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Art & Culture

Culture and art is many things and at Tales you find a wide selection of art and culture books. If you enjoy a trip to the museum or an evening at the theatre this is the place for you. If you are more into architecture or a well written song, fear not you also find books about that. Lastly design and fashion is also part of our art and culture selection, so what are you waiting for? Set your inner creativity free and get inspired by some of the world’s best artists, musicians, designers or architects.
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  • Save 20%
    - An Essential Reference for the Practising Artist
    by Marylin Scott
    £11.99

    Master the art of watercolour painting with this comprehensive and compact take-anywhere guidebook. Marilyn Scott presents over 100 step-by-step sequences to demonstrate how to paint a wide range of subjects, from landscapes to buildings, people, and still life.

  • Save 17%
    by Jonathan Griffin
    £9.99

    The French film director Robert Bresson was one of the great artists of the twentieth century and among the most radical, original, and radiant stylists of any time. He worked with nonprofessional actors-models, as he called them-and deployed a starkly limited but hypnotic array of sounds and images to produce such classic works as A Man Escaped, Pickpocket, Diary of a Country Priest, and Lancelot of the Lake. From the beginning to the end of his career, Bresson dedicated himself to making movies in which nothing is superfluous and everything is always at stake. Notes on the Cinematograph distills the essence of Bresson's theory and practice as a filmmaker and artist. He discusses the fundamental differences between theater and film; parses the deep grammar of silence, music, and noise; and affirms the mysterious power of the image to unlock the human soul. This book, indispensable for admirers of this great director and for ­students of the cinema, will also prove an inspiration, much like Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet, for anyone who responds to the claims of the imagination at its most searching and rigorous.

  • Save 28%
    by Ari Seth Cohen
    £24.49

    This follow-up to the bestselling Advanced Style features more senior street style and inspiration from all over the globe. In this new edition Ari Seth Cohen shares his work from the past few years including some of the world's best-dressed older gentlemen. Similar in format to the original, with dozens of images from cities all over the world including: Los Angeles, London, Cape Town, Rome, Florence, Tokyo, San Diego, Palm Springs, Melbourne, Sydney, New York, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Stockholm, and Geneva, the book will also feature 22 short essays (by the subjects of the book) distilling the wisdom and lifestyle secrets of some of Cohen's favorite Advanced Style ladies. Plus an introduction from the always fabulous and witty Simon Doonan makes for a celebration of smashing senior style! "...I must tell you that I am not really an old lady; just cleverly disguised as one. Art and color keep me young, keep me sane. Working as I do as an untutored 'outsider' artist is my therapy, my medicine, my joy, and my purpose in life.Color surrounds me: I revel in it, splash it everywhere, gulp it with a spoon. I am immersed in art. I make it, collect it, it fills and defines my existence. Childish, shamanistic, wild and anarchic, it is as far outside the box as it is possible to be. Box?? There is no box!Be bold, be adventurous. Do profound things, dazzle yourself and the world. Don't wear beige: it might kill you. Contribute to society, and live large. Life is short, make every moment count. It is never too late to find your passion." -- Sue Kreitzman

  • Save 14%
    by Peter-Cornell Richter
    £9.49

    Now available again, this book offers an illustrated portrait of a romance, partnership, and creative dialogue between Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz that continues to resonate today.

  • Save 22%
    by Dorothea Gundtoft
    £15.49

    Featuring fifty notable interior and product designers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland, this publication celebrates the impact of contemporary Nordic style on interiors, furnishings and product design.

  • Save 10%
    - How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
    by Shonda Rhimes
    £8.99

    How Hollywood's most powerful woman changed her life by learning to say yes and how it can change your life too

  • Save 14%
    by Peter Hince
    £9.49

    In an intimate and eye-opening story, roundly praised as the best available insight on Queen, Peter Hince recounts twelve years on the road with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and co. This truly is the definitive book on the 20th century's most iconic rock band.

  • Save 23%
    by Klaus Honnef
    £11.49

    Peaking in the 1960s, Pop Art began as a revolt against mainstream approaches to art and culture and evolved into a wholesale interrogation of modern society, consumerism, the role of the artist, and of what constituted an artwork. Epitomized by Warhol's Campbell's soup cans, Pop Art drew on mass-market sources and products as well as the banal...

