Think Like an Artist by BBC Arts editor Will Gompertz - wisdom and smart thinking from Da Vinci to Ai Weiwei Why do some people seem to find it easy to come up with fresh, brilliant ideas? And how do they turn them into something worthwhile? After spending years getting up close and personal with some of the world's greatest creative thinkers, the BBC's Arts Editor Will Gompertz has discovered a handful of traits that are common to them all. Basic practices and processes that allow their talents to flourish, and which we can adopt - no matter what we do - to help us achieve extraordinary things too. It's time to Think Like An Artist and ... Become Seriously Curious (Caravaggio's discovery of optical lenses changed art for ever.) Think Big Picture and Fine Detail (Turner transformed a masterpiece with a tiny dab of red paint.) And realize ... It's Nearly Always Plan B (Mondrian spent years painting trees before becoming a master of abstraction.) 'Will Gompertz is the best teacher you never had' Guardian
Think Like an Artist by BBC Arts editor Will Gompertz - wisdom and smart thinking from Da Vinci to Ai Weiwei Why do some people seem to find it easy to come up with brilliant, fresh ideas? And how do they turn them into something worthwhile? Will Gompertz, the BBC's Arts Editor and a former director at the Tate, has spent years getting up close and personal with some of the world's greatest creative thinkers. And he's discovered a handful of traits that are common to all successful people, from novelists and film directors to scientists and philosophers. These basic practices allow their talent to flourish. And they can be adopted by all of us - no matter what we do in life - to unleash our own latent creativity and help us achieve extraordinary things. It's time to Think Like An Artist. 'Will Gompertz is the best teacher you never had' Guardian As the BBC's Arts Editor, Will Gompertz has interviewed and observed many of the world's leading artists, directors, novelists, musicians, actors and designers. Creativity Magazine in New York ranked him as one of the 50 most original thinkers in the world. He is the author of the international bestselling art history book What Are You Looking At? which has been published in over 15 languages.
Do you know how to think like an architect? Do you know why you should? How do you make sure that you have the critical thinking tools necessary to prosper in your academic and professional career? This book gives you the answers. Architects have a valuable and critical set of multiple thinking types that they develop throughout the design process. In this book, Randy Deutsch shows readers how to access those thinking types and use them outside pure design thinking – showing how they can both solve problems but also identify the problems that need solving. To think the way the best architects do. With a clear, driving narrative, peppered with anecdote, stories and real-life scenarios, this book will future-proof the architectural student. Change is coming in the architecture profession, and this is a much-needed exploration of the critical thinking skills that architects have in abundance, but that are not taught well enough within architecture schools. These skills are crucial in being able to respond agilely to a future that nobody is quite sure of.
Written in Johnny Saldaña's elegant and accessible style, Thinking Qualitatively: Methods of Mind boldly pursues the challenge of teaching students not just how to collect and analyze data, but how to actively think about them. Each chapter presents one “method of mind” (thinking analytically, realistically, symbolically, ethically, multidisciplinarily, artistically, summarily, interpretively, and narratively), together with applications, a vignette or story related to the thinking modality, points to remember, and exercises. Designed to help researchers “rise above the data,” the book explores how qualitative research designs, data collection, data analyses, and write-ups can be enriched through over 60 different lenses, filters, and angles on social life. Venturing into more evocative and multidimensional ways to examine the complex patterns of daily living, the book reveals how the researcher's mind thinks heuristically to transcend the descriptive and develop "highdeep" insights about the human condition. “This is a book for all qualitative methodologists. Not just a ‘how-to’ manual but an epistemological exercise in understanding qualitative methods.” —Cassie F. Quigley, Clemson University “This book fills an important void in the field. The market is crowded with books on techniques and strategies for conducting qualitative research. Saldaña’s volume provides a vital complement by encouraging students to develop the core analytical skills and interpretive frames they need to be truly successful in their research endeavors. He helps students flex and hone the epistemological muscles that are at the center of capable qualitative research.” —John P. Bartkowski, University of Texas at San Antonio “The focus of the book is clear and consistent. The writing is superb. It deals with sophisticated ideas in a clear and highly communicative style. It weaves important and relevant scholarship in ways that help the reader grasp the key ideas. It’s one of the best books I have read.” —Liora Bresler, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign “Thinking Qualitatively invites students to think before they act and offers a rich set of options for qualitative researchers to consider.” —Michael Brown, University of Wyoming “This book brings together key ways of thinking about our work as qualitative researchers. In many ways, it captures the breadth and depth of our work, while calling for us to be ever reflexive about our practices. I see this book as positively informing the work of novice and experienced researchers. It is a much needed addition to the qualitative research community.” —Jessica Nina Lester, Indiana University
How do generals - and business strategists - outwit their opponents? Where do designers and artists get their inspiration from? How can all of us 'pump up the originality' and steer our thinking off the standard, well-worn tracks? Everyone, as the French philosopher René Descartes pointed out long ago, thinks. That’s the easy bit. The harder part, and what this book is really about, is how to make your thinking original and effective. And here the problem is that too often we don’t really engage the gears of our brain, don’t really look at issues in an original or active way, we just respond. Like computers, inputs are processed according to established rules and outputs are thus largely predetermined. Yet that’s not what makes us human and that’s not where the big prizes in life are to be found. In the third millennium, we need to think a bit more - not less! And so the focus in this book is on practical suggestions about ways to think better... on thinking strategies that each have their own style, applications and benefits.
