Inventing the World

Inventing the World: How Art Creates Reality demonstrates to readers how art has been central to culture throughout human history. The book emphasizes the events, artists, and cultural milestones that have most influenced life in the United States as we know it today.

The book narrates the compelling story of how artists have created the world we live in. The story unfolds in 12 chapters of text illustrated with over 200 photographs and embedded with videos that feature the lives and works of contemporary and historical artists. Cross-disciplinary in nature, readers are challenged to make connections between the arts and social, religious, technological, scientific, and political topics. Dedicated chapters examine storytelling, spectacle, immigration and identity, the intersections of art and science, art as a social tool, and much more.

Featuring meaningful examples that epitomize the power of art in our everyday lives, Inventing the World is an ideal textbook for courses and programs in the humanities and art.