  • Save 20%
    by Claire Zimmerman
    £11.99

  • Save 23%
    by Hajo Duchting
    £11.49

  • Save 29%
    - Adventures in Record Collecting
    by Eilon Paz
    £29.99

  • Save 24%
    - Magical Places from the Films
    by Jody Revenson
    £18.99

    The magical places that were brought to life for the blockbuster Harry Potter films make up the backbone of J K Rowling's wizarding world. This book offers a look at the process of adapting those locations for the films. It also highlights filmmaking secrets from the Warner Brothers archives.

  • Save 29%
     
    £35.49

    An unrivalled record of one of the 20th century's touchstone beauties, Bob Willoughby's tender Hepburn portfolio is now available in a new format and with a softer price tag. At once an enraptured admirer and trusted friend of the starlet, Willougby captured Hepburn's elegance on and off set, from her Oscar-winning debut in Roman Holiday to the...

  • Save 24%
    - Design and the Culture of Board Riding
    by Richard Kenvin
    £30.99

  • Save 21%
    by Matthew K. Manning
    £27.49

    Batman: Bat-Signal mini kit has sold 260,000 copies in a wide range of sales channels. Now this unique item for Batman fans worldwide is available in a larger, superior, ultra-deluxe edition, with a Bat-Signal that projects 20 times as far!

  • Save 27%
    - The Art of Japanese Supernatural Beings from Yumoto Koichi Collection
    by PIE Books
    £21.99

    Yokai are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. In the Edo period (1603-1868), many artists, such as Hokusai Katsushika or Kuniyoshi Utagawa, created their works of featuring Yokai inspired by folklore or their own ideas. Yokai have attracted the artists and have been a common theme in art works until these days because of their unique forms and their mysterious behaviors.This book is a visual collection of art works of Yokai in Japan since the Edo period. The works are not only paintings but also wood block prints, scrolls, ceramics, kimonos, children¿s playthings such as board games, and more.This would be an attractive book for Yokai beginners/maniacs, and would be also a valuable source for designers and illustrators.About the collection:Most of the items that will be featured in the book come from personal collections by Koichi Yumoto, who has the largest Yokai collection in Japan. He comments on the history of Yokai and explains about the items in the book.

  • Save 24%
     
    £18.99

    The Art of Inside Out explores the making of Pixar's upcoming film Inside Out, set in the most extraordinary location-inside the mind of an 11-year-old girl.

  • Save 29%
    - Sweden's Master Painter
    by Johan Cederlund
    £35.49

    Accompanying a major retrospective of Anders Zorn's work, this is the first volume in English to explore the Swedish Impressionist's entire career in depth. Anders Zorn (1860-1920) is one of Sweden's most accomplished and beloved artists. Renowned for his light, expressive watercolors, he attained mastery of the genre at an early age and later applied his techniques to oil painting. Zorn is often compared with the artists John Singer Sargent and Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, contemporaries who also were known for their portraits of high-society figures. Taking up residence in London and then in Paris, Zorn established himself as an international portrait painter, depicting fashionable clients in a style both elegant and relaxed. He became a favorite among wealthy American collectors, bankers, and industrialists who sat for him, including art collector Isabella Stewart Gardner and three U.S. presidents. Although perhaps best known for his portraits, Zorn brought equal skill to painting genre scenes and views of nature. This handsome volume provides a thorough introduction to the artist and his works, from portraiture to landscapes and his famous nudes. Four illustrated essays are accompanied by a chronology, selected bibliography, an exhibition checklist, and an index.