An engaging activity book that gives primary school children a way into how contemporary artists think and create by way of fun ideas for making their own art Think and Make Like an Artist is an art activity book that encourages sophisticated thinking and gives budding artists a chance to develop their imaginations in a whimsical, colorful, and fun package. Children learn to experiment with different materials and ideas, make their own creative decisions, and produce their own unique artworks by way of engaging projects inspired by the work of eight contemporary artists working in media as diverse as painting, sculpture, collage, illustration, costume design, collaborative works, and architecture. The creative process is brought to life by the author and illustrator’s energetic approach, which includes clever visual prompts and suggestions, specially commissioned comic strips, and more. Projects are clear and manageable but never prescriptive, putting the young artist in control. Whether engrossed in making their own superhero cape, underwater city, or collage series, children who love art or haven’t yet discovered that they love it will be thrilled with this intelligent and innovative activity book.
Social representation of entrepreneurship is naive. Successful entrepreneurs are visionaries, adept at identifying opportunity, planning, implementing and realizing the opportunity. The reality of business creation is very different. An entrepreneur starts with his skills, vision and commitment. He has self-confidence in a business that doesn’t exist. He believes that he can do it without having done it before. He has to sustain his belief over time, whatever the challenges. And evoke the same belief in customers, suppliers and stakeholders. His focus is implementation. He has setbacks when ideas don’t work. He has to remain upbeat. Perseverance needs courage and conviction amidst uncertainty and often desperation. Entrepreneurs are always grappling with dichotomous ideas; should they trust the path they are on or change direction? Creation of business is a capability that entrepreneurs learn on-the-job. The way entrepreneurs work and think is a significant variable in the creation of a new business. The hypothesis of the book is that entrepreneurship is not only about ‘what’ successful entrepreneurs’ do, ‘who’ they are or ‘whom’ they know, but more importantly about ‘how’ they do it. The entrepreneurial process revealed in the interviews has universal application as a way of entrepreneurship. It expands the potential of entrepreneurship. Methods of working and thinking are free resources accessible to everyone. Therefore, everyone has the potential to be an entrepreneur. Ideas and opportunities emerge from a way of thinking and doing. Implementation is graduation in entrepreneurship. The book is based on a collection of startup journeys of entrepreneurs. The book captures the thoughts and behaviors of a pre-success entrepreneur. There is a difference in how these moments are experienced by entrepreneurs as they occur and read by others ex post facto.
Teaching Artist Handbook is based on the premise that teaching artists have the unique ability to engage students as fellow artists. In their schools and communities, teaching artists put high quality art-making at the center of their practice and open doors to powerful learning across disciplines. This book is a collection of essays, stories, lists, examples, dialogues, and ideas, all offered with the aim of helping artists create and implement effective teaching based on their own expertise and strengths. The Handbook addresses three core questions: “What will I teach?” “How will I teach it?” and “How will I know if my teaching is working?” It also recognizes that teaching is a dynamic process that requires critical reflection and thoughtful adjustment in order to foster a supportive artistic environment. Instead of offering rigid formulas, this book is centered on practice—the actual doing and making of teaching artist work. Experience-based and full of heart, the Teaching Artist Handbook will encourage artists of every experience level to create an original and innovative practice that inspires students and the artist.
What Are You Looking At? by Will Gompertz - a wonderfully lively and accessible history of Modern Art by the BBC Arts Editor 'An essential primer not only for art lovers but for art loathers too' **** Express What is modern art? Why do we either love it or loathe it? And why is it worth so much damn money? Join Will Gompertz on a dazzling tour that will change the way you look at modern art forever. From Monet's water lilies to Van Gogh's sunflowers, from Warhol's soup cans to Hirst's pickled shark, hear the stories behind the masterpieces, meet the artists as they really were, and discover the real point of modern art. You will learn: not all conceptual art is bollocks; Picasso is king (but Cézanne is better); Pollock is no drip; Dali painted with his moustache; a urinal changed the course of art, why your 5-year-old really couldn't do it. Refreshing, irreverent and always straightforward, What Are You Looking At? cuts through the pretentious art speak and asks all the basic questions that you were too afraid to ask. Your next gallery trip is going to be a little less intimidating and a lot more interesting. 'Robert Hughes's The Shock of the New redone à la Bill Bryson' ****Telegraph This book is essential reading for sceptics, art lovers, and the millions of us who visit art galleries every year - and are confused. It will also be enjoyed by readers of The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich and is a perfect primer to the subject for the student or beginner. Will Gompertz is the BBC Arts Editor and probably the world's first art history stand-up comedian. He was a Director at the Tate Gallery for 7 years. He has a particular interest in modern art and has written about the arts for The Times and the Guardian for over 20 years. In 2009, he wrote and performed a sell-out one-man comedy show about modern art at the Edinburgh Festival. He was recently voted one of the world's top 50 creative thinkers by New York's Creativity Magazine.
