Soviet Signs and Street Relics Guilbeau Jason Thames&Hudson

French photographer Jason Guilbeau has used Google Street View to virtually navigate Russia and the former USSR, searching for examples of a forgotten Soviet empire. The subjects of these unlikely photographs are incidental to the purpose of Google Street View - captured by serendipity, rather than design, they are accorded a common vernacular. Once found, he strips the images of their practical use by removing the navigational markers, transforming them to his own vision • From remote rural roadsides to densely populated cities, the photographs reveal traces of history in plain sight: a Brutalist hammer and sickle stands in a remote field; a jet fighter is anchored to the ground by it's concrete exhaust plume; a skeletal tractor sits on a cast-iron platform; an village sign resembles a Constructivist sculpture

"We've finished the earthly tsars and we're coming for the heavenly ones!". Thus spoke the Soviet Union's first atheist propagandists as they declared war on "the opium of the people" across the USSR • Soviet atheism is the great lost subject of the 20th century. Pope Pius XI led a "crusade of prayer" against it. George Orwell satirised it in Animal Farm. The Nazis called it a Jewish plot. Franklin D. Roosevelt pressured Stalin to abandon it. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn blamed it for Russia's catastrophes. Ronald Reagan put it at the core of his "Evil Empire" speech. And yet, because the Soviet Union promoted atheism almost entirely for domestic consumption, decades worth of arcane and astonishing antireligious imagery remains unknown in the West

The history of China- brilliantly told and brought vividly to life through more than 6,000 years of artifacts and treasures • This illustrated introduction to the history of China offers a fresh understanding of China's progress from the Neolithic age to the present. Told in six chapters arranged chronologically, through art, artifacts, people, and places, and richly illustrated with expertly selected objects and artworks, it firmly connects today's China with its internationally engaged past • From the earliest archaeological relics and rituals, through the development of writing and state, to the advent of empire, the author charts China's transformation from ancient civilization into the world's most populous nation and influential economy, offering historical insights and cultural treasures along the way

Known for his multi-storey murals gracing buildings all over the world, Melbourne-based artist Rone uses his work to explore the friction and connection between beauty and decay, youth and ruin • Rone was a seminal figure in the explosive Melbourne street art scene of the early 2000s. With his beginnings in street art, stencil and screen printing, Rone is now best known for his haunting images of women's faces, rendered in arresting detail on silos and store fronts, museums and apartment blocks. His immersive installations have continued his investigation into divergent themes of beauty and ruin, materiality and loss, through the transformation of condemned, derelict or forgotten spaces - with each artwork painstakingly produced, only to be destroyed

From the turn of the century S-bend silhouette to celebrity couture of the new millennium and the evolution of streetwear, this comprehensive survey explores significant developments in fashion from 1900 to the present day. Fashion historians Amy de la Haye and Valerie Mendes focus on key movements and innovations in style, and explore trends through the work of some of the world's most original and influential designers and couturiers. Chapters are organized around crucial shifts in tastes and major world events, and exciting advances in fashion are placed within their socioeconomic, political and cultural contexts • International in scope with colour illustrations throughout, this edition includes updated text as well as a new chapter that discusses some of the defining features of fashion in our time: the industry's proactive embrace of age, gender and race diversity, and it's ongoing efforts to combat labour exploitation and encourage global sustainability

Recent advances in technologies and home-generated renewable energy have made building away from urban and rural infrastructures more practical and affordable than ever. This survey of the world's most innovative off-grid homes reveals the cuttingedge architecture and technology that is enabling us to escape to some of the most extraordinary natural environments on the planet • All of the houses featured in this book are fully, or almost fully, self-sufficient in terms of energy, water and, in some cases, food. Architecture and interior design expert Dominic Bradbury reveals how each architect has made everyday living in these wild and natural settings a rewarding and tempting reality. From snowbound cabins in the far Northern Hemisphere to coastal retreats that can only be accessed by boat, the diverse projects collected here show the innovative ways in which architects and their clients are tackling extreme climates, remoteness and construction challenges to enable a new way of life that is both liberating and sustainable

