Humanities Related Library Internet Resources Annotated Bibliography

Pierce, James Smith and HW Janson. From Abacus to Zeus: A Handbook of Art History, 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

There are several factors that make arts to be valuable or not. Art value is assessed via several ways including comparison to existing market standards of similar arts before they are taken for auctions. According to this article, hypothetical methods based on market values are used to find the value of arts taken for auctions. The most important factor used during the valuation is the artist who designed the art. Artists who are well-known and highly regarded have high value associated with their works. Paintings like Matisse's call for higher price than those of little known artists. The other factor vital during the valuation is the uniqueness, type and copies of the work. Art pieces produced in large quantities bring lower values yet those with unique altercations even if by the same artists attract higher values during the auction period.

The other important aspect looked at during the valuation is strength of the art and the artist's style. Productions having longer lasting time frames are more valued and may fetch prices more than $1 million during actions. On the other hand, if the art is seen as a glamorous show of virtuoso; outside their known stylistic developments, then the pricing automatically goes up. In addition, the art's size correlates with the value; bigger artistic works attract more valuable given other factors play fair roles. The other factor considered during valuation is the seller of the artistic masterpiece. If an artist's work is lined for sale by a major auctioneer, then the price automatically shoots up. The art is priced highly as the auctioneer must consider the overhead costs of exhibiting the work; the pricier the sale costs, the pricier the art work.

This book concludes that is a rapport between the artist and the viewer; a work of art lives in the eyes of the viewer and is incomplete until that moment. Moreover, artists must incorporate other elements in their paintings such as knowledge, subtlety, as well as perspective as opposed to just paint brushes and canvas which are only the physical tools that a true artist uses.

Wright, George T. Shakespeare: An Anthropology of Criticism and Theory, 1945-2000. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Company, 2004.

Shakespeare's works are still relevant in the modern world; they have remained timeless and valuable to modern societies. His works are classic masterpieces and unforgettable; they inform people of the ancient times and his conversational writing style makes his works easier to understand and enjoyable. Even in modern times, his writings offer in-depth meaning as the themes are universal; include love, human behavior, as well as mannerisms in the society. Shakespeare's articles can be used as the basis of understanding human behavior since behave just like characters portrayed by Shakespeare.

In addition, though the writings were done long time ago, they added beauty to English via his captivating relaying of events and their philosophical references to love, beauty which are some important aspects of human life. Besides, Shakespeare's writings and characters reveal human conditions that modern people can relate to; desire to love and be loved, greed and its outcomes as well as revenge; these representation of human nature is real and very relevant today.

Though Shakespeare uses jargons and metaphors which are not easy to interpret, unlocking the meaning of his phrases help readers unveil hidden gems of sarcastic humor. His poetry and writing style is moving, memorable and attractive thus assisting readers learn words; a critical instrument in communication. Reading Shakespeare offers a satisfying literacy encounter which has made his masterpieces stand the test of time. Themes, characters and plots incorporated in his literary writings are intriguingly and uniquely weaved together making some tales tragic, passionate and thought provoking. This leaves readers in suspense making them require more; a critical factor in the publications...

Socrates: Ironist and Moral Philosopher. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
Socrates is acclaimed as one of the greatest philosophers of all time. This Athenian philosopher is credited as one of the founders of western philosophies. Socrates is considered the pioneer of ethics as well as impacted fields such as epistemology and logic. Socrates idea and approaches are used by modern philosophers as the basis of their arguments. The major impact he made in the field of philosophy is his widely acclaimed Socratic Method of inquiry; used in examining moral concepts such as justice and goodness. This concept has been modified by scientists who use it in scientific research as hypothesis.

Socrates always campaigned for mental as well as self-development among individuals as opposed to pursuit of material possessions. This philosopher cultivated the idea of unity and friendship among the community; he had a notion this was the best way people could grow together as a populace. He lives to his beliefs by accepting his unfair death sentence; he felt that running away from the community was a cowardly act and would not auger well with his followers.

He notes that just because gods say an action is good, then it should be taken that way; it is good because it is useful in human efforts to be better and happier people. Therefore, ethics are not to be considered a matter of reading the scripture for what is good or bad, but rather thinking about life. The unique or intriguing aspect in Socrates life is that he never wrote his ideas down, always lecturing his students who in exchange took care of him. It was his student Plato who penned his talks and conversations which became known as the Dialogs; this makes distinguishing Socrates' and Plato's a difficult task.

Erich, Duetsch Otto. Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1965.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is not only one of the greatest composers of the Classical period, but one of the greatest of all time. Mozart is remembered for his music which had a natural flow always associated with an appealing charm; expressing humor, joy, sorrow with a strong conviction and mastery. In addition, Mozart's operas were characterized with sophisticated arts of the time; these included piano and symphonies concerts; besides, his inferior works as a child are charming and colorful.

By learning from other composers, Amadeus was able to develop a high- powered musical brilliance by incorporating a mature music style not witnessed during this period. He integrated both light and graceful vocals with dark and passionate ones to give his music different feel which was appealing to everybody. Mozart composed more than 600 classical hits before his demise mostly symphonic, chamber, operatic and choral music as well. Musicians such as Beethoven were influenced by Mozart; Amadeus was an enduringly popular classical composer, and made a great impact on western art music.

In addition, Mozart is acknowledged as a versatile composer, writing in every major genre, including genres like string quartet, string quintet as well as piano sonata. However, these music subgenres were already established, Mozart perfected their technical sophistication and emotional outreach to listeners. Besides, Mozart is confirmed to have single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. In line with this, Mozart's music encompassed all traits of classical music; clarity, balance, and transparency with simplistic and charged delivery power of his finest masterpieces.

Saint, Andrew. "Frank Lloyd Wright and Paul Mueller: The Architect and his Builder of Choice." Architectural Research Quarterly (2004): 157-167.

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered one of the greatest architects to ever grace the architectural world. Lloyd was an outspoken individual, media-savvy but also a visionary person. Always the individual who believed in good appearance of homes, he is acknowledged as having designed gowns for his house mistresses and shaped rooms as well as furnishings to promote idealized activities…