5 comments about Sailor Jerrys Tattoo Stencils.

1. A good source of very nice Sailor Jerry Stencils from the man who in my opinion did the best traditional tattoo flash ever.
   
   Not as good as the now difficult to get Sailor Jerry Tattoo Flash books (volumes 1 and 2), which give a better of idea of this man's talents drawing flash. It has some extra stencils of things not in those books, so it is well worthwhile.



2. I feel that every single tattoo artist,inspiring tattoo artist, or any kind of artists and even art historian should,must own this book. I will admit that when I read the first 15 pages cause thats all there is with any writting on. I had a tear in both my eyes. Every single page back to back is covered with Jerrys tattoo stencils. Also every page is in a very heavy duty paper and they are perforated so you can take each page out and laminate them and use in your shop or portfolio of flash to use for you customer/clients. Every page is full of history. I highly recomend this book and the otherjerrys stencil books they are a very big must have specialy for you buisness/shop you will be so excited to look at the tats not to mention the money you will make from the stencils. I noticed that every single Tattoo magazine has countless tattoos specialy the women are covered in this art. I recomend this book in a big way.
   You are very welcome for the big tip.



3. The book is good for simple, traditional stencils. The drawings are super basic (as they should be for that time), but I was hoping I can get an idea for what the stencils looks like with color and shading. The drawings are fun to mimic and be creative with your own shading and color.



4. I was looking for Pin Up Art Styles and found it all in this book. All the styles are for men & women. When You go into a tattoo shop and look at all the art work on the walls and books; this book has it all summed up. This cool book has it all.



5. Beautiful old school stencils of the original artwork of Sailor Jerry...what more could you want! :)

5 comments about DK Art School: An Introduction to Art Techniques (DK Art School).

1. This book is a great book for children and adults who want a basic introduction to art mediums. DK always does a good job of describing and it is an enjoyable read.



2. DK books are always a "best buy" when it comes to bringing clear, concise information on how to do almost anything.



3. The book is in wonderful shape! My daughter needed it for a college class so the price helped her out a lot. I am an art teacher and was very impressed with it. I told her when she is finished with it she needn't pay me back...just give ME the book.



4. I had to get this for school. It's not a bad book and certainly is useful. I flipped thorough it to get some ideas.
   
   I've seen books like these on clearance at book stores, so I think paying full price for this was silly.



5. We bought this for our 14-year-old nephew, who is just starting to exhibit an interest in art. It is truly a great introduction to drawing and perspective, painting (oil, watercolor, acrylics), and even mixed media. Don't expect great depth in any one area, but its easy to read and use, heavily illustrated to keep kids' attentions, has a nice glossary. All in all, a really really great value and a book that is exactly what its title says it is.

5 comments about Virtual Pose 3: The Ultimate Visual Reference Series for Drawing the Human Figure.

1. The 360 degree rotating is great, some poses could be more interesting, some are too similar to each other. The women modeling are pretty much the same, same bone structure, similar weight, skin color, ethnicity and age. There is only one young male model, and one older male model. That part was really disappointing. And what it bother me the most was the background color. in all the pictures is the same, white!. A darker color, gray or black on any other color for that matter would be great! the fact that all the models are REALLY white becomes obnoxious. At certain points the background blends with their sking color, making it hard to differentiate one from the other. With a different background the model would "pop-out", and the artist's eyes would easily focus on his/her subject.



2. i really love using this book (and the CD). i want to mention that i have a Mac with an operating system that isn't updated (OS 10.2), and i purposely got Virtual Pose 3 because i assumed (rightly) that a more recent version of these books would come with a CD-ROM that's not compatible with my operating system. so thankfully i CAN use this CD, which is the best part of this book.
   
   in my opinion, the book itself would be improved by 3 things:
   
   1. more dramatic lighting (although i believe the author has addressed his reasoning for this)
   
   2. a spiral binding (easier use for drawing from the book itself)
   
   3. larger pictures (at least some)
   
   i do like the models in this book very much, and the poses are great. i'm a bit of a beginner, and i only get to go to a life drawing once a month or so, so this is a great resource for me to just do lots and lots of gesture drawing, along with some more detailed work.



