Reality Through the Arts

An introductory exploration of basic artistic concepts and terms applied to a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural history of artistic styles. This text treats all the arts―painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, music, theatre, dance, film, architecture, literature―uniformly, as it ties both artistic media and history to the theme of art as a reflection of human reality.

The fifth edition of Reality Through the Arts teaches the basic principles and practices of the arts―painting, printmaking, sculpture, music, theatre, film, dance, literature, and architecture―in Western culture and cultures outside the Western tradition.

Designed for those who have limited experience in the arts, the text is divided into two parts: 'The Media of the Arts: What Artists Use to Express 'Reality"' and 'The Styles of the Arts: How Artists Portray 'Reality."' Part I examines the media of the arts by defining and explaining important terminology, discussing how works are composed, and suggesting ways in which art effects responses in viewers and listeners. Arranged chronologically Part f samples art from a variety of cultures, focusing on style as a reflection of expression and meaning.

• "Cyber Study": Useful Internet resources are listed at the end of each chapter.
• "Thinking Critically": Also at the end of each chapter, questions are raised about specific issues and works to help students develop their analytical skills.
• "Personal Journey": These mini-essays, which occur throughout the book, bring art to life by recounting the author's personal experience with particular works.
• In-text pronunciation guide: The pronunciation of foreign names and terms is clearly indicated within the text.
• A new section on Latino Art in Chapter 13 highlights the diversity present within the ethos of the community, presenting works from Diego Rivera to Jose Bedia in painting and highlighting the Nuyorican movement of the late 20th century in theatre and poetry.

• Humanities Video CD-ROM: this CD-ROM includes video demonstrations to help students understand the broad spectrum of visual and performing arts. Featuring painting, sculpture, architecture, music, theatre and dance as well as narration and video clips of different art forms, the CD is linked to a specially developed website.
• Humanities Music CD: includes examples of music from across the centuries, to help students develop a broad understanding of musical styles.

Both of these supplements can be packaged with the text at no additional charge.

Prentice Hall's exclusive Companion Website™ accompanies Reality through the Arts and offers unique tools and support that make it easy for students and instructors to integrate this online study guide with the text. The site is a comprehensive resource that is organized according to the chapters within the text and features a variety of learning and teaching modules. Students can test their knowledge with multiple choice, true-false, fill in the blank and essay questions for each chapter, or expand their knowledge using the Web Destinations and Net Search options to find additional information on the Web. Communication and collaboration are easy using the Live Chat and Message Board features: Instructors can use the Syllabus Manager™ to create, post and revise a syllabus online, and find supplementary teaching resources in the Faculty Module.

The Companion Website™ makes integrating the Internet into your course exciting and easy. Join us online and enter a new world of teaching and learning.