Book Description
Roger Fenton (1819-1869) was England’s most celebrated and influential photographer during the 1850s, the “golden age” of this radically new medium. Fenton’s majestic pictures of cathedrals, country houses, and varied countryside were without peer in England—as were his views of the royal castles and Houses of Parliament that embodied Britain’s power. But Fenton’s choice of subjects ranged more widely still: he was among the first to photograph the Kremlin and other landmarks of Moscow and Kiev; he was commissioned in 1855 to document the Crimean War, producing early war photographs; and he created theatrical Orientalist costume pictures and a startling series of lush still lifes.
Fenton had first studied law and painting, but soon after he took up the camera he was making photographs that were technically superb and highly original in their handling of composition, perspective, atmosphere, and light. Always he strove to demonstrate that photography could equal the art of painting and even surpass it. He was the force behind the founding of the Photographic Society (later the Royal Photographic Society), which worked to advance the profession and encouraged the exhibition of members’ works throughout Britain. In a career of a single decade, Fenton did much to transform photography into a medium of powerful expression and visual delight.
This exquisitely produced book—the first comprehensive publication on Fenton in almost twenty years—presents eighty-five of the artist’s finest photographs and discusses every aspect of his work and his remarkable career.
Customer Reviews:
The Past of Future.......2006-06-19
An Ode to Roger Fenton's Valley of the Shadow of Death by Ayul M Zamir
The photograph: pale, grainy, and fading
And on the ground, you see them, where they solemnly lie,
like boulders of an ancient river bed
that has since long dried.
Strewn across the valley floor:
innumerable spheres--dark and silent--
spent up cannon balls.
On this desolate land, once, there was a great war, and
many battles, brave men had marched here to fight.
And now across that prized land,
that men had, then, fought so hard to conquer,
now, only rocks and abandoned metal lie.
And not a single soul is in sight
All of the same shape and size, these
round, metallic, man-made spheres.
Can almost feel the texture of those in a sharp focus,
so many lie scattered far and near.
Wonder: what color impressive uniforms,
did the soldiers on march to that war, then, wear.
Looking at this eternal photograph,
you can almost hear that distant rumble.
And feel the ground beneath your feet shake
under the recoil of giant cannons when they thunder.
When volley after volley of heavy metal
was sent soaring high into the air,
both sides knew another battle had begun--
in one more war that was just, honorable, and fair.
And all that metal,
once laboriously molten and carefully cast,
hurled into the air
with each soul shaking blast.
Dispatched, flying across
to land on the enemy--
to hit and hurt him
before he is near enough to be even seen.
That shocking power unleashed on the enemy
That flying metal, now, on its downward journey
Lethal arches drawn by metal balls--
as they, now, race down to find bodies
in that final,
awesome, terrorizing, whistling freefall.
You could trace back their long paths
to earlier fought wars,
and well thought out, rehearsed plans.
Emotions ran high:
military honor, national pride, old resentments,
and long held anger
--thoughtfully, however, on the map, and
carefully--precise lines were drawn.
"We feel just and right about it.
"Conquest is ours in the end.
"That is our Nation's destiny.
"Ours is that God granted fate."
And with that righteous inner strength,
new perfect plans were made.
And a minute ago, in final brave acts,
in the midst of rousing cheers,
they fired the guns
--could feel the ground shake
--they swaggered lightly:
the shocked and awed enemy
was about to meet his fate.
Hot metal balls are landing:
see that mud erupting, and sand flying;
and desperately in all directions--
our wretched enemy is running blind.
"Get ready to charge the stunned-softened enemy, now, boys;
use whatever: knives, bayonets, swords, sticks, hands, or dogs;
glorious victory is ours--
and on our side is the God."
"Of course, few of our brave men too
--honorable mothers--
are left with severed limbs and torn flesh.
And, yes, irreparable damage to hands and feet.
But hear the Heaven greeting those
who fell in the last final battle;
for them, now, let us cheer and ring in the victory."
"And thanks of a grateful country
to those who, now, in the mother Earth's womb
lie for eternity.
At peace--and like in their mothers' laps
lie breast fed, pink, sleeping babies.
Roger Fenton's hundred and fifty years old photograph:
from 1855, of the Crimean war.
An eternal testimony,
a little pale and grainy,
silent, lifeless, spent up cannon balls
strewn across the land
as far as the eyes can see
in the "Valley of the Shadow of Death"
in the past of the future.
A Beautiful Tribute to a Pioneer Photographer and his Art.......2005-08-17
Though Roger Fenton may not be a name known to the general public, he certainly is a hero among those who have devoted their lives to the art of photography. Working in the mid-nineteenth century with a novel invention - the camera - Fenton was probably the first to see the possibilities of photography as art.
