1 comments about Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

1. Say what you want about oppressive regimes, they always have the best propaganda. Art, when made to serve the purpose of convincing a population that what is going on around them is actually great and wonderful even though they are starving, produces something eerily inspiring, something that taps into a subconscious desire to believe in those in power.
   
   This is the artwork in "Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution". These are images of a bright future, where the land is abundant and serves the will of the people, where industry is clean and progressive, bringing fair income to everyone, where everyone pulls their weight with a smile and Chairman Mao shines light on us all. The art here is joyful, optimistic and hopeful. It makes you feel good to look at it. It makes you feel bad knowing that this optimistic, hopeful future never materialized, and was followed by starvation and oppression.
   
   But this is so much more than just a picture book. The author, Ann Tompkins collected these posters while living in China during the Cultural Revolution, a full participant in Mao's glorious dream who wanted to live and work alongside the people forging this Brave New World. Reading her introduction is a bit shocking. I expected a historical critique on the nature of propaganda, not the flip side of the coin, someone who believes in the dream and remains inspired by the message.
   
   And through her eyes, I saw these posters from a different perspective. How progressive, how revolutionary they were at the time. Here were positive images of women working in factories, firing guns and conducting scientific experiments during a time when they were expected to be house wives and mothers. Here were glorious scenes of all human beings struggling together, separated not by race, religion or gender, but bound by the brotherhood of the proletariat. The fact that it failed: is it the fault of the dream or the dreamers? This is the kind of art that makes you ask those questions.
   
   As both an art book and a history book, "Chinese Posters" succeeds beautifully. I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting to, especially after reading the introductions and then looking at the posters in a whole new light.

3 comments about Patterns of Intention: On the Historical Explanation of Pictures.

1. This book is so conspicuosly intelligent, and its exercises in criticism so involving, that it is a great pleasure to read. Baxandall begins by developing a scheme for the explanation of concrete historical objects in general.

   He takes the Forth bridge in Scotland. Baxandall, more than it makes it beautiful, he shows you that it really is beautiful. But wait, there's more. He takes Picasso's Kahweiler and shows it to you as beautiful, and damn well you believe it.

   Baxandall shows us how to interpret art.

   But he claims modesty: he is a historian, he says, and is only offering one method of many to think about pictures. I think this is the only place where he has gone wrong. After going through his method of understanding art, you will know there are no others. All the other ones are wrong. Baxandall is right.

   If you want to be someone who talks about art intelligently, buy this book and you will be able to talk of art in the only way you should




2. This book is a genuinely informative and at times engrossing view into the making and understanding of pictures. However, it reads (not surprisingly) like a textbook; it is brilliant and thought-provoking in some parts but dryly monotonous in others. (The bridge-building bit stands out as particularly tedious.) The points Baxandall makes via this tediousness are no less brilliant, but their lustre is lost beneath layers of dull, yawn-worthy prose. Baxandall's stylistic shortcomings should not scare away anyone with a passionate interest in the study of Art and its interpretation. But for the layman in search of a clear and down-to-earth discussion of how to look at pictures, this is probably a book to avoid.



3. Through three well-chosen case studies, Baxandall examines the question of artistic intention: how the constraints of the culture, the artistic medium, and the intended use of a work of art shape the process of its creation. Particularly penetrating is his "excursus on influence", in which he argues that participants in an artistic tradition shape and change how their predecessors are understood. This is an ingenious and satisfying book: I read it twice for two different college classes, and expect to read it again and continue to profit from it.

5 comments about Enchanting Fairies: How To Paint Charming Fairies and Flowers.

1. A beautiful book with clear, easy to follow instructions. A great addition to any collection for fairy lovers/artist. As a lover of fantasy and creator of fantasy art for many years I enjoyed this book very much. I especially love the fairy babies included in this book,
   since they often seem be left out.



2. I thought the step-by-step painting technique demonstrations were excellent. Aside from being a how-to on painting fairies, there is a lot in the book about rendering natural details like flower petals, bubbles, leaves, water, hair, flames and snowflakes. All of the techniques Barbara Lanza uses to create her enchanting worlds can be applied to landscape and still life painting, as well as portraiture. I've learned a lot from her book.



