20 Best Books On Aesthetics (2023 Update)

The culmination of a lifetime of aesthetic investigation, aesthetic theory is adorno's major work, a defense of modernism that is paradoxical in its defense of illusion. in it, adorno takes up the problem of art in a day when "it goes without saying that nothing concerning art goes without saying". in the course of his discussion, adorno revisits such concepts as the sublime, the ugly, and the beautiful, demonstrating that concepts such as these are reservoirs of human experience. these experiences ultimately underlie aesthetics, for in adorno's formulation "art is the sedimented history of human misery".

Yuriko saito explores the nature and significance of the aesthetic dimensions of people's everyday life. everyday aesthetics has the recognized value of enriching one's life experiences and sharpening one's attentiveness and sensibility. yuriko saito argues that ultimately, everyday aesthetics can be an effective instrument for directing the humanity's collective and cumulative world-making project for the betterment of all its inhabitants. everyday aesthetics has been seen as a challenge to contemporary anglo-american aesthetics discourse, which is dominated by the discussion of art and beauty. saito responds to controversies about the nature, boundary, and status of everyday aesthetics and argues for its legitimacy. she highlights the multi-faceted aesthetic dimensions of everyday life that are not fully accounted for by the commonly-held account of defamiliarizing the familiar.

What happens when a researcher and a practitioner spend hours crammed in a fiat discussing data visualization? beyond creating beautiful charts, they found greater richness in the craft as an integrated whole. drawing from their unconventional backgrounds, these two women take readers through a journey around perception, semantics, and intent as the triad that influences visualization. this visually engaging book blends ideas from theory, academia, and practice to craft beautiful, yet meaningful visualizations and dashboards. how do you take your visualization skills to the next level? the book is perfect for analysts, research and data scientists, journalists, and business professionals. functional aesthetics for data visualization is also an indispensable resource for just about anyone curious about seeing and understanding data. think of it as a coffee book for the data geek in you.

This volume builds on two recent developments in philosophy on the relationship between art and science: the notion of representation and the role of values in theory choice and the development of scientific theories. its aim is to address questions regarding scientific creativity and imagination, the status of scientific performances–such as thought experiments and visual aids–and the role of aesthetic considerations in the context of discovery and justification of scientific theories.several contributions focus on the concept of beauty as employed by practising scientists, the aesthetic factors at play in science and their role in decision making. other essays address the question of scientific creativity and how aesthetic judgment resolves the problem of theory choice by employing aesthetic criteria and incorporating insights from both objectivism and subjectivism. the volume also features original perspectives on the role of the sublime in science and sheds light on the empirical work studying the experience of the sublime in science and its relation to the experience of understanding.the aesthetics of science tackles these topics from a variety of novel and thought-provoking angles. it will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in philosophy of science and aesthetics, as well as other subdisciplines such as epistemology and philosophy of mathematics.

From the rising-star designer and author of the hit blog, elements of style, a full-color, fully illustrated book packed with honest advice, inspiration, ideas, and lessons learned about designing a home that reflects your personality and style.elements of style is a uniquely personal and practical decorating guide that shows how designing a home can be an outlet of personal expression and an exercise in self-discovery. drawing on her ten years of experience in the interior design industry, erin combines honest design advice and gorgeous professional photographs and illustrations with personal essays about the lessons she has learned while designing her own home and her own life—the first being: none of our homes or lives is perfect. like a funny best friend, she reveals the disasters she confronted in her own kitchen renovation, her struggles with anorexia, her epic fight with her husband over a lucite table, and her secrets for starting a successful blog. organized by rooms in the house, elements of style invites readers into erin’s own home as well as homes she has designed for clients. fresh, modern, and colorful, it is brimming glamour and style as well as advice on practical matters from choosing kitchen counter materials to dressing a bed with pillows, picking a sofa, and decorating a nursery without cartoon characters. you’ll also find a charming foreword by erin’s husband, andrew, and an extensive resource and shopping guide that provides an indispensable a roadmap for anyone embarking on their first serious home decorating adventure. with erin’s help, you can finally make your house your home.

