Download or read book The Promise of Beauty and Why It Matters written by Shakti Maira and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2016-12-10 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A concern for beauty would certainly make us better shapers of the world.' - Roger ScrutonThe idea of beauty is highly conflicted terrain. Does it only have to do with how things look? Is it merely prettiness? Is it entirely subjective? Does it serve a function?Historically, beauty has been held in high esteem: 'beauty is truth, truth beauty,' the poet Keats wrote. Why then do the high priests of the arts and the arguably progressive socio-political thinkers of the day shun it? Shakti Maira explains how the problem lies with the confused understanding of beauty and with beauty becoming superficially located: quite literally, on the skin. What would happen, he asks, if beauty were to become central to every aspect of our lives: environment, education, economics and governance? Maira engages eighteen eminent thinkers in a series of conversations around the difficult, enthralling notion of beauty.Scientists explore whether there is an evolutionary purpose to it. Philosophers examine its relationship to truth and goodness. Artists speak of beauty and its rejection. Brain-mind experts consider whether the experience of it strengthens certain neural pathways connected with the qualities of balance, harmony, rhythm and proportion. Activists probe how beauty works in the context of social systems. What emerges is a deeper understanding of beauty and how it is a key to our world: a radical new way of evaluating problems and finding solutions, from the personal to the political, the individual to the universal.
Download or read book Only a Promise of Happiness written by Alexander Nehamas and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neither art nor philosophy was kind to beauty during the twentieth century. Much modern art disdains beauty, and many philosophers deeply suspect that beauty merely paints over or distracts us from horrors. Intellectuals consigned the passions of beauty to the margins, replacing them with the anemic and rarefied alternative, "aesthetic pleasure." In Only a Promise of Happiness, Alexander Nehamas reclaims beauty from its critics. He seeks to restore its place in art, to reestablish the connections among art, beauty, and desire, and to show that the values of art, independently of their moral worth, are equally crucial to the rest of life. Nehamas makes his case with characteristic grace, sensitivity, and philosophical depth, supporting his arguments with searching studies of art and literature, high and low, from Thomas Mann's Death in Venice and Manet's Olympia to television. Throughout, the discussion of artworks is generously illustrated. Beauty, Nehamas concludes, may depend on appearance, but this does not make it superficial. The perception of beauty manifests a hope that life would be better if the object of beauty were part of it. This hope can shape and direct our lives for better or worse. We may discover misery in pursuit of beauty, or find that beauty offers no more than a tantalizing promise of happiness. But if beauty is always dangerous, it is also a pressing human concern that we must seek to understand, and not suppress.
Download or read book The Promise of Beauty written by Mimi Thi Nguyen and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2024-09-20 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Promise of Beauty, Mimi Thi Nguyen explores the relationship between the concept of beauty and narratives of crisis and catastrophe. Nguyen conceptualizes beauty, which, she observes, we turn to in emergencies and times of destruction, as a tool to identify and bridge the discrepancy between the world as it is and what it ought to be. Drawing widely from aesthetic and critical theories, Nguyen outlines how beauty—or its lack—points to the conditions that must exist for it to flourish. She notes that an absence of beauty becomes both a political observation and a call to action to transform the conditions of the situation so as to replicate, preserve, or repair beauty. The promise of beauty can then engender a critique of social arrangements and political structures that would set the foundations for its possibility and presence. In this way, Nguyen highlights the role of beauty in inspiring action toward a more just world.
