Chosen Books

Invited designers and commentators have chosen these as the books that inspire them and that have shaped their worldview or their ideas about design.
240 books
Sheherezade Zweig, Janet et al. Comments:
Malevich Zhadova, Larisa
L’Art des Cyclades Zervos, Christian
The Making of Classical Edinburgh 1750–1840 Youngson, Alexander John Brown
The Unknown Craftsman Yanagi, Soetsu (Muneyoshi)
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby Wolfe, Tom
The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera Wolfe, Bertram D.
The Hand Wilson, Frank
Art and Politics in the Weimar Period Willett, John
Museum Legs Whitaker, Amy
Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees Weschler, Lawrence
Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006–2009 Weiwei, Ai
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (from A to B and Back Again) Warhol, Andy
The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, 1679–1701 Wang, Gai et al.
Fritz Kahn: Man Machine Debschitz, Uta von et al.
Exactitudes Versluis, Ari et al.
The Lives of the Artists Vasari, Giorgio
A Fine Disregard Varnedoe, Kirk
High & Low Varnedoe, Kirk et al.
Bart van der Leck van Kooten, Toos
Introduction to the Method of Leonardo da Vinci Valéry, Paul
Cy Twombly: Zeichnungen 1953–1973 Twombly, Cy et al.
Robert Smithson Tsai, Eugenie
Daybook: The Journey of an Artist Truitt, Anne
J.W. Waterhouse Trippi, Peter
Living Well Is the Best Revenge Tomkins, Calvin
Lives of the Artists Tomkins, Calvin
Duchamp: A Biography Tomkins, Calvin
Shadow of the Silk Road Thubron, Colin
At the Edge of History Thompson, William Irwin
Invisible Art The Art Brothers,
In Praise of Shadows Tanizaki, Jun’ichiro
Interpreting the Renaissance (Ricerca dell’Rinascimento) Tafuri, Manfredo
De Kooning: An American Master Stevens, Mark et al.
The Passport Steinberg, Saul
Leonardo’s Incessant Last Supper Steinberg, Leo
The Notebooks of Paul Klee, vol. 2: The Nature of Nature Spiller, Jürg
The Notebooks of Paul Klee, vol. 1: The Thinking Eye Spiller, Jürg
Masterpieces from the House of Fabergé Solodkoff, Alexander von
Cover to Cover Snow, Michael
Structure of the Visual Book Smith, Keith
Cindy Sherman: The Complete Untitled Film Stills Sherman, Cindy
The Shape of Content Shahn, Ben
Artists at Work: Inside the Studios of Today’s Most Celebrated Artists Seidner, David
Ant Farm Scott, Felicity
Wiener Werkstätte: Kunst und Handwerk, 1903–1932 Schweiger, Werner
The Culture of the Copy Schwartz, Hillel
Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage Schulz, Isabel
Fin-de-Siècle Vienna: Politics and Culture Schorske, Carl E.
Life? or Theatre? (Leben? oder Theater?) Salomon, Charlotte
CULTURE Sagmeister, Stefan
Buckminster Fuller and Isamu Noguchi: Best of Friends Sadao, Shoji et al.
Tom Sachs: Lever House “Bronze Collection” Sachs, Tom
Are Clothes Modern? Rudofsky, Bernard
The Unfashionable Human Body Rudofsky, Bernard
The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910–1934 Rowell, Margit
The Artist’s Reality: Philosophies of Art Rothko, Mark et al.
Art of the Natural World Rosenblum, Richard
Saul Steinberg Rosenberg, Harold
Tim Hawkinson Rinder, Lawrence
Dada: Art and Anti-Art Richter, Hans
A Life of Picasso (3 vols.) Richardson, John
The Illustrator in America, 1860–2000 Reed, Walt
The House of Life Praz, Mario
Rachel Feinstein Powers, Bill et al.
Vision and Difference: Femininity, Feminism and Histories of Art Pollock, Griselda
Walter Pichler Pichler, Walter et al.
Marcel Duchamp or The Castle of Purity Paz, Octavio
Essays on Mexican Art Paz, Octavio
The Life and Art of Albrecht Dürer Panofsky, Erwin
Studies in Iconology Panofsky, Erwin
Studio and Cube O’Doherty, Brian
Wolfgang Tillmans O'Brien, Sophie et al.
James Turrell: The Other Horizon Noever, Peter
The Bauhaus Reassessed: Sources and Design Theory Naylor, Gillian
The Faith of Graffiti Mailer, Norman et al.