3. I am going to be critical, but I'd like to open with saying that this was a really cool and thoughful project for someone to come up with and offer to the artist.
   
   I get quite a chuckle at all the people who are angry about there being airbrushed vulvas and anuses. In your usual life drawing class you are not going to have the model eyeballing you with their privates. Its not like there is a shortage of vulvas and anuses online if that's what you want to draw. And any artist who has developed true capability with the human form can use the suggested form shadow as a base from which to draw a glorious sphincter and beautiful floral labia to make any viewer blush. Until then get over yourselves. The models, used to having a choice of what they want to show the students; are entitled to keep four square inches of themselves private from the world.
   
   Virtual Pose 3 is a good step up form Virtual Pose 2. And I appreciate the creativity of the poses and opportunity to see a pose from all sides. However I am still disappointed that these poses aren't lit properly to describe the form. Generally they are top lit so in standing poses you get some minor indication of core shadow and somewhat overly bright reflections on the skin on they upper torso,and everything below is pure ambient light and this obliterates form. While some poses are better with lighting than others; on the whole, the lighting is uninteresting and lifeless Virtual pose could take some cues on how to light their models by checking out an artistic soft porn site like Met Art. But hey, I suppose you are going to often be faced with the difficult challenge of illustrating people in ambient light. So Virtual Pose 3 will give you a real work out as you figure out how to describe form with even lighting all over!
   
   I'd like to see a Virtual Pose V or VI, but with artistic form light. As with Muybridge what a cool thing to attempt.But it won't be the ultimate reference series for the artist until the lighting loses its sterility.



4. I bought VP2 and VP3. At first, it was quite a novel idea, to plug in a disc and "rotate" the model 360" and draw from that. It was actually good practice for figure drawing. One gets a feel for the outlines and general
   proportions of the body, and with much practice, this book will help one
   improve one's drawing skills.
   However, there are some flaws. First, even though the photos are in full-color, the harsh lighting and poor resolution of many of the photographs make any serious, interior study of subtle shadows all but impossible. Look at a master figure drawing, and you'll see that the fine interpretation of shadows is paramount for a good figure study. Otherwise your figure will look "solarized" and crude. I found myself blocking in whole planes with singular, unnatural tone, trying to use my imagination to "figure out" what the tone should be. Worse, the arbitrary and non-dramatic lighting cast sharp secondary shadows on the figure which were quite displeasing. You could leave those out, but then you are left with a single-tone figure with no interior "body" shadows.
   Secondly, most of the poses are quite useless for artistic purposes. Unless you paint people doing yoga (see the cover), the poses will be only good for practice in studying the body, that's it. It's too bad, because it actually takes less effort to pose the model in natural sitting or standing poses you can actually use, than it does to pose them like a pretzel, but the author is obviously not a serious artist, and does not realize this. He is only concerned with giving a variety of dynamic-looking poses, most of which are actually quite useless for finished art.
   Thirdly, the Quicktime utility the disc comes with is sort of flaky. I wanted to "zoom in" certain areas (like I was able to do on VP 2, although the resolution is even worse in that edition), but VP 3 did not allow me
   to zoom in, even though the control was there. That was quite disappointing, because then I had to really lean forward and squint at the computer screen and draw--not very pleasant for a 1 hour figure study!
   
   In all, a decent idea and useful for the artist wishing to get the basics of figure drawing down. But for the serious artist, I suggest working from live models, or pose your friends and photograph them and then paint them, for a more serious, artistic figurative work. Posing the model so that you bring out the art of the interior, subtle shadows, and selecting a suggestive pose is paramount to becoming a good figurative artist. I have since sold both my VP2 and VP3 to a used bookstore, and have no regrets.



5. This is more than helpful for my art class. This is great!

5 comments about The Design of Dissent: Socially and Politically Driven Graphics.

1. I bought this as a gift for my brother. It is one of his favorite art books (he has several bookcases of art books). I have briefly skimmed through the book on a few occasions. The quality of the book and printing is very good. The content is vivid and well organized. Of the many political art books I have seen, this is one of the best.



2. I bought this book for my son last year, and ended up reading it and going through it myself as I start to think more about collective intellligence, five minds, group IQ and such. Dissent and diversity are so important to all of us, that I am moved to suggest this book--which Amazon is offering at a price way below its actual value--as the perfect Christmas present for any college student or any adult.
   
