No comments about The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media.

5 comments about The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions: More Than 65 Wacky, Wild & Crazy Concoctions (Ultim Book of Kid Concoctions).

1. I've done some of the experiments in this book with 1st graders. This book is fantastic!



2. This book has GREAT ideas! Right when I got it I had to sit down with my kids and read them all the cool things that we could make. We can't wait to try everything!



3. We bought it for our daughter that works in a nursery school. She likes it. Easy to do - good ideas.



4. Kids don't care how much money you spend on stuff so don't! Use things in the house to create paints and toys. I also bought one for the playgroup teacher.



5. This book arrived in time for Christmas gifting and was in excellent condition.

5 comments about Modernism: The Lure of Heresy.

1. Peter Gay has written a sweeping survey of Modernism that is lucid, highly readable, amply illustrated, beautifully designed, and remarkably complete. He has, essentially, written a survey of 120 years of cultural and aesthetic history. This is not a task for the faint of heart, but Gay has never suffered from that malady, his array of works spanning multiple centuries. His two-volume history of the Enlightenment remains a very important study and his work on Freud and on 19thc sensibility equally so.
   
   The problem with Modernism is that there is so much of it, particularly if you set out to write about poetry and fiction, music, architecture, painting, pop culture, and the many movements and sub-movements attending them. And of course, he is not bounded by any national borders. This is history with a capital H. That means that he has relatively little space (4-6 pp., usually at the outside) for each major figure. Thus, the book is a sweeping survey, an excellent introduction to the subject. Theory is kept to a minimum. He focuses on two aspects of Modernism--its penchant for aesthetic heresy and its stress of subjectivism.
   
   The book is also scrupulously fair, recognizing silliness and extremism where they are found and recognizing the important realities that work designed to shock the middle class cannot exist without a middle class prepared to consume it and a society sufficiently free and stable to protect the shockers and provide them a safe place in which to work.
   
   Personally, I would like to have seen a little more discussion of individuals who distinguished themselves but who did not subscribe to the Modernist agenda, writers such as Graham Greene or George Orwell and any number of individuals who produced magnificent work within the constraints of traditional forms. This is a book about Modernism, of course, but that could be contextualized with sharper contrasts. Gay is a believer, though a balanced one. Still, he sees grandeur in the international style of architecture and tends to overlook the ugliness of fifties' boxes with smudged glass and drip stains from flat roofs. I did not expect him to take Tom Wolfe's stance on the Bauhaus or on abstract expressionism, but Wolfe's (much-maligned) stance is shared by many. The book concludes with a survey of contemporary Modernism, with Gehry's Bilbao Guggenheim and Marquez's fiction. Gay sees the world of fiction as relatively flat, though there are many skilled practitioners. It is only flat, in my opinion, if you confine yourself to Modernist writing. Pynchon, e.g., does not fit his template and is thus not considered, though he is a towering figure. This is a small quibble in light of the book's accomplishments, however. I highly recommend it as an introduction to the subject and as an instructive, entertaining, well-written book.



2. I recently took a course on Joyce's Ulysses and I've been studying Eliot's "The Waste Land" both of which were published in 1922 and serve as defining modernist texts. I looked forward to reading Peter Gay's "Modernism" for insights into the movement's complex nest of heretical ideas, conflicted cultural displays and artistic expressions.
   
   I feel let down. He focuses on the usual suspects; Joyce, Picasso, Balanchine, Stravinsky etc. and tells their stories with verve and enthusiasm. He dates the beginning of modernism from Baudelaire's publication of Les Fleurs du Mal in 1857. These poems offered up the twin defining characteristics Gay assigns to the movement; the breaking of conventions that elicit passionate revulsion and a subjective, psychological, inward focus by the artist. The book then follows painting, drama, music and architecture in a chronological progression through the male canon (except for Virginia Woolf) praising their distinctive takes on modernism as he has defined it.
   
   He pulls the curtain down on the movement in 1960 with the advent of Pop Art. He ends the book with a rather perplexing claim that modernism is the great undead of movements, finding the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and the architecture of Frank Gehry worthy of inclusion despite their work post-dating the movement's death knell by more than a generation. He does this by violating his own rule which is, "the lure of heresy." He doesn't claim that either Marques or Gehry were treated as heretics. They were grandly praised and understood immediately upon the appearance of their work. Isn't modernism dead when there is no shock?
   
   This paean to the Marquez and Gehry points to a key weakness of the book in terms of providing an intellectual framework for the movement. It feels like he is far more interested in doling out the label of modernism to favorite artists than in grappling with the deep and ongoing issues that modernism evokes.
   