Word and Image Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (MuHKA)
Ron Mueck: A Girl Mueck, Ron
A Nervous Splendor Morton, Frederic
The Sun King Mitford, Nancy
Madame de Pompadour Mitford, Nancy
Einstein, Picasso, Space, Time and the Beauty that Causes Havoc Miller, Arthur I.
The Hokusai Sketchbooks Michener, James A.
Oceanic Art Meyer, Anthony J. P.
Pig 05049 Meindertsma, Christien
Dialogue in the Void: Beckett & Giacometti Megged, Matti
Long Slow March Meador, Clifton
Richard Serra, Sculpture McShine, Kynaston et al.
Basquiat Mayer, Marc
Night Studio Mayer, Musa
Louise Bourgeois: Aller-Retour Matt, Gerald et al.
Jazz Matisse, Henri
Jean-Michel Basquiat Marshall, Richard
Marinetti: Selected Writings Marinetti, F. T. et al.
The Clock Marclay, Christian
The Intimate World of Alexander Calder Marchesseau, Daniel
Portrait of Picasso as a Young Man Mailer, Norman
Lives of the Great Twentieth Century Artists Lucie-Smith, Edward
El Lissitzky Lubbers, Frank
Le Livre futuriste Lista, Giovanni
Venice for Pleasure Links, J. G.
The Mind in the Cave Lewis-Williams, David
La Robe: Essai psychanalytique sur le vêtement Lemoine-Luccioni, Eugénie
Object to Be Destroyed: The Work of Gordon Matta-Clark Lee, Pamela M.
Dada Le Bon, Laurent
A Hundred Years of Lex Flex Laxson, Ruth
The Place of Narrative Lavin, Marilyn Aronberg
One Place after Another Kwon, Miwon
Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon Kubernik, Harvey
The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths Krauss, Rosalind
Lothar Meggendorfers Spielwelt Krahé, Hildegard
A Day with Picasso Klüver, Billy
Pedagogical Sketchbook Klee, Paul
The Diaries of Paul Klee, 1898–1918 Klee, Felix
Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere Kimmelman, Michael
The Classic Kermode, Frank
Module, Proportion, Symmetry, Rhythm (Vision + Value Series) Kepes, Gyorgy
Juan Gris Kahnweiler, Daniel-Henry
The Sculptures of Picasso Kahnweiler, Daniel-Henry
Dynamo Julie Houis et Collectif,
Kunst + Design: Donald Judd Judd, Donald et al.
Donald Judd: Raume Spaces Judd, Donald et al.
Donald Judd: Complete Writings 1959–1975 Judd, Donald
Gordon Matta-Clark: Splitting Jacob, Mary Jane
Gordon Matta-Clark: A Retrospective Jacob, Mary Jane
László Moholy-Nagy IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez
Infancia y Arte Moderno IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez
The Gift Hyde, Lewis
Futurism and Futurisms Hultén, Pontus
The Shock of the New Hughes, Robert
American Visions Hughes, Robert
Goya Hughes, Robert
Nothing if Not Critical Hughes, Robert
The New Art—the New Life Holtzman, Harry et al.
China Diary Hockney, David et al.
Die Welt als Labyrinth (The World as a Labyrinth) Hocke, Gustav René
I Want to Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now Hirst, Damien
The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Hirsch, E. D. et al.
The Problem of Form in Painting and Sculpture Hildebrand, Aldof von
Air Guitar Hickey, Dave
Mannerism Hauser, Arnold
Verf Hartog Jager, Hans den
In Deed: Certificates of Authenticity in Art Hapgood, Susan et al.
Pomona Houses Hafif, Marcia
The Modern Ideal Greenhalgh, Paul
What Are You Looking At? Gompertz, Will
Meditations on a Hobby Horse and Other Essays on the Theory of Art Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst)
A Little History of the World Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst)
The Sense of Order Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst)
The Image and the Eye Gombrich, E. H. (Ernst)
Arts & Architecture: The Entenza Years Goldstein, Barbara
The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh Gogh, Vincent van
The Spirit of Folk Art Glassie, Henry
Marcel Duchamp in Munich 1912 Girst, Thomas
The Magic of a People Girard, Alexander
John Currin Gingeras, Alison et al.
Churches in Rock Gerster, Georg
On Being Blue Gass, William
Brunelleschi (Masters of Italian Art) Gärtner, Peter J.
