Skira – förlag

The book presents a portrait of Tirelli with the history of his apprenticeship and his passion not only for the painstaking reproduction of ancient garments and accessories but also for building up a priceless collection of tens of thousands of original items of clothing. A long chapter presents testimonials from faithful customers including the most illustrious Italian and foreign costume designers, winners of countless Oscars, some of whom have been with Tirelli from the outset. The rich array of illustrations – comprising sketches, photographs of finished costumes and scenes from plays and films – spans five decades of inventions and successes, and the work ends with a catalogue raisonné of the company’s creations for theater, opera, cinema, and television.

Emotional photographs from the Far East to discover a product of excellence. The latest textile treasure discovered by Loro Piana grows in the waters of Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar: the fibre of the lotus flower. This extraordinary raw material of vegetable origin is obtained from the aquatic plant that was sacred to the Buddha. The Intha people, “children of the lake”, use ancient techniques passed down across generations to work the fibres into a very fine thread exclusively by hand. In six chapters of photographs, the volume leads the reader through the magic hills of the Shan plateau and among lake pile-dwellings, where the slow rhythm of a timeless existence in total harmony with nature is measured out in the harvesting of the lotus, the catching of fish and the cultivation of fruits and vegetables in floating gardens. Every year during the rainy season, the Intha harvest the stems of the lotus flower and extract the fibres that will be spun into thread, just over a hundred grams in a full day’s work, performed according to the slow rhythm of tradition, which now may become a source of livelihood for future populations as well.

An essential tool for a deeper understanding of the multifaceted reality of Asian visual arts. A true catalogue raisonné, Contemporary Photography from the Far East presents the works of twenty-one of Asia’s most important contemporary artists who have made their mark on the international contemporary art scene in the fields of photography, video and film. It features works by Hiroshi Sugimoto, Yang Fudong, Cao Fei, Kimsooja, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yasumasa Morimura, Daido Moriyama, Tabaimo, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Ai Weiwei, among others, accompanied by in-depth biographies and artists statements and introduced by critical essays by Filippo Maggia and Taro Amano, Chief Curator at Yokohama Museum of Art.

“The mission of art is to express each nation’s aesthetic values in accordance with the beauty of its soul. The mission of the artist is to teach people to love that beauty.” —Alphonse Mucha   Alphonse Mucha was an extraordinarily prolific and versatile artist who made his mark in the diverse fields of design—including posters, jewelery, interior decoration, theater, and packaging and product designs— as well as in painting, book illustration, sculpture, and photography. He is one of the best-known Czech artists to wide international audiences today and rose to fame in fin-de-siècle Paris with his elegant designs for theater posters for Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous French actress of the time, and decorative panels (panneaux décoratifs) featuring gracefully posed women. For those posters, Mucha created a distinctive style—“le style Mucha”—characterized by harmonious compositions, sinuous forms, organic lines, and a muted palette, which became synony- mous with the newly emerging decorative style of the time—Art Nouveau. By the time of the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, Mucha had become a leading figure in this decorative-art movement, and he defined the look of the era.   The catalog explores the development of Mucha’s career and overall achievements as a multifaceted and visionary artist. It is divided into six sections highlighting Mucha’s personality as a Bohemian; a picture maker for people; a cosmopolitan; a mystic; a patriot; and a philosopher.