   I don't claim any expertise on this subject but I think that to ignore western culture, to not even mention the Greek, Jewish, Christian traditions that modernism was reacting against and which Joyce and Eliot, in particular, engaged even as they exploded, is to miss the challenge modernism poses to our lives still. For example, Gay never mentions post-modernism as a movement and how it contrast and endangers or extends modernism. Perhaps it is a dead end, a stale rehash but can it be ignored altogether?
   
   To me, these questions matter, modernism matters because it suggests a crisis in how we celebrate and express our collective identity. If modernism is dead or if it's merely a tradition of breaking rules and looking inward where are we now? How will we nourish our souls, define and share in a common sense of beauty and truth? However useful Gay's book will be for college freshman, it doesn't address the larger question of how a civilization picks up the pieces of all its broken icons.



3. I have not yet finished this book, but its content matter has inspired me to write a review anyway. Peter Gay has simply done a phenomenal job here. Of course he is famous for his biography of Freud, among other things. I consider myself a traditionalist, in belief if not in practice, and thus was a little hesitant to buy this book. But about ten pages in I realized I had made a good purchase. I began reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" at just about the same time I did Gay's work and must say I think I have a greater understanding of what Wilde was doing in his work, thanks to Gay.
   
   I've never understood Modernism really, always just sort of shyed away from it because I did not understand it:ignorant really. And though I will not say I have a new appreciation of Modern Art, I still loathe it mostly, I can at least understand the roots of it, (keep in mind I have not finished this work yet.) Peter Gay's work is very easy to follow, one may say fairly, I think, that it was written for the layman. What is better, it is enjoyable, and the combination of these two aspects makes it a welcome edition to any library...



4. Now that Modernism is seen as a historical moment in the arts, it is useful to look at its full artistic context. This is also a big undertaking. The author seeks to capture the nature of Modernism in visual arts, dance, literature and so on. This is bound to be an uneven treatment. Who can be equally conversant with such a broad array of disciplines? The reader faces an equal problem. To fully understand the analysis of Modernism in the work of a particular writer or artist one must be already quite familiar with this person's work. The real specialist, however, may find the analysis covers familiar (and not necessarily new)territory.
   Having said this, I still feel that this is a worthwhile book for anyone trying to rethink the significance of the Modernist movement and its relevance today. Some will take issue with the choice of a particular composer or architect, but this can be the springboard for interesting discussion.



5. The history of Modernism will never be written; we know too much about it (apologies to L.S.). Yet time and again some intrepid soul takes up the challenge and plunges ahead.
   
   I am happy to report that Peter Gay, while by no means having written that elusive definitive opus, acquits himself splendidly and has produced a compulsively readable introduction to this vast topic. Discussing both the usual suspects in concise chapters (Baudelaire, Picasso, Cezanne, Duchamp, Joyce, Schoenberg, etc) and some less so (Ensor, dealer Durand-Ruel, museum curator Lichtwark), Gay weaves multiple stories together to make a seamless whole that carries the reader across Modernism's multiple manifestations: dance, sculpture, architecture, music, film as well as painting and literature.
   
   Apt illustrations punctuate the text and the book's production as a whole is lovely. I would only criticize the dearth of illustrations when discussing paintings: verbal description can't do the visual arts justice. And like much of Gay's previous writing, Saint Sigmund hovers over the entire enterprise, thankfully never becoming too intrusive.
   
   Having written definitive explorations of European culture in the 18th and 19th Centuries, it is a pleasure that Gay has brought readers into the 20th with this new volume, certain to be one of the most accessible introductions to Modernism for some time to come.

5 comments about The Lives of the Artists (Oxford World's Classics).

1. A good introduction to Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist artists written by someone who lived around their time and had actual contact with some of the artists, as well as personal painting experience. He is, however, colored by his personal relationships with the artists, hyperbolic, and constrained by the Zeitgeist of the era. In exploring the relationships of artist and patron he is able to shed light on their social situation and the constant struggle of the elevation of the art of painting among the liberal arts. In English, some of the grandeur of his writing is lost, and it lacks the poetic ease of the Italian original. If you want a fuller version, I suggest (especially for bilingual speakers) a translation with the Italian original on the other side of the page.



2. No artist, or aspiring artist, should go without this book. While it is sometimes exhausting to read through the author's detailed coverage of the works of each featured artist, it should be considered mandatory reading for artists and art historians -- so that all can see the pillars of art on which civilization is built. The author covers both the works and the private lives of the artists, although I would have personally prefered more emphasis on the personal lives. It would also be very nice to have pictures of the specific works in each bio, so I guess that might be a future book purchase here at Amazon(!) -- a visual reference to Renaissance Art. In spite of those two drawbacks, I highly recommend the purchase of this book.



3. My daughter took Art History and loved this book. She kept it and insisted I buy her a copy so her teacher could have the new ones.