This is a high quality book that is in good condition and ready for prompt shipment to any u.s. location.

The newly expanded and revised edition of cooper’s popular anthology featuring classic writings on aesthetics, both historical and contemporary the second edition of this bestselling anthology collects essays of canonical significance in aesthetics and the philosophy of art, featuring a wide range of topics from the nature of beauty and the criteria for aesthetic judgement to the value of art and the appreciation of nature. includes texts by classical philosophers like plato and kant alongside essays from art critics like clive bell, with new readings from leonardo da vinci, oscar wilde, walter pater, ronald w. hepburn, and arthur c. danto among others intersperses philosophical scholarship with diverse contributions from artists, poets, novelists, and critics broadens the scope of aesthetics beyond the western tradition, including important texts by asian philosophers from mo tzu to tanizaki includes a fully-updated introduction to the discipline written by the editor, as well as prefaces to each text and chapter-specific lists of further reading

The book begins with a review of the basic rules of perspective from the italian renaissance, leonardo da vinci's scientific and mathematical concepts, joseph alber's theory of color, and rudolph arnheim's visual perceptions. this understanding of foundational concepts prepares students to perceive the aesthetics of art as it transitions to abstraction at the end of the 19th century. students then explore art through movements such as impressionism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, and fauvism. they examine dadaism, surrealism, gestalt theory, and abstract expressionism. post-modernism, contemporary, neo-contemporary, photography, graffiti, and public art are also explored. artistic movements are studied through a variety of representations such as painting, prints, collage/assemblage, and new media. each chapter includes a writing assignment, critical questions, further readings, and ideas for hands-on activities so that students can explore art through experience. the book includes essential terms and lists of styles and artists. written to increase curiosity about and joy in art, the aesthetics of art is an excellent resource for survey courses in art history and appreciation.liza renia papi holds a master's of fine arts degree in visual art from city university of new york, a b.a. in art history from the federal university of rio de janeiro, and is currently studying aesthetics and philosophy at the institute for doctoral studies in the visual arts. a working artist who focuses on installation and mixed-media painting, she is currently involved in the traveling exhibition artists in the archive: the alternet, curated by carla rae johnson. she has taught for el museo del barrio, the queens museum of art, and the solomon guggenheim museum. professor papi works for the brazilian endowment for the arts, learning through an expanded arts program (leap), and is an adjunct associate professor at st. john's university in new york where she teaches art appreciation.

Far more than a conventional tome on interiors, it offers a glimpse through the keyhole of the rich and beautiful- a design piece in its own right, with special finishing touches you can see and feel- for interior design aficionados, aesthetics enthusiasts, art lovers and fans of thái côngwhen the german-vietnamese interior designer thái công quách gets down to business, he creates sumptuously furnished interior landscapes for everyone who loves the extraordinary. he cleverly combines elements of western (pop) culture with the traditions of the far east. for him, luxury is not merely an end in itself — people are always at the center of everything he does. the interiors he has been designing for over 20 years bear his distinctive signature and an unmistakable style. a passion for aesthetics is the first coffee table book dedicated to thái công quách's unique form of expression. with incisive writing and captivating images, the book showcases finished interiors along with their sources of inspiration, and, most importantly, the master of staging discusses what aesthetics mean to him.

This is the first of two volumes of the only english edition of hegel's aesthetics, the work in which he gives full expression to his seminal theory of art. the substantial introduction is his best exposition of his general philosophy of art. in part i he considers the general nature of art as a spiritual experience, distinguishes the beauty of art and the beauty of nature, and examines artistic genius and originality. part ii surveys the history of art from the ancient world through to the end of the eighteenth century, probing the meaning and significance of major works. part iii (in the second volume) deals individually with architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and literature; a rich array of examples makes vivid his exposition of his theory.

