4 comments about Who Owns Antiquity?: Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage.

1. Some ancient art belongs to the world, not necessarily to the present nations who now claim it. Several times over the years, I have seen, studied, photographed, and talked about the Elgin Marbles in London's British Museum. During my long life I have heard about and have read about the Parthenon, but I have seen it only once--two years ago. Should I now try to go to Greece to see the Elgin Marbles? At age 81 and here in California I think of the Elgin Marbles as being from ancient times that are basic to our civilization and not just to the present Greek nation. Should the British "give them back"? I don't think so. The book, "Who Owns Antiquity..." by James Cuno ©2008 legitimately takes the museum point view which I enthusiastically share. John L. Sommer.



2. The book underlines the attitude behind Cuno's outspoken cultural superiority. In a recent AP interview, Cuno said: "Cuno: I think any of these modern nations can exercise a greater claim than any other nation on antiquities found within their jurisdiction. But not in terms of an identity with those ancient people. It is not on the basis that they are the modern heirs to the achievements of these ancient peoples, that they descend from them in any kind of continuous or natural way and that the modern culture is akin to the ancient culture."
   
   This is a century old canard that claims an ethnic group has only a tenuous tie to their ancestors. His words about a "continuous and natural" descent are offensive and bigoted, reminiscent of some particularly odious racial theories from the 19th century which read a mixture of bloodlines as reason enough to dispute strong connections with ancestral pasts. What, after all, does Cuno mean by "a natural way"? Is language not enough for him? That some nations use artifacts for political reinforcement of nationalist goals is not reason enough to dismiss a people's ethnic and cultural affinities with these same artifacts.
   
   Take the case of the Elgin marbles, for instance. He worries that cultural artifacts may be destroyed if located in a singular place. Yet Lord Elgin destroyed the marbles themselves in removing them, lost many in the Mediterranean, and the British Museum allowed patrons to spill wine on them during fundraisers. To insist on spreading the wealth of the Parthenon marbles is as smart as perhaps cutting Lincoln's face off the memorial and giving it to Singapore, or amputating the arm holding the torch on the statue of liberty, and sending it to Uruguay.



3. Cuno is a defender of the so-called "universal museums", now called "encyclopaedic museums" and perhaps more correctly, imperialistic or totalitarian museums. The museum that never has enough of anything and seeks a total control of all cultural objects by all means, including the use of force by the army of the country where the museum is situated-Louvre, British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. These museums now lament the end of the imperialistic and colonial period in which they amassed most of their stock. This was the period when the Europeans could take virtually from any country whatever cultural object they desired. That period is, mercifully, at an end and Cuno and co are agitating for the return to that system, so-called partage system which enabled the Europeans to take away massive archaeological objects from countries like Egypt. Cuno labels those who seek the return of the stolen cultural objects as nationalists but what about those who fight to keep the objects in the museums of the West, are they internationalists or what?
   This new book does not advance in anyway the debate about the restitution of cultural objects. On the contrary, it will only help to solidify the known positions. That leading museum directors do not understand the desire of Africans and Asians to recover their stolen cultural objects, is a sad commentary on the cultural landscape of the world. The perspective would have appeared better without the addition of this book which will only serve as additional object for heated controversies and it comes from a museum director of one of the leading museums of the Western world.
   Kwame Opoku. 22 May,2008.



4. Anyone who has ever been enthralled visiting one of the world's great archeological museums would benefit from James Cuno's book. So would archaeologists, museum directors, curators, antiquities dealers...and journalists who have signed on to the out-of-control drumbeat demonizing museums and collectors. Source country bureaucrats and power-wielders should read it as well, but they probably will not. Cuno's is a refreshing, insightful and intelligent counterpoint to mainstream misinformed denigration of the world's great archaeological museums. It convincingly argues that nationalistic retention laws for antiquities neither preserve sites nor objects, nor do they benefit the larger interests of civilization and mankind. There is probably more here than the non-specialist is interested in, but the beginning and end of the book are more than enlightening, and the reader can go back to middle chapters for background and revealing histories of the modern nations of Turkey, China and Italy. This book is an eloquent plea to save the inspiring fragments of mankind's long history which belong to us all. Cuno believes using them for nationalistic agendas is not the way.

5 comments about Halloween: Vintage Holiday Graphics (Icons).

1. I was expecting this book to not only show vintage graphics but also a description of each graphic, but to my dissappoitment it does not include any text. Also, the binding cuts off a lot of the pictures and makes it difficult to open completely flat.
   That being said, this is a wonderful book with interesting photos. I would definetly recommend this to someone looking for a picture book, but definetly not to someone who is looking for descriptions and origins of these fascinating graphics.
   This book includes pictures of children on halloween, postcards, and old advertisements from the 1900's-1960's.



