Architectural facades now have the potential to be literally kinetic, through automated sunscreens and a range of animated surfaces. This book explores the aesthetic potential of these new types of moving facades. Critique of theory and practice in architecture is combined here with ideas from kinetic art of the 1960’s. From this background the basic principles of kinetics are defined and are used to generate experimental computer animations. By classifying the animations, a theory of kinetic form called ‘state change’ is developed. This design research provides a unique and timely resource for those interested in the capacity of kinetics to enliven the public face of architecture. Extra material including animations can be seen at www.kineticarch.net/statechange

In recent decades, art historians and critics have occasionally emphasized a dynamic, embodied mode of looking, accenting the role of the viewer and the complex interplay between beholders and works of art. In The Place of the Viewer, Kerr Houston shows that an attention to the position and physical experiences of beholders has in fact long informed art historical analyses – and that close study of the theme can lead to a fuller understanding of the discipline, the act of viewership and individual works of art. Simultaneously attentive to historical ideas and contemporary scholarship, this book identifies a vein of thought that has been generally overlooked, and proposes new ways of seeing familiar works and traditions.

A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes recognizes that change is a driving force in all the arts. It covers major trends in music, dance, theater, film, visual art, sculpture, and performance art--as well as architecture, science, and culture.

This book explores the ways in which artists use technology to create different perceptions of time in art in order to reflect on contemporary relationships to technology. By considering the links between technology, movement and contemporary art, the book explores changing relationship between temporality in art, art history, media art theory, modernity, contemporary art, and digital art. This book challenges the dominant view that kinetic art is an antiquated artistic experiment and considers the changing perception of kinetic art by focusing on exhibitions and institutions that have recently challenged the notion of kinetic art as a marginalised and forgotten artistic experiment with mechanical media. This is achieved by deconstructing Frank Popper’s argument that kinetic art is a precursor to subsequent explorations in the intersections between art, science and technology. Rather than pandering to the prevailing art historical assumption that kinetic sculpture is merely a precursor to art in a digital culture, the book proposes that perhaps kineticism succeeded too well, where movement has become a ubiquitous element of the aesthetic of contemporary art. If, as Boris Groys has recently suggested, installation has become the dominant mode of art in the contemporary age, then movement in real time with the viewer is used to aestheticise and explore the facets of our peculiar time.

More than fifty years after his death, Albert Einstein's vital engagement with the world continues to inspire others, spurring conversations, projects, and research, in the sciences as well as the humanities. Einstein for the 21st Century shows us why he remains a figure of fascination. In this wide-ranging collection, eminent artists, historians, scientists, and social scientists describe Einstein's influence on their work, and consider his relevance for the future. Scientists discuss how Einstein's vision continues to motivate them, whether in their quest for a fundamental description of nature or in their investigations in chaos theory; art scholars and artists explore his ties to modern aesthetics; a music historian probes Einstein's musical tastes and relates them to his outlook in science; historians explore the interconnections between Einstein's politics, physics, and philosophy; and other contributors examine his impact on the innovations of our time. Uniquely cross-disciplinary, Einstein for the 21st Century serves as a testament to his legacy and speaks to everyone with an interest in his work. The contributors are Leon Botstein, Lorraine Daston, E. L. Doctorow, Yehuda Elkana, Yaron Ezrahi, Michael L. Friedman, Jürg Fröhlich, Peter L. Galison, David Gross, Hanoch Gutfreund, Linda D. Henderson, Dudley Herschbach, Gerald Holton, Caroline Jones, Susan Neiman, Lisa Randall, Jürgen Renn, Matthew Ritchie, Silvan S. Schweber, and A. Douglas Stone.