Dana Arnold

The bestselling survey of art history, newly expanded with additional artworks and fresh commentary across six overarching themes: looking, materials, mind, devotion, power, and sex. How is art made? How can we interpret the meaning behind it? And what is the significance of the way in which it is displayed? Using six common themes that bind together art from around the globe, this lively and illuminating journey through art history seeks to answer these questions and more, drawing parallels across different time periods and cultures - from cave paintings to contemporary multi-media works. This expanded edition of Dana Arnold's bestselling survey offers new illustrations and fresh insights - the perfect companion for anyone seeking to learn more across a stunning breadth of art.

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring British Architecture: A Very Short Introduction presents an original and engaging overview of the architecture of the British Isles, from medieval times to the present day. Avoiding the traditional approach of a chronological survey of architects and architectural style, each chapter presents a thematic exploration of key aspects of British architecture that endure across time and still have relevance today. Arnold uses illustrated chapters to aid appreciation of the artistic and cultural significance of British architecture and how it operates as a barometer of social trends. Arnold also highlights the ways in which architecture can project national and regional identities. British architecture tells of the intrinsic nature of Britishness and is an important means of understanding Britain's connection with the rest of the world. There is no doubt about the international significance of the work of recent and contemporary British architects. But Arnold also relates how a preoccupation with the past has been a constant theme in design thinking and practice. A thematic, historical understanding of British architecture in terms of its form and purpose explains much about the society and culture for which it was built. Architecture continues to shape patterns of living and social interaction and responds to new demands. Equally, debates about how best to express the nation through its architecture reveal much about Britain's perception of itself and how this is expressed at home and abroad. Finally, Arnold explores how subsequent generations can offer new interpretations and meanings that change our view of British architecture's legacy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Architecture and ekphrasis examines how eighteenth-century prints and drawings of antique architecture operated as representations of thought. Using original archival material, it considers the idea of the past in the period, specifically how it was discovered and described, and investigates how space and time inform visual ekphrasis or descriptions of architecture. The idea of embodiment is used to explore the various methods of describing architecture – including graphic techniques, measurement and perspective – all of which demonstrate choices about different modes of ekphrasis. This well-illustrated, accessibly written study will be of interest to academics and students working in a broad range of subject areas. It will also be an essential teaching tool for increasingly popular cross-disciplinary courses.

Architecture and ekphrasis examines how eighteenth-century prints and drawings of antique architecture operated as representations of thought. Using original archival material, it considers the idea of the past in the period, specifically how it was discovered and described, and investigates how space and time inform visual ekphrasis or descriptions of architecture. The idea of embodiment is used to explore the various methods of describing architecture – including graphic techniques, measurement and perspective – all of which demonstrate choices about different modes of ekphrasis. This well-illustrated, accessibly written study will be of interest to academics and students working in a broad range of subject areas. It will also be an essential teaching tool for increasingly popular cross-disciplinary courses.

Art history encompasses the study of the history and development of painting, sculpture and the other visual arts. In this Very Short Introduction, Dana Arnold presents an introduction to the issues, debates, and artefacts that make up art history. Beginning with a consideration of what art history is, she explains what makes the subject distinctive from other fields of study, and also explores the emergence of social histories of art (such as Feminist Art History and Queer Art History). Using a wide range of images, she goes on to explore key aspects of the discipline including how we write, present, read, and look at art, and the impact this has on our understanding of art history. This second edition includes a new chapter on global art histories, considering how the traditional emphasis on periods and styles in art originated in western art and can obscure other critical approaches and artwork from non-western cultures. Arnold also discusses the relationship between art and history, and the ways in which art can tell a different history from the one narrated by texts. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The evolution of an urban self-consciousness in London in the early nineteenth century played a fundamental role in the shaping of the city. In this volume Dana Arnold explores the responses to the city among the urban bourgeoisie and their influence on the experience and development of London. Each of the chapters re-presents the metropolis through a thematic consideration of the urban infrastructure and architecture including public open spaces, new roads and bridges, public monuments, and buildings for show including museums, galleries and townhouses. These discrete ’walks’ around London cohere into a kaleidoscopic view of the metropolis as a continually evolving entity. The nature and perception of urban experience and social life are mapped against this changing image of London revealing at once the modernity of the metropolis and the importance of the past - especially antiquity - to the construction of this transient present. Evidence of attitudes towards the metropolis is drawn from a range of contemporary visual and written sources including commentaries, guidebooks, literature and parliamentary reports and enquiries. The study of sensory responses to the city allows the exploration of the dynamic between city and society and a broader cultural understanding of urban form. London is re-presented as a matrix of key architectural, social and cultural themes and as the emblematic expression of different kinds of identities relating to gender,class and nationhood.