  • Save 31%
    by Jean-Claude Kaufmann
    £44.99

    This volume is an unprecedented history of Louis Vuitton's women's bags, the most coveted line of accessories in women's fashion. At the heart of Louis Vuitton are its City Bags, a range of women's bags that dates back to the turn of the twentieth century. Featuring the trademark monograms of the house, the City Bag story began with the Steamer, a resort bag designed in 1901 to be packed inside a much larger steamer trunk. These bags have in a hundred years formally diversified into a dizzying array of handbags for every conceivable function demanded by the modern woman. Profoundly influential, City Bags are now known to millions by their descriptive names (Keepall, Bucket, Papillon, Alma, Locket, Noe, Speedy) and are still evolving into more fantastical forms. Lavishly illustrated with new and archival photography, historical graphics, landmark editorials, and ad campaigns, the volume traces the history of these specific bag families, and examines the earliest specimens and today's most sought-after collectibles, including Vuitton's collaborations with Takashi Murakami, Stephen Sprouse, Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama, and Rei Kawakubo and one-off projects by Zaha Hadid, Shigeru Ban, Vivienne Westwood, Helmut Lang, Andrée Putman, and of course, Marc Jacobs. Louis Vuitton: City Bags is an ambitious volume on the creation and cultivation of a cultural phenomenon.

  • Save 14%
    - My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars
    by Lionel Friedberg
    £9.49

    This bestselling book contains the jaw-dropping confessions of the man who fulfilled the secret sexual fantasies of Hollywood's most glittering stars and royalty

  • Save 28%
    - A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age
    by Steven Ascher
    £29.49

    The fourth edition of the authoritative guide to producing, directing, shooting, editing, and distributing your video or film. Whether you aspire to be a great filmmaker yourself or are looking for movie gifts, this comprehensive guide to filmmaking is the first step in turning a hobby into a career.Widely acknowledged as the "bible" of video and film production, and used in courses around the world, The Filmmaker's Handbook is now updated with the latest advances in HD and new digital formats. For students and teachers, professionals and novices, this indispensable handbook covers all aspects of movie making.• Techniques for making dramatic features, documentaries, corporate, broadcast, and experimental videos and films• Shooting with DSLRs, video, film, and digital cinema cameras• Digital editing with the latest video editing systems• In-depth coverage of lenses, lighting, sound recording, and mixing• The business aspects of funding and producing your project• Getting your movie shown in theaters, on TV, and on the Web

  • Save 22%
    by Ray Wilson
    £14.49

    Dive hands-on into the tools, techniques, and information for making your own analog synthesizer. If you're a musician or a hobbyist with experience in building electronic projects from kits or schematics, this do-it-yourself guide will walk you through the parts and schematics you need, and how to tailor them for your needs.

  • Save 28%
    by Ari Seth Cohen
    £27.49

    Advanced Style is Ari Seth Cohen's blog-based ode to the confidence, beauty, and fashion that can only be achieved through the experience of a life lived glamorously. It is a collection of street fashion unlike any seen before-focused on the over-60 set in the world's most stylish locales. The (mostly) ladies of Advanced Style are enjoying their later years with grace and panache, marching to the beat of their own drummer. These timeless images and words of wisdom provide fashion inspiration for all ages and prove that age is nothing but a state of mind.Ari Seth Cohen started his blog inspired by his own grandmother's unique personal style and his lifelong interest in the put-together fashion of vibrant seniors. Each of his subjects sparkles like a diamond after long years spent refining and perfecting their individual look and approach to life. The Advanced Style book will showcase, in luscious full-color, the best of the blog, but will also act as a true guidebook with all-new material featuring wardrobes, interviews, stories, and advice from a cadre of his most chic subjects, along with a large selection of never-before-seen photography-fresh off of sidewalk catwalks around the world!

  • Save 29%
    - Places and Spaces I've Been
    by Pharrell Williams
    £29.99

    Redefining cool for a new generation, Pharrell Williams is a creative force, using music, fashion, and design to express his distinctive style. Originating at the crossroads of art, design, popular culture, and street savvy, Pharrell Williams’s output is unique. By playing off different disciplines—namely music, fashion, street art, and design—and using each as an element in the other, Pharrell has redefined the role of the contemporary recording artist, blazing a trail for other musicians and prominent cultural figures. Illustrated with lavish photography, this book also explores his musical career in depth, charting his many projects from his production team The Neptunes, to the band N.E.R.D., and his collaborations with friends Kanye West, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and other hip-hop royalty. This unprecedented volume documents Pharrell’s prolific body of work and his contribution to contemporary culture. In his own unique graphic language, he details his extensive creative pursuits, including clothing lines, jewelry, and accessories designs for Louis Vuitton, furniture and other product design, limited-edition toys, graphic designs, skate graphics, and collaborations with Moncler, Marc Jacobs, the artist KAWS, and with architects Zaha Hadid and Masamichi Katayama/Wonderwall. The book includes ontributions from Buzz Aldrin, Toby Feltwell, Zaha Hadid, Shae Haley, Chad Hugo, Jay-Z, Masamichi Katayama, Ambra Medda, Takashi Murakami, NIGO ®, Loïc Villepontoux, Kanye West, Anna Wintour, Hans Zimmer, Ian Luna and Lauren A. Gould.This book was originally published with three different colored covers and a year later, reprinted with a new set of three colors.  Customers will be shipped any of the six different colors at random.

