This volume is a study of the structure of certain of James's works, as well as a search for the structural principles that inform James's fiction and lie behind the technical dicta of his essays and prefaces. It also develops the thesis that most of James's structures are determined by logical and spatial, rather than chronological, concepts of relationships. Originally published in 1967. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Eliel Saarinen, father of Eero Saarinen and the foremost architectural conceptualist of this century, trained a generation of visionaries at the famous Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he presided as Director from 1932 to 1948. He profoundly altered the course of modern art with his bold, innovative style and ceaseless striving for ideal form. In this important volume, the leader of the "American Bauhaus" has set down the principles that guided his work, making them comprehensible to the general reader and student. Emphasizing design on an organic level and an interrelated study of all fields of art, Saarinen rejects the slavish mimicry of old, exhusted styles (e.g. Classicism and Romanticism). Instead, he promotes the development of fresh modes of artistic expression, appropriate to each new generation. Saarinen's persuasive and illuminating text is divided into three main sections. Part I consists of an introductory analysis, an historical overview of art, and an examination of art in the modern world, highlighting the role of mechanization. Part II addresses the creative instinct, organic order, form and vitality, and form and time. In Part III, form is related to aspects of reason and sensation: truth, logic, function, color, decoration, space, theory, tradition, beauty, taste, and imagination. Both a valuable historical tract and a practical guide to the creative process, this convenient paperback volume (the only edition in print) makes Saarinen's powerful insights accessible to all artists, architects, art historians, and students of design

Excerpt from Search for Form: A Fundamental Approach to Art IN the search for form - when sincere and honest - the action is twofold: to create form; and to diagnose the created form. Accordingly, as the artist proceeds with his creation, there simultaneously develops a rationalizing yet unwritten analysis Of the work. This analysis is a personal meditation, characteristic of the individual and therefore independent Of the thoughts Of Others. Nevertheless, the nearer the thoughts Of the individual approach indispensable funda mentals, the closer will they contact the thoughts of Others engaged in the same search. During the many years of my work in the field of art in general and in architecture in particular, I have always tried to approach my problems in accordance with this two fold procedure: through work, and then through an analytic criticism of this work. This analytic criticism has been a natural discipline springing from the work itself - for my self only - and not an intentional systematizing of thought for Others to follow. This dual procedure, I felt, was essential, particularly in my case, as conditions began to spin about myself and my efforts. For those years - from 1894 to 1897 - during which I got my first dope [sic] in Classical architecture, coincided with those very years when it finally became evident that the Classical form after all is not the form to be used for con temporary purpose, but that our time must develop an architectural form Of its own. So was the reasoning in for ward-looking circles - and, for sure, forward-looking circles are the only criterion. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This provocative study argues that some of the most inventive artwork of the 1890s was strongly influenced by the methods of experimental science and ultimately foreshadowed twentieth-century modernist practices. Looking at avant-garde figures such as Maurice Denis, Édouard Vuillard, August Strindberg, and Edvard Munch, Allison Morehead considers the conjunction of art making and experimentalism to illuminate how artists echoed the spirit of an increasingly explorative scientific culture in their work and processes. She shows how the concept of “nature’s experiments”—the belief that the study of pathologies led to an understanding of scientific truths, above all about the human mind and body—extended from the scientific realm into the world of art, underpinned artists’ solutions to the problem of symbolist form, and provided a ready-made methodology for fin-de-siècle truth seekers. By using experimental methods to transform symbolist theories into visual form, these artists broke from naturalist modes and interrogated concepts such as deformation, automatism, the arabesque, and madness to create modern works that were radically and usefully strange. Focusing on the scientific, psychological, and experimental tactics of symbolism, Nature’s Experiments and the Search for Symbolist Form demystifies the avant-garde value of experimentation and reveals new and important insights into a foundational period for the development of European modernism.

True competence in drawing is an essential skill for anyone in the graphic arts. In this important book, one of America's most distinguished art teachers guides the reader beyond mere surface fluency to a serious understanding and mastery of the basic structural principles common to all forms, human, animal and natural. The clear, straightforward text and schematic diagrams, photographs and drawings show how these forms express perfectly their growth and function. Drawing the human figure is covered in detail, with emphasis on movement, foreshortening and perspective. The structure and interrelationships of body cavity, arms and legs and head are clearly presented with photographs of male and female models and student and master drawings, which are analyzed in detail with diagrams printed in two colors. The dynamic structure of animals is visualized and related to the other subjects. The natural forms of landscape, as well as overall design and composition in nature, are related to other organic structures and illustrated with drawings by students and professionals to indicate the wide range of individual aesthetic responses evoked by the same subject. Basic elements of graphic design -- line, tone, rhythm, movement and value -- are demonstrated in a variety of materials and tools: charcoal, pencil, ink, brush, pen, twigs. A gallery of drawings by leading contemporary artists brings to life that most important goal of the serious artist: the development of an expressive, personal idiom. - Jacket flap.