Artists, not rankings
Artists are selected for the scale or distinctiveness of their contribution. Their sequence is editorial, not competitive.
Editorial method
Selection is the argument.
A field guide should be concise enough to use and open enough to question. These principles govern every section.
Five works
Five works form a compact argument: not always the five most famous, but the five that best open the artist’s ideas, changes and reach.
Overlapping paths
An artist may belong to a country, medium and idea at once. One canonical artist page holds those connections together.
Worlds, not a single world
Regional groupings are entry points, not claims that culture obeys modern borders. Diaspora, exchange and contested histories remain visible.
Images with provenance
Artwork images are drawn from open-access archives and authoritative museum or reference sources. Source, available licence and rights-review status remain attached to every image.
Corrections
Dates, titles, attributions and interpretations are checked carefully. The guide is revised when stronger information or better framing becomes available.