as a collection of more contemporary homes. Among these is Olana, the 1860s Moorish-style country estate of Frederic Church, the great American landscape artist and leading figure of the Hudson River School of painting. Also included is Pennyroyal Cottage, the 1880s first American woman to have her own design firm. These historic houses are the forerunners of the retreats of many current New York City-based artists, bohemians, designers, and stylists.

Current owners of Catskills country style houses are instrumental in shaping trends of today’s look. These stylish innovators are creating an aesthetic with a new twist, recycling ideas as well as furniture with an individualistic philosophy that features an eclectic mix of flea market, yard sale, antique and handmade furniture, sometimes peppered with the latest international high-design avant-garde furnishings. This is a book in the tradition of Rizzoli’s Charleston Style and Santa Barbara Style, and give us a glimpse into the homes and lifestyles of an influential and fascinating group of people.

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