Download or read book The Cultural Promise of the Aesthetic written by Monique Roelofs and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aesthetic desire and distaste prime everyday life in surprising ways. The Cultural Promise of the Aesthetic casts much-needed light on the complex mix of meanings our aesthetic activities weave into cultural existence. Anchoring aesthetic experience in our relationships with persons, places, and things, Monique Roelofs explores aesthetic life as a multimodal, socially embedded, corporeal endeavor. Highlighting notions of relationality, address, and promising, this compelling study shows these concepts at work in visions of beauty, ugliness, detail, nation, ignorance, and cultural boundary. Unexpected aesthetic pleasures and pains crop up in sites where passion, perception, rationality, and imagination go together but also are in conflict. Bonds between aesthetics and politics are forged and reforged. Cross-disciplinary in outlook, and engaging the work of theorists and artists ranging from David Hume to Theodor W. Adorno, Frantz Fanon, Clarice Lispector, and Barbara Johnson, The Cultural Promise of the Aesthetic lays open the interpretive web that gives aesthetic agency its vast reach.
Download or read book Fewer Better Things written by Glenn Adamson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-08-07 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the former director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, a timely and passionate case for the role of the well-designed object in the digital age. Curator and scholar Glenn Adamson opens Fewer, Better Things by contrasting his beloved childhood teddy bear to the smartphones and digital tablets children have today. He laments that many children and adults are losing touch with the material objects that have nurtured human development for thousands of years. The objects are still here, but we seem to care less and know less about them. In his presentations to groups, he often asks an audience member what he or she knows about the chair the person is sitting in. Few people know much more than whether it's made of wood, plastic, or metal. If we know little about how things are made, it's hard to remain connected to the world around us. Fewer, Better Things explores the history of craft in its many forms, explaining how raw materials, tools, design, and technique come together to produce beauty and utility in handmade or manufactured items. Whether describing the implements used in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the use of woodworking tools, or the use of new fabrication technologies, Adamson writes expertly and lovingly about the aesthetics of objects, and the care and attention that goes into producing them. Reading this wise and elegant book is a truly transformative experience.
Download or read book Artistic Visions and the Promise of Beauty written by Kathleen M. Higgins and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-03-06 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the motives behind rejections of beauty often found within contemporary art practice, where much critically acclaimed art is deliberately ugly and alienating. It reflects on the nature and value of beauty, asking whether beauty still has a future in art and what role it can play in our lives generally. The volume discusses the possible “end of art,” what art is, and the relation between art and beauty beyond their historically Western horizons to include perspectives from Asia. The individual chapters address a number of interrelated issues, including: art, beauty and the sacred; beauty as a source of joy and consolation; beauty as a bridge between the natural and the human; beauty and the human form; the role of curatorial practice in defining art; order and creativity; and the distinction between art and craft. The volume offers a valuable addition to cross-cultural dialogue and, in particular, to the sparse literature on art and beauty in comparative context. It demonstrates the relevance of the rich tradition of Asian aesthetics and the vibrant practices of contemporary art in Asia to Western discussions about the future of art and the role of beauty.
Download or read book The Promise to the One written by Jason Hewlett and published by Sound Wisdom. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The greatest joy and fulfillment are within your reach, but they require an enduring Promise to The One…someone you might not expect. It’s not your boss, your spouse, your children, or others—no, the ultimate commitment is The Promise you make to yourself to discover your purpose and gifts and share them with the world. Everyone has been hurt or negatively impacted by broken promises. Promise-breaking and a lack of integrity are symptomatic of the most chronic illness faced by society today. Even though many leadership courses and ethics programs tout “integrity” as a buzzword, few of us are really assessing our own values unless someone calls us out on a discrepancy. But even when others don’t catch on to the façade, when our values aren’t in alignment with our actions and when our actions aren’t consonant with our gifts and passions, we’re left feeling isolated, drained, and depressed. No recognition or acceptance from others can fill the void in the same way as when you keep a Promise to yourself and actually follow through on it. The Promise is the highest level of engagement we commit to in any experience. The Promise is greater than a goal—it’s a sacred commitment. It’s complete dedication to identifying your Signature Moves—the unique talents you’ve been given that, when developed and used to better others’ lives, make you a Legendary Leader. What choices do you make when no one is watching? How do you approach a decision that requires you to let either yourself or someone else down? How do you stay committed to your values, even when the less-rewarding path is more convenient? A renowned speaker and performer who has helped audiences worldwide appreciate what accountability really means, Jason Hewlett shares his program for self-discovery and taking ownership of your gifts in The Promise to The One. His unique three-step method—IDENTIFY • CLARIFY • MAGNIFY—will enable you to pinpoint your strengths, shape them into an identity to which you commit, and develop them so that they can improve others’ lives as well as your own. Filled with Jason’s signature wit and vulnerability as well as actionable exercises, this book will help you refine your character and reach your dreams through the power of kept Promises. Start your journey to living a life of Promise Making and Keeping…beginning with The Promise to The One.
