2 comments about A World of Rings.

1. I'm afraid to say you did a confusion regarding your Editorial Review (book description) between A WORLD OF RINGS, and a new book, which is not yet published, from the same author Anne Van Cutsem: A WORLD OF EARRINGS (November 2001). These two books have of course two different subjects despite the fact they have the same author. Thank you in advance to make the appropriate corrections in your review section.



2. First, this book has a misleading title. "Rings of Africa and Asia" would be more accurate (the few pages of rings from America hardly seem worth mentioning). I purchased this book for the library in our college jewelry lab, hopefully to inspire students with the variety of rings created around the world and throughout history. It will be looked at and enjoyed I am sure, but I am still searching for a book that would show rings from the entire world and throughout history, ancient to present. Second, in order to read the descriptions of the rings pictured, one must flip to the back of the book for details. While this makes for a beautiful coffee table type book, with great photos and no print on the page to distract, it does make it difficult to use the book as a reference. Also, many of the descriptions leave out important information, such as dates. The best descriptions include details regarding the symbolic meaning of the designs or similar information; I would have liked to have seen more of this type of content. On the plus side (the reason I give it four stars and will buy a copy for my own library)... it is a beautiful book that does present a great variety of rings from the two continents. The large collection of ethnic rings are well photographed (all in color) and presented in an artistic fashion. For this alone, I feel it is worth its modest price and recommend it despite the shortcomings I mentioned above.

2 comments about Master Paintings in The Art Institute of Chicago.

1. The Art Institute of Chicago houses a world-renown collection of artwork that spans the complete and diverse spectrum of six centuries of painting. Now in a revised and expanded second edition, Master Paintings In The Art Institute Of Chicago organizes and showcases 149 major paintings (like the Insitute itself) into European, American, and Twentieth-Century categories. This outstanding introduction to the history of art in general, and the Art Insitute of Chicago's impressive collection in particular, would grace any personal, academic, or community library artbook collection.



2. This is a great coffee table book that includes many important paintings of Art Institute of Chicago. All the images are in color, and the story of each painting and the artist is given. Each painting is described on a single page, and therefore the pictures are sufficiently large and detailed. The book starts with 15th century religious paintings, and progresses to include well known impressionist paintings such as Seurat's Sunday on La Grande Jatte and Renoir's Two sisters. It also has a section on 20th century paintings. Not a substitute to seeing the actual works, but it is close...

No comments about M.C. Escher: The Graphic Work (Special Edition).

No comments about Special Effects: A Book About Special Printing Effects (Sss Collection Series).

2 comments about Image on the Edge: The Margins of Medieval Art (Reaktion Books - Essays in Art and Culture).

1. I had to read this for a class. This is not for anyone unless you are searching for strict information. Camille manages to give countless astute observations that would be very helpful in building up a paper. But as historical book unto itself that guises itself as text interpreting Medieval Europe through rebellious artwork, it just doesn't hold much water. The confines here are soooooo narrow that unless you have already a great passion for artwork of this period you will be left quite numb.



2. For readers unfamiliar with the culture of the Middle Ages, it is surprising, and perhaps even disconcerting, to learn that a medieval manuscript of a prayer-book could contain marginal images of human excrement, or that medieval churches were frequently adorned with gargoyles depicting diabolic and uncanny figures. This book by Michael Camille, professor of art history at the University of Chicago, is devoted to explaining these strange "margins" of medieval culture. Camille essentially argues that, while such marginal images could on the face of it be interpreted as subverting the conventions of the dominating center of culture, they ultimately served to reinforce it. As the author puts it on page 127, "the edges of discourse...always return us to the rules of the center." In other words, medieval artists toyed with the margins of culture, with "otherness" and difference, yet ultimately sided with the "good" and the "normal." Interestingly enough, the marginal images which were so typical of the high Middle Ages disappeared at the beginning of the modern age. Camille suggests that the margins lost their function of hinting at the ugly reverse of mainstream culture in an age where the mainstream both asserted itself more strongly, rigorously demarcating "low" from "high" culture, and at the same time dissolved difference in the medium of bourgeois taste. Peasants and drunkards, for example, became the explicit object of a genre called the "grotesque." At the end of this fine book, Camille writes: "art collapsed inwards, to create a more literal and myopic dead-center [devoid of the medieval playfulness], taking with it edges and all" (p. 160).

No comments about The Northern Renaissance A&I (Art and Ideas).

