Overview

The Birmingham Art Book is a tribute to a unique city whose visionary scientists and inventors made it famous as a manufacturing powerhouse. From heavy metal industry - here is where the first steam trains were built - to heavy metal music – Black Sabbath made their mark here - this is a place with a proud heritage. Its handsome university is the original of the ‘Redbrick’ universities, founded by a farsighted mayor in 1900 as a civic place of learning, open to all, now with many world famous alumni and staff, 10 of whom have won Nobel prizes. Local artists convey the architectural glory of Victoria Square and the city centre Museum and Art Gallery (which holds a sumptuous collection of Pre-Raphaelite art). In their drawings, they echo the modern vibrancy of buildings such as the iconic Selfridges department store and the REP theatre. Collages and sketches depict a city buzzing with vitality –from the world-renowned Hippodrome theatre, to the shopping centres and legendary nightlife that are national attractions. Quirky nooks like the Jewellery Quarter, the Electric Cinema or the tranquil Botanic gardens hidden so close to the centre are reflected in this lovely book. The green city with 8000 acres of public parks and many miles of canal paths dating from its heyday in the Industrial Revolution is lovingly drawn and painted by its artists. The Birmingham Art Book is where local artists shine a light on the grand and the humdrum with equal affection. Their love for the modern city is evident and their pride in its heritage comes to the fore in this lovely book.

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9781912934256

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Reviews

Amazing and thought provoking images from 58 incredible artists, proving that Birmingham really is at the centre of it all! -- Josie Lawrence The Birmingham Art Book is a visual feast of historic and futuristic beauty, created by local artists who live within the heart of this bustling, vibrant city. -- Toyah Willcox The artists who are inspired by the city of my birth light up its architecture, its sensations, its spirit and its multiculturalism, in the most creative and imaginative ways. It is our artists that make our city shine so brightly in the universe. You have to love them. This book loves them. -- Benjamin Zephaniah This book shows a unique view of Birmingham, a city that still holds a substantial bit of my heart. -- Dame Julie Walters This is like being given a pair of magic spectacles through which you can see Birmingham's unusual, oft hidden, oft unappreciated beauty, more clearly and more exhilarating than you ever did before. -- Frank Skinner We are a city that's quietly understated yet brilliant! If you want to know about it, stand and stare, you'll know why so many still want to live here. -- Ruby Turner I am proud to be associated with a city that can produce such stunning, artistic creations and in such numbers - remarkable. -- Jasper Carrott

Author Information

Emma Bennett is the editor of the city art book series. She is a collage artist, creating vibrant intricate hand-cut collage pictures using minute details. Her fascination with design and recycling leads to beautiful collages, as in the cover of this lovely book.

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