Excerpts from art critic, historian, lecturer and broadcaster James Hall’s lively and comprehensive cultural history of self-portraiture, including such artists as DA1rer, Gentileschi, Van Gogh and Kahlo. Surprising, questioning, challenging, enriching: the ON series celebrates writers and thinkers who have helped shape the conversation across the arts.

"The only Lou Reed bio you need to read." -The Washington Post"There have been many biographies of Lou Reed, but Will Hermes has written the definitive life . . .He has brought to the assignment a sharp eye, a clear head, a lucid prose style, and a determination to let Lou be Lou, without judgment." -Lucy Sante, author of Low LifeThe most complete and penetrating biography of the

Part cultural criticism, part rueful confessional, a reformed brand strategist brings to light the impact of influence on us and our society and offers an escape in this ironically persuasive case for not being so easily influenced anymore. We live in a world that is under the influence.

A charming and highly personal introduction to the artists of the Dutch Golden AgeTwenty years ago, Benjamin Moser followed a love affair to an ancient Dutch town. In order to make sense of this new place, he threw himself into the Dutch museums.

A new concise history of modern painting, offering an indispensable reference to the complexities and characteristics of this medium. While acknowledging the legacy of Herbert Read\'s classic 1959 study A Concise History of Modern Painting in the World of Art series, academic and artist Simon Morley places the foundation of modern art much earlier than Read, at the emergence of Romanticism and the

More than 40 stories from the glory days of rock\'n\'roll, featuring Lou Reed, Elton John, Sting and The Clash. Allan Jones brings stories - many previously unpublished - from the golden days of music reporting.

When Muddy Waters came to London at the start of the \'60s, a kid from Boston called Joe Boyd was his tour manager; when Dylan went electric at the Newport Festival, Joe Boyd was plugging in his guitar; when the summer of love got going, Joe Boyd was running the coolest club in London, the UFO; when a bunch of club regulars called Pink Floyd recorded their first single, Joe Boyd was the producer; when

Building spaces of equilibrium: Norm Architects\' humane simplicity creates environments that feel as good as they look. Guided by ideas of wellbeing, the essence of Norm Architects\' style is balance: richness focused by restraint, simplicity imbued with warmth, complexity heightened by order.

So rich and unique is traditional Japanese architecture that it\'s nearly impossible to improve upon. Yet contemporary Japanese designers and architects keep finding fresh approaches to refurbish and take inspiration from the ways of old.

A rich, vibrantly illustrated account of the history and sources of manga As contemporary as this graphic art form may appear to readers outside of Japan, manga has, in fact, deep roots in Japanese culture, drawing on centuries-old artistic traditions: traces can be found in seventh century temple paintings, folding screens decorated with comic characters, and painted medieval Emakimono scrolls. The

The English illustrator Anna Atkins (1799-1871) was in every respect a modern woman. For the publication of her plant collections she used the latest technology, the recently invented cyanotype.

\'The definitive, scrupulously researched biography of a life steeped in mystery\' Observer The definitive biography of one contemporary culture\'s most iconic and mysterious figures - musical revolutionary, Nobel Prize-winner, chart-topping recording artist In 2016 it was announced that Bob Dylan had sold his personal archive to the George Kaiser Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reportedly for $22 million.

An important and fascinating collection of original projects by unique thinkers in the world of architecture and spatial design Architectural practice today goes far beyond the design and construction of buildings - the most exciting, forward-thinking architecture is also found in digital landscapes, art, apps, films, installations, and virtual reality. This remarkable book features projects - surprising,

No single living artist has created as many myths, rumours and legends as Banksy. In 2011 Bristol based writer Marc Leverton teamed up with Carpet Bombing Culture to bring a collection of the best of these stories together.

Alex Prager is one of the truly original image makers of our time. Working fluidly between photography and film, she creates large-scale projects that combine elaborately built sets, highly staged, complex performances and a `Hollywood\' aesthetic to produce still and moving images that are familiar yet strange, utterly compelling and unerringly memorable.

\'A problem of space first of all, then a problem of order\' One of the most singular and extravagant imaginations of the twentieth century, the novelist and essayist Georges Perec was a true original who delighted in wordplay, puzzles, taxonomies and seeing the extraordinary in the everyday. In these virtuoso writings about books and language, he discusses different ways of reading, a list of the

Anime Architecture presents the most breathtaking environments created by the most important and revered directors and illustrators of Japanese animated films. From futuristic cities of steel to romantic rural locales, the creators of anime have conjured memorable and painstakingly detailed worlds, the influences of which have been felt across cinema, literature, comic books and videogames for dec

Leonardo da Vinci was a revolutionary thinker, artist and inventor who has been written about and celebrated for centuries. Lesser known, however, is his revolutionary and empowering portrayal of the modern female, centuries before the first women\'s liberation movements.

Urban interventions establish strong links between the social and spatial spheres of cities, giving place to interactions by which art and architecture make use of public spaces. Urban Interventions presents a rigorous selection of projects that have transformed streets, parks and derelict areas of cities all over the world into extraordinary public spaces, seeking people\'s involvement through a wide

How can infographics help magazines and newspapers succeed? Francesco Franchi, author of Designing News, answers this question in The Intelligent Lifestyle Magazine.