A to is Riegl (1858-1905) was one of the greatest modern art historians. The most important member of the so-called "Vienna School," Riegl developed a highly refined technique of visual or formal analysis, as opposed to the iconological method with its emphasis on decoding motifs through recourse to texts. Riegl also pioneered understanding of the changing role of the viewer, the significance of non-high art objects or what would now be called visual or material culture, and theories of art and art history, including his much-debated neologism Kunstwollen (the will of art). At last, his Historical Grammar of the Visual Arts, which brings together the diverse threads of his thought, is available to an English-language audience, in a superlative translation by Jacqueline E. Jung. In one of the earliest and perhaps the most brilliant of all art historical "surveys," Riegl addresses the different visual arts within a sweeping conception of the history of culture. His account derives, from Hegelian models but decisively opens onto alternative pathways that continue to complicate attempts to reduce art merely to the artist's intentions or its social and historical functions. Book jacket.

A survey of the different visual arts within a sweeping conception of the history of culture by a highly influential figure in art history.

Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and Meaning offers a deep insight and comprehension of the world of Art. Contents: What is Art? The Structure of Art Significance of Materials Used in Art Describing Art - Formal Analysis, Types, and Styles of Art Meaning in Art - Socio-Cultural Contexts, Symbolism, and Iconography Connecting Art to Our Lives Form in Architecture Art and Identity Art and Power Art and Ritual Life - Symbolism of Space and Ritual Objects, Mortality, and Immortality Art and Ethics

"Few sites within the university open a richer critical reflection than that of the M.F.A., with its complex crossing of professionalism, theory, humanistic knowledge, and the absolute exposure of practice. Howard Singerman's Art Subjects does a magnificent job of both laying out our current crises, letting us see the shards of past practices embedded in them, and of demonstrating—rendering urgent and discussable—what it now means either to assume or award the name of the artist."—Stephen Melville, author of Seams, editor of Vision and Textuality "Art Subjects is a must read for anyone interested in both the education and status of the visual artist in America. With careful attention to detail and nuance, Singerman presents a compelling picture of the peculiarly institutional myth of the creative artist as an untaught and unteachable being singularly well adapted to earn a tenure position at a major research university. A fascinating study, thoroughly researched yet oddly, and movingly, personal."—Thomas Lawson, Dean, Art School, CalArts

The author describes ways to employ the visual arts in the writing workshop with reasons to do it, guides for trying it, images, and worksheets.