Visual Art

Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close (born July 5, 1940) is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photo-realist. He developed his own highly resolved heads (his preferred term to portraits), which were worked on a massive scale. Despite suffering a disabling spinal aneurysm in 1988, the artist has continued to forge a monumental body of work in a variety of media: paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs, of potent and original effect.

Edward Lucie-Smith examines Hans Holbein's famous series of prints, The Dance of Death, together with associated works, such as various artistic variations on the theme of Death and the Maiden. In addition, Lucie-Smith looks at some famous images made on the theme of war, notably the prints of Jacques Callot and the bitter social studies of Goya y Lucientes.

This is an interview by Sarah Batiste with textile and ceramic artist Paramjit Takhar recorded in 1989. Here, Paramjit explains the spiritual aspects of colours, with essays on the history and influence of Mogul painting.

This is a recorded conversation with Manchester-born artist Hughie O'Donoghue, first published in Cv Journal of the Arts v2/3 September 1989. He discusses his ideas about painting and evaluates key works such as Sleeper and recent landscape The Irish Sea.

Cv/VAR 50 publishes an interview with the artist Helen Chadwick (1953-96), recorded at her Beck Road studio in 1989. It explores the body-action-photographic works distilled in installations such as Ego Geometria Sum and Of Mutability, and the cromalin prints of 1989: Viral Landscapes, prepared for exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art Oxford in 1990.

Dr. Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, gives an interview to Cv/VAR, first published in Curators and Collections Volume Three 2010. He describes the history of the Art Fund, its foundation, aims and initiatives, and work as a major benefactor, enabling museums and galleries to preserve and develop their collections, including recently discovered treasure troves, and individual works saved for the future.

A presentation by exhibition curator Catherine David in 1997 describes her plans for Documenta X Kassel; title 'Retroperspective', including works by Joseph Beuys and Walter de Maria. She proposes the ambitions of the projects, in linking strands of modern and progressive art, with aspirations of different nationalities and cultures.

Somewhere within the iconic images, carefully made personae, star-studded milieu, million-dollar price tags and famous quotes lies the real Andy Warhol. But who was he? With Andy Warhol, Robert Shore unfolds the multi-dimensional Warhol, dissecting his existence as undisputed art-world hotshot, recreating the amazing circle that surrounded him, and tracing his path to stardom back through his early career and his awkward and unusual youth.

A review of Nam June Paik at Tate Modern, explores the exhibition room by room. "When asked about his practice Paik replied "I am aware of Zen, but I am an artist: I react to Zen in the same way I react to the music of Johan Sebastian Bach."

Seven days in Funchal on the Island of Madeira. Journal notes of the settings, locations, and personal stories in diary entries.

A recorded visit to van Gogh and Britain considers the work of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) placed in the context of British art and literature of the 19th century and his effect on succeeding generations of artists.

An essay by Edward Lucie-Smith explores aspects of the mysterious and private character of the renowned American society artist John Singer Sargent.

Early sunlight glittered gold on the leaves. Big Meg woke when a slight rise in temperature told him it was time to move. He raised his head to taste the air. It was still cool and a slight breeze carried smells to his flickering tongue. His ears picked out no sound other than the rustle of leaves and the creak of branches high above the ground. His head swiveled, the folds and wattles of his neck that served as camouflage shifted as he did. He decided it was safe to move and that it was early enough to find food.

A review of the Mary Quant exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum London. The audiobook looks at the beginnings of the designer's practice, launched with the Kings Road boutique Bazaar in the 1950s; progressing to Quant's mini skirts and trouser suits in the 1960s, and development of a cosmetic range in the 1970s. Includes quotations from associates and biographical data.

A recorded visit to Elizabethan Treasures during the press view at the National Portrait Gallery London. Inspect miniature portraits by Nicholas Hilliard and Isaac Oliver of Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Francis Frake, Henry Wriothesley and others, and the celebrated icon of Queen Elizabeth I.

An interview with the author J. P. Donleavy, recorded in 1989 on the occasion of his exhibition at Anna-Mei Chadwick Gallery, Chelsea. He describes his formative experience of Dublin, with exhibitions there in 1948, '50, and '51, the catalogue manifestos, for these were his first published writings, leading to work on his first renowned novel, The Ginger Man.

Feature by David Rose first published in Cv Journal of Art and Crafts 2/4 December 1989, in which he describes craft practices of individual makers in the county of West Cork, Ireland. The monograph also includes a survey of Dublin colleges of art and design by Margaret MacNamidhe, first published in Cv Journal 4/2 July 1991. From Cv/VAR Archive. Crafts Directory surveys practices in the applied and decorative arts in the UK and Ireland. The anthology of interviews and features was first published in the quarterly review Cv Journal of Art and Crafts 1988-91, and includes showcases of emerging practices, studies of crafts education, and a comprehensive index of specialist producers and suppliers in the flourishing arena of crafts design and distribution.

A follow-up to the bestseller Sigil Witchery, Visual Alchemy takes a deeper look at the extraordinary connection between art and magic. Laura Tempest Zakroff expands on her signature sigil witchery method, an accessible and intuitive approach to crafting effective sigils. She covers numerous topics, including how to connect to the artist within, draw inspiration to you, and easily incorporate art into your ritual practice. Featuring more than fifty shared magic sigils, this book empowers you to put aside fear and unleash the full potential of your imagination.

The YouTube money craze is on. Because of this wonderful innovation, ordinary individuals can now upload their own videos and monetize that through the number of viewers. But as more people join in the money tree, the competition has become very stiff. The explosion of videos taken by ordinary individuals has taken the world by storm and the formula for what would make the next YouTube viral video is on.

Brought to yoy by Penguin. The average person sees about 10,000 commercial visuals a day. Yet, research shows we can only process about 1% of the visual information we encounter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, where does this excess leave us? In The Visual Detox, art expert and...