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Totem

The Untold Story of Sculpture

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Totem

By: Jo Baring
Narrated by: Jo Baring
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'Groundbreaking' KATY HESSEL
'Lively and passionate' SIR ANTONY GORMLEY
'A revelation' KATE BRYAN

For forty thousand years, we have been carving and moulding, shaping and chiselling, feeling our way and sensing our place in the world through sculpture.

In this accessible, story-led journey into the heart of sculpture, renowned art historian and curator Jo Baring explores creativity, memory and why we have been driven to make art in this medium since the very beginning of humanity.

She examines sculptures from the pre-historic Lion Man figure found in a German cave, to an ancient Mayan pyramid that conjures a serpent made of shadows and icons of the Italian Renaissance such as Michelangelo’s devastating Pietà. Along the way, we encounter in a fresh light the work of twentieth century and contemporary giants such as Alberto Giacometti, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Constantin Brâncusi, Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama and Antony Gormley, among others.

Lyrical and beautifully illustrated, Totem is a celebration of art, those creating it and those it means something to.

 Art Ancient History
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Critic reviews

"Groundbreaking" (KATY HESSEL)
"This lively and passionate book celebrates all the ways that sculpture roots us into first-hand physical experience - both of the world and our innermost feelings" (SIR ANTONY GORMLEY)
"This retelling is a revelation - sculpture takes flight!" (KATE BRYAN)
"Like visiting a gallery with a knowledgeable friend, Jo Baring takes us on a personal journey through her specialist subject, guided not by chronology but passion and intrigue. Following connections between works as they speak to one another across time and cultures, she skilfully weaves together a compelling case for the power and magic of sculpture. Totem is a captivating enquiry into the curious human impulse to capture the intangible in the most physical of forms" (JOE TUCKER)
"An eye-opening, soul-stirring wonder of a book. Jo Baring has travelled to some of the most remote places on Earth to tell the story of sculpture through the people and places that made them. She doesn’t seek to pluck out the heart of a sculpture’s mystery, but guides us - gently, wittily and insightfully - towards finding power and meaning in them for ourselves. A glorious blend of travel and nature writing, history and biography, this is a book about things made of metal, wood and stone that gets to the heart of what it is to be human" (JESSIE CHILDS)
"Praise for Revisiting Modern British Art: 'An intelligent and engaging reappraisal" (SIR STEPHEN DEUCHAR, CBE, Former Director of Art Fund and Tate Britain)
"This inclusive, questioning, invigorating book feels like a game-changer" (CHARLOTTE MULLINS, author of A LITTLE HISTORY OF ART)
"Through this careful and original reconsideration, modern British art emerges in an expanded form, more relevant than ever and more urgent in its message" (KATE BRYAN, Art Curator, Writer, TV Presenter and Chief Art Director for Soho House)
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Totem inspired and educated me about sculpture and how humans have used materials as a medium of expression for centuries, it also taught me how to look more and see more. Jo sees art and nature in such a visceral way and writes with honesty and integrity and great respect for all the artists and cultures she writes about; she is all at once both intelligent adult and child. She is not an art historian teaching us, she is someone who takes us by the hand into the world she loves, thrilling and absorbing us with each step.

A love affair with sculpture and looking

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