We a good story
Quick delivery in the UK

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.
Show more
Filter
Filter
Sort bySort Popular
  • Save 19%
    by Cheri Smith
    £12.99

    This paperback treasury is perfect for the insatiable Magic Eye fan.

  • Save 19%
    by Ernst Haeckel
    £12.49

  • Save 21%
    by Scott McCloud
    £14.99

    A look at the history, meaning, and art of comics and cartooning. Using comics to examine the medium itself, the author takes the form of a cartoon character and explains the structure, meaning, and appeal of comics, and provides a running analysis of comics as art, literature, and communication.

  • Save 15%
    - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
    by Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee & et al.
    £10.99 - 15.49

    A chronicle of the career of Meotley Creue, one of rock music's most provocative and notorious bands, provides an insider's view of rock stardom.

  • Save 15%
    - The Complete Works
    by Leonardo Da (Author) Vinci
    £10.99

    Provides the reader with an insight into the life and work of one of history's most intriguing figures, Leonardo Da Vinci. Almost all of his work is presented in this volume - from his paintings and frescos, to detailed reproductions of his remarkable encrypted notebooks.

  • Save 19%
    - Music Theory (Book/Online Audio)
    by Tom Kolb
    £19.49

    Guitarists of all levels will find a wealth of practical music knowledge in this special book and CD package. Veteran guitarist and author Tom Kolb dispels the mysteries of music theory using plain and simple terms and diagrams. The accompanying CD provides 94 tracks of music examples, scales, modes, chords, ear training, and much more!

  • Save 24%
    - An Intimate Self-Portrait
    by Carlos Fuentes
    £18.99

    Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo's amazing illustrated journal documents the last ten years of her turbulent life.

  • Save 21%
    by Trent Aitken-Smith
    £14.99

    An essential A-Z guide to the secret language of tattoos.

  • Save 23%
    by Alan Lee
    £15.49

    A sumptuous large-format hardback containing sketches and paintings from the illustrated Lord of the Rings, together with brand new and previously unseen material.

  • Save 24%
    - A Visual Catalogue of Decorative Ceramic Glazes
    by Stephen Murfitt
    £18.99

    A reference for all ceramic artists and designers, packed with information and glaze recipes. Each of the glazes is reproduced pictorially so that readers can see the colour and surface responses it has to offer, and each is accompanied by a brief description, the firing range, and suggested uses.

  • Save 17%
    by Matthew (Registered Architect) Frederick
    £14.99

  • Save 21%
    by David Byrne
    £14.99

    David Byrne's internationally bestselling magnum opus on the subject of music

  • Save 21%
    - Everything you Need to Start Drawing Right Away!
    by C Hart
    £14.99

    Shows how to draw the basic manga head and body, eyes, fashion and more. This book explores dynamic action poses, special effects, light and shading, perspective, popular manga types such as animals, anthros, shoujo and shounen characters.

  • Save 10%
    by Susan Sontag
    £8.99 - 9.49

    Susan Sontag's On Photography is a seminal and groundbreaking work on the subject.Susan Sontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forceful questions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this art form. Photographs are everywhere, and the 'insatiability of the photographing eye' has profoundly altered our relationship with the world. Photographs have the power to shock, idealize or seduce, they create a sense of nostalgia and act as a memorial, and they can be used as evidence against us or to identify us. In these six incisive essays, Sontag examines the ways in which we use these omnipresent images to manufacture a sense of reality and authority in our lives.'Sontag offers enough food for thought to satisfy the most intellectual of appetites'The Times'A brilliant analysis of the profound changes photographic images have made in our way of looking at the world, and at ourselves'Washington Post'The most original and illuminating study of the subject'New YorkerOne of America's best-known and most admired writers, Susan Sontag was also a leading commentator on contemporary culture until her death in December 2004. Her books include four novels and numerous works of non-fiction, among them Regarding the Pain of Others, On Photography, Illness as Metaphor, At the Same Time, Against Interpretation and Other Essays and Reborn: Early Diaries 1947-1963, all of which are published by Penguin. A further eight books, including the collections of essays Under the Sign of Saturn and Where the Stress Falls, and the novels The Volcano Lover and The Benefactor, are available from Penguin Modern Classics.

  • Save 10%
    by John Berger
    £8.99

    How do we see the world around us? The Penguin on Design series includes the works of creative thinkers whose writings on art, design and the media have changed our vision forever. "e;Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak."e;"e;But there is also another sense in which seeing comes before words. It is seeing which establishes our place in the surrounding world; we explain that world with words, but word can never undo the fact that we are surrounded by it. The relation between what we see and what we know is never settled."e; John Berger's Ways of Seeing is one of the most stimulating and influential books on art in any language. First published in 1972, it was based on the BBC television series about which the (London) Sunday Times critic commented: "e;This is an eye-opener in more ways than one: by concentrating on how we look at paintings . . . he will almost certainly change the way you look at pictures."e; By now he has.

