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An important, original book that, for the first time, describes an architecture that fully embraces both heroism (joy) and functional needs (comfort). It offers a way forward for those entering the field of architectural art, and for those who are interested in understanding how great buildings are created.
It is an antidote to the mistaken conception that architecture is about styles. Styles are, for the most part, rigid conventions that interfere with genuine design thinking.
And it is also an antidote to the current era’s antagonism toward a positive, life-affirming architectural vision of rational, integrated form-and-function design.
This exciting book is filled with illustrations and examples of great architecture -- and shows why they are great. And in an appendix, it provides the details of the creation of two great works and ties them in to the themes of the book.
Art is in profusion all around us. It is -- to just name some large categories -- in the movies, in the theaters, at concerts, on recordings, in painting and sculpture galleries, in the architecture we see and live in, in museums, in novels and poetry.
There is so much human production which is called art nowadays, that one’s mind swims with an overwhelming confusion about what people might mean, when they say this thing or that thing is an “artwork”. The subject of art has become so wide and complex, and beyond the boundaries of what history’s lessons told us about what art is -- that we all question whether some things are really art. We do this either because we don’t like certain works or categories of art, or because some art does not fit the traditional ideas of what the arts can be.
How can we achieve a mental and emotional handle on this vast field? How can we clarify the nature of artworks, so that they are easier to enjoy? How can we identify what is truly worthy of our time, our pleasure, and our consideration?
Art in One Lesson is a book that describes one central psychological feature which all good and great art must have. It shows, in that one Lesson, how to cut through the cultural fog that swirls around the arts. It shows the path to a simpler, deeper understanding about what the greatest arts provide to us all – a soul-satisfying, emotional pleasure that emphasizes what is important in our lives in the real world.
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A detailed analysis of Rand’s theory of art – her esthetics. The book places her theory within the history of esthetics and provides contextual information about her theory’s relation to, and answers to, major estheticians of all periods.
For all those interested in the crucial role of the arts in human life, this volume pulls together Rand’s observations on esthetics from essays on epistemology, psychology, and ethics, as well as her core presentation of her theory in the first four essays of The Romantic Manifesto.
A key theme presented here is her radical concept of objectivity which informs her esthetics and rejects the ubiquitous historical (and current) claim that subjectivity is inherent in art creation or art response.
For the first time, a reader can grasp her entire theory of art via scores of illustrative examples – to assist in making her esthetic theory real and concrete. In the past, books studying art typically could only show images of various visual arts such as painting, sculpture and architecture, or literary excerpts. Using Kindle multimedia technology this book also allows the reader to listen to relevant musical excerpts, to view cinematic scenes, to experience dance/ballet sequences, or to virtually walk through an architectural masterpiece.
As much as this new technology helps in understanding Rand’s theory, the ultimate goal of this book is to be a one-stop-shopping experience for this radical theory by Rand, about the glory of art in human life.
Objective Esthetics: Studying Ayn Rand's Theory of Art: Illustrated
Romanticism and Realism in Art
FREE BOOK
A free book from Timshala Publishing, by an important writer on the arts from a century ago: The Genesis of Art Form, by George Lansing Raymond.
This book provides a trove of hundreds of examples of artworks in all the arts, to explain why the works have the emotional effect they do.
A forgotten classic of esthetics, with intelligent, comprehensive and rational analysis of all the arts.
Additionally, we have added audio clips, so it is easier to understand his musical examples. And where possible we have added color photographs to replace the black/white illustrations from the original 1893 edition.
It can be read on our sister website: