Art as Therapy Hardcover – October 14, 2013
Author: Visit Amazon's Alain de Botton Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0714865915 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Art as Therapy – October 14, 2013
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Direct download links available for Art as Therapy – October 14, 2013
Download electronic versions of selected books Art as Therapy Hardcover – October 14, 2013 for everyone book mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link
Review
A captivating, uncomplicated read that challenges how artists, dealers, and particularly, art museums do business, and anyone who cares about art should get a copy.—The Denver Post
When I read through Art as Therapy, paintings that I had long admired suddenly became new when seen through the filter of self awareness and exploration. Really a gem of a book.—Goop
Bountiful food for thought here, elegantly phrased and finely illustrated.—The Seattle Times
A profoundly refreshing and heterodox approach to art. . . Art as Therapy upend[s] the art world's self-referential culture [and] boldly positions art at the center of our daily lives.—Publishers Weekly
When I read through Art as Therapy, paintings that I had long admired suddenly became new when seen through the filter of self awareness and exploration. Really a gem of a book.—Goop
Bountiful food for thought here, elegantly phrased and finely illustrated.—The Seattle Times
A profoundly refreshing and heterodox approach to art. . . Art as Therapy upend[s] the art world's self-referential culture [and] boldly positions art at the center of our daily lives.—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Alain de Botton is the bestselling author of How Proust Can Change Your Life and Religion for Atheists in addition to other works of fiction and essays. In 2008 he founded The School of Life, dedicated to a new vision of education. His work has been reviewed in The Times, The Guardian, The Economist among many others and he has appeared on BBC Radio 4, Question Time and Newsnight. His popular TED talks have combined received over 3 million views. De Botton lives and works in London. John Armstrong is a philosopher and art theorist based at Melbourne University in Australia. He is the author of several books, including The Intimate Philosophy of Art, Conditions of Love and In Search of Civilisation.
Direct download links available for Art as Therapy – October 14, 2013
- Hardcover: 239 pages
- Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 14, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0714865915
- ISBN-13: 978-0714865911
- Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Aesthetics
- #16 in Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Criticism
As an artistic production in its own right, this book is lovely. The illustrations are remarkable. Even the structure is thought-provoking, and the early sections, each devoted to an analysis of the ways in which art can transcend its nominal subjects and acquire a personal relevance to the individual viewing it (or, in the case of architecture, inhabiting it) were intriguing).
But that's when the book's analysis started falling apart for me, since that's where de Botton moves away from an understanding and awareness that the relationship between a person and an individual piece of art is always going to be just that: individual. Especially when we're talking about "art as therapy". The way I respond to Monet's Giverny paintings may be the way that someone else reacts to, say, a Vermeer interior, or a Ming vase -- or even something utterly unexpected, like a vibrant Kandinsky. de Botton, in contrast, implies that there is a way we as a society can somehow guide a viewer to have a certain kind of epiphany by looking at a certain kind of work of art. I'm with de Botton in suggesting that that kind of visceral, thoughtful, emotional reaction occurs -- and should be encouraged -- but part ways with him in suggesting that we, as a society, should somehow be guiding people as to what they should be thinking in response to certain works of art by showcasing them in galleries devoted to kinds of emotions (loss, friendship, etc.), commissioning work to help us understand grief, etc.
Consider one example that de Botton offers up: that of the central panel of a 15th century triptych that once belonged to Isabella of Castile. It features Jesus, resurrected, visiting the Virgin Mary.
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