2. This book is packed with great vintage illustrations from Halloweens past. As an artist who is heavily inspired buy Halloween imagery this book has been invaluable. I actually ended up wearing mine to pieces. But for the price it's really hard to complain. A little book glue and it's as good as new. This book is one of my favorite in my collection. Definitely worth the cheap price tag for anyone who is into this kind of thing.



3. I really enjoyed this book of vintage Halloween goodies and images - some I still have from the time I was a small child (I won't tell how long ago that was!!). A true enjoyment for the favorite party-time ever! Makes me want to say "Merry Halloween" to everyone - a commonly used title on the really old cards/images.



4. A couple of the graphics stood out, most weren't very interesting. A lot of vintage ads with no real artistic value.



5. I love looking through this book, Halloween is my favorite holiday and these old graphics make me feel all nostalgic. I even got one of the pictures tattooed on my back shoulder. Cool book.

5 comments about A Book of Artrageous Projects.

1. This book had a lot of really fun art ideas that my boys loved. It is very hands on, and you can mix in science with your art. My history buff loved the art history, and this book inspired much online investigation and a planned trip to our local art museum. It is a great way to introduce your child to real art- but is also fun and "crafty." My high-energy boys loved this book, and I can not recommend it enough.



2. I buy these books because my grandkids love them too. They always have age appropriate topica and seem to keep pace with their interests as they grow. They are challenged and they learn as they work through the books. Mom & Dad love them too.



3. I bought this book for my nephew, who is 10 years old. He opened his present and started looking through it right away, ignoring his other presents waiting to be opened. There is a nice selection of different activities in this book. I would recommend it for older children as it includes activities that require lots of cutting and pasting, and the tempura painting could be messy with younger children.



4. Crafty people will like this book, and all of klutz other books. This one has lots of fun things to do, and will keep you busy for a long time. You get to play with stickers, do sunburn art, paint with eggs (this sounds strange, but it works!!), and tons of other stuff. It's a cool book.



5. This was a huge hit with my two daughters, ages 6 and 8. They passed many hours going through every project/exercise in the book. Later they devised ways to create their own projects based on ideas form the book. We also discovered which crafts the kids wanted to follow up on, we have ordered materials for metal foil embossing, etc. based on our experiences with this introductory book. I recommend this book highly, your kids WILL enjoy it!

5 comments about Painting the Impressionist Landscape: Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color.

1. I found this book a valuable addition to my library. As an Artist it proved to be a wonderful learning tool, with detailed explainations, examples, and a number of practical step by step learning project. It has added great depth to my paintings. I would recommend it to both experienced artist and beginners. Beautiful colour photos!!!



2. This is an excellent book for learning color theory. You can tell she loves teaching because she doesn't hold back. She is really trying to help you learn the concepts. She paints in an impressionist style, but her methods would work no matter what your style is.



3. It just didn't motivate me like I wanted it to.... so I sold it. But, it does have some good steps to getting that impressionistic look. I suggest trying out the book by Susan Sarback, Capturing Radiant Color in Oils (Paperback)
   ISBN: 1581800614. I've been on her website, and she has some remarkable paintings as well.



4. This discussed painting in a way I needed to hear. It was easy to work with and inspired ideas for me to try. Great book



5. I learned so much from this book. I started painting about 3 years ago and I just painted a little bit more realistically and now I can actually paint in a more impressionist way! Very informing... satisfied + customer

5 comments about The Art of Resin Jewelry: Layering, Casting, and Mixed Media Techniques for Creating Vintage to Contemporary Designs.

1. The approach of this text is aimed at the beginner, but if you've played around with resin, I'm sure you'll still find plenty to learn between its pages because she covers so much in this 128 page book. Read the rest of my review here: http://jewelrymaking.about.com/od/mixedmediabookreviews/a/071107.htm



2. I am new to resins, but have always wanted to learn. I had taken classes from people who were experts in their field, but found it was difficult to create the resin pieces based on their techniques. I love how Sherri has created techniques that allow me to do them in my small studio space and without much expense. (e.g. in the class I took, the instructor had us use aluminum sheeting to cut and put together to pour the silicone into, Sherri just has you use old sour cream tubs, butter tubs, etc. with the bottoms cut off. That is so much easier and cheaper!) The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that she didn't go into why she (or the artist making the project) chose a particular resin over another based on the project (e.g. polyurethane vs. polyester, etc.). I don't think she covers safety enough, but I teach classes and am a safety freak with my students. Overall though, I am very happy with my purchase and definitely would recommend to anyone wanting to get into resins.



3. I like this book a lot more than another book I got on resin jewelry. This book was easier for a novice like me to understand. It was full of good ideas, explanations about the different types of resin and helpful hints. Best of all, the author mentioned where she got her craft supplies for certain projects.