   Start at the end of the book, with the interview of Milton Glaser by Steven Hellor, "Dissenting Conditions," and the directory of contributors.
   
   I think this book is a classic work, and I hope the publisher will issue an updated or follow on version at least every five years.
   
   This is a GEM of a book.
   
   See also:
   Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography
   Five Minds for the Future
   Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
   The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All



3. I received this book from a friend for Christmas, and I really enjoyed studying the art inside. I was surprised at the balance the book struck between the different sides of controversial issues and the art that accompanies them, since I generally expect art about "dissent" to only be favored if it is from the popular end of an issue.
   
   The book is great, but I would prefer it to have some more modern things inside it. That's the only reason I gave it four instead of five stars. ^_^



4. In the present world full of hatred, cruelty, racial discrimination, communal riots, war, human degradation and erosion of values, what a graphic designer can do with his/her talent and compassion that is what the authors trying to show us loud and clear. In the context of the present situation, I strongly feel that this is a book which every graphic designer should buy and inspire.



5. We've all heard the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words"--to which I would respond, "it depends on the picture." Graphic design can be simply a picture, but in general it is a combination of image and text that communicates a message or point of view, hopefully in a compelling way. Assembled by design icon Milton Glaser (of I NY fame), this book is survey of the use of design to express dissent in various arenas and mediums.
   
   In the interview with Glaser in this book, "dissent" is defined as being both a response and challenge to existing power and can be either destructive or constructive. Destructive dissent often takes the form of violence, which, while sometimes an effective methodology for achieving change, also grants carte blanche for overwhelming use of force or oppression in response. Glaser views dissent via design as a more constructive approach that may be less directly effective, but is nonetheless subversively provocative in a useful way. In his words, design can be a "form of activism" in that "we all have the responsibility to be good citizens"--which means becoming involved (ie. passivity endangers democracy). Fortunately, design is a field that is open to all-- while "you have to know something about the nature of communication, either by instinct or training," all it can take to make an impact is a good idea and moderately capable execution of that idea. Finally, in Tony Kushner's foreword, the proposition is made that successful dissent design embodies three elements: it should be shocking, funny, easily grasped, and perhaps, forbidden or dangerous.
   
   In keeping with the book's theme, the contents are arranged somewhat counterintuitively. The table of contents appears at the rear, along with the introductory interview and foreword, which theoretically set the tone for what follows (or rather, precedes...). The bulk of the book is comprised of hundreds of examples of designers' work grouped into the following themes: Communism, Palestine and Israel, Ex-Yugoslavia, Iraq War, Peace, Equality, Animal Rights, Corporate World, Media, Gun Control, Government, and the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election. Almost all of these examples are from the last twenty years, with the occasional foray into the 1960s or 70s. These are often very striking and compelling individual pieces accompanied with credits and succinct contextual notes, but as with many such portfolio or survey books, one gets the distinct sense that some designers and topics have been favored or over-emphasized based on Glaser's personal preferences.
   
   More problematic is the emphasis on relatively recent works--a more apt title might have been "The Design of Modern Dissent." However, the most distressing aspect of the book is it's near universal emphasis on the leftist or liberal end of the spectrum. One could make a valid argument that since dissent is by its very nature in opposition to the powers that be, that of course the bulk of the examples are going to be anti-corporate, anti-military, anti-war, and anti-establishment. However, it would have been a much stronger presentation had there been examples from the entire political spectrum. For example, there's no doubt that the right-wing in America has some powerful visual imagery at its disposal (especially in regard to abortion), or even that some hate groups like the KKK and neo-Nazis have some very striking design components in their arsenal of dissent against the mainstream. However, its clear that Glaser has no interest in providing examples from beyond his own limited range of the political spectrum and thus he does a disservice to the topic.

5 comments about Virtual Pose 4.

1. GREAT reference book.
   
   I'll list the positive then negative impressions I have.
   
   POSITIVE:
   1) Beautiful photography. Very well-done multi-angle turntable images of dynamic poses, with excellent lighting (good shadows without totally obscuring any parts of the model).
   
