3 comments about Dharma Art (Dharma Ocean Series).

1. One reviewer's 1-star rating is really unfair. The book was never intended as a visual presentation of particular artworks. It's a very rich set of essays, some very challenging, about how to make art, in particular, the kind of mental and emotional attitude that one needs to develop in order to be *spontaneously* creative -- as Trungpa puts it: "There is such a thing as unconditional expression that does not come from self or other. It manifests out of nowhere like mushrooms in a meadow, like hailstones, like thunderstorms."



2. This is NOT a coffee table book meant to showcase the artist's work; this is a practical manual for *doing* art from a contemplative (i.e. meditative) perspective--that is, fresh, unpremeditated, direct from one's sense perceptions, and unmediated by concept. Written in Trungpa Rinpoche's engaging, inimitable, and often elliptical style, it offers a number of startling and surprisingly useful insights into the nature of perception and the creative process--for instance: "Before we produce anything at all, we have to have a sense of free and open space with no obstacles of any kind" (p. 111). Now, this might seem elementary, but if you look carefully, the source of every creative or artistic block is having some concept in mind beforehand--either fear, or ambition, or an idea of where one wants to go before one gets there--"starting with the wrong end of the stick," as Trungpa Rinpoche used to say. This is a manual for freeing oneself of artistic blockages and reacquainting oneself with the freshness of unbiased perception. To my knowledge, there's nothing else remotely like this out there.



3. "A picture is worth a thousand words". But if you are expecting to see the beauty of Dharma Art in pictures, be prepared for real disappointment. There are NO color pictures/photos; only a few pages of black-and-white photos and the only one that can be considered as "art" is that of a thangka painting. If you want to see beautiful Dharma art, look elsewhere.

2 comments about Andalusia (Art and Architecture).

1. I don't think I will ever get to visit these places. I bought this book for the drawings of maps and building plans. The photos in this book are good for a budget armchair tour. These two aspects together satisfied my curiosity about the architecture better than most individual history or travel books. Of course many other arts are represented along with short narrative articles on people and places.

   Others in the series (Rome and Florence for example) fulfill these expectations as well. Consider them small regional encyclopedias, possibly very suitable for a home schooling shelf.




2. When I visited my son for two weeks in Seville, Spain, this November (2000), I relied heavily on a popular guide for locating hostals, and for a quick historical background. But, I felt a little empty. While Rick Steves' guide book is essential for quick references to transportation information for each city, hotels, hostals, the four or five must-see attractions, and limited historical info, I always wanted more of the history of the places I was seeing. Toward the end of my visit, a Spanish tour guide, a friend of my son, who knew everything about the country, loaned me a book by this author. I am looking for it at Amazon.com this morning. I think this is it. After having already toured large parts of Andalucia, I was still amazed at not only the photographs but the history that was contained within its pages. It is small for a 500 page book and can be carried in your hand without a problem. As an example, the book gives a brief history of Colombus' remains and beautiful sepulcre in the great Cathedral of Seville - not mentioned in some other guidebooks - and which you could miss by just by visiting the church. The book contains a page and a half on the Inquisition, which had its beginnings in Seville, and even shows drawings and explanations of the main methods of torture and "legal" procedures. I found information about the point of departure by Colombus for the new world (Palos de la Frontera, across the bay from Huelga) and the location of the tombs of the Reyes Catolicos (Ferdinand and Isabela) that I could not get in a regular tour book. After reading only sections of the book, I found that I had a knew found respect for los Reyes Catolicos and particularly Isabela and her effort to found a uniform grammar for the country. In addition, it has a more complete listing of sites of each city. If you want to feel that you know Al Andaluz when you leave, get this. Though this book does not have as much hotel and transportation info as Steves, it is a great supplement if you like history.

1 comments about Busy Teacher's Guide: Art Lessons.

1. If you want a little more depth to your art lessons this is a great book. More than an 'arts and crafts' book - gives background of artists, resources, simple project instructions, and easy to find materials keeps the projects low cost. Super for any BUSY teacher.

2 comments about 50 Artists You Should Know (50 You Should Know).

1. Presented chronologically and covering the last 700+ years, this book focuses exclusively on painters from Europe and the US, so those interested in non-Western artists (e.g., Hokusai) or other forms of art (e.g., sculpture, pottery, etc.) should look elsewhere. Each of the 50 artists is granted a 4-page layout, with the first left page being prints of the artist's most well-known paintings and the right facing page a written description of the artist, along with a small portrait of the artist. The following two pages have either a larger two-page spread of a single painting or a couple of smaller photos. While the chosen paintings are representative of the artist's most famous works, the written descriptions are sometimes lacking in the kind of information I consider most useful.
   
   Note that I don't object to the brevity of the information, but to the content. For example, I would prefer a brief description of artist's life, along with a description of each painting and why it's significant, much like a docent would on a museum tour. However, most of the content focuses only on the former, with descriptions of the latter appearing only infrequently. This is really disappointing to me because these descriptions are so good when they do appear (e.g., pointing out the reflections of the King & Queen of Spain in the mirror in Velasquez's "Ladies-in-Waiting" painting). Put another way, this book tells you about 50 artists you should know (as the title suggests), but not WHY we should know them!
   
   On a positive note, one of the best features of the book is the timeline across the top of each two-page spread. The timeline places each artist within the context of his/her artistic peers (Michaelangelo with Titian & Raphael), the relevant artistic period (e.g., the High Renaissance), and other important world events occuring at the time (e.g., Magellan circumnavigates the globe). I really like this aspect of the book because it accomplishes something none of my history teachers was able to do - help me see the big picture to better understand what was happening around the world synchronically rather than in a disconnected, linear fashion.
   