4. This book was a text for a grad school seminar I had. After nearly 500 years, Vasari remains the best "eyewitness" to the lives and works of his contemporary artists. Although he does take some liberties, such as trying to fit many artists into the traditional hero mold of child prodigy/discovered by master/quickly surpasses master, he also gives us a glimpse into the glorious time that shaped so many artistic geniuses.



5. "Do you admire a beautiful tower resounding with sacred sound?
   By my design this tower also reached for the stars.
   But I am Giotto, why cite such deeds?
   My name alone is worth a lengthy ode."
   [From the Live of Giotto di Bondone]
   Classic masterpiece containing selection of lives of famous Italian masters of art, written by their (almost) conterporary. This work is tedious and difficult to read at times (Vasari is describing at length all importatnt works of old masters). But still, this account is valuable for particular details about techniques used by old masters or condidtions under which their masterpieces were created... Kind regards, Mario.

5 comments about Collage Discovery Workshop - Beyond the Unexpected: New Techniques Using Color, Personal Imagery and Creative Surfaces.

1. this second book totally switches gears from her first book in a good and different way. if you are looking for a change this book is for you! her first book had lots of dark and grungy looks while this one goes to bright and whimsical! i would consider myself on the more seasoned side of collage and sometimes i get sooo bogged down in details that i need to step back a couple steps and see the simpler side again to clear my head. this book helps me get back to that blissful middle ground. great techniques to be had and a refreshing look at a softer simpler side of collage. great job claudine!



2. Wow- I purchased this because I am just beginning with collage and she has got some great ideas for different back grounds, and techniques. Her style is unique and whimsical! A great resource book!



3. This is a great book! It contains great directions on making some unique backgrounds for your collage. It also provides a great list of items needed for making magnificent artwork. I have used many of the techniques and have produced some of my best work. If you are new to collage making, this book is a must.



4. I LOVE this book. It really gets my creative juices flowing when I look at it. Full color photos and actual artist examples enhance this step by step book of cool ideas!



5. This book is a great compliment to the Collage Discovery Workshop. It has the same beautiful glossy pages and the techniques are simple to learn and produce amazing results. Your creative ideas will flow and I suggest keeping paper close to write down your own original ideas while you read through this book.
   
   Another great gift idea!

5 comments about The Acrylic Painters Book of Styles and Techniques.

1. I don't see what people have to complain about in this book. It's 7 chapters show some good techniques from different painters, with more than one example and step by step instructions. I think what some people need to understand is that a book may only teach you a few things about painting and drawing, it cannot actually paint the picture for you. Do not expect to be painting like a pro just because you have read this book; it includes exactly what is stated in the title.



2. There is nothing new in this book. It is a rather pedestrian approach to painting with acrylics...redundant.



3. I purchased this book for a class that I am taking. It was the selected book for the class. It is excellent. I find it to be extremely readable and the examples and illustrations are very good. It would be an excellent book for self-study as well as for use in a classroom environment. I would highly recommend it.



4. I think that I may have been put off by the artwork chosen because I found it dreary. I really learned very little.



5. I really like this book, only a few artist I didn't care for. The techniques were just styles I personally don't care for. It is just a matter of preference. The pictures and examples were great to look at, they motive and inspire new ideas for those that are already painters.

No comments about Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist (Will Eisner Library).

5 comments about How to Draw Animals (How to Draw (Dover)).

1. I bought this as a gift for the daughter (7 years old I believe) of a friend of mine. I am very impressed by the results. She snapped it up and immediately began using it. You could see her drawing improve almost immediately, and she came up with some very impressive (and hilarious) drawings.
   
   I can't really give the book any higher praise than that.



2. I was a little irritated that I paid 5 bucks for the book and when I received it, the suggested price was 2.95. I thought Amazon would be cheaper, not more. Learned my lesson.



3. I was trying to find Spiro-graph for my niece when I read the reviews of the new version. So I realized what my niece might really enjoy is something to help her learn to draw free-hand. She loves them! She's mastering the images too quickly!



4. I'm an Ed Emberly fan, and as my children (and admittedly myself) have drawn so much out of his books, we've started to branch out to more sophisticated drawings. With the exception of Ed's, most "how-to" books pretty much "teach" in the same way: They give you a number of guides which are supposed to take you from simple shapes to the picture you're trying to arrive at.

   It's apparent to me now, having revisited Emberly's work as an adult, and going back to books like this, which were tremendously frustrating to me as a child, that the key difference between a book like "How To Draw Animals" and "Ed Emberly's Drawing Book of Animals" is =not= the complexity of the final picture.

   The key difference is the =gradient= between the guides.

   In an Emberly book, each guide adds one or two very simple shapes to add--and tells you which shapes to add and often where (though it's usually obvious) and maybe even some explanatory text, etc., etc., whereas a book like this often gives you half-a-dozen shapes, and requires you to tweak the shapes you drew previously, all without a word of instruction or a different color or kind of line showing where the changes are.

