Theory of Art Books

New and Published Books

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. Art and Phenomenology

   Edited by Joseph Parry

   Philosophy of art is traditionally concerned with the definition, appreciation and value of art. Through a close examination of art from recent centuries, Art and Phenomenology is one of the first books to explore visual art as a mode of experiencing the world itself, showing how in the words of...

   Published November 24th 2010 by Routledge
8. Photography: Theoretical Snapshots

   Edited by J.J. Long, Andrea Noble, Edward Welch

   Over the past twenty-five years, photography has moved to centre-stage in the study of visual culture and has established itself in numerous disciplines. This trend has brought with it a diversification in approaches to the study of the photographic image. Photography: Theoretical Snapshots...

   Published December 11th 2008 by Routledge
9. Re-Enchantment

   Edited by James Elkins, David Morgan

   Series: The Art Seminar

   The near-absence of religion from contemporary discourse on art is one of the most fundamental issues in postmodernism. Artists critical of religion can find voices in the art world, but religion itself, including spirituality, is taken to be excluded by the very project of modernism. The sublime,...

   Published October 5th 2008 by Routledge
10. Psyche and the Arts

    Jungian Approaches to Music, Architecture, Literature, Painting and Film

    Edited by Susan Rowland

    Does art connect the individual psyche to history and culture? Psyche and the Arts challenges existing ideas about the relationship between Jung and art, and offers exciting new dimensions to key issues such as the role of image in popular culture, and the division of psyche and matter in art form....

    Published May 7th 2008 by Routledge