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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 27%
    by Paula M. Block
    £25.49

    The 30th-anniversary exploration of the beloved Jim Henson classic, featuring rare artwork, interviews, and on-set photos. Filled with a wealth of rare and behind-the-scenes imagery, experience the film's creation as seen through the eyes of the artists, costume designers, and creature creators who gave the fantasy classic its distinctive look.

  • Save 24%
    - The Life and Times of a Rock N' Roll Band
    by Paul Elliott
    £18.99

    With interviews featuring all five members of the classic line-up, publication coincides with the 30th anniversary of the band's debut album, "Appetite For Destruction".

  • Save 27%
    by Gray Malin
    £25.49

    A lush look at the world best and most beautiful vacation destinations, from the bestselling author of Beaches

  • Save 24%
    by Lauren Wilson
    £18.99

    The Walking Dead: The Official Cookbook details the skills and recipes you need to survive (while avoiding being eaten) during a walker apocalypse. Inspired by the hit AMC television series.

  • Save 23%
    by A Mustard
    £15.49

    There is an astonishing world just waiting to be photographed underwater. From information about diving equipment and cameras, to crucial advice on understanding and controlling light underwater, this book provides all the background you need before you take the plunge.

  • Save 20%
    by Gilles Neret
    £11.99

    "Painting with scissors" is how Henri Matisse referred to his cut-outs. Produced towards the end of his life, when the artist was confined to a wheelchair, these brilliant bursts of color and form delight to this day as joyous celebrations of life, nature, and boundless creativity.

  • Save 23%
    - Inspiration and Techniques for Imaginative Drawing and Painting
    by Danielle Donaldson
    £16.99

    Welcome to your watercolor happy place! The world of Danielle Donaldson is as wondrous as a jar full of fireflies. Her whimsical illustrations are known for their offbeat color combinations, artful arrangements and endearing quirkiness.

  • - Music for a Global Future
    by Phil Rose
    £33.49

    Phil Rose delves into Radiohead's work and its cultural context, drawing out how the music addresses political, environmental, and social crises. This book reveals the true depth and musical genius that has solidified Radiohead's place in rock history and pop culture.

  • Save 29%
    by Johannes Grave
    £28.49

    Now available in a new format, this beautifully illustrated volume on the controversial nineteenth-century Romantic artist addresses his modern critics while deepening our appreciation for his singular genius.

  • Save 31%
    by Rob Thompson
    £51.99

    A one-stop resource for all design professionals, providing comprehensive, accurate information about the basic materials with which they work daily, as well as a complete breakdown of exciting new developments in high-tech materials.

  • Save 25%
    by Antonio Donnanno
    £20.99

    High fashion is the driving force behind the entire fashion and garment industry. This book introduces in its patternmaking techniques.

  • Save 27%
    by Rian Hughes
    £21.99

  • - Concorde
    by Wolfgang Tillmans
    £21.49

  • Save 33%
    by Mateo Kries
    £107.99

  • Save 27%
    by Andy McVittie
    £21.99

    The Art of Titanfall 2 is the ultimate guide to the development of Respawn Entertainment's fast-paced, visually stunning first-person shooter. This is a must-have for any fan of the dynamic and destructive world of Titanfall 2.

  • Save 23%
    - An Easy Step by Step Guide to Drawing Comic Book Characters
    by Robert A. Marzullo
    £16.99

    It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a ...SUPERHERO DRAWING BOOK!

  • Save 21%
    - Handbook for an Urban Revolution
    by Janette Sadik-Khan
    £14.99

    Like a modern-day Jane Jacobs, Janette Sadik-Khan transformed New York City's streets to make room for pedestrians, bikers, buses, and green spaces. Describing the battles she fought to enact change, Streetfight imparts wisdom and practical advice that other cities can follow to make their own streets safer and more vibrant. As New York City's transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan managed the seemingly impossible and transformed the streets of one of the world's greatest, toughest cities into dynamic spaces safe for pedestrians and bikers. Her approach was dramatic and effective: Simply painting a part of the street to make it into a plaza or bus lane not only made the street safer, but it also lessened congestion and increased foot traffic, which improved the bottom line of businesses. Real-life experience confirmed that if you know how to read the street, you can make it function better by not totally reconstructing it but by reallocating the space that's already there. Breaking the street into its component parts, Streetfight demonstrates, with step-by-step visuals, how to rewrite the underlying "source code" of a street, with pointers on how to add protected bike paths, improve crosswalk space, and provide visual cues to reduce speeding. Achieving such a radical overhaul wasn't easy, and Streetfight pulls back the curtain on the battles Sadik-Khan won to make her approach work. She includes examples of how this new way to read the streets has already made its way around the world, from pocket parks in Mexico City and Los Angeles to more pedestrian-friendly streets in Auckland and Buenos Aires, and innovative bike-lane designs and plazas in Austin, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. Many are inspired by the changes taking place in New York City and are based on the same techniques. Streetfight deconstructs, reassembles, and reinvents the street, inviting readers to see it in ways they never imagined.

  • - Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting
    by Jill Chamberlain
    £15.49

    Presenting a proven technique for screenwriting centered on a character's flaws and strengths, an expert screenwriting coach shows writers exactly how to construct screenplays that tell compelling, satisfying stories.

  • Save 25%
    by Tomoko Sato
    £20.99

    Alphonse Mucha was an extraordinarily prolific and versatile artist who made his mark in the diverse fields of design - including posters, jewellery, interior decoration, theatre, 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 international fame in fin-de- siècle Paris with his elegant designs for theatre 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" - characterised by harmonious compositions, sinuous forms, organic lines and a muted palette, which became synonymous 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, who defined the look of the era. The catalogue 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 Bohemian; picture maker for people; cosmopolitan; mystic; patriot and philosopher.

  • Save 27%
    by Nathan Fowkes
    £20.49

    Whether you're an aspiring artist or new to the medium, seasoned instructor and accomplished artist Nathan Fowkes makes drawing portraits in charcoal not only accessible, but also a real pleasure! From stocking the best supplies to using them effectively, and composing a portrait while avoiding common mistakes, How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal by Nathan Fowkes will place you firmly on the path to producing the charcoal portraits you've dreamed of creating. His easy-to-follow tips, in-depth tutorials, and valuable exercises make this guide your first step toward building an understanding and appreciation for every face you draw. This handy book will equip you with the skills to capture them in beautiful charcoal fashion.

  • Save 24%
    - Studies in Japanese Porcelain
    by Anniina Koivu
    £37.99

    Celebrating the 400th anniversary of traditional Japanese ceramic culture as interpreted by today's leading designers

  • Save 23%
    - Big Ideas Simply Explained
    by DK
    £15.49

  • Save 20%
    by Peter Fiell & Charlotte
    £11.99

    William Morris was a polymath designer, writer, artist, and socialist activist, associated with England's Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as well as Arts and Crafts movement. His prolific design work included tiles, embroidery, tapestries, wallpaper, and carpets and championed handcraftsmanship, natural dyes, "art for all", and beautiful patterns of...

  • Save 22%
    by David Howard
    £13.99

    In The Tools of Screenwriting, David Howard and Edward Mabley illuminate the essential elements of cinematic storytelling, and reveal the central principles that all good screenplays share. The authors address questions of dramatic structure, plot, dialogue, character development, setting, imagery, and other crucial topics as they apply to the special art of filmmaking.Howard and Mabley also demonstrate how, on a practical level, the tools of screenwriting work in sixteen notable films, including Citizen Cane, E.T., One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rashomon, The Godfather, North by Northwest, Chinatown, and sex, lies, and videotape.

  • Save 27%
    - Contemporary Collage in Graphic Design
    by DR.ME
    £21.99

    Curated by Ryan Doyle and Mark Edwards, who work together under the name of DR ME, this book focuses on the compositions of 50 leading designers and studios from 15 different countries for whom collage has been the key to creating vibrant, effective work - among them Hort, Paul Sahre and atelier bingo.

  • Save 23%
    by H R Giger
    £11.49

    Discover HR Giger's inimitable universe in this definition introduction to the master that gave expression to the collective horrors and fantasies of our time. From his childhood fears to Alien, Giger personally guides us through his multifaceted career with intimate autobiographical essays, detailed reproductions and designs, and a foreword by...

  • Save 21%
    - With 135 Nature Themes from Cats and Tigers to Tulips and Trees
     
    £14.99

    This awesome sketchbook four volumes of the 20 Ways series and smashes them together into one, massive, how-to guide!

  • Save 20%
    - Birds in Art
    by Angus Hyland
    £11.99

    A stimulating and beautiful collection of images of all things avian, from international artists and illustrators, both historical and contemporary

  • Save 27%
     
    £25.49

    Featuring the likes of Bianca Del Rio and Courtney Act, this collection is a bold, bright, and beautiful celebration of drag as an art form and an exhilarating exploration of what drag means to its greatest artists.

  • Save 27%
    by Guy Andrews
    £25.49

    Presents a celebration of the great photographers who have captured those most fugitive of moments in cycling: the personalities, emotions and human endurance. This title explores themes such as the Tour de France, track racing in the velodrome, winter training and the revelry of the fans and crowds, and more.

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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