This magnificent volume shares 85 of the artist's finest photographs, including moody views of the buildings of London, Moscow, Kiev, landscapes of countrysides, delicately composed still lifes and even some of his war photographs, works which compare to Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs.
The accompanying essays and comments are not only highly informative, they also are written with a reader in mind! This is a beautiful and important book about an under appreciated artist about whom we all should know more. Highly recommended, and well worth the price. Grady Harp, August 05
Average customer rating:
- An Overview of The Show
- a very inspirational title
|
The Museum as Muse: Artists Reflect
Kynaston McShine ,
Christopher Williams ,
Glenn Lowry ,
Gillian Wearing ,
Art and Language ,
Barbara Bloom ,
Christo ,
Jan Dibbets ,
Lutz Dille ,
Herbert Distel ,
Kate Ericson ,
Roger Fenton ,
Robert Filliou ,
Fluxus ,
General Idea ,
Jean-Baptiste Gustave Le Gray ,
Jac Leirner , and
Sherrie Levine
Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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On the Museum's Ruins
ASIN: 087070091X
Release Date: 2002-07-02 |
Amazon.com
The Museum as Muse: Artists Reflect is the stunning catalog that accompanies an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art during the spring of 1999. The show takes an insightful look at the way different artists deal with the ideas, concepts, and criticisms of "the public museum." The collected artists span both generations and degrees of fame, from French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson to pop artist Claes Oldenburg to contemporary artists Gillian Wearing and Mark Dion. The show, and by extension the book, illustrates the impact that the invention of the museum (just 200 years ago) has had on art making. It is fascinating to peer through the eyes of individual artists whose personal and intimate visions are both outside of the museum and inextricably linked to it by their choice of career. The artwork in the exhibition is wide-reaching and the reproductions for the book are beautiful. Hiroshi Sugimoto's black-and-white photo series of natural-history museum dioramas; a taxidermied polar bear and a seal on a bed of fake ice; and a re-creation of underwater sea life are all exquisite in their quiet and choreographed other-worldliness. This book should not be missed; it offers a great chance to look at art by artists who use their work to address the complexities of their own relationships with the massive institutions that are our museums. --Jennifer Cohen
296 pages, 114 full-color images, 132 black-and-white images
Book Description
Since public museums came into being in the late 18th century, artists have looked upon them with a mixture of reverence, complicity, suspicion, and disdain. In The Museum as Muse, artists of many persuasions speak their minds about museums, their functions and spaces, their practices and politics, and their relationship to the art they contain. More than 60 artists are represented by a wide range of works: photographs of museum patrons by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Elliot Erwitt; "personal museums" and "cabinets of curiosities" by Charles Wilson Peale, Marcel Duchamp, and Claes Oldenburg; fantasies of the destruction or transformation of museums by Hubert Robert, Ed Ruscha, and Christo; and more, including works created especially for this project by contemporary artists, and an anthology of statements and writings by artists about museums. This volume was published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Customer Reviews:
An Overview of The Show.......1999-07-15
I attended this exhibit at the MoMA and was thrilled to see so many great artists interpreting what museums and "the institution" means. For some artists, the act of collecting is very private...like Joseph Cornell and his many obsessive boxes, or Christian Boltanski and his melancholy installation of forgotten photographs. In another personal piece, Sophie Calle interviewed various staff members at a museum where prized artworks by the Old Masters were stolen about how they now feel in the artworks' absence. The snoop in me wished that the audience could see what all the boxes contained in pieces such as Herbert Dristel's "Museum of Drawers", which houses over 500 miniature pieces of artwork by many of my favorite artists from the 60's and 70's. The Barbara Bloom installation "The Reign of Narcissism" was hilarious and disturbing. It consists of a museum within a museum, with all pieces and decor dedicated to herself and her own likeness. Claes Oldenburg's "Mouse Museum", another amazing installation, consists of various sculptures and found "junkstore-type" objects that the artist has accumulated. The shape of the walk-in structure of Oldenburg's "Museum" is Mickey Mouse's head! An absurd and fun commentary on pop culture! This show would not have been complete without the work of Marcel Duchamp, a pioneer in calling into question the value of "original" artwork and the importance that institutions place on it. "L.H.O.O.Q." (the Mona Lisa with a mustache) and many of Duchamp's Valises containing miniature reproductions of his own work and readymades are represented here. Vito Acconci decided to use the MoMA as a post office and in a separate piece, tried to infringe upon museum-goer's personal space by standing uncomfortably close to people while they were trying to be cultured and study the 'Art'. Overall, it was a fascinating exhibit. The subversive, but good-humored mockery of what humans do with and in the presence of art made me feel somewhat self-conscious as I was wandering the galleries, but that seemed to be the point!
a very inspirational title.......1999-05-07
This book's subject matter is right on the money. I haven't read it, but Museums have everything to do with the production of art nowadays. Museums and catalogs or big, glossy ads. Because that's where the authority of the printed page meets its audience. And Kynaston McShine is such a cool name.