   2) Excellent quality, high-resolution images on the accompanying CD-ROM. They're in a Quicktime format where you just click-drag on the image to manually "rotate" the model in front of your very eyes. The image is so large, it wouldn't fit on my huge 24-inch Dell monitor!
   
   NEGATIVE:
   1) It's difficult to find something wrong with Virtual Pose 4, but if pressed my one critique would be there isn't a lot of diversity in age & fitness of the models. They're all relatively youthful & in good shape.
   
   This is generally a fine problem to have ^.^ But if you're wanting reference for old or overweight people, you're out of luck.
   
   All in all, I highly recommend this book, and most definitely do not regret my purchase.



2. I am now using this book/cd as a resource for my sculpting.
   
   While the book is very nice, the real treasure of this collection is the included CD. I am using a mac and therefore Quicktime VR is built in. There are around 36 frames per pose. Allowing almost a perfect 360 view. You can then print from Quicktime in full color.
   
   The original size is very large and should do well for all artists. The cost of this book/cd is minimal compared to having a live model pose for you. I have found it hard to find models willing to pose and this book has rectified that issue.
   
   Only thing I would like to see more of would be some more models. If the author combined the whole set on one DVD instead of a CD then re-release it.
   
   All in all a great resource for artists of all sorts.



3. The whole series of these books are well layed out and the book is a jewel to use in the way it is set up.



4. My computer still uses Windows 98, so it could not download the newer version of Quick Time from the disc. It sounds as though the newer version makes the models even more accessible, but I use the older QT that I have. I do, however have an old 80# 20" monitor which helps.
   I just love it! When can I ever afford a life model? Too bad projectors are so out of sight expensive.
   I have not seen any of the previous versions.



5. The poses in VP 4 are a bit more dynamic and so they are less "artsy" than some of the previous versions. It is a nice addition to any figure artist's library as long as they have a computer since the DVD is the true value.
   
   The ability to rotate the figure in the viewer is quite nice and can help the novice and pro alike practice drawing the same figure from many different angles to get a better understanding of the human form.
   
   My only complaint is that I wish they would make the images be in a much higher resolution so the zoom can go in closer. In this edition they are much higher than in the past but still much too low, especially when you compare it to the high res DVDs you can get from Ballistic Publishing or some of the sites on the web which all use the turn-table concept but don't include a viewer.

5 comments about Michelangelo (XL Series).

1. Excellent pictures of the frescoes, inadequate coverage of sculptures. This book is unrivaled for the sheer size of its reproductions. It is so huge that it is a bit difficult to read--one has to rest it on a table. Not suitable for reading in bed, to say the least. But the quality of the printing and colors in the main part of the book is first class. Its coverage is especially fine on the paintings. It comprehensively covers the Sistine Chapel with huge-size foldout prints of every fresco. There are fine close-ups of important areas, which are an amazing 2/3 of life size. One can examine these fresco details from a foot away--never before possible--instead of from 60 feet away with a craned neck. This can be breathtaking.
   
   The sculpture photos are excellent too, but not numerous. I had been expecting several photos of each sculpture from various angles. Bacchus, Pieta, and David are well shown in multiple views but this is not the case for most works.
   
   The text is on the whole very well written and illuminating.
   
   The authors have extreme views on authenticity. This leads them to exclude very important sculptures because, it appears, the authors consider them unproven to be authentic. For example, the Santo Spirito wooden crucifix is shown only small, poor quality, and in black and white. (A far better, color, picture, can be found, free, in Wikipedia.) Even the Madonna and Child bas-relief that is his first work, the one selected to adorn the cover of the 1,000 euro ($1,500) La Dotta Mano book, and, worst of all, the four Slave sculptures, some of his most iconic works, are also relegated to poor quality black-and-whites at back of the book, as all are judged suspect by these authors. Drawings, however, if of doubful authenticity, or even known to be copies, escape this rigorous exclusion. So we have too many drawings and missing sculptures.
   
   Some paintings receive the same relegation: the Manchester Madonna (which is clearly at least in part by Michelangelo) is hardly visible in a tiny, dark, picture, as is the Entombment (which I must agree is of doubtful authenticity).
   
   A book claiming to be comprehensive should have more detailed and thorough illustrations of questioned works than this. Opinions change over the years and some of these will doubtless be accepted in the future. In some cases it seems that the authors are among a minority who dispute authenticity.
   