   Of course, these things are obvious to someone who already =can= draw, but very frustrating for those who can't.

   Now, in my experience, most drawing books are like this, and you can't realistically buy them and be shocked when they all more-or-less take this approach, so I didn't really mark Ms. Soloff-Levy's book down for it.

   Parents and teachers should pay close attention when buying these books for children. They all have different skill levels and the difference between ending up with a kid who gets frustrated and wants to throw the sketchbook away and ending up with one who enjoys drawing is, in a large part, going to depend on the adult's understanding of what skills a particular book requires.

   For what it's worth, I'll continue to post my experiences here.

   From a skill standpoint, I'd put this book after Ed Emberly's Big Red Drawing book. The shapes used are subtler than straight geometrics, but there are often only a few elements to a picture. And, thankfully, there are more than just three guides. (Some drawing books give you just three--or even two!--guides to go from nothing to a finished picture.)

   I'd give it four stars but in some of the drawings, the guides don't match! I don't mean that a shape has to be tweaked or subtly altered, but simply that a leg in one guide is in a different position than the same leg in the next! Other than that, this book is recommended.




5. This book is very good for children. The children have not put it down. It teaches them how to draw basic animals and gives them a sense of accomplishment!

5 comments about Art and Illusion.

1. Great text, but in this printing the illustrations appear poorly printed (they are pale), especially noticeable when compared with those of an older edition. Perhaps the quality of illustrations is peculiar to my copy, but the reproductions seem consistently light.



2. A great book, it is a bit long but filled with information, so take your time when reading and prepared yourselve for an epiphany



3. Art & Illusion is an altogether brilliant text - one of the most profound discussions of fine art in the 20th century. No matter what one's field - whether painting, film, new media, performance art - it is a book both timeless and essential.



4. When asked to recommend an art book, I frequently compare art books to chemistry books or math books. These books usually assume you understand, at the minimum, the symbol for salt or the math equation to measure an area. For this book, it would help if you are familiar with the main phases of representational styles in art. For this is not a picture book, but rather reading material with explanatory pictures on the psychology of perception.
   
   But, Dr. Gombrich wrote for the general public and nobody does it better. Having read all his books more than once, he takes you by the hand, leads you down his primrose path, and entices you by way of his poetic language; much like walking in a garden with a gardener. You may not know all the plant's latin names, but the experience is rewarding.



5. As someone with an interest in art I found this book very interesting.
   However, this book is also a classic example of how a non-fiction book should be written. It flows smoothly from topic to topic, is not written on too high a level, but on the other hand does not insult your intelligence.
   His other book are also very good.

5 comments about Tattoo.

1. This book is a work of art. Whenever I have friends over, we always end up looking through it. Some of the photographs are just awe inspiring. I went back to the drawing board with the design of my own tattoo after buying this book, as it completely opened my mind up to possibilities I had never considered. Makes a great coffee table book too, and certainly provokes conversation!



2. I bought this book as a present for my sister-in-law who just started a tattoo business and she loved it. She sat down to read it right away, the illustrations were great and gave her many ideas!



3. I bought this as a housewarming gift for a dear friend of mine who is a tattoo artist. But before I wrapped it, I couldn't resist taking a peek inside. The book is thinner than I expected, but still fantastic for the coffee table.
   What really makes it impressive is the collection of stunning pictures... each large, vivid, and crystal clear. Absolutely beautiful shots of body art.
   The recipient loved it, and the book was passed around at the party all evening.



4. Tattoo by Dale Rio and Eva Bianchini belongs to the best books currently available about Tattoo Art. Just skimming the book and looking these photo's at a glance, it already reveals very excellent tattoos, made by some of today's most well known, most talented tattoo artists in the world of tattooing. In beautiful, often very detailed photos, this book shows different tattoo styles, including very realistic tattoos, of which it is hard to believe these are actually tattoos. If you consider getting tattooed by one of the best artists and want something to inspire you, then certainly this book can be a great help to make yourself acquainted with the amazing possibilities of the most modern tattooing techniques, when applied by the most skilled Tattoo Artists. And once you got your own, very best Tattoo Art, who knows this book will be a great reminder of how you started to prepare yourself to obtain that personal Art.



5. I may be a bit biased as my fiancee is featured in this book (pg. 94), but I think this is one of the best tattoo books I've had the pleasure of looking at. While some of the designs chosen are a bit simplistic for my taste, it shows a wide range of tattoos in color and also black work.
   I like that it doesn't just feature big name artists. The author took into account many artists no matter how well known, based on their talent (which is how it should be). The photographs are amazing and you won't believe some of them are tattoos because they look so real.
   This is well worth the small price that is being asked for it. Any fan of tattooing would be pleased with the work in this book.