A beautiful and dynamic new way of looking at the work of Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest painters, inventors, and scientists of all time • Experience the most famous Renaissance artist and inventor in a brand-new way. Courtney Watson McCarthy has crafted many brilliant pop-up books, featuring artists like Antoni Gaudi? and Salvador Dali?, and Leonardo Pop-Ups is the most dynamic yet. McCarthy showcases a variety of pop-ups showing off Da Vinci's many talents; beyond his famous Renaissance paintings, Da Vinci has also been called the father of paleontology and architecture, and has been credited with the inventions of such diverse machines as the helicopter, the parachute, and the tank • Featuring many of Da Vinci's most enduring artworks, both as illustrations and pop-ups, including The Vitruvian Man, The Last Supper, and, of course, the Mona Lisa, Leonardo Pop-Ups also includes Da Vinci's self-portrait, an overview of his architectural designs, and inventions such as a flapping ornithopter

In Japanese life and culture, there has never been a clear distinction between art, craft and design. Generations of artisans have for centuries forged and refined their crafts, which have become the envy of the modern world. Regions of Japan are renowned for specific traditions, many of which are born of local materials and the natural settings in which they are produced • Visitors and craft and design enthusiasts have long known about the high quality of craftsmanship and the unique quality of these makers and the objects they create, though few are taken outside the country. Spurred by an awareness of the unseen treasures produced by these craftspeople, designer-authors Uwe Roettgen and Katharina Zettl set out across the country to find the finest examples, to document the makers and their workshops and the rural landscapes that surround them

The art and architecture of Egypt during the age of the pharaohs capture the imagination of the modern world. Vivid, graceful forms decorating monuments that emanated ambition and authority spark our wonder about this distant culture. Ever youthful and elegant men and women encounter odd, animal-headed gods and monsters amid scenes of work and leisure, in a paradise of plain, bright colours, where hieroglyphic texts hint at grand ideas • The tombs and temples of ancient Egypt reveal how art and monumental building first flowered at the heart of civilization. Among the great creative achievements of ancient Egypt we discover a set of constant forms: archetypes in art and architecture that state clearly and concisely the contemporary view of authority, divinity, beauty and meaning

This is a smart and succinct guide to the rich tradition of Japanese mythology, from the earliest recorded legends of Izanagi and Izanami, their divine offspring and the creation of Japan, to medieval tales of vengeful ghosts, through to the modern-day reincarnation of ancient deities as the heroes of mecha anime. While many around the world love Japan’s cultural exports, few are familiar with Japan’s unique mythology - enriched by Shinto, Buddhism and regional folklore • Mythology remains a living, evolving part of Japanese society, and the ways in which the people of Japan understand their myths are very different today even from a century ago, let alone over a millennium into the past. Offering much more than any competing overview of Japanese mythology, The Japanese Myths not only retells the ancient stories but also considers their place within the patterns of Japanese religions, culture and history, helping readers to understand the deep links between past and present in Japan, and the ways these myths live and grow

In this gorgeously inspirational and effortlessly practical book, Charlotte Coote guides readers through the process of designing a space, from creating the original design brief through to the finished room. Using her five principles of design - timelessness, authenticity, lifestyle, scale and quality - Charlotte shows how to balance comfort and style, light and shadow, colour and neutrals, old and new. Charlotte's bold and decisive style is like a breath of fresh air, with easy-to-follow tips and ideas for wall colours, kitchen finishes, furniture and fabrics to achieve rich and layered interiors • An essential stylebook, Colour Is Home will help you create a home that will stand the test of time

Through his intense vision Van Gogh was able to create paintings that speak directly to us all, and today this disturbed and rejected misfit is the most universally loved of all artists • The story of his thirty seven years of poverty, loneliness and failure is in fact a triumphant saga of absolute dedication and the final realization of genius • This extravagantly illustrated volume in the hugely popular New Horizons series, includes the story of his life; his relationships with his brother Theo and contemporaries such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro and Gauguin; his descent into madness and his eventual suicide • As well as the many reproductions of paintings and drawings by Van Gogh and his contemporaries, extensive documentary evidence includes extracts from his letters, critical writings and documentary photographs