5 comments about Wabi Sabi Style.

1. Sorry, I don't understand why this book gets glowing write-ups on the Amazon review page. I found this book poorly thought out and amateurishly written. Yes, there are pretty pictures, but I wanted to learn something about wabi sabi. I didn't.



2. Wabi-Sabi is a must-read book for those into Asian Design and simplicity. Before I read the book, my room was a disaster. Now, my room is completely transformed along with my lifestyle. I have thrown away all of my junk or clutter, and only display a few items which are important to me. By changing the paint color to a more earthly and natural tone of color and using natural wood for the trim as contrast, my room clearly displays beauty in its simple form. The authors of the book, give great advice in beautiful detail as how one can apply the wabi-sabi approach to one's home regardless of its size. The ability to stay with a minimalistic attitude shows wisdom and self-control as explained in the book.



3. Much appreciation to the authors for bringing Wabi Sabi to the masses. In doing so they have rescued Wabi Sabi from the pretentious "WABI SNOBBY" pseudo intellectuals.
   here is a sampling of a few jewels found in the text of Wabi Sabi Style;
   "To ennoble the ignoble"
   "Moving beyond the glossy, gilded, and gaudy - the simple organic elegance of wabi sabi is for those who have no need to prove who they are. Wabi Sabi is for those who are at peace with themselves and want to feel the peace of the world around them at all times."
   "In order to understand wabi sabi, beauty must first be understood on a conceptual level. The traditional Japanese concept of beauty differs radically from that of the West. The Japanese have long held the notion that beauty is not inherent in an object but rather is experiential. Given an order set of circumstances, beauty is the elicited response experienced by the perceiver."
   I am an admirer of Leonard Koren's writing on wabi sabi, but it is apparent that there are those who make the unfortunate mistake of comparing the Crowley's work with Koren's. As Confucius has told us "comparisons are odious" Even the work of Lennox Tierney deserves recognition. The Japanese know that "there are many paths to reach the top of Mount Fuji"
   It is apparent that there are those who deem themselves the guru's and sensei's of a fabricated "wabi sabi movement or school" these individuals or groups are in direct opposition to the spirit of wabi sabi . Let us all remember Koren's wabi sabi universe, under "Moral Precepts" and "focus on the intrinsic and ignore material hierarchy."
   Thank you to Koren, Tierney, and the Crowley's for bringing the values found in wabi sabi to the west.



4. Will "wabi-sabi" become the new buzzword among corporate retailers and mall mongers? That seems to be the authors' intention. They attempt to transform an elegant and rarified sense of beauty into corporate easy speak: high bulk, low content. The authors' flawed methodology is to take a mishmash of things Japanese and, by association, assume it's wabi-sabi. They haven't done their homework.



5. The authors have achived the elusive, communicating concepts of wabi and sabi through poetic text and evocative images.

No comments about More Roycroft Art Metal: With Price Guide (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

2 comments about Japanese Print: Historical Guide.

1. Yes, there is the one censored plate, and the author is prudish throughout about shunga prints in general. However, anyone who is purchasing this book for the illustrations will be severely disappointed. There are some color plates in the middle of the work, but the vast majority of plates are reproduced in black in white. This is not a coffee table work with large, full-color illustrations. Nor is it a scholarly treatise on Japanese woodblock prints or a critical appraisal of why certain artists are held in higher regard than others. What it attempts to do is provide a brief overview for the general reader of the careers of the major artists and a historical guide detailing the development of the medium, and within the scope of its modest ambitions it actually works fairly well as an introduction to Japanese woodblock printing.