3. I bought Barbara Lanza's book and was thrilled. Great product for the price! Her beautiful, delicate illustrations and clear instructions were easy to understand. I also liked that her love of fairies came across and inspired me. The variety of fairies and flowers was also refreshing. I would recommend this book if you would like to learn fantasy art!



4. I am a self taught oil painter and craft artist who was raised on Fairy stories. When I saw this book advertised I hoped it would help me and it has. I like her Fairies, not to baby type of cute.
   
   She has great pictures with detailed instructions of how to achieve her art work using two different media. The way the book is written, her instruction is also adaptable to any media or type of work you want to do. A friend was having trouble painting a nice drape of fabric on one of her projects. I showed her my Enchanting Fairies book and it showed her exactly what to do. This is a good investment.



5. I bought this book for my daughter who loves to draw and loves fairies. She has read other fictional works by the author and enjoyed them. This drawing guide had the right mix of how to and fictional background to keep her interested and inspired to draw the various examples as well as take them a step further. It also has enough detail in the information and interesting presentation to keep the "child at heart". If you want to draw this particular fantasy subject or just people, it is an enjoyable read that contains many useful details.

4 comments about Advertising Now. Print (Midi Series).

1. Fantastic, amazing, incredible. I did miss a couple of campaigns, but overall it's a great advertising book, bringing a lot of campaigns from different years together.



2. I was interested for this book because of a friend. It is excellent, I recommends for everybody that likes advertising and needs references.



3. This book has a nice review of the best ads of 2005/2006. I would recommend it for collectors. Very nice quality also on the cover.



4. I find this to be a very useful, thorough advertising design / marketing student's resource. As with most printed ads in award books or publications, you wish the images were a little larger but the ideas are there as well as the layouts. I'm still going through it with a fine tooth comb and am very happy with my investment.

5 comments about Wolf Kahn Pastels.

1. Thank you for the prompt service in receiving my book. It was just what I ordered.



2. This book is a visual delight with clear crisp images. As a teacher, it is a very user friendly book
   with students able to see the intricate marks and the layering that Wolf Kahn has used in his work.
   For anyone interested in pastel techniques this is a great book.



3. The book itself is excellent. Wolf Kahn writes beautifully and I love to hear what he thinks about his art -- this is so helpful to me as an artist struggling with many of the same issues in my own work. However, this is the SECOND book I've purchased from Amazon recently that was clearly USED (pages bent, cover scuffed & torn)when I purchased what was supposed to be a NEW book. This is inexcusable. I don't have the time to repackage and return it, so I just accepted it, but I am so dissapointed in Amazon. Had I chosed to purchase a used book I would have saved a lot of money and it would have been in the same (or better) condition.



4. If you are a beginner or a experienced artist, you will greatly appreciate wolf kahn. His book is inspiring as all of his works. I would highly recommend this book.



5. If you are a fan of Wolf Khan, this is a must-have. Great book.

5 comments about Acrylic Painting With Lee Hammond.

1. This book is good for a beginner
   I have 3 of her books and they are all the same basic techniques
   can be a bit boring but I see where she comes from in her work
   these books can definitely help a new artist venturing into these areas



2. This is a good book for anyone interested in acrylic painting. It covers various techniques and subjects. Very good !



3. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this book on acrylic painting. It shows step by step how to produce fantastic paintings using all kinds of techniques and ideas. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone wishing to know how to make your paintings look professional and have a great time doing it.



4. I am really enjoying this book. It illustrates some of the different techniques used by Lee Hammond. I am taking some local art classes, and this book gives me some interesting projects to work on at home. Even the simple example of making a round ball or shere look three-dimensional is helpful to a new painter and is not as easy as it looks. She stresses that there is an "Awkward Stage" in any painting, and she points this stage out in each of the projects in the book. This has helped and encouraged me to give my paintings the final details needed to make my paintings more realistic.



5. I picked this up hoping to learn something. There are a few things that are okay, but I was not really impressed by Hammond's paintings in this book. Perhaps they aren't her best works, or maybe they are 'dumbed down' to make this a beginner's book. I think this book is better suited for a beginner. I might also recommend skipping this book, and trying out Hammond's Paint People in Acrylic With Lee Hammond. The work in it is much more fine tuned, and a lot of the same techniques are conveyed in both books.
   
   Lastly, I think Hammond might be a little conceited. Even her simple painting examples for the book have her giant signature stamped right onto the work. Its as though she's worried that someone might think its not her work in her own guidebook.