   The book has a very large number of drawings, but the coarser paper in that section of the book, and the low contrast and low resolution and small size (even in this monster book) of their printing, makes them hard to see clearly. This section is in sharp contrast to the wonderful beauty of the fresco reproductions in the first section of this book. It would have been better to show fewer drawings at a larger size, and illustrate the sculptures properly.
   
   Nevertheless, this is a truly outstanding book for the frescoes, and the photos of the sculptures that are shown and the text are excellent too. Worth its price.



2. this book is extraordinary for the paintings; the drawings are documented, but its print quality is rather low, even the quality of paper they are printed on is inferior... and THIS IS A VERY DISAPPOINTING BOOK FOR THE SCULPTURES



3. Wonderful inside and out. No further commentes are necessary: by all means, buy it !!



4. This massive book is stronger on the paintings than on the sculptures. And after all, Michelangelo is one of the greatest (to me the greatest) sculptors of all time. Still, this impressive book is certainly worth purchasing. Try to find a copy of the William E. Wallace book published in 1998 to enjoy magnificent plates on the sulptures. You might still find copies online from remainder booksellers.



5. I received this book yesterday, and it is certainly a monumental work, weighing close to 20 pounds and superbly produced. But potential buyers should be aware that while this book is labeled as a definitive, complete guide to Michelangelo's work, its real focus are the paintings and drawings. There is probably no better book for the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Last Judgment, with scores of extraordinary closeups of every part of each painting. The foldout of the creation of Adam is a joy to behold. Readers may or may not like the fact that probably 40% of the book is on Michelangelo's drawings, given that these are mostly preliminary sketches for sculptures or paintings, as opposed to complete drawings in their own right, as in the case of Leonardo Da Vinci. The book also covers Michelangelo's architecture very well.
   But obviously many readers will buy this book because they want to see Michelangelo's sculptures, and this book is surprisingly, disappointingly weak in this area. Of course, the David gets its due and there is also good coverage of the Vatican Pieta and, oddly, the Bacchus. But many of the other sculptures, such as the Moses and the Risen Christ, get only one large and one small picture, despite the fact that the book, at over 700 pages, has space to spare. By contrast, the "Complete Michelangelo" by William Wallace provides multiple views of each and every piece of sculpture.
   But most incredible, indeed inexplicable, of all, is that this book (unlike Wallace, or any other Michelangelo book that I know of) fails to provide any large pictures at all of what are, next to the David, the most iconic and powerful of Michelangelo's sculptures: his four "prisoners" in Florence. Having seen these in person, I can easily understand why artists for centuries have looked in awe at these amazing "unfinished" sculptures which show figures struggling to emerge from the marble-which is exactly what Michelangelo felt he was doing when he took his chisel to the rock. How on earth, in a book of this size and ambition, can the omission of these sculptures be explained? Indeed, no explanation is provided, and the only illustration of these four sculptures, which have so influenced modern art, is four tiny, poor quality pictures in the second section of the book that is a complete catalog of all of Michelangelo's sculptures. By contrast, the Wallace book has a four page foldout that shows the four sculptures next to each other.
   In short, this book is fantastic for the paintings and drawings and a very disappointing missed opportunity for the sculptures. One can only wistfully imagine what would have been if the sculptures had been photographed as carefully and as thoroughly as the Sistine Chapel paintings. By all means get this book--and overall I am glad that I did, despite its high cost--but adjust your expectations and don't expect that this one book will suffice to fully cover all of Michelangelo's genius.

5 comments about The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing.

1. This is not a review, but an account of my experience of reading Elkins' book. I found that my way of looking at the world shifted. The feeling of the writing seemed a blend of inner thoughts/feelings being shared with the reader. A gift for anyone interested in reconsidering what they think they know about their own eyesight. Elkins is a true teacher. (Apologies for the pretentious "real name" middle intial and suffix...trying to find a way to change that on Amazon)



2. I'm fascinated by this book since it tackles art and subject from several important perspectives -- aesthetic, philosophical, anthropological. The figure-field reversal is not often treated in such detail or with such interesting illustrations. The first image of a eunuch is extremely haunting and well placed to begin the discussion of our objectifying the world and often forgetting the humanity of those who we picture or study.
   
