Taschen

Enter a world populated by private eyes, gangsters, psychopaths, and femmes fatales, where deception, lust, and betrayal run rampant. This film-by-film photography book on film noir and neo-noir begins with the early genre influencers of German and French silent film, journeys through such seminal works such as Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Vertigo, and arrives at the present day via Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, Heat, and the recent cult favorite Drive. Entries include posters, tons of rare stills, cast/crew details, quotes from the films and from critics, and analyses of the films. Film director, film noir scholar, and Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader provides the introduction to this feast of noir worship. Populated by the genre's most revered directors, like Hitchcock, Wilder, Welles, Polanski, Mann, and Scorsese, the book also pays homage to its iconic faces, including Mitchum, Bogart, Hayworth, Bergman, Grant, Bacall, Crawford, Nicholson, Pacino, and so many more.

Hilma af Klint painted as though she was channeling the universe. Fascinated from childhood by botany and mathematics, she began her career painting landscapes and portraits, but other preoccupations stirred within her: questions of spirit, unseen energies, patterns too vast for the eye alone. Her art was inseparable from her spiritual practice. With a circle of female artists called The Five, she held séances, heard voices from "High Masters," and was inspired by the Theosophical Society and Rudolf Steiner’s theories. Working tirelessly to map life’s hidden dimensions, she would paint to the point of physical collapse. By 1906, her canvases featured radiant geometries of spirals and orbs, impregnated with symbols, letters, and words, anticipating the later embrace of abstraction by Kandinsky, Malevich, Mondrian, and others. Her vast painted cycles?like her works for the Temple and The Ten Largest?often depicted dualities: inside and out, the earthly and the esoteric, man and woman, good and evil. Living as a vegetarian, questioning the fixity of gender, af Klint was clearly before her time, yet very much of it too, and pretty much uncelebrated in her day. Her prodigious output lay unseen for decades, locked away by her own instruction. Only in the 1980s did the world begin to recognize her as a true pioneer of abstract art. This book invites you into her visionary world, via a luminous selection of her works and a detailed essay distilling their complexity. Her once-secret universe is revealed to us anew.

From Aliens to Amadeus, get your fill of 1980s nostalgia with this movie bible of all things bold, bizarre, and boisterous. We've diligently compiled a list of the most influential films of the 1980s that's sure to please popcorn gobblers and highbrow chin-strokers alike. Adventurous, excessive, and experimental, ’80s cinema saw moviegoers get their kicks from pictures as wide-ranging as Blade Runner, Gandhi, and Blue Velvet. Science fiction, horror, and action emerged as the defining genres of the decade, with non-human characters like E.T. winning the hearts of millions, and movies such as Ghostbusters and Back to the Future fused comedy and sci-fi to the delight of audiences everywhere. Inside this ’80s encyclopedia each movie masterpiece is profiled with stills, a synopsis, and cast, crew, and technical listings. With high-concept Hollywood blockbusters, early CGI, and brilliant special effects, the 1980s saw the invention of a new reality, a movie-world so convincingly real-no matter how far-fetched-that spectators could not help but immerse themselves in it.

When Flemish engraver and publisher Theodore de Bry issued the first volume of his America series in 1590, the New World was truly novel for most Europeans. Gleaned from the travel accounts of adventurers like Thomas Harriot, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh, De Bry's magnificent engravings brought the new continent and its inhabitants to an enraptured audience across the Atlantic. From "Virginia" (today's North Carolina) and Florida to Central America and down into Patagonia, the first nine volumes of America depict scenery and encounters between Native Americans and Europeans, revealing the latter's perceptions of the former. Portrayals of European discovery and Native American customs were based on the explorers' reports as well as De Bry's own imagination - he himself never traveled to the New World. Although based in Frankfurt, De Bry laid the foundations of the series while in London, collaborating with artists John White and Jacques Le Moyne, whose original watercolors he adapted for the opening two volumes. With his sons, De Bry formed a family enterprise known for exquisite copper engravings and high-quality illustrations unrivaled in their mastery. The legacy of America is profound, coloring Europe's earliest visions of the Atlantic world. Throughout the following centuries, countless European illustrations would draw inspiration from the spectacular collection. TASCHEN's edition pays homage to De Bry's finesse, reprinting all 218 plates from the first nine volumes alongside their respective frontispieces and continental maps. Volumes I to VI are based on the original hand-colored editions held at the John Hay and John Carter Brown Libraries at Brown University in Providence; volumes VII to IX are from the Staats- und Stadtbibliothek in Augsburg, Germany. Exceptionally rare even at the time of completion, De Bry's hand-colored America can finally be admired by all.