Brice Marden: A Retrospective of Paintings and Drawings Garrels, Gary
Popular Culture and High Culture Gans, Herbert J.
Walter Pichler: Zwei Troge, Wasserrinnen Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman,
The Anti-Aesthetic Foster, Hal
Walton Ford: Pancha Tantra Ford, Walton et al.
Word and Image: Posters from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art Fern, Alan
John Heartfield Evans, David
The Stamp of Fantasy Eskildsen, Ute
The World of M. C. Escher Escher, M. C.
George Ohr, Art Potter: The Apostle of Individuality Ellison, Robert A.
Rodchenko and the Arts of Revolutionary Russia Elliott, David
The Cut-Outs of Henri Matisse Elderfield, John
About 2 Squares + More About 2 Squares Lissitzky, El
The Hidden Order of Art Ehrenzweig, Anton
Social Radicalism and the Arts Egbert, Donald Drew
History of Beauty Eco, Umberto
The Open Work (Opera aperta) Eco, Umberto
Ornament Durant, Stuart
View Duchamp, Marcel
The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even Duchamp, Marcel et al.
Affect/Marcel Naumann, Francis M. et al.
Double-Face: The Story about Fashion and Art from Mohammed to Warhol Doswald, Christoph
Gordon Matta-Clark Diserens, Corinne
Cinema 1: The Movement-Image Deleuze, Gilles
Cinema 2: The Time-Image Deleuze, Gilles
The Great Cat Massacre Darnton, Robert
Théorie du nuage Damisch, Hubert
Notebooks da Vinci, Leonardo
Suspensions of Perception Crary, Jonathan
Techniques of the Observer Crary, Jonathan
In the Light of Italy Conisbee, Philip
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Colonna, Francesco
Design and Art (Documents of Contemporary Art) Coles, Alex
The Nude Clark, Kenneth
Painting as a Pastime Churchill, Winston
The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini Cellini, Benvenuto
Tom Sachs Celant, Germano
Arte Povera 2011 Celant, Germano
The Living Museum Cauman, Samuel
The History of the Future Canto, Christophe et al.
Silence: Lectures and Writings Cage, John
Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp Cabanne, Pierre
Historical Color Guide: Primitive to Modern Times with Thirty Plates in Color Burris-Meyer, Elizabeth
Maynard Dixon: Artist of the West Burnside, Wesley M.
Marianne Brandt Brockhage, Hans et al.
Mark Rothko: A Biography Breslin, James E. B.
Relational Aesthetics Bourriaud, Nicolas
Picabia Borràs, Maria Lluïsa
Cleopatra’s Nose Boorstin, Daniel J.
Friedrich Kiesler: Architekt, Maler, Bildhauer, 1890–1965 Bogner, Dieter
Cent ans d’histoire de France Berl, Emmanuel
Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica Berjonneau, Gerald et al.
About Looking Berger, John
The Shape of a Pocket Berger, John
Ways of Seeing Berger, John
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Benjamin, Walter
The Arcades Project Benjamin, Walter
Duveen Behrman, S. N.
Füssli, the Wild Swiss (Fuseli, the Wild Swiss) Becker, Christoph
Art & Fear Bayles, David et al.
Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy Baxandall, Michael
La Sparizione dell’Arte (The Disappearance of Art) Baudrillard, Jean
The Artist’s Library Batykefer, Erinn et al.
Empire of Signs Barthes, Roland
Mythologies Barthes, Roland
Système de la Mode (The Fashion System) Barthes, Roland
Magritte and Contemporary Art Barron, Stephanie
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life Barratt, Carrie et al.
Masters of Modern Art Barr, Alfred H.
Punk’s Dead Barker, Simon et al.
Constantin Brancusi Bach, Friedrich Teja
Super Constellation Asendorf, Christoph
Art and Visual Perception Arnheim, Rudolf
The Power of the Center Arnheim, Rudolf
Visual Thinking Arnheim, Rudolf
Ocean Flowers Armstrong, Carol et al.
Storia dell’Arte Italiana (3 vols.) Argan, Giulio Carlo
The Art of Florence Andres, Glenn et al.
Conformismo e Trasgressione Andreoli, Annamaria
The Deposition of Richard Prince: In the Case of Cariou V. Prince et al. Allen, Greg
Mayhew’s London Mayhew, Henry et al.
comments powered by Disqus