Book Description
Roger Fenton achieved widespread fame for his coverage of the Crimean War, as it was the first extensive photographic documentation of a war. "The Valley of the Shadow of Death" is regarded as one of the most important photographs of war that has ever been recorded. However, the Crimean photographs account for only a small section of the thousands that he produced, and of the many subjects in which he took an interest.
Fenton's work was greatly admired by Queen Victoria, and he was commissioned to take portraits of the royal family. He traveled and photographed extensively in the United Kingdom and Russia. He also photographed still lifes and landscapes. These landscapes, full of Romantic poetic sensibility, may be the greatest tribute to his art, revealing the audacity and innovation of his vision, together with a sense of serene harmony. They provide a unique view of the Victorian aesthetic.
In an introductory essay, Richard Pare provides an account of the artist's life, and his many and varied contributions to the art of photography.
Book Description
Roger Fenton's photograph Pasha and Bayadere is a fascinating image in its own right and is an expression of a more general Orientalist craze that grew steadily stronger during the nineteenth century in Europe. In his rich and detailed study, Baldwin explains how this image of a seated man and
a dancing woman embodies themes and motifs that can be found in the work of nineteenth-century artists from Eugene Delacroix to John Frederick Lewis to Alfred Lord Tennyson. He has also brought to light significant new information about the life and career of Fenton, the important Victorian
photographer best known for his photographs of the Crimean War.
Average customer rating:
|
Tolley's Pensions Handbook (Tolley's Handbooks)
Jonathan Fenton MA ,
John Sabel LLB ,
Robert Ham QC BCL BA , and
Roger Self
Manufacturer: Tolley Publishing Co Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0854599169 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Afterimage, published by Visual Studies Workshop on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2043 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: All the Mighty World: The Photographs of Roger Fenton, 1852-1860.(Book Review)
Author: Joanne Lukitsh
Publication:
Afterimage (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: Visual Studies Workshop
Volume: 32
Issue: 5
Page: 12(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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- A classic on the theory of the firm
- Abstract Theory at its ugliest
- THE Classic
- A THEORY of the firm
|
Firms, Contracts, and Financial Structure (Clarendon Lectures in Economics)
Oliver Hart
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Paperback
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Contract Theory
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The Economics of Contracts: A Primer, 2nd Edition
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The Theory of Corporate Finance
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The Theory of Incentives: The Principal-Agent Model
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The Theory of Industrial Organization
ASIN: 0198288816 |
Book Description
This book provides a framework for thinking about economic instiutions such as firms. The basic idea is that institutions arise in situations where people write incomplete contracts and where the allocation of power or control is therefore important. Power and control are not standard concepts in economic theory. The book begins by pointing out that traditional approaches cannot explain on the one hand why all transactions do not take place in one huge firm and on the other hand why firms matter at all. An incomplete contracting or property rights approach is then developed. It is argued that this approach can throw light on the boundaries of firms and on the meaning of asset ownership. In the remainder of the book, incomplete contacting ideas are applied to understand firms' financial decisions, in particular, the nature of debt and equity (why equity has votes and creditors have foreclosure rights); the capital structure decisions of public companies; optimal bankruptcy procedure; and the allocation of voting rights across a company's shares. The book is written in a fairly non-technical style and includes many examples. It is aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students, academic and business economists, and lawyers as well as those with an interest in corporate finance, privatization and regulation, and transitional issues in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China. Little background knowledge is required, since the concepts are developed as the book progresses and the existing literature is fully reviewed.
Customer Reviews:
A classic on the theory of the firm.......2003-12-04
Consider an economic relationship where relationship-specific investments are important and transaction costs make it impossible to write a comprehensive long-term contract to govern the terms of the relationship. Consider also the nonhuman assets that, in the post-investment stage, make up this relationship. Given that the initial contract has gaps, missing provisions, or ambiguities, situations will occur in which some aspects of the use of these assets are not specified. Take the position that the right to choose these missing aspects of usage resides with the 'owner' of the asset. That is, ownership of an asset goes together with the possession of residual rights of control over that asset; the owner has the right to use the asset in any way not inconsistent with a prior contract, custom, or any law. Finally, identify a firm with all the nonhuman assets that belong to it, assets that the firms's owners possess by virtue of being owners of the firm. Included in this category are machines, inventories, buildings or locations, cash, client lists, patents, copyrights, and the rights and obligations embodied on outstanding contract to the extent that these are also transferred with ownership. Human assets, however, are not included. Since human assets cannot be bought or sold, management and workers presumably own their own human capital.