   As stated, this is not for the specialist or the serious collector. The historical details are very general, and it is difficult, based only on this book, to differentiate between the stylistic differences between the various schools. Likewise, the critical evaluations are generally rather vague, and though the book attempts to describe the artists as major and minor, it often does little more than repeat the general wisdom without clearly explaining why an artist is held in such high or low esteem. As far as coverage, the work slants heavily toward 18th century artists and prints, which is a perfectly acceptable bias, but a new collector might be disappointed to find that many of the artists and prints discussed in length are actually generally unobtainable in good condition for those who are not either affiliated with museums or super wealthy. A more serious quibble with the work is that some of the prints (not the majority however) chosen to illustrate examples of the various artists' work are rather idiosyncratically chosen and not terribly representative.

   Overall, this isn't a bad place to start for the beginner. There are much better introductions to the medium, but few at this price. The plates, though the majority are in black and white, are easy to see, and the reader gets a fairly serviceable historical overview. One caution however: though the paper is thick, glossy, and generally high quality, the binding is a little flimsy. If you are hard on books, this might not be the one for you.




2. I was shocked upon opening this book to find that the one example provided of a "shunga" print (p. 88) had been censored. In discussing Utamaro's prints, the text reads, "...a large part of his work is devoted to this type of subject matter, and it has often been said, with some justice, that he is probably the greatest master of this genre in the entire history of the Japanese print (Plate 36)" Plate 36 then has a large black bar running across the print from left to right, blocking out about 25%, and leaving heads and feet. The caption reads, "Lovers. Shunga, shown here partially masked. About 1790. Ronin Gallery, New York." I find it difficult to trust the judgement of someone who advocates studying an art form "partially masked". If someone is not able to honestly address these prints, s/he may avoid them, but I can`t recommend a critic who feels that s/he has the right to deface them.

4 comments about Pictorial Price Guide to American Antiques 07/08: And Objects Made for the American Market 2007-8 (Pictorial Price Guide to American Antiques and Objects Made for the American Market).

1. This is a very nice book. The photography and descriptions of items shown is excellent, and the author has used actual auction prices. It is a good book to keep for future reference.



2. Dorothy Hammond's series is of more use to serious antique collectors than other price guides because the items illustrated are identified as having been sold for the price given by auction or by dealer, the date of the sale, and the location of the sale. The information is timely and accurate. Items that I sold at auction in 2001 are illustrated here accurately. In other price guides, I've seen items that I can specifically identify as having been sold seven or eight years earlier listed with the old prices. In a rapidly changing market, that kind of misinformation can be costly.



3. My husband & I have been collecting antiques for over 30 years. This book is wonderful because EVERY ITEM DESCRIBED IS PICTURED.
   There is no guessing if this is your antique by the written desription, there is a picture to be certain.



4. I was extremely disappointed with this book. Most of the items are photographed in back and white and in large groups, which makes it nearly impossible to identify items using these photos as references. I wouldn't recommend it for identification purposes.

No comments about Resplendence of the Spanish Monarchy: Renaissance Tapestries and Armor from the Patrimonio Nacional.

No comments about Asian Art: Including the Arts of Islam.

1 comments about American Art Pottery: Identification & Values.

1. 
   I purchased this book to aid in cataloging an existing collection and found it to be of no use for this task. Some of the other books are much more helpful. I was impressed with his research information on the American potteries, but found the pictures to be limited and the shape numbers were difficult to read ( very tiny print)and pictures of signatures were unclear, and prices were limited to the pieces shown. If I had been interested in the history of pottery in America this book would have been excellent because many potteries were listed.

No comments about Great Nudes: 24 Art Cards.

3 comments about Hawaiiana: The Best of Hawaiian Design.

1. This instant-expert in Hawaiiana is evidently one of those people who move to Hawaii and think "it's much too good for the Hawaiians so I'll sell as much of it as I can". The photography is good but so many of the descriptions are soooooo wrong that I looked through it in slack-jawed amazement. Don't fall for this phoney-baloney aloha - the real Hawaii is not for sale, no matter how many books you write badly about it.



2. Sixty dollars spent for a new cover, some corrections in the index and a general increase in values is about all that is new in this edition. If you have the older one, don't bother! I felt cheated.



