International Contemporary Masters Volume III

World Wide ArtBooks has recently released its International Contemporary Masters Volume III, which traces the current art world’s latest trends and features the work of select international artists who are helping to mold the evolution of the contemporary art world. International curator and founder of World Wide ArtBooks Despina Tunberg produced the book with the goal of showing that innovation in art is still thriving around the globe.

Greek born Tunberg, who owns galleries in both Europe and the U.S., recognized how artists can spend time struggling to show their art, when they would rather spend time creating it. She created the International Contemporary Masters series as a luxury art publication that would allow artists to introduce their world to the art world. Her books include well known and lesser known artists, all of whom are extremely talented and innovative.

The newest volume features some 400 images of artwork from over 230 artists. Nearly 50 countries’ artists are represented, and each artist was selected by a special committee that adhered to strict criteria of originality and proficiency. Editors sought the inclusion of artists who have broken new ground – even if the artists haven’t yet been discovered by the art world at large. Media presented in the book includes painting, mixed media, sculpture, photography, digital art and installation.

Click here to read more about the book, how Tunberg supports artists beyond including them in her publication, and about World Wide ArtBooks.

Tattoos as Art

The art world is constantly evolving - and thus, the definition of art (or maybe just that of "contemporary art") continues to broaden. While tattoos were once considered taboo, or an act of rebellion against conformity, getting permanently inked with body art has turned into a pretty widespread occurrence (at least in the Western world).

Tattoos are now frequently accepted as a form of self-expression, but even more interesting are those who actually create the tattoos and ink them onto bodies. It seems that the growth of acceptance of tattoos has allowed tattooists to be viewed as artists and tattooing - like painting or sculpting - to inch its way to being considered a standard form of art.

More and more contemporary tattooists have fine-arts backgrounds - and many have developed their own unique artistic styles, with their tattoo parlors now resembling specialized art studios and galleries.

Accordingly, the market for tattoo-themed books has expanded over the past several years. One recently published book, Art by Tattooists: Beyond Flash by Jo Waterhouse, is unique among the category.

Tattooist Jo Waterhouse examines drawings and paintings by tattoo artists independent of the bodies they are permanently attached to. Thus, without the images of tattooed bodies, the viewer sees the tattoo as a true piece of art (and can subsequently judge it purely as art, rather than thinking of it as a tattoo).

To read more about Jo Waterhouse's book, click here.

MutualArt.com

Straying from my normal focus on art literature and films, I'd like to take a minute to write about a new website that I've just gotten into using.  It's called MutualArt.com and it is a resource for all things art.  It is full of the latest information on art venues, artists, museums, and news all around the world.  The greatest part about the website is the "preferences" component.  As world news on the arts is quite overwhelming, I was able to set my personal account so that the site will highlight and make easily accessible news that pertains to my particular interests.  The same goes for artists I like, venues I attend, and types of exhibitions and openings that I might be interested in attending.  It's a really great site and am trying to spread the word.

There is a membership fee but in all honesty, it's worth it (and cuts down my frustration in surfing google each morning to find art news that interests me).  Once again, the site is http://mutualart.com.

Have a great day!