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

In this multidisciplinary book, Sanda Iliescu articulates a rich, multi-faceted approach to the aesthetic experience. Through in-depth discussions of her own lived encounters with art, architecture, and the world around her, she advocates a way of looking that blends sensory perception, formal analysis, social and political consciousness, and personal memory. Focusing special attention on the aesthetic concept of the figure-ground problem, the author challenges this foundational principle’s presumed hierarchies and shows how a new and more dynamic understanding of it can enhance our way of looking at and understanding art and architecture. Works discussed in the book include a wide range of contemporary and historic art and architecture, among them artworks by Rembrandt, Matisse, Eva Hesse, and David Hammons; architecture by Zaha Hadid, Peter Zumthor, and Weiss/Manfredi; and non-Western works such as a thirteenth-century Chinese vase and the Ryōanji dry garden in Kyoto, Japan. Personal and engaging, this book is for a wide audience of those practicing, studying, or with an interest in the creative fields, from beginners to seasoned professionals.

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.

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