1 comments about Come Look with Me: Discovering African American Art for Children (Come Look with Me) (Come Look With Me).

1. You will enjoy this wonderful children's book. The illustrations are large and beautiful. It brings to light, for adults as well as children, the knowledge of some of the great African American artists and their work. Unfortunately, they are almost never spoken of or taught in classrooms today. One illustration called "The Funeral Procession" gained notoriety because of an episode of the Cosby Show in which the character "Clair Huxtable" is supposedly related to the artist, Ellis Wilson. Had it not been for this Cosby episode, many would never have heard of the artist or his body of work. Although this book is especially for children, adults will find themsevles reading it without their children. Parents be fair, let the kids read it too!!!
   
   What a sad state of affairs that any race of people does not know it's own great artist, inventors or great thinkers. There is a lesson to be learned here. In the meantime though I encourage you to share this amazing piece of African American history with your children no matter what your nationality is. The artists therein are not just African American artist but also Americans. PERIOD. This is American artwork at it's finest and most interesting. Mr. Rolling has done an excellent job of introducing our young people to the world of art. Hopefully, this will not be his last effort in the area of children's books. This is a truly enjoyable and inspired work. You'll find it well worth the reading.

1 comments about Surreal Things: Surrealism and Design.

1. This art catalogue is fantastic. You will learn about how surrealism percolated into capitalism. The images are great. The articles are very interesting. It deals with fashion, ceramics, furniture etc. A must have.

5 comments about I Bought Andy Warhol.

1. Being an artist, I really got a charge out of seeing the buyers' side of the art world.
   
   Andy Warhol is my favorite artist so, needless to say, the title caught my eye and I HAD to buy it. The book reminded me of little boys who buy and trade baseball cards. It's made the business side of the art world less threatening and more fun.
   
   I found this book well written and a very enjoyable read.



2. I've been on an Andy Warhol kick lately; I go through cyclical periods where I review his Diaries and read a book or two written about Warhol. This was my latest find and it was very enjoyable, with a novel premise: Polsky's story is about his pursuit of buying an Andy Warhol painting. Polsky recounts meeting Warhol briefly in 1986, shortly before Warhol's death, when he purchased a "minor" Warhol painting (one of the "$" paintings). With engaging prose, Polsky details the ups and downs of the art market in the 1990s. I have to admit that some of Polsky's anecdotes and comments about the art world's top dealers and celebrated artists were embarrassing. It somehow gets tied together nicely, though, as the ever elusive Warhol masterpiece darts in and out of Polsky's hands.



3. Alhthough Polsky has some interesting insights on the art market, they are relatively few, and are separated by numerous pointless anecdotes and even more pointless details. For example, in describing a visit to a colleague staying at an upscale Manhattan hotel, Polsky writes that (in case he wanted to stay there in the future) he decided to ask a few questions of the concierge, "a moderately attractive young lady, who was wearing a very businesslike skirt, jacket, silk blouse, and matching bow." (p. 208). Why exactly does it matter that the concierge was "moderately attractive"? So we can gauge how excited Polksy was? So the reader can decide whether he or she would rather stay at a hotel where the concierges are more than "moderately" attractive? Notably, Polsky then does not even have any questions for the concierge -- so it appears that the whole event was not designed to give him an opportunity to find out if he'd want to stay there in the future (as he claims), but simply so he can decide how "attractive" the concierge is. The book abounds in such pointless detail. The author comes across as self-impressed to an extraordinary degree, and while his occasional insights on the art world are interesting, the reader must suffer through a remarkable amount of banal detail. Not recommended.



4. I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction because I find at times the text to be dry and boring but I was so pleasantly surprised when I read this book! As a student of art history, I knew very little about the actual dealings that go on behind closed doors in galleries and auction houses, so this book was a wonderful eye-opener. This is not just a book about Polsky's quest to purchase his own Warhol but it is about the crazy personalities and deals that go on in the art world.
   
   This is a great book that gives a lot of information on Warhol himself and the kind of struggle one might face if thinking of buying a contemporary art piece. A must read for any art enthusiast!



5. Don't worry if you're not an art aficionado. Regardless of whether there's a Warhol - or a crush-velvet Elvis - hanging behind your own couch, this book is a fantastic read. Richard Polsky has written a brutally honest and, at times, hilarious assessment of what goes on behind the scenes in the high-stakes, high drama

No comments about Acrylic Painting Step by Step.