3. I came across this book in my hotel lounge on the North Shore of Kaui last week, and couldn't put it down. So I've come looking to buy it here. Although it's designed for collectors (which I am not), and places emphasis on the values of the artifacts pictured, it's also designed to chronicle the unique history of our exotic Hawaiian Islands. Beautifully laid out, it includes images of picture postcards, Hawaiin shirt designs, garment labels, wood carvings, and glorious Hawaiian quilts - all accompanied by just enough historical lore to make it a very smart picture book indeed!

5 comments about 10 Years of Dolce & Gabbana.

1. how can i review this book when i ordered it last june 9 on an overnight delivery and now it's a month later and i still have not seen a cover or a page of this book...this is the first time i've used amazon.com and frankly i am disappointed coz i've heard such good things about shopping online specially with amazon.com....so consider this a review of amazon.com...they do not deliver...therefore on a scale of 1 - 5 stars...a dismal 1



2. Utilizing their fascination for traditional rural fashions, the designing dream team of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana has captured the fashion world by storm. Since their company's inception in 1982 to the present, Dolce & Gabbana has made Italian fashion look so wearable.

   This book, which celebrates their first 10 years in business, is a collection of past ad campaigns and a plethora of celebrities that normally would make a coffee-table book about fashion appealing. With a foreword by Isabella Rossellini, and appearances by many top name fashion models, Dolce & Gabbana's vision of incorporating Sicilian (Dolce is orginally from Palermo, Sicily) & rural styles is genius. Their tribute to Madonna, who gave them the brand-name notoriety they deserve, is great (Dolce & Gabbana got big press for designing the outfits for Madonna's "Girlie Show" tour). Their recent work with Whitney Houston on her world tour was also spectaclar as these gentleman know how to make a woman look and feel like one.

   I am so happy that Dolce & Gabanna, wo are my all-time favorite designers have been in the fashion business for over a decade already. I hope to see a followup of this book very soon, whenever they reach their 20th anniversary. An excellent tribute to a talented duo.




3. Utilizing their fascination for traditional rural fashions, the designing dream team of Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana has captured the fashion world by storm. Since their company's inception in 1982 to the present, Dolce & Gabbana has made Italian fashion look so wearable.

   This book, which celebrates their first 10 years in business, is a collection of past ad campaigns and a plethora of celebrities that normally would make a coffee-table book about fashion appealing. With a foreword by Isabella Rossellini, and appearances by many top name fashion models, Dolce & Gabbana's vision of incorporating Sicilian (Dolce is orginally from Palermo, Sicily) & rural styles is genius. Their tribute to Madonna, who gave them the brand-name notoriety they deserve, is great (Dolce & Gabbana got big press for designing the outfits for Madonna's "Girlie Show" tour). Their recent work with Whitney Houston on her world tour was also spectaclar as these gentleman know how to make a woman look and feel like one.

   I am so happy that Dolce & Gabanna, wo are my all-time favorite designers have been in the fashion business for over a decade already. I hope to see a followup of this book very soon, whenever they reach their 20th anniversary. An excellent tribute to a talented duo.




4. Great pictures of famous people in their D&G clothes. Advertisements with Linda Evangelista (great!) and Madonna, Demi Moore and many others. A must have!



5. I consider Dolce & Gabbana to be among the very best designers of our time- very much in the same class as the late Gianni Versace, a fellow Italian designer.

   The photography in this book is very, very good most of the time. My favorite pictures are from a Fall 1995 ad campaign that featured my favorite, Linda Evangelista. Here she is, with her trademark Sassoon angled bob, one of her best looks ever. Another favorite set are of Nadja Auermann and Kate Moss, from a 1992 campaign. So over the top!

   Also included are some celebrities, like Demi Moore and Madonna, who had D&G design her Girlie Show costumes.

   You don't have to be a fashionista to appreciate this folio. I think this book would look great on ANYONE's coffee table.