  • - Expanded Edition
    by Carl Gottlieb
    £13.99

    Winner of 3 Oscars [registered] and the highest grossing film of its time, "Jaws" was a phenomenon. This book focuses on how 26-years-old Steven Spielberg transformed Peter Benchley's best-selling novel into the classic film it became.

  • Save 21%
    by Tokyo Sfx Makeup Workshop
    £13.49

    Offers coverage ranging from basic facial makeup styles, and simple scars and gashes, to masks, molds and cast-making: the information you need to know to create vampires, zombies and other fantastical characters.

  • Save 25%
    by Christopher Kenworthy
    £19.49

  • Save 18%
    by Irenee Scalbert
    £16.49

    First publication on the work and philosophy of London-based 6a architects.

  • Save 20%
    - A Memoir
    by Stephen Glover
    £11.99

Culture
What defines culture you might ask? The answer is culture is what defines you. It is what makes us humans human and differentiate us from all other species on the planet. Art and culture is what we share with others, whether it is so called high culture or pop culture. High culture is typically associated with the ‘finer’, classical art forms such as opera, classical music, visual art, ballet and plays. Works that often have a certain age and artistic acknowledgement begin it, but fine culture is also sometimes seen as “high-brow” and not something everyone can understand and that’s sad, because culture and cultural books are for everyone no matter the kind. On the other end of the spectrum we have pop culture that typically is associated with more modern, popular and mainstream forms of culture. It can be pop music, cartoons or big blockbuster movies. We have cultural books from each side of the spectrum, but the best thing is that a change between the two concepts is coming and people are more open about mixing high culture and pop culture, because they are not that different at all. The most important thing about culture is that it connects us and is part of who we are. It can create communities and friendships, but also let us reflect upon ourselves. You can get wiser on that topic in some of our selection’s culture books. 

Art
In our selection you find some of the finest art books featuring some of the greatest artists in history and now. Art is a very important part of our culture. In art you have the possibility of getting engrossed in a wonderful painting, a provocative sculpture, a brilliant play or a beautiful ballet. 
In art you can get lost in the most wonderful stories and themes and identify yourself with someone who doesn’t necessarily look and act like you. By experiencing that you improve your ability of empathy. At the same time you can learn about yourself through art and art books especially when it comes to feelings that can be difficult to describe. In art the themes and problematics are universal and that’s why we feel recognized when experiencing a play, listening to a symphony, studying a great painting or reading a good art book. The art books are best enjoyed in a relaxed setting giving the art room to speak. 
Another beautiful thing about art is that it needs interpretation. When a person meets a well painted painting, a classical sculpture, or a provocative installation it makes us reflect about what it means, and what the art will tell us about society, life or yourself. Everyone can get something different out of a good artwork, because it speaks directly to you and functions as a dialog, where you will have to finish the sentence with your interpretation taking our own life and experiences into the artwork.
We also have a lot of artist books. One of the most talented and popular artists right now are the world famous Dane Vilhelm Hammershøi. Hammershøi has a very significant way of painting giving voice to the melankolic side of the world and of us humans. The painter is famous for his artworks of especially white doors in his apartment in Copenhagen. In the paintings Hammershøi plays with light and shadow in a brilliant way giving room to both sides, which also could be seen as a reflection of life that contains both. The motive also makes the art watcher wonder what is on the other side of the doors or corridors making them compose a continuation of the painting. You can read about Hammershøi in an European context in the artist book Hammershoi and Europe

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