5 comments about Neubau Welt.

1. this book is the most accessible, easy-to-use and inspiring graphic art book that I've ever opened. the low price simply does not do justice to the huge quantity of varied and high quality material that it offers the reader/user. it provides an open, inviting tool-kit for designers on every level, offering something for everyone. excellent!



2. I got this book as a designer to be able to have a wealth of extra clip art in vector format on hand. When I started getting into the book it was more then just images at my disposal. I've used and manipulated so much in the book that it far surpasses what I paid for it. Combining images, forming new one's with what's available. It's all there at the tip of your fingers. I always find myself looking inside this book when I have a project I'm working on for a source of inspiration.
   
   There are a few limited subjects in which I was hoping there would be more of a variety, but what is offered is worth the price.I would recommend this book to anyone that needs a quick common image fix and especially for the person who just loves playing around with pre-made vector images



3. No es el típico libro de clip arts, me gusta mucho la interpretación fotográfica y la definición en siluetas de elementos comunes y cotidianos. Obviamente indispensable para todos los que trabajamos en gráfica e imagen



4. Creo que esta colección de imágenes es una excelente selección y aunque creo que pudo ser un poco más variada, también entiendo que sería casi imposible abarcar todos los temas, el libro de por sí está muy bien armado y cre que es una excelente compra...



5. Every Graphic designer should acquire this book, can't wait for the 2nd edition to come out.

1 comments about Watercolor in Bloom: Painting the Spring and Summer Garden.

1. I have a lot of watercolor flower painting books, but this fills a spot that is different from the rest. The flower paintings and demonstrations are almost surreal in some ways--very vivid colors--also very beautiful and uplifting. There are 15 beautiful and well-written and illustrated demonstrations with step-by-step instructions. The beginning chapters explain a lot about "The Basics" such as tools, composition & design, techniques, color basics. I love the vivid colorfulness of both the flowers and the backgrounds of Mary Backer's flowers. This book is a keeper.

5 comments about Make It Bigger.

1. I ordered this book late November in 2006. It was not in stock, so expected to ship sometime in February. Every 3 weeks I received another email notifying that the expected ship and delivery dates were pushed back another month or two.
   There's NO reason that this should happen - so I googled the book and eventually found a publisher's site to order from.
   
   Great book, but BOO amazon.



2. A great read for anyone who is ready to make the jump from art school to working clients. Scher goes into excellent detail about working with illustrators, the structure (and politics) of agency work, her strategies/approach to design. She also shares good insight on how to work most effectively with clients who may not know a whole lot about design. I found this very practical, and a very easy read. I am also a big fan of her work, which spans several decades.



3. Paul Scher hit me. No, literally. On a student tour of the Koppel/Scher offices, I was standing by a closet--Paula flung the door open and I provided the rubber stop. Though it's been a struggle, the last 12 years have softened my emotional pain. Make It Bigger provided some very necessary closure.
   Also, trust whatever Randy Silverman (a previous reviewer) says about anything, especially anything concerning design. Frighteningly insightful.



4. I have to say I'm not a big "fan" of Paula Scher's visual style, it's far too "horsey" and "big-boned" for my taste, but I am a fan of what she has to say about the design profession and her experience in it.

   This book is an excellent reference/story book on the frustrations of dealing with clients (which are many, as I can relate) who have poor taste or are just clueless. I agree with everything Paula says here and enjoyed the grain of salt with all that's said. I can feel the frustration and exasperation Paula speaks of as anyone worth their blood has designed something great, only to have a client with tunnel vision ruin it. Sigh.

   Any serious designer should read this book, or already has. I would have no problem calling anyone who hasn't read it a poseur in this profession!




5. Too often designers see their own result(s) and design solutions without the knowledge of the 'client process' . . . a truly remarkable reality in this business. ALL design students should be made aware of this aspect of the profession, possibly even before seriously considering if one wants to be a designer. There is so much more to it than having an 'AHA' on one's own. Ms. Scher has presented this in a manner both pictorially and honestly with examples and explanations . . . and, of course, with much experience in the real world of design (which must also include some humor). I have been a designer for thirty years and would recommend this as part of required reading from the start for future "wannabes" and for all of us who need that reassurance that this is indeed how it works.

No comments about National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able to Do in the Arts.