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Author :
Release : 2000
Genre : Agriculture
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 725/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain by :
Download or read book Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain written by . This book was released on 2000. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Author : D. Fairchild Ruggles
Release : 2011-12-30
Genre : Architecture
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 289/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Islamic Gardens and Landscapes by : D. Fairchild Ruggles
Download or read book Islamic Gardens and Landscapes written by D. Fairchild Ruggles. This book was released on 2011-12-30. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western admirers have long seen the Islamic garden as an earthly reflection of the paradise said to await the faithful. However, such simplification, Ruggles contends, denies the sophistication and diversity of the art form. Islamic Gardens and Landscapes immerses the reader in the world of the architects of the great gardens of the Islamic world, from medieval Morocco to contemporary India. Just as Islamic culture is historically dense, sophisticated, and complex, so too is the history of its built landscapes. Islamic gardens began from the practical need to organize the surrounding space of human civilization, tame nature, enhance the earth's yield, and create a legible map on which to distribute natural resources. Ruggles follows the evolution of these early farming efforts to their aristocratic apex in famous formal gardens of the Alhambra in Spain and the Taj Mahal in Agra. Whether in a humble city home or a royal courtyard, the garden has several defining characteristics, which Ruggles discusses. Most notable is an enclosed space divided into four equal parts surrounding a central design element. The traditional Islamic garden is inwardly focused, usually surrounded by buildings or in the form of a courtyard. Water provides a counterpoint to the portioned green sections. Ranging across poetry, court documents, agronomy manuals, and early garden representations, and richly illustrated with pictures and site plans, Islamic Gardens and Landscapes is a book of impressive scope sure to interest scholars and enthusiasts alike.
Author : Dianne Harris
Release : 2007-05-27
Genre : Architecture
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 200/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Sites Unseen by : Dianne Harris
Download or read book Sites Unseen written by Dianne Harris. This book was released on 2007-05-27. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sites Unseen challenges conventions for viewing and interpreting the landscape, using visual theory to move beyond traditional practices of describing and classifying objects to explore notions of audience and context. While other fields, such as art history and geography, have engaged poststructuralist theory to consider vision and representation, the application of such inquiry to the natural or built environment has lagged behind. This book, by treating landscape as a spatial, psychological, and sensory encounter, aims to bridge this gap, opening a new dialogue for discussing the landscape outside the boundaries of current art criticism and theory. As the contributors reveal, the landscape is a widely adaptable medium that can be employed literally or metaphorically to convey personal or institutional ideologies. Walls, gates, churchyards, and arches become framing devices for a staged aesthetic experience or to suit a sociopolitical agenda. The optic stimulation of signs, symbols, bodies, and objects combines with physical acts of climbing and walking and sensory acts of touching, smelling, and hearing to evoke an overall "vision" of landscape.Sites Unseen considers a variety of different perspectives, including ancient Roman visions of landscape, the framing techniques of a Moghul palace, and a contemporary case study of Christo's The Gates, as examples of human attempts to shape our sensory, cognitive, and emotional experiences in the landscape.
Author : James Crawford
Release : 2017-03-07
Genre : Architecture
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 298/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis Fallen Glory by : James Crawford
Download or read book Fallen Glory written by James Crawford. This book was released on 2017-03-07. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Crawford uncovers the biographies of 20 of the world’s most fascinating lost and ruined buildings, from the dawn of civilization to the cyber era. The lives of these iconic structures are packed with drama and intrigue, featuring war and religion, politics and art, love and betrayal, catastrophe and hope.
Author : Maria Rosa Menocal
Release : 2009-11-29
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 797/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis The Ornament of the World by : Maria Rosa Menocal
Download or read book The Ornament of the World written by Maria Rosa Menocal. This book was released on 2009-11-29. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic bestseller — the inspiration for the PBS series — is an "illuminating and even inspiring" portrait of medieval Spain that explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance (Los Angeles Times). This enthralling history, widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where for more than seven centuries Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and where literature, science, and the arts flourished. "It is no exaggeration to say that what we presumptuously call 'Western' culture is owed in large measure to the Andalusian enlightenment...This book partly restores a world we have lost." —Christopher Hitchens, The Nation