Francis Kéré's riveting first-person account reveals the ideas and values that drive him and his socially engaged architectural practice. The 2022 laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize covers 26 key projects, illustrated with many unseen sketches, photographs, and drawings in a volume beautifully crafted by the Amsterdam-based graphic design studio of Irma Boom. Featured works include his Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, the Gando school projects, national assembly designs for Burkina Faso and Benin, the Thomas Sankara Memorial, and the recently revealed Las Vegas Museum of Art. Kéré's own voice moves effortlessly between poetry and pragmatism. From the technicalities of cutting bricks on site to the political and environmental forces shaping his designs, he delights in both hands-on craft and big thinking. One chapter subtitle-How to funnel imagination into the grid of rules (without preventing it from flying)-says it all. For Kéré, architecture is an engine of shared learning and exchange, made collectively rather than imposed from above. The architect is never the star, but a facilitator of common purpose. His designs are rooted in vernacular knowledge and non-elitist values, yet fully engaged with the urgent realities of our time, from climate change and overpopulation to the fragile infrastructures of young democracies. Reading this feels like looking into Kéré's own notebook, with his annotations scribbled alongside the work. It concludes with two reflective texts-one by Ghanaian-Scottish academic and novelist Lesley Lokko, and another by Kéré's mentor Juhani Pallasmaa-placing his practice within a wider cultural, ethical, and architectural conversation.

With his smooth, warm, ruddy face which radiated light in all directions, Chairman Mao Zedong was a fixture in Chinese propaganda posters produced between the birth of the People’s Republic in 1949 and the early 1980s. Chairman Mao, portrayed as a stoic superhero (aka the Great Teacher, the Great Leader, the Great Helmsman, the Supreme Commander), appeared in all kinds of situations (inspecting factories, smoking a cigarette with peasant workers, standing by the Yangzi River in a bathrobe, presiding over the bow of a ship, or floating over a sea of red flags), flanked by strong, healthy, ageless men and “masculinized” women and children wearing baggy, sexless, drab clothing. The goal of each poster was to show the Chinese people what sort of behavior was considered morally correct and how great the future of Communist China would be if everyone followed the same path toward utopia by uniting together. This book brings together a selection of colorful propaganda artworks and cultural artifacts of Chinese propaganda posters, many of which are now extremely rare.

Raphael (1483–1520) is considered the most important artist of the Italian High Renaissance alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo. In his short lifetime he created around one hundred paintings and numerous frescoes, including nine fresco cycles, on an unsurpassed variety of themes – from sensual female beauties, antique myths and portraits of wealthy Romans and church dignitaries to history cycles and biblical scenes. He produced altarpieces, as well as designing tapestries for the Sistine Chapel. His Sistine Madonna is one of the most frequently reproduced religious paintings of all time. Raphael was a tireless learner, for whom there could be no standing still, no repetition of tried and tested solutions, but only the constant forward thrust of an inexhaustible imagination. He transformed his central theme, the visionary experience of divine grace, into visible pictorial reality. It was his mature work in Rome, and above all the frescoes in the Vatican Palace, that secured him his place in art history. Admired even during his own lifetime as the most modern artist of his day, Raphael’s mastery would pave the way for Mannerism and the Baroque era.

From emergency relief shelters to a cardboard cathedral and exhibition spaces in shipping containers, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban has made his name with his restlessly inventive response to material and situation, as much as with his humanitarian work at the sites of natural and man-made disasters. According to scholar Riichi Miyake, Ban's work represents "an architectural iteration of Doctors Without Borders." In the spirit of three-dimensional poetry, Ban uses materials as an integral part of his design, selected not for their cutting-edge credentials but rather for their expressive ability, their capacity to convey the building's overall concept. In particular, Ban has made regular use of paper tubing in projects as varied as the Japanese Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover and the Paper Log Houses in the Philippines, built after Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013. This essential introduction, compiled with Ban's own collaboration, presents his most important projects to date, surveying the full reach and importance of, in the words of the Pritzker Prize jury, a "committed teacher who is not only a role model for younger generations, but also an inspiration."