Download or read book Passport to Beauty written by Shalini Vadhera and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2006-05-02 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the world, every country has age-old, time-tested secrets that women use for looking and feeling beautiful. Shalini Vadhera, celebrity make-up artist and internationally recognized beauty expert takes you on an adventure -- to Europe, Asia, Africa, the United States, South America, Australia and beyond - revealing secrets for luxurious hair, glowing skin, and more. Passport to Beauty features unique, yet simple beauty tips and techniques as well as instructions for creating cleansing masks, exfoliation blends, and moisturizers for hair and body. Learn how women around the world stay beautiful: · turn back the hands of time with a white clay mask like Australian beauties do · refresh your complexion with white tea – an ancient Chinese anti-aging secret · use coconut oil for glossy, shimmering hair as South Asian women have done for centuries A beauty treatment and make-over with an exotic flair is only as far away as your local grocery store – learn how to unleash the beatifying power of yogurt, lemon, olive oil, honey, and other surprising ingredients. Additionally, Shalini Vadhera will introduce you to the secrets of spices, natural remedies, and spa treatments from around the globe. And once you've got your skin and hair looking wonderful, Shalini Vadhera dips into her bag of international beauty tricks and reveals a multitude of techniques for selecting and applying make-up and always looking your absolute best. No matter your latitude or longitude on the globe, by using the information in this book you can truly become a global goddess!
Download or read book Beauty by Design written by Ginger Curtis and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New Beauty Emerges “Every day we have the opportunity to embrace and celebrate the beauty our homes and lives are designed to express.”—Ginger Curtis Walk through the door and begin the personal journey of creating a sanctuary that reflects who you are—that unique combination of who God made you to be and how you shape life by what matters most. Award-winning designer Ginger Curtis uses her personal experience to inspire your every step with this truth: You are worthy of beauty. Dream of it. Plan for it. And watch it emerge as you create visual moments, let in color and light, select meaningful treasures, and allow the smallest details to shine. This is the home made for you. This is beauty by design.
Download or read book The Promise of a Pencil written by Adam Braun and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This the story of how a young man turned $25 into more than 200 schools around the world and the guiding steps anyone can take to lead a successful and significant life. The author began working summers at hedge funds when he was just sixteen years old, sprinting down the path to a successful Wall Street career. But while traveling he met a young boy begging on the streets of India, who after being asked what he wanted most in the world, simply answered, "A pencil." This small request led to a staggering series of events that took the author backpacking through dozens of countries before eventually leaving one of the world's most prestigious jobs at Bain & Company to found Pencils of Promise, the organization he started with just $25 that has since built more than 200 schools around the world. This book chronicles the author's journey to find his calling, as each chapter explains one clear step that every person can take to turn your biggest ambitions into reality, even if you start with as little as $25. His story takes readers behind the scenes with business moguls and village chiefs, world-famous celebrities and hometown heroes. It is filled with compelling stories and shareable insights. All proceeds from this book support Pencils of Promise.
Download or read book God s Inspirational Promises written by Max Lucado and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2013-05-06 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wherever you are in life, wherever you are in the world, God’s promises remind you that He is always near. God wants us to know He is in the midst of wherever we are, whatever we’re doing. And He does this by speaking directly to us through His Word. The Bible was written to each of our needs, our hopes, and our dreams. With over 1.2 million copies sold, God’s Inspirational Promises is a classic seller now with a brand-new, updated look. The compilation of verses speak specifically to topics we all relate to: living in a lost world, strong personal relationships, wisdom, guidance, worry, grace, and many more. Heartwarming writings from Max’s bestselling works accompany each selection of Scripture.
