How Art Made the World [Hardcover]

Nigel Spivey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0563522054 | ISBN-13: 978-0563522058 | Publication Date: April 28, 2005

Ambitious in scale and far-reaching in scope, "How Art Made the World" is a fresh introduction to the history of art and, through the visual image, the history of humankind. Embarking with the motto 'Everyone is an artist', Nigel Spivey takes us on a quest to find out when and how we humans acquired and then exploited our unique capacity for symbolic representation. In the late nineteenth century, the first discoveries of prehistoric painting were greeted with incredulity. How could there have been such deft and skilful artists in the world over 30,000 years ago? The exploration of this mystery leads to a trail of further intriguing problems. Images came to us before the written word - so how did we use images to tell stories? The representation of our human form has been a preoccupation of artists through the centuries - so why is it that from the very beginning we have preferred images of the body with distorted or exaggerated features? By what means did we define some supernatural presence as immortal and 'invisible', and then attempt to visualize it? And when did our environment become styled as a 'landscape'? In answering these questions and many more, Nigel Spivey takes us on a journey that also reveals how art has been used as a means of mass persuasion, essential to the creation of hierarchical societies, and finally, the extent to which art has served as a mode of 'terror management' in the face of our inevitable death. Packed with new insights into ancient wonders and fascinating stories from all around the globe, "How Art Made the World" is a compelling account of how humans made art and how art makes us human.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nigel Spivey is a lecturer in Classics at Cambridge University. He has written several books on Greek and Etruscan art. He is the presenter of the BBC/PBS television series “How Art Made the World,” which this book accompanies. He lives in Cambridge, England.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Random House (April 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563522054
• ISBN-13: 978-0563522058
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #963,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Name is Art, September 11, 2009

By 

Ruth Housman "synchronicity central" (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How Art Made the World (Paperback)

I came across this book after finding the series of DVDs by this title on line, How Art Made the World. The book is a good accompaniment to this BBC series, "starring" Nigel Spivey, who does such a great job walking us through history and contemporary life, a creative series that is about the creative spirit infusing all art. I am teaching a course, Into The Heart of Art, and was thinking of using this book as the text. I highly recommend this, and I totally recommend the DVD. This is not the usual "history of art" because it is slanted towards creativity and how we make art, and it focuses beautifully on the intent. For example, have you ever pondered man's need to take what is seen and enlarge upon it, make caricatures, expand on aspects of the body that are truly not exactly what we "see" but we all do this, and sometimes, frequently, without thinking about it. Have you ever wanted to understand movies in an art sort of way? Take a look at Trajan's column in this book and read the author's words. It's fascinating to realize we aren't as "advanced" as we think we are, and human creativity has been part of the lives of people, of ancient peoples, who came a long long time before us. Yes, I do recommend this series, and however you imbibe it, Take A Long Drink! It's worth it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Companion to Excellent DVD Series, February 24, 2009

By 

Greality Test (Greeley,CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How Art Made the World (Paperback)

This small reference helps with places, etc. mentioned in the DVD. Very useful if you want to learn more about something new. The style and organization fit well with the DVD series.