   All in all, if you want a brief biographical description of important European and US artists over the past 800 years, this book is for you. If you want to learn more about other types of art, artists from other areas of the world, or explanations about why particular pieces of art are noteworthy, you need to take a look somewhere else.



2. As a grade school art teacher (part-time) I always have to search and look around for some famous art pieces to inspire my students. I usually go on google or if I am in a real jam I look through some old artist's catalogs and find what I need. Sometimes the art is good but the artist is a little hazy with history and story. Remember that these are kids that are 10-14 years old. I have to get their attention. I try to pick some interesting paintings yet I have to censor some of the more adult themed ones. I teach at a Catholic Grade school.
   
   I finally found the book I needed and wanted. This is 95% of what I was looking for. Lots of history, lots of pictures and plenty of give to make copies and not break the book. Granted there are some paintings that are not appopriate for children but for the most part they are pretty good. Plus there is a snapshot of what the artists look like as painted by themselves, so that was neat too.
   
   My only qualms for not being a 5 star rating is that it was originally printed in German and the language is a little stilted. Also the binding is a little loose and could wear out in time. Plus the few paintings that are unmentionable because of unmentionable themes (ahem). Remember I teach kids. Do you want your son or daughter really getting the whole scope of Bottacilli's Venus? Alrighty then.
   
   So it is a good and sub-par great resource book and I recommend it to all art teachers!

No comments about Art of the Avant-Gardes (Art of the Twentieth Century).

1 comments about Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. I purchased this two volume set for my daughter [which she had specifically requested] and had it shipped directly to her. She is a doctoral candidate in Art History at a major university and was absolutely astounded at not only how beautiful the set was, but that it was a very comprehensive representation of the subject matter in one convenient location. The photographic renderings of the paintings were also impressive. A "must-have" for any serious art lover or student of Dutch paintings.

No comments about Hopalong Cassidy - An American Legend.

3 comments about I Live In Music.

1. What a beautiful book! The poem is moving and the illustrations fit perfectly. It can be used with many age groups. I would highly recommend this book to parents and teachers.



2. Someone read this book to me when I was young. Ever since then I've been inspired to write. I love this book. The word use by Ntozake is refreshing. Her poetry is very original. She has accomplished a lot, because it's suitable for all age groups.



3. Ntozake Shange's poem, "i live in music", along with Romare Bearden's collages are presented together in this appealing book. The text and the visuals are skillfully paired and they feed each other's expressions.

   "i got 15 trumpets where other women got hips

   & a upright bass for both sides of my heart"

   Shange's words are in turn playful, soulful, artful. The music she describes is encompassing and tangible - a real thing to be felt and true part of our beings.

   Bearden's collages and paintings are vivid, engaging images of African American life and culture. The images are expressive and rich illustrations of musicians and singers. "Show Time" and "Fancy Sticks" are nearly audible - one can see the rhythm and song.

   Shange and Bearden's talents complement each other so well one would think this had been a concurrent, collaborative effort rather than subsequent assemblage.

   Along with i live in music, I highly recommend all the books in this series by Stewart, Tabori & Chang's Art and Poetry series:

   "Life Doesn't Frighten Me", poem by Maya Angelou, paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat..... "may i feel said he", poem by e. e. cummings, paintings by Marc Chagall...... "Dance Me to the End of Love", poem by Leonard Cohen, paintings by Henri Matisse

   Each one would be a wonderful gift for a teacher, art lover, musician, poet,.... or anyone seeking inspiration. Treat yourself to one - or all.

   For all ages.

2 comments about User's Guide to the View Camera, A (3rd Edition).

1. In doing some research for a project I was working on, I acquired this book. I found it had all of the information I needed on using a view camera. The author covered the swings and tilts well and showed the advantages of using these cameras.



2. What IS there, IS good- But, For the price, @ $45. to $55. I had hoped it was going to be much more in depth. More information on equipment; e.g.: Lenses, cameras, & accessories such as tripods, light meters, etc. I also would have liked much more information on films, printing paper, chemicals, processing techniques, etc. I suppose this does get away from the general title of the book somewhat, however, being new to the processing Large Format film, I needed much more information on that topic, as it is quite a bit different than working with roll film.
   What I did like about it is that it did give a very good overview of the View Camera; and has especially good section on the techniques for using one. Not sorry I bought it, just wished for it to be a bit more than it turned out to be.

1 comments about Decorative Arts 70's (Klotz).

1. Decorative Arts 1970's is a presentation of "[t]he fascinating history of design traced by [the] Deorative Art Yearbook (Yearbook)...printed in a somewhat revised form." Divided into 8 sections: Architecture and Interiors; Furniture; Textiles and Wallpapers; Glass; Lighting; Silver and Tableware; and Ceramics, this book offers a plethora of color and b&w images, along with somewhat limited text, which is written in English, French and German.

   The book is dominated by the Architecture section, which is filled with mostly b&w (some color) photos, floorplans and useful information about the structure, the architect and the interior design. The remaining sections, all much smaller, offer examples of the pieces, their designers, measurments, materials, distributors and countries of origin. The overall layouts of these sections, while pleasing to eye, are presented in a very confuseing manner. The description of each item is numbered, but instead of numbering each photo, a "key" is offered (in a different spot on each page), which maps out the number of each photo. Furthermore, the book goes for pages at a time without page-numbers, rendering the index difficult to use.

   Overall, the book presents many interesting pieces of 70's design and includes works by all the usual suspects, along with some unusual ones. I would have liked to have seen sections devoted to plastics (some of which can be found in the furniture section) and electronics (completely missing in action), but overall I am not complaining. If you are a fan of books such as "Italy: The New Domestic Landscape" and "L'utopie du Tout Plastique" you are likely to enjoy this one as well!