This study of modern japan engages the fields of art history, literature, and cultural studies, seeking to understand how the "beautiful woman" (bijin) emerged as a symbol of japanese culture during the meiji period (1868-1912). with origins in the formative period of modern japanese art and aesthetics, the figure of the bijin appeared across a broad range of visual and textual media: photographs, illustrations, prints, and literary works, as well as fictional, critical, and journalistic writing. it eventually constituted a genre of painting called bijinga (paintings of beauties). aesthetic life examines the contributions of writers, artists, scholars, critics, journalists, and politicians to the discussion of the bijin and to the production of a national discourse on standards of japanese beauty and art. as japan worked to establish its place in the world, it actively presented itself as an artistic nation based on these ideals of feminine beauty. the book explores this exemplary figure for modern japanese aesthetics and analyzes how the deceptively ordinary image of the beautiful japanese woman–an iconic image that persists to this day–was cultivated as a "national treasure," synonymous with japanese culture.

"wild art" refers to work that exists outside the established, rarified world of art galleries and cultural channels. it encompasses uncatalogued, uncommodified art not often recognized as such, from graffiti to performance, self-adornment, and beyond. picking up from their breakthrough book on the subject, wild art, david carrier and joachim pissarro here delve into the ideas driving these forms of art, inquire how it came to be marginalized, and advocate for a definition of "taste," one in which each expression is acknowledged as being different while deserving equal merit.arguing that both the "art world" and "wild art" have the same capacity to produce aesthetic joy, carrier and pissarro contend that watching skateboarders perform christ air, for example, produces the same sublime experience in one audience that another enjoys while taking in a ballet; therefore, both mediums deserve careful reconsideration. in making their case, the two provide a history of the institutionalization of "taste" in western thought, point to missed opportunities for its democratization in the past, and demonstrate how the recognition and acceptance of "wild art" in the present will radically transform our understanding of contemporary visual art in the future.provocative and optimistic, aesthetics of the margins / the margins of aesthetics rejects the concept of "kitsch" and the high/low art binary, ultimately challenging the art world to become a larger and more inclusive place.

William desmond argues that philosophy, religion, and art begin in wonder. desmond is widely recognized for his original metaphysics and his provocative philosophy of religion. desmond's extensive writings on aesthetics, art, and literature, however, have received much less attention. wonder strikes is the first book-length examination of these dimensions of desmond's thought. desmond claims that art, philosophy, and religion must recover their ancient kinship and their shared roots in wonder if they are to counter the destructive instrumentalism of our time.

This second edition features a new 48-page afterword–1980 updating professor beardsley's classic work. "there is not much i could say to expand the reputation of this classic text, but it is a testament to beardsley's deep insight that i am finding the book useful for the study of chinese aesthetics–which beardsley himself never intended to broach. there may still be no better introduction to thinking about art and beauty." –paul r. goldin, university of pennsylvania

In aesthetic intelligence: reclaim the power of your senses, rochelle mucha, ph.d., a pioneer in organizational aesthetics, introduces aesthetic intelligence, the capacity to fully utilize the power of your senses to reveal fresh approaches to tackling long-standing challenges and opportunities in a global, ever-changing marketplace. from deep listening to intentional characterization, from the ability to synthesize to acting in real time, the author guides you on how to reignite your sense-ability. mucha, founder of business as performance art, invites the reader to explore the underpinnings of the culture of the performing arts, weaving pragmatism and substance into a conversational narrative that sets the stage for you to create and sustain an environment of connection, creativity, and innovation. whatever your role or industry, aesthetic intelligence will expand your repertoire, bolster your individual leadership, and strengthen organizational performance.

This volume is a fascinating introduction to the core themes and basic methods of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. providing an analytic and historical treatment of the issues, and including many illustrative examples to both motivate and reinforce theoretical discussion, an introduction to aesthetics is the ideal course book for the philosophical novice. it includes an appendix (containing the texts referred to in the book), a comprehensive glossary and further reading suggestions to help the student reader develop a deeper comprehension of the field.

