How Art Made the World: A Journey to the Origins of Human Creativity by Nigel Spivey (PDF)

Description

In the late nineteenth century, the first discoveries of prehistoric painting were greeted with incredulity. How could there have been such deft and skillful artists in the world over 30,000 years ago? Noted art historian Nigel Spivey begins with this puzzle to explore the record of humanity’s artistic endeavors, and their impact on our own development. How Art Made the World , in conjunction with the PBS miniseries, reveals how artists from the earliest caveman to the most studied Renaissance master have grappled with the same questions in their work: What is a man? Why must we die? Is there a God? With the help of vivid color illustrations of some of the world’s most moving and enduring works of art, Spivey shows how that 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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐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.

⭐Using it as support for DVD during teaching art classes.. old but still interesting..

⭐This is a great series which illuminates the history of the development of art and how art shaped social and psychological evolution in mankind. It also explores the compulsion to be artistic and the psychology of art appreciation. It offers a great tour of some great works of art from all over the world and throughout history.

⭐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.

⭐Although based on the British television series by the same title, there are major discrepancies between the two. E.g. the book has no discussion of the significance of the cross which comes across very clearly in the tv series. There the cross is represented as the one image working in two opposing ways – a terrifying image of pain, loss and suffering, yet at the same time reassuring, holding out hope. The tv show explains why the cross has become one of the most powerful symbols ever, giving meaning in the face of incomprehensive loss of life. It is amazing that there is absolutely no discussion of this extremely important point at all in the book, but is very clearly presented in the tv series – a major deficiency, in my opinion.

⭐I liked the premise of this book, and some of the information was new and interesting to me, but eventually ii tired of it and couldn’t finish it.

⭐excellent show, actually better than the book. I watch a lot of documentarys and Non fiction films and this is one of the best I have seen for the tlelevision market.

⭐This book was required for a college class. It came as described and on time, if not a bit early. Kinda beat- but works.

⭐No problems

⭐This is a wonderful book that covers the evolution of art from the very first artefacts to present day artwork. I was particularly interested in how Ancient Egyptian art was viewed in the context of the distinct universal artwork and evolution: I was please to read that it was given a prominent role without any form of bias.

⭐De la série ‘Basic Books’, très bon ouvrage qui nous mène à travers l’histoire de l’humanité avec l’art pour expression également vecteur de civilisations. Du texte mais également de nombreuses illustrations jalonnant 8 thèmes abordés:1 THE HUMAN ARTIST2 THE BIRTH OF THE IMAGINATION3 MORE HUMAN THAN HUMAN4 ONCE UPON A TIME5 SECOND NATURE6 ART AND POWERSEEING THE INVISIBLE8 IN THE FACE OF DEATHUn index bien utile en fin d’ouvrage.Merci

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