Many scholars and the art world, generally, recognize that post modernism is characterized by an explosion of language into the field of the visual arts. For the rest of us, there have been numerous shows at major museums and galleries, allowing us to confront and to be confronted by these new and challenging art forms.

Publisher Description

A New York socialite who wasn't interested in fortune or fame? That was Judy Lovin who valued friendship, integrity and her career as a preschool teacher. Then her father's business collapsed, and his most powerful enemy offered to help, but under the condition that Judy would accompany him to a remote Caribbean island as his companion - nothing more. Since it meant so much to her family, Judy agreed. She suspected that he was probably a harmless lonely man. But she was so wrong. She didn't expect to meet a powerful, attractive loner who would stun her senses and capture her heart.

Until now, Camillo Palladini's manuscript for his discourse on fencing was housed in the De Walden Library at the Wallace Collection in London. Hitherto unpublished and largely unknown, it is of central importance to a modern understanding of Italian rapier play in the sixteenth century. This stunning book, a joint endeavour between the Royal Armouries and the Wallace Collection, reproduces the forty-six red chalk illustrations in the manuscript--only three of which have ever been seen in print--together with a transcription and translation of the original Italian text. Perfect for students of fencing, lovers of Italian art, sixteenth-century researchers, and historical reenactors and interpreters, The Art of Fencing: The Forgotten Discourse of Camillo Palladini showcases a striking example of Renaissance swordsmanship.

In recent years, many prominent and successful artists have claimed that their primary concern is not the artwork they produce but the artistic process itself. In this volume, Kim Grant analyzes this idea and traces its historical roots, showing how changing concepts of artistic process have played a dominant role in the development of modern and contemporary art. This astute account of the ways in which process has been understood and addressed examines canonical artists such as Monet, Cézanne, Matisse, and De Kooning, as well as philosophers and art theorists such as Henri Focillon, R. G. Collingwood, and John Dewey. Placing “process art” within a larger historical context, Grant looks at the changing relations of the artist’s labor to traditional craftsmanship and industrial production, the status of art as a commodity, the increasing importance of the body and materiality in art making, and the nature and significance of the artist’s role in modern society. In doing so, she shows how process is an intrinsic part of aesthetic theory that connects to important contemporary debates about work, craft, and labor. Comprehensive and insightful, this synthetic study of process in modern and contemporary art reveals how artists’ explicit engagement with the concept fits into a broader narrative of the significance of art in the industrial and postindustrial world.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Art Discourse in the Sixteenth-Century Netherlands examines Bruegel's later paintings in the context of two contemporary discourses-art theoretical and convivial. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the author analyzes a variety of images, texts and historical records to offer a broader understanding of not only the artist, but also of the vibrant artistic dialogue occurring in the Netherlands during the sixteenth century.

In the wake of the Counter-Reformation, Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, the archbishop of Bologna, wrote a remarkable treatise on art during a time when the Church feared rampant abuse in the arts. Paleotti's 'Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images' argues that art should address a broad audience and explains the painter's responsibility to his spectators.