You aspire to lead with greater impact. The problem is you’re busy executing on today’s demands. You know you have to carve out time from your day job to build your leadership skills, but it’s easy to let immediate problems and old mind-sets get in the way. Herminia Ibarra—an expert on professional leadership and development and a renowned professor at INSEAD, a leading international business school—shows how managers and executives at all levels can step up to leadership by making small but crucial changes in their jobs, their networks, and themselves. In Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader, she offers advice to help you: • Redefine your job in order to make more strategic contributions • Diversify your network so that you connect to, and learn from, a bigger range of stakeholders • Become more playful with your self-concept, allowing your familiar—and possibly outdated—leadership style to evolve Ibarra turns the usual “think first and then act” philosophy on its head by arguing that doing these three things will help you learn through action and will increase what she calls your outsight—the valuable external perspective you gain from direct experiences and experimentation. As opposed to insight, outsight will then help change the way you think as a leader: about what kind of work is important; how you should invest your time; why and which relationships matter in informing and supporting your leadership; and, ultimately, who you want to become. Packed with self-assessments and practical advice to help define your most pressing leadership challenges, this book will help you devise a plan of action to become a better leader and move your career to the next level. It’s time to learn by doing.
This book provides teachers with the skills, and freedom, to design rich and open–ended art experiences for young children. The author demonstrates that using fine art reproductions in the early childhood curriculum allows children to construct their own meanings, teaches diversity, fosters thinking skills, and encourages storytelling. Based on the NAEYC and NAEA standards, this teacher–friendly resource includes lesson ideas, examples of activities, and photographs of children. “The Story in the Picture has the capacity to have a profound impact on how art is viewed by educators by changing the art experience from one of insignificance to one that contributes greatly to the cognitive growth of the child.” —Sharon Shaffer, Executive Director, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center “Christine Mulcahey’s watchwords are freedom, creativity, and imagination. . . . One can almost feel perspectives opening on her side of the looking glass as children’s voices break through the hush, and we come in touch with the unexpected.” —From the Foreword by Maxine Greene, Teachers College, Columbia University “Early childhood teachers will find this well–written, engaging, and easy–to–read book to be a gift! It makes sense of current research on early childhood and art and speaks to many common insecurities with easy–to–implement suggestions for the classroom.” —Cathy Topal, Smith College “In the tradition of Geraldine Dimondstein and W. Lambert Brittain, Christine Mulcahey shares wise counsel gleaned from conversations with young children about the art they make and the art that they encounter in richly varied preschool programs. —Christine Marmé Thompson, Pennsylvania State University
The difference between seeing and looking is essential—much like the difference, in music, between hearing and listening. In Creative Visualization, master photographer, photo educator and photo instructor Rick Sammon presents his proven methodology for creative digital photography. His signature inspiring and motivating approach opens creative avenues for photographers in a variety of genres. With easy-to-follow examples, Sammon shows you how simple changes—with visualization, composition, post-processing, and more—can mean the difference between a snapshot and a great shot. This book, illustrated with more than 300 of Rick’s photographs, includes invaluable information about exposure, composition, subject choice, lighting, mood, and depth. In the Food for Thought section, Rick offers guidelines for setting goals, getting motivated, connecting with a subject, learning, painting with light, thinking like a painter and more. In Develop Your Creative Vision, Rick takes you on an exploration of composition, exposure, making images with impact, creating a mood, altering reality, and pursuing your passion. Corrective and creative image processing techniques, as well as HDR, EDR, panoramas and black-and-white imaging, are covered in the Image Processing Specialties section. Rick also shares a chapter on self-assignments – photo challenges – that you can use to expand your photographic horizons. Canon Explorer of Light and master photographer Rick Sammon shares the secrets behind learning to see photographically, to make the necessary changes that will have a noticeable impact on your photographs Includes easy-to-follow instruction for post-processing techniques in Lightroom and Photoshop. Tips for making the best HDR and EDR images are also included, as well as illustrations of how plug-ins can help photographers awaken the artist within. Uses clear, visual examples of "photo failures" photographs side-by-side with successful ones, outlining the small, but important changes—to composition, framing, exposure, etc.—that can immediately make a significant difference