   I asked Elkins if I could borrow his title for a solo art show (this was several years ago) and he was gracious to allow me to do so. I mention this because I found Elkins to be one of those aware adventurers in the quest for who we are (and who we think we are) as defined by those objects in the world that stare back upon us.



3. James Elkins gives a lot of interesting speculation on the experience of seeing, but unfortunately, he fails to give much linkage of his subject to the experience of making and seeing art, which is curious in that the author is an art historian. He attaches a lot of importance to the idea that conventional seeing is a form of "blindness," that is, that conventional day-to-day seeing is extremely limited, but, again, he seems to be uninterested in the ways that artists remove these limits, both for themselves and their audience. So much of the writing is about how the author himself sees and does not see, that eventually I became bored, as one usually does listening to one person talk on and on about his own limited experience of a subject.



4. I haven't read much of this book, because it contains images of the most awful thing I have ever seen, the 'death by a thousand cuts'. These pictures still haunt me, and the author uses them, claiming that they are disturbing because they represent somebody who is halfway between being alive and dead - I disagree - they are disturbing because they are scenes of an atrocity inflicted on a living being. (The victim was a woman who allegedly committed adultery in China, I'm not sure when the photos were taken but they look quite old).
   Those four pictures have destroyed any faith I ever had in human beings, they will probably do the same to you if you are unfortunate enough to ever see them.



5. James Elkins has a wonderful way of opening our eyes to the world. He explains the way we see, or maybe what we don't see, in a witty and extremely accessible way. Elkins uses his knowledge of Art History and mixes it freely with neurology and psychology to bring us readers at a different level of understanding of the world. I'm already a true fan!

2 comments about Conserving Buildings: Guide to Techniques and Materials, Revised Edition.

1. I bought this to learn more about building materials--wood, stone, concrete, metals--and was not disappointed. Each chapter begins with a summary that's authoritative but friendly. And interesting. You'll learn, for example, that the trick to making a hydraulic cement is to add some siliceous mineral to the limestone before firing in a kiln. The Romans used volcanic rock; modern Portland cement producers find it in certain clays. You'll realize none of these materials can stand up to water, which eventually returns them to their more chemically stable states, changing concrete into limestone, smelted metals back to ores (rust), and turning wood into food for other living things.

   What follows the introductory discussion is probably too technical for non-professionals--references to ASTM standards, specifications for water jet delivery in gallons per minute and PSI when cleaning stone, and tips for making your own epoxy using bulk chemicals, complete with Dow Chemical part numbers.

   I was a little disappointed by the presentation--B/W photos by the author and very basic drawings--but I suppose that's all that's needed for a book like this.




2. A wonderful reference tool for the professional conservitor, or even the "Matha Stewart" home fixer-uper.

5 comments about Burning Man: Art in the Desert.

1. So much of the photogprahy of Burning Man is all glitz and surreal glamour, with a big measure of breast often thrown in. Yeah it's a big party with all sorts of wacky and interesting costumes and bright sights, but the real soul of the thing is the making of the art.
   
   Public art is always a gift to its community. The type of art that has grown out there, especially in its scale and ambition, often demands substantial gifts from the community to exist. It is a sublime and outrageous feedback loop, the process and product of which have never been as clearly and deeply represented as in this luminous book.
   
   The inner cover photo of a box of matches full of dust and containing not only matches but burnt stubs, cotter pins and a spring, is one of the most complete and lovely images of the spirit of these brave artists I have ever seen. If you can understand that photo you can probably understand the process of making art out there.
   
   Leo Nash certainly does understand the process. By far the most revealing collection of Burning Man photos ever compiled, as close to a portait of the thing as you are likely to see.



2. I bought the book because I like black and white photos and because my son has attended Burning Man and worked for the corporation that creates the event in 2003. My intention is to give him the book; but, I decided to read the text before sending it off. The intro is long winded drivel (and at the time of this writing, the writer of the introduction has wasted valuable real estate on this product page with some self serving crap from his blog; who wants to wade down the page to get to the real reviews?) and the text by the photog is self indulgent in the style of the "burners." The notion that this event is somehow "spontaneous" is what really makes me laugh. A more apt description would be something on the order of "this is my personal journal and musings on this ongoing "spontaneous" event, plus some photos" The pictures are well made, and the presentation with a slipcover is nicely done, which is what rescues the book.