This volume is a fascinating introduction to the core themes and basic methods of aesthetics and the philosophy of art. providing an analytic and historical treatment of the issues, and including many illustrative examples to both motivate and reinforce theoretical discussion, an introduction to aesthetics is the ideal course book for the philosophical novice. it includes an appendix (containing the texts referred to in the book), a comprehensive glossary and further reading suggestions to help the student reader develop a deeper comprehension of the field.

Language and literature – principles of aestheticsabout the book this book has grown out of lectures to students at the university of michigan and embodies effort to express to them the nature and meaning of art. in writing it, the author has sought to maintain scientific accuracy, yet at the same time to preserve freedom of style and something of the inspiration of the subject. while intended primarily for students, the book will appeal to people who are interested in the intelligent appreciation of art. for the broader philosophy of art to the artists and philosophers during the period from herder to hegel, who gave to the study its greatest development, and among contemporaries, to croce and lipps. preface this book has grown out of lectures to students at the university michigan and embodies my effort express them nature and art. in writing it, have sought maintain scientific accuracy, at the same to preserve freedom style something the inspiration of subject. while intended primarily for students, the book will appeal generally, hope, to intelligent appreciation. my obligations are extensive,-most directly to those whose influence is indirect pervasive make citation profitable, too obvious to make it necessary. for the broader philosophy debt is heaviest, i the artists and philosophers during the from herder hegel, to study greatest development, and, among contemporaries, to croce lipps. in addition, i have drawn freely upon the special investigations of recent but with the caution desirable in of the results. **contents and sample pages**

Why do people read novels, go to the theater, or listen to beautiful music? aesthetics, the first short introduction to the contemporary philosophy of aesthetics, examines not just the nature of the aesthetic experience, but the definition of art, and its moral and intrinsic value in our lives. anne sheppard divides her work into two parts: in the first, she summarizes the major theories defining art and beauty; in the second, she explores the nature of aesthetic evaluation and appreciation. as sheppard explains, there are three main approaches to defining art, all focused on what art objects share. one proposes that all art imitates something in life, another that it expresses something (such as anger or ecstasy), still another suggests that all art has formal qualities. there is also a fourth which offers that all art shares the quality of beauty. in the second part, which concentrates on literary art, sheppard explores such philosophic topics as critical judgment, meaning and truth in literature, and the relationship between art and morals. she raises such questions as whether there is one correct interpretation of a work of art and whether art has a moral effect on its audience and, citing specific examples, explores the views that have been put forth. a wide-ranging, intriguing book, which assumes no formal knowledge on the part of its readers, aesthetics opens the door to a greater understanding and appreciation of art.

Why do people read novels, go to the theater, or listen to beautiful music? aesthetics, the first short introduction to the contemporary philosophy of aesthetics, examines not just the nature of the aesthetic experience, but the definition of art, and its moral and intrinsic value in our lives. anne sheppard divides her work into two parts: in the first, she summarizes the major theories defining art and beauty; in the second, she explores the nature of aesthetic evaluation and appreciation. as sheppard explains, there are three main approaches to defining art, all focused on what art objects share. one proposes that all art imitates something in life, another that it expresses something (such as anger or ecstasy), still another suggests that all art has formal qualities. there is also a fourth which offers that all art shares the quality of beauty. in the second part, which concentrates on literary art, sheppard explores such philosophic topics as critical judgment, meaning and truth in literature, and the relationship between art and morals. she raises such questions as whether there is one correct interpretation of a work of art and whether art has a moral effect on its audience and, citing specific examples, explores the views that have been put forth. a wide-ranging, intriguing book, which assumes no formal knowledge on the part of its readers, aesthetics opens the door to a greater understanding and appreciation of art.