5 comments about Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing.

1. This is a most outstanding work on the anatomic and physiologic concepts underlying visual perception. It is aimed at any interested layman and should be required reading for visual artists, neuro-physiologists and any vision science practitioners. It requires attentive reading initially, but the extent of its insights are breathtakingly rewarding for those efforts. It is a visually stunning book that is the product of an inquiring and perceptive mind who is a senior member of the neuro-physiology faculty at Harvard. As an ophthalmologist and vision scientist-educator, I have strongly recommended it to trainees and older colleagues alike. Try it - you'll like it. MAH



2. A very good book with great pictures that demonstrate key vision concepts. Near the end of the book, however, I started to skim the chapters because it became too tedious to read - very technical book overall.
   
   I bought a used copy and noticed "student underling" in the first chapter, but an abrupt end to underlining in the second chapter. You know what that means: "This course is not what I expected; I'm dropping out!"
   The student and I feel the same way, but I got a lot further.
   
   Buy it, but I found Robert L. Solso's book The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain to be a far more exciting read. That one is a five star easily.
   
   Another more engaging book covers many of the same things as Livingstone's but in a more readable style: Visual Intelligence by Donald D. Hoffman.
   
   So, if your interested in vision, etc. I'd start with Solso, then move to Hoffman, and lastly to Livingstone.



3. This is a book that every teacher of photography and serious photographer should read and study and re-read. Although the book contains no photographic examples, there are plenty of examples in famous paintings to support the visual research Dr. Livingtson so clearly writes about. The examples in paintings are easily transferable
   to a number of familiar and famous photographs.
   Ever wonder what Ansel Adams and Edward Weston were so successful with the black-and-white photographs but not with their color photographs? I have, and her book has provided me with insights into this and other photographic practices.



4. After reading it, you'll want to keep it close to you. That way, you'll never forget how important art and science are in your life.



5. Margaret Livingstone has produced a book so very useful to visual artists that it may, in its density of ideas, seem definitive rather than evocative. But evocative it is. As we learn from studying it, Livingstone's book offers implications that may be developed by any artist who reads it in almost any direction. One might take as an example the very rich Chapter 8, with its notions of luminance as a balance for the salience, or pushiness of certain colors - how Leonardo handled it, how Ingres handled it, and how today's painter or digital image maker might go even further. The size and shape of the book allow for illustrations that work on the eye at the right scale. And there is an overall visual loudness to the book that is jarring and satisfying.

   The author gets to the structure of our visual systems, makes them very clear, and tells us things that are lasting and verifiable. Her spirit of personal experimentation shows in the book, and makes us think that looking inquisitively at the world will pay off.

3 comments about 1,000 Restaurant Bar and Cafe Graphics: From Signage to Logos and Everything in Between (1000 Series).

1. This book has a lot of very interesting usages for artwork and logos in the restaurant industry, but also includes a nice variety of design principles that can be used in many other applications.



2. I was looking for a book that showed more branding within the space, rather than all the 'extras' like menus, etc. Maybe the coverage in the book was too broad so they had to include equal coverage on each category (signs, menus), so they sacrificed on the interior/environmental design category. Also the 1000 is misleading - there seemed to be a lot of images from the same restaurants within each chapter in the book. If I were looking for a book on menu design, I'd buy it separately. That whole chapter was of little importance to me (based on what I thought the book would be about). I would not recommend this book for a designer looking for inspiration for environmental design/branding of restaurants. It wasn't comprehensive in this regard at all.



3. This 1000 series is wonderful and this is an excellent example. It really stands out in the sea of graphic design annuals that are poorly designed and are questionably juries.

3 comments about Learning to Love You More.

1. I bought this book because I am a fan of Miranda July's. I loved her movie and her book of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories. This book has none of July's original artwork. It is a collection of work done by other people based on a list of assignments she wrote. The assignments range from the quirky (create an object from your youth using only construction paper and tape) to the profound (spend time with someone who is dying and then write about it). July's brilliance lies in her ability to bring out creativity using specific assignments and rules. As a teacher, I can really appreciate the value of a good assignment. I also love her on-going theme of "it's not about you". Her assignments often remind artists to stick to the rules instead of being creative. Still, this book is an inspiration to be more creative: to create more.



2. Miranda July is great! This book invites us to create more art, in ways that connect us more to each other. Her movie and short story collections are also really beatiful.



3. this book made an awesome valentines present ((compared to the typical cards and flower alternative!))....it's a very fun, sentimental and thought-provoking book that makes you wanna slow down and take notice of all the small beautiful and day-to-day thinks in life!

5 comments about How to Draw Animals.

1. This is one of the, if not THE most solid animal book there is. Packed with drawings (as all of Jack Hamm's books are)...very clear. It's the book I'd recommend first for someone who wants to learn to draw animals. I'm a professional working in animation and this is a book that all of my coworkers own.



2. While Jack Hamm is quite well-respected, I have to recommend The Art of Animal Drawing: Construction, Action Analysis, Caricature (Dover Books on Art Instruction, Anatomy) for anyone considering this book. While this book does have a lot of useful information (like demonstrating the position of the ankle in different animals), some of Hamm's drawings are lifeless, stiff, and sometimes downright awkward-looking. This is most likely due to the use of taxidermy models (in some cases photos of taxidermy models) as the base for his drawings. This is most evident in some of his more exotic animals where the faces look malformed.
   
   Even by looking at the images provided here, there is a bit of a difference in the feel his sketch images when compared to his finished ones. This is more pronounced in the book itself when you see the book in its entirety. The poses for the finished animals are routinely a little bit unnatural looking, just like how the lion on the front is, if you look at him long enough.
   
   Hamm's instruction itself is valuable, but the images he presents with them are not always the best. I have personally found copying the images in a drawing book to be a good study to understand an animal and get an idea of what it is and how it moves, and that is where this book falls short. Basically you end up copying a copy.
   
   I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone looking for a couple of animal drawing books, but if you're only going to buy one, Hultgren is the way to go. I speak as someone who owns both. This book has some useful information in it, but Hultgren is the one I carry around with me. In conclusion, it's a good book, but not the best.



3. The book was in fair shape. A little disappointed because it was less than advertised condition. But not enough to make an issue of it. It was OK.



4. Helpful when you must insert animals into a painting or drawing; well put together and a good variety of animals.



5. Every artist should own this book, it has great instructions, and illustrations, of animal structure, shapes and design

1 comments about Design Through Discovery: An Introduction.

1. The cover calls this edition the "Brief Edition" I am almost tempted to buy the $50.00 edition

No comments about The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions.

No comments about Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave.

5 comments about ArtSpeak : A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present (Speak Series).

1. I recently completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and this book was very helpful as a reference for my art history classes!



2. I am a docent and at times a docent trainer, and this guide came in very handy when I was preparing for an exhibition on contemporary artists. It is well-written, to the point, and has extensive coverage for a little book!



3. I'm a BFA student at Virginia Tech heading to grad school and this is an excellent book to teach from, have as a reference, or just thumb through for fun. Simple and succinct while still thorough. It's really an invaluable thing to have for ready info at your fingertips. This book has been part of the curriculum here for Performance Art, Found Object Sculpture, and Installation classes, and everyone in the class universally approves and finds it helpful.



4. Perfect for writing critiques and analyses from all art movements. Great glossary of terms for a beginning art student looking up hard-to-understand words in text books.



5. A glossary of art terms. This book is a definite must for those writing analyses of art. It's also good for looking up those tricky terms in your text books. It is filled with artsy terms and illustrations. I used it in all my art history classes.

No comments about Snyder's Medieval Art.

No comments about Street Fighter Tribute.