14-18 NOW: Contemporary arts commissions for the First World War Centenary

14-18 NOW is a five-year arts program that commissioned artists to create works responding to different aspects of the First World War. The program resulted in over 100 artworks that have been seen by over 35 million people, including works by Rachel Whiteread, John Akomfrah, Gillian Wearing, Peter Jackson, Danny Boyle, Vivienne Westwood, Jeremy Deller, Shobana Jeyasingh, Sir Peter Blake, Anna Meredith, William Kentridge, Akram Khan, Susan Philipsz, and Yinka Shonibare CBE. The artists of the time, including poets, painters, photographers, and film-makers, shaped perceptions of the war, and today's artists are opening up new perspectives on the present and the past.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 28 March 2019
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd

The 14-18 NOW initiative, a comprehensive arts program established to commemorate the centenary of the First World War, is explored in depth in this comprehensive book. Margaret MacMillan provides an introduction, and essays by David Olusoga, Danny Boyle, Akram Khan, Helen Marriage, Charlotte Higgins, Mark Kermode, William Kentridge, and Rachel Whiteread are included. Spanning five years, 14-18 NOW pioneered a unique approach to marking significant national occasions through the arts, commissioning artists to create works that explore various facets of the war through film, visual arts, literature, dance, theatre, and music. With an extensive collection of images from the entire season, this fully illustrated book serves as a poignant reminder of the profound impact that the arts can have in bringing the stories of the First World War to life. Projects like Jeremy Deller's Somme tribute We're here because we're here, Peter Jackson's colorized film They Shall Not Grow Old, and Danny Boyle's Armistice beach memorial Pages of the Sea exemplify this. The 14-18 NOW program stands as one of the largest public art commissions in history, resulting in over 100 artworks that have been viewed by over 35 million people. Renowned artists such as Rachel Whiteread, John Akomfrah, Gillian Wearing, Peter Jackson, Danny Boyle, Vivienne Westwood, Jeremy Deller, Shobana Jeyasingh, Sir Peter Blake, Anna Meredith, William Kentridge, Akram Khan, Susan Philipsz, and Yinka Shonibare CBE are among those involved. The perspectives on the war have been influenced by a diverse range of artists, including poets, painters, photographers, and filmmakers, many of whom had personal experiences of the war and its aftermath. One hundred years later, contemporary artists are continuing to expand our understanding of the past and present, offering fresh insights and perspectives on the world we live in.

Weight: 1690g
Dimension: 262 x 245 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788161466
Edition number: Main