Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Visual Culture and the Meanings of Culture; 2. Definitions of Art and the Art World; 3. Concepts of Craft; 4. Design and Modern Culture; 5. Fashion: Style, Identity and Meaning; 6. Photography and Film; 7. Architecture and Visual Culture; 8. Representation and the Idea of Realism; 9. Visual Rhetoric; 10. The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Author; 11. The Ideology of the Visual; 12. Visual Practices in the Age of Industry; 13. Technical Reproduction and Its Significance; 14. From Mass Media to Cyberculture; 15. Visual Culture and Its Institutions.

About the Author

Matthew Rampley is director of the Centre for Visual and Cultural Studies, Edinburgh College of Art.

Reviews

A recognisable guide that will be of use to undergraduates and those who want to come to terms quickly with the increasingly entrenched discourse. Where this book really rewards the reader is in the inclusion of overviews of the theoretical discussions taking place within visual cultural studies. These include perspicacious commentaries on important issues such as representation and realism, the significance of technical reproduction, and cyberculture. The Art Book It will no doubt become a core text for courses at undergraduate level... Both structure and layout are clear, the text is rigorous yet accesible and includes helpful concluding sentences and suggestions for further reading. -- Tara Hamling, University of Birmingham Art History A recognisable guide that will be of use to undergraduates and those who want to come to terms quickly with the increasingly entrenched discourse. Where this book really rewards the reader is in the inclusion of overviews of the theoretical discussions taking place within visual cultural studies. These include perspicacious commentaries on important issues such as representation and realism, the significance of technical reproduction, and cyberculture. It will no doubt become a core text for courses at undergraduate level... Both structure and layout are clear, the text is rigorous yet accesible and includes helpful concluding sentences and suggestions for further reading.