Art Essays

Michel de Montaigne embodies the humanist ideal—curious, measured, contemplative yet not unworldly, witty, free of prejudice, and urbane. But what does this French Renaissance philosopher have to tell us about how to think and live today? In forty short, erudite, and lively chapters written over a single summer, Antoine Compagnon seeks answers to that question. In A Summer with Montaigne, Compagnon invites his listeners to join him as he strolls through Montaigne’s key contributions to our understanding of what is good and worthwhile in life.

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. ART AND THE HANDICRAFTSMAN: The fragments of which this lecture is composed are taken entirely from the original manuscripts which have but recently been discovered. It is not certain that they all belong to the same lecture, nor that all were written at the same period. Some portions were written in Philadelphia in 1882.

This eBook contains two essays on film: "On Viewing Hans Richter's Rhythmus 21": the search for cinematic meaning in one of the most famous early German avant-garde films. "The Perfect Filmic Appositiveness of Jack Smith": impressions of the films of one of cinema's most eccentric auteurs.

Author, critic, and traveler, Marina Vaizey reflects on her experiences of the international art world, in a career spanning six decades, including eighteen years as the chief art critic at the Sunday Times. I can offer a lecture, very short, on the art world post war until now. Here it is. More. More artists, more money, more collectors, more collections, more scholarship, more publications, more museums, more galleries, more countries involved publicly world wide: Just - for good and ill - more.

This is the first of a series of essays to explore the age-old art of BS. What is BS? How can one master the art of BS? When, where, and how is BS appropriate? A tongue-in-cheek cultural and literary analysis of the history and nature of BS as an art form. Author and narrator Dan Sullivan tackles the subject in his customarily zany way, mixing anecdote, history, science, and of course, biology.

Mit ihren Romanen ist Herta Müller berühmt geworden – in ihren Essays gibt sie Auskunft über sich und ihre Zeit. Wohl nirgends ist ihr bizarrer Weg aus einem Dorf in Rumänien in die Welt der Literatur so gut nachvollziehbar. In den ausgewählten Texten erzählt sie von Kindheit und Jugend, berichtet von den Verfolgungen durch die Geheimpolizei, aber sie widmet sich auch Fragen ihres eigenen Schreibens, seinen literarischen und politischen Seiten. Mit der Stockholmer Rede zur Nobelpreisverleihung und der Tischrede im Originalton.

В тайниках памяти — захватывающий рассказ о поисках таинственного автора романа "Лабиринт бесчеловечности", вызвавшего в Париже 1938 года бурю эмоций: одни называли его новым Артюром Рембо, другие обвиняли в плагиате. В наши дни книга производит неизгладимое впечатление на начинающего сенегальского писателя ДиеганаЛатираФайе, и он задается целью выяснить, что случилось с этим бесследно исчезнувшим человеком. Мысленное путешествие в прошлое и реальное — по следам автора — погружает Диегана в подробности давних драматических событий колониальной эпохи, Первой мировой войны, Холокоста.

The Amputee’s Guide to Jules Verne is a listener's guide to every novel Jules Verne wrote; in that respect alone, there is no other book like it on the market. But it’s more than that. Nick DiMartino has included several essays evaluating Verne’s overall approach as a writer and the values embodied in his work. He has included as well a number of deeply personal essays about his struggles with the loneliness, pain, and lack of mobility that came with being an amputee.

THE ENGLISH RENAISSANCE OF ART: 'The English Renaissance of Art' was delivered as a lecture for the first time in the Chickering Hall, New York, on January 9, 1882. A portion of it was reported in the New York Tribune on the following day and in other American papers subsequently. Since then this portion has been reprinted, more or less accurately, from time to time, in unauthorised editions.

In Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart, Russ Ramsey digs into these artists' stories for readers who may be new to art, as well as for lifelong students of art history, to mine the transcendent beauty and hard lessons we can take from their masterpieces and their lives. Each story from some of the history's most celebrated artists applies the beauty of the gospel in a way that speaks to the suffering and hope we all face.