At the intersection of the visual, graphic, and cinematic arts, film posters are a unique and thrilling record of a particular cultural Zeitgeist. This book brings together 250 posters from the Soviet Union of the 1920s and early 1930s to explore the energy and invention of this period, before Soviet Realism became the official art doctrine. Drawn from the private collection of collector Susan Pack, the selection includes the work of 27 different artists. From bold figuration to architectural elements, each artist displays a distinct style and aesthetic, as much as they collectively eschew the glamour of Hollywood for more stark, striking, even challenging images, often marked by unusual angles, dynamic compositions, and startling close-ups.

Originally from Vienna, Richard Neutra came to America early in his career, settling in California. His influence on postwar architecture is undisputed, the sunny climate and rich landscape being particularly suited to his cool, sleek modern style. Neutra had a keen appreciation for the relationship between people and nature; his trademark plate glass walls and ceilings which turn into deep overhangs have the effect of connecting the indoors with the outdoors. His ability to incorporate technology, aesthetics, science, and nature into his designs brought him to the forefront of Modernist architecture. In this volume, more than 100 of Neutra's works (private homes, schools, and public buildings) are gathered together, illustrated by hundreds of photographs, including those of Julius Shulman and other prominent photographers.

Talamon saw it all during the golden age of soul, R&B, and funk. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, this young African American photographer from Los Angeles found himself backstage with an all-access pass to the heart of the music scene. He caught his first big break landing a position as a staff photographer at SOUL Newspaper in LA in the early 1970s, just as soul, R&B, and funk were becoming part of the mainstream. He captured the rehearsals and sound checks, recording sessions and costume fittings, the quiet reflective moments and life on the road, and, of course, the wild photoshoots and memorable performances. These photographs define an era famed for its glamour, fabulous fashions, and utter devotion to the groove.

Nearly a century after William Goldberg was born in Sheepshead Bay, more than 75 years after earning his first chance as a young diamond cutter, and 50 years after establishing the business that would forever change the American diamond trade, Mr. Diamond lives on. The William Goldberg Way provides a look behind the scenes of a legendary jeweller, it tells the exciting story of a pioneer and a modern Renaissance man and it is a treasure trove for all lovers of exclusive jewellery and those with a taste for the finer things in life.

Norman Foster. Networks offers a rare first-person insight into the ideas, influences, and connections that have shaped one of the world’s greatest architects. Penned and curated by Foster himself, it brings together eight immersive essays in which he explores architecture not as a professional pursuit, but a nexus of passions, disciplines, and lived experience. In Roots, Foster examines his modest start in Manchester alongside his lifelong fascination with aviation, tracing the formative threads that underpin his work. Flight emerges as both obsession and metaphor, informing his pursuit of lightness, efficiency, and technical elegance. His deep attachment to the Alpine landscape?where he lives in a self-designed home of the future?reveals how place, climate, and topography continue to shape his thinking. Nature, Art, and Making are explored as essential creative partners to his architectural practice. The essays on Place and Cities widen the lens, considering memory, identity, and civic life, and how buildings collectively shape the public realm. Illustrated with nearly 1,000 photographs, sketches, artworks, film stills, and other cultural references, this extraordinary book is both a visual atlas and an intellectual framework?a self-exploration of the thinking behind such iconic works as Apple Park in Cupertino, the Reichstag in Berlin, the British Museum’s Great Court in London, the Millau Viaduct in France, and the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. It brings into focus the ideas, curiosities, and connections that define this colossus of modern architecture.