The Spaces of the Hospital examines how hospitals operated as a complex category of social, urban and architectural space in London from 1680 to 1820. This period witnessed the transformation of the city into a modern metropolis. The hospital was very much part of this process and its spaces, both interior and exterior, help us to understand these changes in terms of spatiality and spatial practices. Exploring the hospital through a series of thematic case studies, Dana Arnold presents a theoretically refined reading of how these institutions both functioned as internal discrete locations and interacted with the metropolis. Examples range from the grand royal military hospital, those concerned with the destitute and the insane and the new cultural phenomenon of the voluntary hospital. This engaging book makes an important contribution to our understanding of urban space and of London, uniquely examining how different theoretical paradigms reveal parallel readings of these remarkable hospital buildings.

The Spaces of the Hospital examines how hospitals operated as a complex category of social, urban and architectural space in London from 1680 to 1820. This period witnessed the transformation of the city into a modern metropolis. The hospital was very much part of this process and its spaces, both interior and exterior, help us to understand these changes in terms of spatiality and spatial practices. Exploring the hospital through a series of thematic case studies, Dana Arnold presents a theoretically refined reading of how these institutions both functioned as internal discrete locations and interacted with the metropolis. Examples range from the grand royal military hospital, those concerned with the destitute and the insane and the new cultural phenomenon of the voluntary hospital. This engaging book makes an important contribution to our understanding of urban space and of London, uniquely examining how different theoretical paradigms reveal parallel readings of these remarkable hospital buildings.

Boken ger en inspirerande introduktion till konstvetenskap och ingår i vår serie med introduktioner till estetiska ämnen. I denna kortfattade och precisa bok ger Dana Arnold en introduktion till de frågor, debatter och föremål som tillsammans utgör disciplinen konstvetenskap. Genom att använda ett brett urval av bilder, från statyerna på Påskön till »Super Mario Brothers«, visar författaren hur konstverken själva kan vara en utgångspunkt för hur vi kan »läsa« konsthistorien och ger förslag på flera olika sätt som vi kan uppskatta, tänka kring och förstå konst på och förmedlar därigenom en effektiv och lustfylld entré till den konstvetenskapliga världen. Med en ordlista över tekniska termer och en förteckning av adresser till användbara hemsidor är detta på samma gång en ovärderlig och lättillgänglig introduktion till ett fascinerande ämne. Dana Arnold är professor i arkitekturhistoria vid Universitetet i Southampton och chef för Centret för studier i arkitektur och urbanism. Hennes senaste arbeten omfattar bland annat »Reading Architectural History« (Routledge, 2002) och »Representing the Metropolis: Architecture, Urban Experience and Social Life in London« (Ashgate, 2000). Hon är också redaktör för bokserierna »New Interventions in Art History« och »Companions to Art History«, båda utgivna av Blackwell. Mellan 1997 och 2002 var hon chefredaktör för tidskriften »Art History«. Dan Karlholm har skrivit bokens förord och svarat för fackgranskningen. Han är docent och lektor i konstvetenskap vid Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation, Södertörns högskola. Han har framför allt forskat om konstvetenskapens historia och teori, museer, modern konst och visuell kultur. Utgivna titlar i introduktionsserien: Design - en introduktion av John Heskett. Design för hållbar utveckling - en introduktion av Ann Thorpe. Design och postmodernitet - en introduktion av Penny Sparke. Designhistoria - en introduktion av Susann Vihma. Film och andra rörliga bilder - en introduktion, red. Anu Koivunen. Fotografi - en introduktion av Steve Edwards. Konstteori - en introduktion av Cynthia Freeland. Konstvetenskap - en introduktion av Dana Arnold. Mode - en introduktion. En tvärvetenskaplig betraktelse, red. Dirk Gindt & Louise Wallenberg. Svensk designhistoria av Lasse Brunnström.Kommande introduktionsböcker 2011: Swedish Design History av Lasse Brunnström.