En el año 1974, la artista serbia Marina Abramovic colocó alrededor de su cuerpo setenta y dos objetos divididos en dos categorías: objetos de placer y objetos de dolor. Luego invitó al público a que los usase sobre sucuerpo, transformándose, de esta manera, en otro objeto más. El fin era observar el comportamiento humano ante la indefensión. Cuentan que Abramovic estuvo a punto de perder la vida. Al fin y al cabo, lo fácil siempre fue hacer daño. Al fin y al cabo, lo difícil siempre es amar.

"Hace tiempo que no leía algo tan bueno. En pana puede leerse como una autobiografía—porque es la biografía de unos autos—o un ménage à trois entre novela, ensayo y poesía, o una exagerada nota al pie acerca del copiloto como un pequeño dios. Martín Cinzano ha escrito un libro inolvidable, muy divertido, melancólico, vertiginoso e introspectivo: callejero, carretero y carrilero." —Alejandro Zambra

In the three decades that Nobel prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk has devoted himself to writing fiction, he has also produced scores of witty, moving, and provocative essays and articles. He engages the work of Nabokov, Kundera, Rushdie, and Vargas Llosa, among others, and he discusses his own books and writing process. We also learn how he lives, as he recounts his successful struggle to quit smoking, describes his relationship with his daughter, and reflects on the controversy he has attracted in recent years.

From columnist and critic Alana Massey, a collection of essays examining the intersection of the personal with pop culture through the lives of pivotal female figures - from Sylvia Plath to Britney Spears - in the spirit of Chuck Klosterman, with the heart of a true fan.

No dispare al pianista es la recopilación y traducción de tres ensayos de Oscar Wilde inéditos en el mundo hispanohablante. Sarcástico, refinado y lúcido, su opinión sobre los estadounidenses, los modelos y las prisiones se mantiene fresca y estimulante. Traducción y narración en español latinoamericano.

An honest, inspiring exploration of the New York acting world, ambition, and success, delivered by a fresh, bold insider's voice. In her critically acclaimed essay collection, writer Mellini Kantayya exposes the pinnacles and pitfalls of pursuing artistic ambitions and life as a rank-and-file actor. Her unflinching depiction of show business, backstage anecdotes, and self-deprecating humor will resonate with both the creative and the curious--and inspire anyone who has ever juggled making art and making rent.

We all have stories to tell, but not everyone gets the mentoring and training or encouragement to become a great storyteller. Founded a quarter century ago, Girls Write Now has empowered young women and gender-expansive youth to harness their creative talents, gaining confidence, skills, and a community supporting them in sharing stories the world needs to hear.

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. LECTURE TO ART STUDENTS: Delivered to the Art students of the Royal Academy at their Club in Golden Square, Westminster, on June 30, 1883. The text is taken from the original manuscript. In the lecture which it is my privilege to deliver before you to-night I do not desire to give you any abstract definition of beauty at all.

Chapters from My Autobiography is a collection of twenty-five pieces of autobiographical work published by American author Mark Twain in the North American Review between September 1906 and December 1907. Rather than following the standard form of an autobiography, they comprise a typically Twain-esque collection of rambling anecdotes and ruminations.

"Menschen können gut ohne Gedichte sein, aber ein Gedicht nicht ohne Menschen." Wie kann es sein, dass eine Strickerin aus dem Lavanttal in Kärnten zu einer der größten deutschsprachigen Dichterinnen des 20. Jahrhunderts wird? Jenny Erpenbeck lässt uns an ihrer Faszination für Christine Lavant (1915–1973) teilhaben, deren Gedichte sie zum ersten Mal liest, als sie Mitte der Neunziger in Graz lebt. An der Faszination für eine Frau, die sich durch ihre Lesewut, Sensibilität und Klugheit aus dem elenden Dasein, das ihr durch Krankheit und Armut vorgezeichnet war, herausgeschrieben hat.