Architectural icon Norman Foster walks us through his most famous projects, from the Millennium Bridge and the “Gherkin”, to Apple Park and Berlin’s Reichstag. Encompassing his entire oeuvre, and packed with unpublished sketches and handpicked images, this is a chronicle of six decades of brilliant, beautiful, boundary-pushing architecture. Ahead of the Curve A comprehensive exploration of the life and work of Norman Foster Spanning more than six decades and crossing continents, Norman Foster’s career is among the most influential in modern architecture. Distinguished by restless innovation and a holistic approach to design, his work has reshaped skylines and redefined how buildings respond to technology, society, and the environment. This monograph presents his complete body of work, from early collaborations with Richard Rogers and Richard Buckminster Fuller to the global superprojects that established his star status from the 1980s onwards. It also offers rare and fascinating glimpses into the evolving working environments of Foster + Partners, from a modest Hampstead flat in the 1960s to today’s vast, light-filled studio overlooking the Thames. Foster’s architecture is marked by inventive modernity and a long-standing commitment to sustainability. He has delivered some of the world’s most recognizable buildings: Apple Park in Cupertino, the Reichstag in Berlin, the British Museum’s Great Court in London, the Millau Viaduct in France, and the Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. With an expansive introductory essay and detailed profiles of more than 90 key projects, this collection captures a lifetime of achievement and originality. Foster worked closely with the book’s author and designer, selecting photographs, drawings, and sketches from his personal archives. These, alongside designs for furniture and fittings, reveal his attention to detail at every scale—making this not only a definitive architectural record, but also an intimate portrait of its legendary creator. The artist Norman Foster, Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM, is an architect whose career has spanned six decades. He has created landmarks across the globe that stand out for their innovative modernity and underlying concern for users. The Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, the Millau Viaduct in France, and two new towers on Park Avenue in New York are all projects he has carried forward with his practice of Foster+Partners. He is one of the most outstanding architects of our time.

A comprehensive volume covering five seminal genres that shaped art, from the late 19th century and well into the 20th: Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Each approach was distinct in aesthetic and philosophy, but all had immediate impact and enduring influence. Many great names were indelibly associated with one, some explored several during their careers. Impressionism, led by Monet and Renoir, focused on light and color, capturing fleeting moments and challenging academic art's rigidity. Expressionism was driven by artists like Edvard Munch and Wassily Kandinsky to convey raw emotion, distorting reality to reflect the angst of human experience. Surrealists, like Salvador Dal? and René Magritte, explored the subconscious, dreams, and the irrational, blending reality with fantasy across art, literature, and film. With Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko leading the charge, Abstract Expressionism emphasized spontaneity and emotion through bold, gestural brushstrokes, and established New York as the post-war art world's new Mecca. Finally, artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol gained fame and dominated the zeitgeist by synthesizing advertising, pop culture, and high art into Pop Art. Though diverse, these movements collectively pushed the boundaries of creativity, redefined artistic expression, and altered the trajectory of contemporary art. This lavish edition celebrates their stories, featuring more than 250 high-quality reproductions and texts, exploring how each movement's ideas and innovations transformed art forever.

Frank Frazetta has reigned as the undisputed king of fantasy art for well over 50 years, the value of his paintings now climbing as high as his fans’ admiration. Each year his works break the previous year’s auction records, with the cover for Lancer books 1967 Conan bringing $13.5 million in September 2025.Born to a Sicilian immigrant family in Brooklyn, 1928, Frazetta was a minor league athlete, petty criminal and serial seducer with movie star looks and phenomenal talent. Self-described as lazy and difficult, he often started a painting the night before it was due, completing it in mere hours, yet delivering a masterpiece—often still wet, but a masterpiece, nonetheless. He started in comics at age 16, including the infamous EC Comics, moved on to film posters, then to Tarzan and Conan pulp covers. Along the way he produced magazine covers for National Lampoon, though at odds with the editors’ “hippy politics,” made the animated film Fire & Ice with director Ralph Bakshi, and learned to paint left-handed at age 68 after the first of many strokes paralyzed his right hand. As he explained in the 1970s, “I’m very physical minded. In Brooklyn, I knew Conan, I knew guys just like him.” Using this first-hand knowledge of muscle and macho he redefined fantasy heroes as more massive, more menacing, more testosterone-fueled than anything seen before, and their female counterparts as thick-thighed, heavy-buttocked, and pixie-faced, yet still, with their soft bellies and hints of cellulite, believably real. All in all, Frazetta’s art is addictive as potato chips, and now available in a compact, attractive and affordable package.