4. Ever since I saw my first superchunky, gorgeous colored resin bangle, available for sale at an online store back in the early 2000's, I have been intrigued by the mystique of always different resin jewelry. Yes I kick myself to this day that I never bought that bangle!
   
   Now I spot brilliant fabulous clear resin jewlery, with pretty silver embellishments, and inlaid semiprecious stones, for sale online. I see resin as well on etsy with yummy looking real candy pieces or sprinkles and glitter floating cheerily in the molded colorful bangles or pendants.
   
   Well, I have finally broken down and bought my own how to book, from the best teacher around, and I am thrilled! Now that I own this award winning book, The Art of Resin Jewelry, by Sherri Haab, I can stop looking and start doing! Having already "devoured" this great book, I plan to get to work (or to play!) as soon as possible! I am hoping to stretch my imagination to the fullest, and to see what I can do as well, with resin as my launching pad!
   
   Sherri Haab is the perfect guide for a neophyte like me! I need HER clear writing style. I need the fun of seeing the variety of her projects, such as her high art "Pod Bead" bracelet, shown in two colors, and her ultra hip Techno Polymer Clay Bezels (which obviously use more than just resin as the medium you work with). That second project I just mention comes from a whole section in the book she offers which is called "Combining Resin With Polymer Clay". Everthing is so fascinating!
   
   The author is straightforward in her writing style and her book is great, in the manner in which she assists the reader to take the intial steps toward learning how to create coated resin, casted, molded or combined medium resin jewelry.
   
   Not only did she produce this super cool book, she has a website where you can pick up the things you will need to create you own jewelry (molds, resin, colors, powders, bracelet blanks, ring blanks and more) without going through the sometimes confusing process of wandering around in a local craft store or even two, looking here and there and checking and rechecking your list of required resin needs you have to obtain to get started. This book and her site will get you started. Who knows were you will end up!
   
   I love this book! I am please with the saftey precautions she is careful to explain, I love the projects, and I feel that this is a terrific all around crafting book!



5. This book takes the mystery out of working with resin. It explains mold-making in good detail and provides useful info for choosing the right raw materials. Not every artist can also teach, but Ms. Haab is skilled at both. The book is well laid out, not repetitive, and provides sample projects along with a list of necessary materials. Many of the projects are not my style preference, but written descriptions and pictures are clear and can be used for inspiration. Published in 2006, it is recent enough that the raw materials are still relevant and available.

5 comments about Leonardo's Notebooks.

1. Though there are nice, complete versions of Leonardo da Vinci's Notebooks, this well designed, edited, and packaged book presents the most important and pertinent elements from his Notebooks in a single large format hardcover version that is the perfect presentation for the general audience.
   
   This version of da Vinci's Notebooks presents the contents in sections that group like illustrations and text together: "Beauty, Reason and Art" contains such content as da Vinci on painting, the human figures, and art forms; "Observations and Order" covers anatomy, geography, landscape and the sciences; and "Practical Matters" delves into da Vinci's inventions and experiments, architectural studies and metalwork, as well as sculpture.
   
   The illustrations from the original Notebooks are exceptionally well reproduced in this book and the size and presentation are generous and the main focus throughout the book.
   
   Unless you need access to the entirety of the Notebooks for research purposes, Leonardo's Notebooks as edited by H. Anna Suh, would make the perfect addition to your art or scientific library. It would look darn nice displayed on your coffee table as well.
   
   >>>>>>><<<<<<<
   
   A Guide to my Book Rating System:
   
   1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
   2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
   3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
   4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
   5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.



2. As an Art History professor, I am very impressed with Leonardo's Notebooks. This oversized book contains Leonardo da Vinci's detailed sketches, many of which are new to me. In addition, this book provides commentary written by the artist himself on his theories, inventions, plans for artwork, and philosopohies. I've referred this text to fellow professors as a remarkable resource for philosophical beliefs presented by the original Renaissance Man.



3. The only thing keeping this book from top grade is that the author didn't help with a deduction of Leonardo's letters where it surely was needed - in the anatomical studies for example.
   This makes it hard to understand the meaning of the drawings compared with the translated text, because Leonardo's letters(in the drawings) doesn't look like anything from the Roman alphabet. So when the meaning of the letters that appears in the drawings are mentioned in the text, you can't understand what letters goes with what in the drawings, because the text ONLY use the Roman alphabet(and NOT Leonardo's letters as seen in the drawings).
   
   In other words, to fully get the whole meaning of Leonardo's writings and drawings you do need a "Leonardo - Roman alphabet" dictionary.
   This is a major set back, and the worst is that the author could have avoided this so easily.
   
   Other than that the book is amazing.



4. If you are a book lover, adding this to your collection is a must.
   The illustrations are well formatted with clearly written text. It is a book I keep on display and refer to often. When people visit, they cannot help but stop to thumb through the book.I have to remind them that dinner is getting cold!!



