Margaret Lazzari
Margaret Lazzari is an Associate Professor in the School of Fine Arts at University of Southern California. She is an art critic and writer whose books include "Art and Design Fundamentals" (1991), and "The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist" (2nd Ed.). Her drawings and paintings have been exhibited extensively throughout the United States.

Dona Schlesier
Dona Schlesier is Professor of Art at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in multimedia and video from the University of Iowa. Her drawings and multimedia work have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

EXPLORING ART will help you make sense of the world you live in. The authors use examples of art from many cultures to discuss things as fun as entertainment, sport, and the media and as basic as food, nature, and even life and death.

Part I: WHAT IS ART? WHO MAKES ART? WHO USES ART?
1. A Human Phenomenon.
2. The Language of Art and Architecture.
3. Media.
4. Deriving Meaning.
5. Who Makes Art?
6. What Do We Do with Art?
Part II: WHY DO WE MAKE ART?
Section 1: Survival and Beyond.
7. Food and Shelter.
8. Reproduction and Sexuality.
Section 2: Religion.
9. Deities and Places of Worship.
10. Mortality and Immortality.
Section 3: The State.
11. Power, Politics and Glory.
12. Social Protest/Affirmation.
Section 4: Self and Society.
13. The Human Body.
14. Race, Gender, Clan and Class.
15. Nature, Knowledge and Technology.
16. Art, Entertainment, Sports, and Visual Culture.
Appendix.
List of Illustrations.
Pronunciation Guide.
Glossary.
Index.
Credits.
Bibliography.
CD and Web Information.