  • Save 15%
    by Ozzy Osbourne
    £10.99

    'Mightily entertaining' - Heat People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the 'age of sixty, with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and California, I wouldn't have put money on me, no f**king way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time. A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time.

  • Save 14%
    by Michael Jackson
    £9.49

    The only book Michael Jackson ever wrote about his lifeIt chronicles his humble beginnings in the Midwest, his early days with the Jackson 5, and his unprecedented solo success.

  • Save 23%
    by Tomoko Nakamichi
    £15.49

    "Pattern Magic" is the cult pattern-cutting book from Japan. Taking inspiration from nature, from geometric shapes and from the street, this book harnesses the sheer joy of making and sculpting clothes.

  • Save 24%
    by Bjarke Ingels
    £18.99

    This inventive experience from the socially, economically, and environmentally savvy Bjarke Ingels Group is a radical architectural manifesto inside a comic book. The pioneering firm uses the cartoon format to declare its distinct building philosophy in simple yet succinct terms: a quest to find an equilibrium between utopian design and...

  • Save 30%
    by Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS)
    £20.99

    This encyclopedia explores the hidden meanings of visual symbols across time and geography, from the sun to whales and the human hand. Spanning different eras and cultures, over 800 beautiful images combine with expert illuminations of symbol history, meanings, and psychic associations, offering readers a precious and fascinating resource for...

  • Save 23%
    - Volume I Sixth Edition (C Instruments)
     
    £36.49

    The Real Books are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed, without any regard to copyright law, or royalties paid to the composers who created these musical masterpieces. Hal Leonard is very proud to present the first legitimate and legal editions of these books ever produced. You won't even notice the difference, other than that all of the notorious errors have been fixed: the covers and typeface look the same, the song list is nearly identical, and the price for our edition is even cheaper than the original! Every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced accurately and ethically, benefitting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest tunes of all time! Includes 400 songs: All Blues * Au Privave * Autumn Leaves * Black Orpheus * Bluesette * Body and Soul * Bright Size Life * Con Alma * Dolphin Dance * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * Easy Living * Epistrophy * Falling in Love with Love * Footprints * Four on Six * Giant Steps * Have You Met Miss Jones? * How High the Moon * I'll Remember April * Impressions * Lullaby of Birdland * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Oleo * Red Clay * Satin Doll * Sidewinder * Stella by Starlight * Take Five * There Is No Greater Love * Wave * and hundreds more!

  • Save 20%
    - Essential Skills for Every Artist
    by Barrington Barber
    £11.99

    What does an artist need to know about drawing? And what has to be mastered in order to achieve the drawings you want? In this beautiful book Barrington Barber shows you, offering advice and tips he takes you through the various stages.

  • Save 20%
    by Keith Richards
    £11.99

    Once-in-a-generation memoir of a rock legend - the No. 1 SUNDAY TIMES bestseller. 'A masterpiece' The Word 'Electrifying' New York Times

  • Save 27%
    by Matt Zoller Seitz
    £25.49

    ThisNew York Timesbestselling overview of Wes Andersons filmography features previously unpublished behind-the-scenes photos, artwork, and ephemera, with an introduction by Michael Chabon. Writer/director Wes Anderson guides movie/television critic Matt Zoller Seitz through Andersons life and career in a hardcover book-length conversation, woven together with original illustrations and production images fromBottle Rocket,Rushmore,The Royal Tenenbaums,The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,The Darjeeling Limited,Fantastic Mr. Fox, andMoonrise Kingdom. The result is a meticulously designed book that captures and reflects the spirit of Wes Andersons movies: melancholy, playful, wise, and wonderfully unique. Also available from Matt Zoller Seitz: The Oliver Stone Experience, The Wes Anderson Collection: Bad Dads, The Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Mad Men Carousel.

  • Save 29%
    by Richard E. Williams
    £28.49 - 38.49

  • Save 27%
    by Brandon Stanton
    £25.49

    Number One New York Times bestselling photography book

  • Save 15%
    by Patti Smith
    £10.99

  • Save 23%
    by Tomoko Nakamichi
    £15.49

    Der Nachfolgeband von Pattern Magic. Mit neuen Schritt-für-Schritt-Projekten für Modedesigner und Schneider. Die leicht verständlichen Illustrationen und detaillierten Anleitungen machen es einfach, atemberaubende, skulpturale Kleidung zu entwerfen.

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

Join thousands of book lovers

Sign up to our newsletter and receive discounts and inspiration for your next reading experience.