3. I just received this book as a gift. I immediatley sat down and slowly turned each page in amazement of what he has captured. I cried.



4. This is seriously one of the coolest books I've ever seen in my life. I've never been to Burning Man (wouldn't want to), but these pictures are AMAZING. It might have been worth enduring desert discomfort dust storms and camping just to see the 2996 "Uchronia" structure-- wow.



5. Nash is a great photographer, with a clear, timeless vision that you can literally feel. His photographs hold you and keep you looking into them, farther. This is another volume in the work of our best contemporary photographers, and an extraordinary record of art and a place we might never have otherwise seen.
   
   Burning Man is often described as being indescribable, and for good reason. So much of the art created there is ephemeral, lasting just a few days before burning to the ground. An entire city of 30,000 rises, falls, and disappears. To some, it feels like a heartbeat, and to others, a lifetime. To describe it in words is nearly impossible, when so much quickly becomes the elusive memory of memories.
   
   Through Nash's remarkable photographs, we see a decade of visionary work and creativity that physically existed for only a moment. Whether you've been to Burning Man or not, this book will fill you with awe, and longing for the place.

5 comments about Jazz Age Beauties: The Lost Collection of Ziegfeld Photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston.

1. I also bought this book for the photos and to learn about the Ziegfeld girls. I was really impressed about the variety of subjects that Mr. Johnston photographed.
   The text was illuminating and really "fleshed out" the subjects of Mr. ACJ's photos. It left me wanting more and now I want to learn more about this underappreciated man and his work.
   Buy this book if you are into the history of Ziegfeld girls, 1920's fashion photography, or interested in an amazing photographer.
   I, too, wish the book was a bit larger so the pictures could be really appreciated.
   A must have!



2. This book is gorgeous. The photos are reproduced quite well, and the book looks and feels like quality. Included is a nice history of Ziegfeld Follies, along with brief biographies of many of the women.
   
   Julie Newmar provides a fascinating Foreword (her mother was in the Ziegfeld Follies and posed for photographer Alfred Cheney Johnston--as did a teenage Newmar). We also learn much about photographer Johnston.
   
   The highlight of the book for me, though, is the photographs (some are nudes) of actresses, including Renee Adoree, Adrienne Ames, Tallulah Bankhead, Theda Bara, Lina Basquette, Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Billie Burke, Norma Shearer, Claudette Colbert, Betty Compton, Dolores Costello, Marion Davies, Claudia Dell, Billie Dove, Jeanne Eagels, Mary Eaton, and more.
   
   Like George Hurrell, Johnston was a true artist. His work makes these beautiful women immortal.



3. This is a spectacular book in every respect but one - it's size. The photos are fantastic, the layout is fantastic, the quality of its production is top drawer, everything about it is classy and well refined, but it's a downright unusual size for a book of this type, and that's why I only give it four stars.
   
   This needed to be in a large format to fully appreciate the photos and the beautiful layout work, but instead, it's sized about the same as most hardback novels, and when you place four photos on a page of that size, the images tend to be very small and you lose the overall impact of those photos.
   
   I highly recommend this one, get the hardback while you can before being forced into a reprint paperback, but I would've prefered the book be a sized more in keeping with most art and photography books.



4. the book is beautifully designed and printed. the ziegfeld girls, many of whom are familiar, are all gorgeous.. it's a window into the roaring twenties and the spectacular beauties of the jazz age.



5. Obviously a wonderful collection of images with historical and insightful text accompanying. Nonetheless, as a photographer, I was moderately disappointed with the manner in which the images were presented. The images are all presented in a sepia tone which I doubt is true for all of the originals. More concerning, however, is that most of the images lack the sharpness and fine detail which was undoubtedly present in many of the originals. While one reviewer compliments the "soft focus" techniques, I have seen several of the images before in very sharp focus with fabulous detail. To soften any of the images for publication for any reason betrays the brilliance which Alfred Cheney Johnston displayed in creating the images. It is still a wonderful collection.