5. This is a great book that I had been looking forward to getting for a while. The images and writting is good, although a bit hard to understand at times. The ONLY problem I have with this book that gets it a 4 out of 5 stars for me is the fact that it is so tall and wide. Granted it makes looking at the pictures much easier but it also makes storage of this book MUCH harder. The book is to tall to stand on any but the top shelf on all of my book shelfs and it is so wide that it protudes from the edge of the shelf.
   
   Don't let this distract you from getting this book however. It's detailed pictures are wonderful considering the orginal size of the works and the translations help with the reading. There's a section for each catagory, such as anatomy and lighting, which really helps if you want to look at certain types of works. The greatness of these pictures will have you looking at each page for hours, just to see all the details.
   
   I would suggest this book for anyone from an art lover to a history fanatic. I use it as a reference book for one of my drawing classes. It's a great buy for anyone and everyone.

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

4 comments about Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985.

1. On the back cover of this book it states, "... this book is a groundbreaking anthology...". This is absurd. One of the basic tenets of this book is that "aesthetics...have been submitted to a rethinking that challenges the criteria under which modern art was judged." It may have been submitted - but let there be no doubt - amongst reasonable intelligent people (outside of academe) it has most certainly not been accepted. Aesthetics means something. No matter how much it may have been submitted to a "rethinking", it has not been redefined by anyone since 1985. This entire book is little more than a collection of wishful thinking and meaningless intellectual aggrandizements about objects of the recent dark age in the history of "art". Most of the essays fail at face value because they attempt to elevate the banal to the level of aesthetic practice. Much of the "art" talked about in this book is not aesthetic by any means. Much of the "art" referred to in this entire book is nothing more than pageant or the practice of cognitive expression and there are no number of essays that can deny this fact. One cannot equate the era of attitude with anything resembling art. To miss this point and to go on and compose utter nonsense at great length, as if the emperor had any clothes, is intellectually dishonest. Art has historically provided a dimension of experience above and beyond that which can be explained by pseudo intellectual theories and the intellectual hokum that makes up the majority of this book. Art is not for contemplation by the mind. This collection of essays is a tedious assemblage of utter rubbish. I urge intelligent people concerned about aesthetics to consider the essays in this book as nothing other than an anthology of challenge to real meaning. That which our junk culture has produced since 1985 is not a worthy subject for academic exploration as art. It is absurd to develop theories about phenomena that are not art and call them theories about art. Now, if this book were called Theories in Contemporary Kitsch since 1985 - and it didn't matter how much blather was written about it - that would be another matter.



2. Honestly there isn't much to say about this book. If you have ever wondered what happened to art after "modernism," this is the book to read. It's a must for any contemporary artist--contemporary as in present, not in the art sense, which would cut off around Warhol. This book can also be used to prove to anyone who thinks art doesn't require thinking that it requires quite a bit more thinking than they would expect.
   
   If you find reading a normal book challenging, this isn't the book for you. Many of the ideas will escape you unless you have a good working knowledge of the concepts behind postmodern theory, such as semiotics and psychoanalytic theory (especially Freud and Lacan). I would recommend Visual Culture: The Reader (edited by Evans and Hall) to provide a basis for this background info.



3. This book contains several essential essays for anyone studying contemporary art theory. It is an extremely theoretical book, not to be undertaken lightly. It would help if you had a basic background in some theoretical discourse.
   As a graduate student, I have used it in several of my theory classes, and it has proven to be extremely helpful in writing papers.



4. I am an honor student in Visual Art at UVIC. This is my text book!

2 comments about Beyond Design: The Synergy of Apparel Product Development.

1. Initially, I purchased this text book because one of the authors, Dr. Myrna Garner, was a professor of mine at Illinios State University. However, upon delving into the book, I realized how exciting and informative the book is for someone who has since graduated college, and is living in the "real world" of retail. Dr Garner is still teaching via this informative text book - and it's still just as exciting to hear what she has to tell us.



2. Out of all of the books I ordered that day, this one I recieved first. I was so surpised at how quickly it arrived. I would definitely do business with this seller again! Thanks

2 comments about The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250-1800 (The Yale University Press Pelican Histor).

1. Simply a spectacular book. The text is fascinating and the images are first rate. The art and architecture of Islam is elegant and beautiful, obviously when you think of Islamic Architecuture of this period you think of the Taj Mahal, which of course, is one of the most spectacular buildings in the world, but there are so many others. This book will make you really appreciate the Architectuere and Art of this wonderful religion. Highly recommended.



2. Testo fondamentale nello studio dell'arte islamica e in grado di mostrare anche ai meno esperti i tesori di un mondo troppo a lungo sconosciuto in occidente.