Theory of Art Books

New and Published Books

1. Rethinking Aesthetics

   The Role of Body in Design

   Edited by Ritu Bhatt

   Rethinking Aesthetics is the first book to bring together prominent voices in the fields of architecture, philosophy, aesthetics, and cognitive sciences to radically rethink the relationship between body and design. These essays argue that aesthetic experiences can be nurtured at any moment in...

   Published February 11th 2013 by Routledge
2. Theorizing Visual Studies

   Writing Through the Discipline

   Edited by James Elkins, Kristi McGuire, Maureen Burns, Alicia Chester, Joel Kuennen

   This forward-thinking collection brings together over sixty essays that invoke images to summon, interpret, and argue with visual studies and its neighboring fields such as art history, media studies, visual anthropology, critical theory, cultural studies, and aesthetics. The product of a...

   Published December 12th 2012 by Routledge
3. Representations of Pain in Art and Visual Culture

   Edited by Maria Pia Di Bella, James Elkins

   Series: Routledge Advances in Art and Visual Studies

   The presentation of bodies in pain has been a major concern in Western art since the time of the Greeks. The Christian tradition is closely entwined with such themes, from the central images of the Passion to the representations of bloody martyrdoms. The remnants of this tradition are evident in...

   Published November 13th 2012 by Routledge
4. Meanings of Abstract Art

   Between Nature and Theory

   Edited by Paul Crowther, Isabel Wünsche

   Series: Routledge Advances in Art and Visual Studies

   Traditional art is based on conventions of resemblance between the work and that which it is a representation "of". Abstract art, in contrast, either adopts alternative modes of visual representation or reconfigures mimetic convention. This book explores the relation of abstract art to nature (...

   Published June 18th 2012 by Routledge
5. Genealogy and Ontology of the Western Image and its Digital Future

   By John Lechte

   Series: Routledge Advances in Art and Visual Studies

   With the emerging dominance of digital technology, the time is ripe to reconsider the nature of the image. Some say that there is no longer a phenomenal image, only disembodied information (0-1) waiting to be configured. For photography, this implies that a faith in the principle of an "...

   Published April 2nd 2012 by Routledge
6. Fifty Key Texts in Art History

   Edited by Diana Newall, Grant Pooke

   Series: Routledge Key Guides

   Fifty Key Texts in Art History is an anthology of critical commentaries selected from the classical period to the late modern. It explores some of the central and emerging themes, issues and debates within Art History as an increasingly expansive and globalised discipline. It features an...

   Published February 12th 2012 by Routledge
7. Photography: History and Theory

   By Jae Emerling

   Photography: History and Theory introduces students to both the history of photography and critical theory. From its inception in the nineteenth century, photography has instigated a series of theoretical debates. In this new text, Jae Emerling therefore argues that the most insightful way to...

   Published December 12th 2011 by Routledge
8. Art as Abstract Machine

   Ontology and Aesthetics in Deleuze and Guattari

   By Stephen Zepke

   Series: Studies in Philosophy

   The aim of this book is to understand what Deleuze and Guattari mean by "art." Stephen Zepke argues that art, in their account, is an ontological term and an ontological practice that results in a new understanding of aesthetics. For Deleuze and Guattari understanding what art "is" means...

   Published May 15th 2011 by Routledge
9. What Photography Is

   By James Elkins

   In What Photography Is, James Elkins examines the strange and alluring power of photography in the same provocative and evocative manner as he explored oil painting in his best-selling What Painting Is. In the course of an extended imaginary dialogue with Roland Barthes's Camera Lucida, Elkins...

   Published April 25th 2011 by Routledge
10. Cross-Cultural Issues in Art

    Frames for Understanding

    By Steven Leuthold

    Cross-Cultural Issues in Art provides an engaging introduction to aesthetic concepts, expanding the discussion beyond the usual Western theorists and Western examples. Steven Leuthold discusses both contemporary and historical issues and examples, incorporating a range of detailed case studies...

    Published December 12th 2010 by Routledge