Download or read book The Promise of Wilderness written by James Morton Turner and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Denali's majestic slopes to the Great Swamp of central New Jersey, protected wilderness areas make up nearly twenty percent of the parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands that cover a full fourth of the nation's territory. But wilderness is not only a place. It is also one of the most powerful and troublesome ideas in American environmental thought, representing everything from sublime beauty and patriotic inspiration to a countercultural ideal and an overextension of government authority. The Promise of Wilderness examines how the idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Wilderness preservation has engaged diverse groups of citizens, from hunters and ranchers to wildlife enthusiasts and hikers, as political advocates who have leveraged the resources of local and national groups toward a common goal. Turner demonstrates how these efforts have contributed to major shifts in modern American environmental politics, which have emerged not just in reaction to a new generation of environmental concerns, such as environmental justice and climate change, but also in response to changed debates over old conservation issues, such as public lands management. He also shows how battles over wilderness protection have influenced American politics more broadly, fueling disputes over the proper role of government, individual rights, and the interests of rural communities; giving rise to radical environmentalism; and playing an important role in the resurgence of the conservative movement, especially in the American West. Watch the book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsq-6LAeYKk
Download or read book No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook Or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cauze Bill Bailey Ain t Never Coming Home Again written by Edgardo Vega Yunqué and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2004 with total page 662 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Washington Post Best Book of Year Winner of the 2004 Latino Book Award This sweeping drama of intimately connected families-black, white, and Latino-boldly conjures up the ever-shifting cultural mosaic that is America. At its heart is Vidamia Farrell, half Puerto Rican, half Irish, who sets out in search of the father she has never known. Her journey takes her from her affluent suburban home to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where her father Billy Farrell now lives with his second family. Once a gifted jazz pianist, Billy lost two fingers in the Vietnam War and has since shut himself off from jazz. While Billy's colorful new family draws Vidamia into their fold, so she determines to draw her father back into the world he left behind.
Download or read book The Promise of Amazing written by Robin Constantine and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2013-12-31 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robin Constantine's New Jersey romance The Promise of Amazing is a sexy, poignant, funny, and authentic debut novel that will appeal to fans of books by Stephanie Perkins, Sarah Mlynowski, and Jennifer E. Smith. Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she's not popular, not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet good girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now, in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change but doesn't know how. Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe's: star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, and on the fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a "term-paper pimp." Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change but doesn't know how. One fateful night, their paths cross at Wren's family's Arthurian-themed catering hall. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.
Download or read book Enemies of Promise written by Cyril Connolly and published by Andre Deutsch Limited. This book was released on 1996 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The autobiography of literary figure Cyril Connolly, providing insight into his upper-class upbringing and life at Eton and Oxford, together with advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that await the would-be writer. First published in 1938.
Download or read book Alcoholics Anonymous written by Bill W. and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A 75th anniversary e-book version of the most important and practical self-help book ever written, Alcoholics Anonymous. Here is a special deluxe edition of a book that has changed millions of lives and launched the modern recovery movement: Alcoholics Anonymous. This edition not only reproduces the original 1939 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, but as a special bonus features the complete 1941 Saturday Evening Post article “Alcoholics Anonymous” by journalist Jack Alexander, which, at the time, did as much as the book itself to introduce millions of seekers to AA’s program. Alcoholics Anonymous has touched and transformed myriad lives, and finally appears in a volume that honors its posterity and impact.
Download or read book The Promise written by Robert J. Morgan and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010-02 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author Morgan applies the remarkable words of Romans 8: 28 and other related Bible verses to real-life stories of hope overcoming heartache.
