"Beauty will save the world." – Fyodor DostoevskyThe great writer was clear about this. Beauty is revealed through artwork. It makes a person superior, spiritual, moral, and more virtuous. Even the people of ancient Greece used music and dance as a way of curing diseases.
Nowadays, the price of some paintings that were made several centuries ago reaches millions of dollars. Art penetrates a human’s soul when he/she is facing a real masterpiece. This, in a nutshell, is the role of art as a phenomenon. Not all people try to comprehend it, appreciate it, and learn it. Most of all, they are convinced that art is for the select or the highbrow. Grasping is similar to learning to read or write in that it takes time to get into the art's meaning.
Contemporary art can be difficult to define and describe as it is far from the standard norms in the current world. Without history, culture, and concepts, one cannot fully comprehend and appreciate them. In books, one can find the historical background and the ideas that formed modern art.
"Recalling my first impressions of Yayoi Kusama, I can mention that her creative works, such as installations or polka-dot motifs, seemed figurative and rather provocative. Reading "
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Net" by Sarah Suzuki made me aware of the psychological impacts that affected Kusama, her perception and execution of infinity and obsession, and how her life story influenced her pieces of art." Laura Thompson from NYIAD
Art books of the present can be very helpful sources for ideas. They demonstrate specifics of aesthetic approaches, new stakeholder methods, and various creative visions so the readers may challenge themselves and try to think unconventionally.
"When reading the book
"Art & Fear" by David Bayles and Ted Orland, I was most enlightened regarding the authors’ views about how and why artists experience barriers in their craft and the need to take risks. Some of the concepts common in the literature helped me to venture into new territories and explore experiments in my art, which was for me a test and a fulfilling experience." Evelyn Brooks from the Art Institute of Chicago
- Teach New Techniques and Ideas
The books of contemporary art may contain information about the technologies, methods and materials that were used in the works of artists at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. They can be very beneficial to anyone wishing to develop their work as an artist or discover novelties in a particular field of art.
In the book by Michael Schrage, "
The Art of Interactive Design," I was enlightened on how technology and art are combined in interactive installations. In this book, the artists’ strategies for engaging spectators through technology are well described. I have turned these concepts into a multimedia project in which I implemented interactive elements that changed the audience’s perception of my creations.” Jasper Quinn from MIAD