We now have the basic ingredients of a theory of the firm. This theory has become known as the property rights approach to the theory of the firm. In a world of transaction costs and incomplete contracts, ex post residual rights of control will be important because, through their influence on asset usage, they will affect ex post bargaining power and the division of ex post surplus in a relationship. This division in turn will affect the incentives of actors to invest in that relationship. Hence, when contracts are incomplete, the boundaries of firms matter in that these boundaries determine who owns and controls which assets. In particular, a merger of two firms does not yield unambiguous benefits: to the extent that the (owner-)manager of the acquired firm loses control rights, his incentive to invest in the relationship will decrease. In addition, the shift in control may lower the investment incentives of workers in the acquired firm. In some cases these reductions in investment will be sufficiently great that non integration is preferable to integration.
Note that, according to this theory, when assessing the effects of integration, one must know not only the characteristics of the merging firms, but also who will own the merged company. If firms A and B integrate and A becomes the owner of the merged company, then A will presumably control the residual rights in the new firm. A can use those rights to hold up the managers and workers of firm B. Should the situation be reversed, a different set of control relations would result in B exercising control over A, and A's workers and managers would be liable to holdups by B.
Hart's book gives us an introduction to this world of the property rights approach to the theory of the firm. In the first part Hart considers the traditional approaches to the firm and argues that these approaches can not explain why all production does not take place within one firm or even why firms matter at all. His answers to these problems are developed via the property rights approach to the firm. Development of this theory covers chapters 2-4. Chapter 2 outlines the property rights approach, chapter 3 looks at issues that arise from this approach and chapter 4 discusses the foundations of the incomplete contracting model. In part 2 of the book Hart considers the financial structure of firms. The nature of debt and equity, the capital structure decisions of public firms, bankruptcy procedures are all covered. The book is written in a very readable manner and is non-technical enough to mean that both (advanced) undergraduate and graduate students will be able to read it. For anyone with a interest in the theory of the firm this is a must read.
Abstract Theory at its ugliest.......2000-04-21
I had the unfortunate dislpeasure of having to read this as one of the required books for a PhD class in Managerial/Business Economics. Suffice to say...the book is a complete waste of time and not worth the trees it took to print it. I understand Hart is brilliant...teaches at Oxford & Harvard...receives full salary at both...he's tops in his field. Yet, what this book contains has absolutely nothing to do with reality. It is abstract theory at its finest...or rather, worst! PhD work is theoretical...that's a given. But this book is still worthless, even for someone like myself studying for my PhD in Business Economics. You learn nothing about corporations, business practices or strategy, finance...etc. What is the point to studying this theory of financial structure that is so far removed from reality that you finish the semester wondering..."gee, what have I actually learned in the last four months". If your aim is for applied work, your likely answer will be NOTHING. Even though the mathematics used are fairly basic,the book is very difficult to read. Turning the pages is a very slow process. You learn nothing about the workings of real world finance by reading through this intellectuals collection of useless writings. I'm sure it boosted his ego, but it does nothing for the business student to understand the reasons for different choices of capital structure. Your time would be much better spent reviewing the chapters in Brealy and Meyers on capital structure, or Damodoran's book on Corporate Finance: Theory & Practice.(now that is a good book). If you want to learn about the nature of contracts WITHIN firms and how they are used to accomplish managerial objectives and provide proper incentives where needed, read Milgrom & Roberts or any good book on Managerial Economics. Even for Phd students in Finance, this book is a waste of your time!
THE Classic.......2000-04-21
This book is regarded as THE classic by most professional economists. We can't talk about the theory of the firm without referring to this book, which is written with exceptional clarity and depth.
A THEORY of the firm.......2000-03-26
This book presents a theory of the firm. It is targeted for graduate students in Economics. It is a must have if you plan to research in this field and it is remarkably clear! The mathematics is incredibly easy compared to other 2nd year Econ PhD books. I think even undergraduates usually know enough Math to go through the main chapters.
The book is purely theoretical and only very abstract-minded people will like it. If your specialization is applied I.O. you still might want to read the book for background knowledge, but I doubt it will be of much use to you (no econometrics here, and very little econometrics to be done even if you wanted to)
On the other hand, it is probably not going to be of any use to you if you are not a graduate student in Economics. It is *far* too abstract for management.
Now briefly to the content:
The first chapter reviews previous approaches to the theory of the firm (transaction costs...)
Property right approach and incomplete contract approach are the main point of the book. The role and the boundary of the firm are explained using concepts such as "property rights", "residual power of control", "specific investments".
The second part of the book is mainly about financial structure. Of the second part, I studied only the last chapter on voting rights. It explains how the voting structure should be set up (how many votes per share, how many classes of shares, majority voting...) according to expected private benefits of control by the incumbent management and the management making the tender offer.
So why only two stars? The theories presented here seem to me less satisfactory than many others in Economics.
I think there are fields in Economics that convey the right intuition. Hart's book does not give that impression to me. Unfortunately, I don't have anything better to propose otherwise my dissertation would be done.
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