Donatella Versace and Jean-Paul Gaultier; Yves Saint Laurent and Giorgio Armani; Dolce Gabbana and Gucci: fashion is at once a familiar yet mysteriously elite world that we all experience; whether were buying a new pair of jeans; reading Vogue; or watching the latest episode of Americas Next Top Model. Lars Svendsen dives into this world in "Fashion: A Philosophy"; exploring the myths; ideas; and history that makes up haute couture; the must-have trends over the centuries; and the very concept of fashion itself. "Fashion" opens with an exploration of all the possible meanings encompassed by the word fashion; as Svendsen probes its elusive place in art; politics; and history. Ultimately; however; he focuses on the most notable type of fashion: clothing. With his trademark dry wit; he deftly dismantles many of the axioms of the industry and its supporters. For example; he points out that some of the latest fashions shown on catwalks arent actually fashionable in any sense of the word; arguing that theyre more akin to modern art works; and he argues against the increasingly popular idea that plastic surgery and body modification are part of a new wave of consumerism. Svendsen draws upon the writings of thinkers from Adam Smith to Roland Barthes to analyse fashion as both a historical phenomenon and a philosophy of aesthetics. Whether critiquing a relentless media culture that promotes perfect bodies or parsing the never-ending debate over the merits of conformity versus individual style; Lars Svendsen offers an engaging and intriguing analysis of fashion and the motivations behind its constant pursuit for the new.
#208790 in eBooks 2011-05-31 2011-05-31File Name: B0054JTI14
Review
77 of 79 people found the following review helpful. great for anyone who wants to keep create any kind of art journal!!!By MJBThis book gives any journal keeper or wanna be journal keeper some great ideas to help inspire you or figure out exactly what you want to do with your sketchbook journals. The book includes suggestions for travel journaling. daily journaling. nature journaling. spiritual etc and not just samples of what others have done. but questions for the reader to explore and think about to help develop individual journaling that means something to you. I especially love the "Try This" exercises the author included in each chapter such as "describe your day." "abstract the scene." "travel-record the details." "sketch family mementos." "map family moves" and lots of other fun ideas to explore.While showing some useful. beautiful and inspirational examples of ways other experienced and talented artists have kept journals. Ms. Johnsons book expands on the examples and gives tips for developing content as well as some guidance on materials that are easy to use and portable. She presents things very simply for beginners. in a completely non-intimidating way. However. those who have some art experience will appreciate the fact that she didnt over do the "how to paint with watercolors" section. but rather includes a discussion on how to use a variety of materials that work together and are easy just to throw in your purse or art bag. I havent ever used colored pencils or acrylics because they seem too complicated of a medium to work properly for me. but after reading her suggestions I may experiment with some of these other mediums for fun in small sketches in my journal.Ms. Johnsons book is easy for anyone at any level to use. skim it for ideas or read it cover to cover. Its a beautiful book and one that is clearly going to be a new classic on the topic of sketchbook journaling. Others I highly recommend are any of the Danny Gregory books. Everyday Matters. The Creative License. and An Illustrated Life; The Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn; Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles Roth. Also recommend DVD Beginning Watercolor Journaling by Gay Kraeger and Christina Lopp. Drawing from Life. the Journal as Art by Jennifer New has some interesting examples of how a variety of journal keepers approach and keep a journal. Highly recommend the Urbansketchers website and blog. [...] for excellent examples of art journaling from all corners of the world. Cathy Johnson is one of my favorite contributors to that website.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Great book for watercolor and sketch artistsBy H. KittlemanIf you are into watercolor painting of various types (paint. crayons. pencils. etc.) and/or into sketching. and you want to combine recording your life in some way (e.g. your thoughts. travel. hobbies. etc) with these art mediums. then this book is for you. It literally is about combining regular journaling with watercolor and/or sketching to illustrate what you write about. Its a beautiful and easy to read and flip-through book that will encourage and inspire you with prompt ideas. subject ideas. exercise ideas. and tons of photos of sample journal pages. In general. the prompts and exercise ideas could potentially benefit a variety of art journalers in general.Art journaling comes in a lot of different forms. and for me. my preferred form is doing a variety of mixed media techniques to just play and exercise my creativity. Im looking for books for art journaling along those lines. so this book was not for me.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Well thought-out. well doneBy QuinnCreativeA great book to get you kick started into sketching and writing. even if sketching isnt your top talent and you are unsure what to write. There are beautiful examples. encouragement. samples. There are ideas. topics. and suggestions. Its a great inspiration book that can make you drool with delight and jump into the ideas your imagination begins to spin out. Good for every level of art journaling; a must-have for beginners are those with "beginners mind."