This original and innovative book examines a period in with the development of London was perhaps at its most intense, for in the opening decades of the nineteenth century a concerted attempt was made to transform the metropolis into a modern European capital. For the first time the re-imaging of London is considered in relation to attitudes towards land, land ownership and the use of landscapes. The author contends that methods of land management and development and the associative values of landscape usually connected with rural environments, were in many ways equally applicable to country and city and formed essential components in the evolution of the metropolis. This study of London landscapes will be of relevance to a broad range of researchers, academics and those with a lively interest in architectural, social, economic and cultural history.

The country house was the focal point of Georgian architecture, landscape and society. This book explores the meaning of this distinct cultural form using a wide range of examples and approaches. Dana Arnold presents an analysis of the social and cultural significance of the country house, and her work is complemented by essays from experts in a variety of disciplines.Illustrations, showing exteriors, interiors and landscapes of houses ranging from Blenheim and Harewood to lesser known examples such as A la Ronde, provide a thorough historical and visual survey of the period. This title offers fresh interpretations and enables the reader to gain an insight into the pivotal role the country house played in 18th- and early 19th-century society.

Architectural history is more than just the study of buildings. Architecture of the past and present remains an essential emblem of a distinctive social system and set of cultural values and as a result it has been the subject of study of a variety of disciplines. But what is architectural history and how should we read it?Reading Architectural History examines the historiographic and socio/cultural implications of the mapping of British architectural history with particular reference to eighteenth - and nineteenth-century Britain. Discursive essays consider a range of writings from biographical and social histories to visual surveys and guidebooks to examine the narrative structures of histories of architecture and their impact on perception adn understanding of the architecture of the past. Alongside this, each chapter cites canonical histories juxtaposed with a range of social and cultural theorists, to reveal that these writings are richer than we have perhaps recognised and that architectural production in this period can in interrogated in the same way as that from more recent past - and can be read in a variety of ways. The essays and texts combine to form an essential course reader for methods and critical approached to architectural history, and more generally as examples of the kind of evidence used in the formation of architectural histories, while also offering a thematic introduction to architecture in Britain and its social and cultural meaning.

Architectural history is more than just the study of buildings. Architecture of the past and present remains an essential emblem of a distinctive social system and set of cultural values and as a result it has been the subject of study of a variety of disciplines. But what is architectural history and how should we read it?Reading Architectural History examines the historiographic and socio/cultural implications of the mapping of British architectural history with particular reference to eighteenth - and nineteenth-century Britain. Discursive essays consider a range of writings from biographical and social histories to visual surveys and guidebooks to examine the narrative structures of histories of architecture and their impact on perception adn understanding of the architecture of the past. Alongside this, each chapter cites canonical histories juxtaposed with a range of social and cultural theorists, to reveal that these writings are richer than we have perhaps recognised and that architectural production in this period can in interrogated in the same way as that from more recent past - and can be read in a variety of ways. The essays and texts combine to form an essential course reader for methods and critical approached to architectural history, and more generally as examples of the kind of evidence used in the formation of architectural histories, while also offering a thematic introduction to architecture in Britain and its social and cultural meaning.

The evolution of an urban self-consciousness in London in the early nineteenth century played a fundamental role in the shaping of the city. In this volume Dana Arnold explores the responses to the city among the urban bourgeoisie and their influence on the experience and development of London. Each of the chapters re-presents the metropolis through a thematic consideration of the urban infrastructure and architecture including public open spaces, new roads and bridges, public monuments, and buildings for show including museums, galleries and townhouses. These discrete ’walks’ around London cohere into a kaleidoscopic view of the metropolis as a continually evolving entity. The nature and perception of urban experience and social life are mapped against this changing image of London revealing at once the modernity of the metropolis and the importance of the past - especially antiquity - to the construction of this transient present. Evidence of attitudes towards the metropolis is drawn from a range of contemporary visual and written sources including commentaries, guidebooks, literature and parliamentary reports and enquiries. The study of sensory responses to the city allows the exploration of the dynamic between city and society and a broader cultural understanding of urban form. London is re-presented as a matrix of key architectural, social and cultural themes and as the emblematic expression of different kinds of identities relating to gender,class and nationhood.