5 comments about Art in Theory 1900 - 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas.

1. The subtitle to this book is "An Anthology of Changing Ideas", which is remarkably accurate. The excerpts in this book run the ideological spectrum from Winston Churchill to Adolf Hitler, and everyone in-between. The assembly of so many artists, politicians, philosophers, and theorists in one place has had a profound impact on my understanding of particular artworks, and my relationship to art in general. It's an intimidating book, but somehow this diverse group of thinkers is organized in a way that could be read straight through. Personally, I find it to be an invaluable tool for research and artistic growth.



2. It seems that students of art and art history eventually end up with a copy of this book in their possession, at least for a while. This is a book of excerpts. It's fantastic because it presents the written thoughts of artists, critics, and intellectuals in their own words. It's maddening because all the entries are trimmed, edited, boiled down into excerpts. The book is a good starting point and offers a meaty cross-section of thought in the twentieth century art world. But if one wants to read the whole article, one must seek the original sources to find what has been cut away. Also, editing the work this way allows the editors to insert their own slant on the material. Consequently, though I like the book, I can't give it five stars.



3. my college library had the "feminist art theory" volume from this same series, and i LOVED that book to death.
   since i liked that book so much, i thought it would be a good investment to cash in a recent gift certificate on this hefty volume.
   i wish that i had gone for the feminist art volume-- it's much more relevant for anyone who is interested in art as political expression... that topic is really not addressed in this anthology.
   it's probably still good as a reference if you're going to be writing a lot of papers for standard survey courses covering this time period, though.



4. Had I read the reviews about this book, I wouldn't have bought it.
   I had to though, for my "Art: Language and Theory" class, in my second year of Graphic Design major. I was shocked with it at first, it's almost 1300 pages, with not a single image in it! It looked extremely dull. But the thing is, I found it extremely useful, and enjoyable to read at times too. It covers art theories in the 20th century, and has texts written by artists, philosophers, polticians and much more.
   I now refer to it with every paper I write, every presentation I make and so on. There are also letters and notes in the book by artists such as Cezanne and Matisse, which are delightful to read. I use a dictionary sometimes, but not always, though I agree, the language is hard to comprehend at first glance.
   I don't think any art student or teacher could do without this book, I used it as a beginners guide while studying art, and I won't stop using it. Don't be put off when you first get this book, you'll learn to value and appreciate it with little time.



5. I used this book for a graduate theory class and ended up reading pretty much all of it. The book provides an excellent overview of the major movements during the past 100 years but also misses out on a lot of the most current trends. I believe there were less than 3 articles dated after 1999. The writings seem to be obscure at times, with the editors trying to draw distant similarites between varying fields. Most of the passages used overly pretentious language, so keep a dictionary nearby. This book is not a beginner guide and it helps to have some knowledge of art history as well as a little world history. A better or easier read would have to be "Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art"...

5 comments about Tiki Modern.

1. We have several tiki books and this one is fantastic. Very good quality. Lots of information and wonderful pictures. We have some of the author's other books and they are equally good.



2. This book is absolutely AMAZING! The pictures are wonderful...colorful, big and vivid. There's pictures on EVERY PAGE...serious material here! Descriptions and the wonderful little tid-bits are executed nicely. Nothing was done as an 'afterthought'. There are even a few vintage items I was going to bid on at one time mentioned in this book...now I seriously regret it because of their rarity!!
   
   If you're a tiki fan, new to tiki or just love art and Polynesian influenced pieces, this is a book you must buy. Pick it up..because once you do, you won't want to put it back down.



3. More beautiful images of a (sadly) bygone era, accompanied by well researched captions in multiple languages.
   
   With that said...the main purpose of this book was to highlight a particular type of trashy looking furniture made by the Witco Company.
   
   The Witco style can be extremely tacky looking to the point where I laughed out loud many times at how trailer trashy it was. Think: matching orange shag rug. This went far beyond the kitschy coolness of the tiki era. It's nauseating.
   
   Witco's look was so repetitive it would be a bore except it was like a car wreck, you kept turning the page to see what other ridiculous item one could make out a dark stained log of wood and a chainsaw. It's like the guy who discovered he could make things with popsicle sticks and never stopped. Eventually he had a popsicle car.
   
   The cover of the book, is a piece of art. The linen fabric of the hardback is tasteful and is enjoyable to hold. There is still enough non-Witco stuff here to keep the reader satisfied with the book.
   
   All in all it was clearly a labor of love, and for that and most of the book, I give it an encouraging 5 star recommendation. Thank you Sven - waiting for your next project.



4. I haven't seen a more engaging and easy to read book on Tiki than 'Tiki Modern'. It is full of vintage photographs that help readers integate the worlds of modern and primitive art. This book leaves you wanting more on the subject of Tiki while wondering "Where can I get a piece of Tiki to add to my home or personal art collection?"



5. This book is large, this book is loaded, and this book is awesome! It is a steal at this price and it is loaded with TONS of cool retro color tiki pics. Also, did I mention there is some nude (topless) vintage tiki PIN-UP babes in this book too? It is perfect for lonely Friday nights in your tiki bar bachelor pad. Oops, did I just say that? Anyways, what more could you possibly want from a tiki book! I can't say enough good things about this book other than it must have been a true labor of love by the author and I wish there were more books out there like this one! Anyone that would criticize or knock a book like this is either not into tiki, has their nose out of joint because they too are "another-modern-tiki-artist-come-lately" with an over inflated sense of importance and ego, and were not mentioned in this book, or they have had one too many Mai-Tai's with their crack cocaine and have fried their brain. This book is a freakin' tiki bible man, pure and simple.

2 comments about What Do Pictures Want?: The Lives and Loves of Images.

1. In the chapter titled the same as the book title, in laying out the grounds for his innovative exposition on images and culture, Mitchell explains, "[Images] present not just a surface but a face [italicized] that faces the beholder." Elsewhere in this chapter, he remarks that images may not have the power attributed to them; which supposed power is seen as absolute and all-encompassing in postmodern culture. Not suggesting that images ave no power, Mitchell takes the position that "the problem is to refine and complicate and refine our estimate of their power and the way it works." The author allows that his perspective based on what pictures "want" rather than what they "do" can at first blush seem to anthropomorphize pictures or give them an aboriginal animistic nature. But Mitchell explains that he means this as metaphorical, conceptual, and theoretical; not literal as in animism or even symbolic as with icons. Mitchell's provisional approach thus corresponds to the provisional quality of postmodern culture to bring extraordinary illumination to this contemporary culture.
   
   Fantasy, multiple selves, and virtual reality are other terms used to express this provisional quality of postmodernism. Playfulness is another--and Mitchell's book, while sound literarily and with extensive learning and cogent though, exercises the principle that playfulness can take one farther in some cases. Whereas in postmodernism, play with its provisional, usually somewhat artificial attributes is a manner of avoiding commitment and engagement with fundamentals, with Mitchell it is a technique for coming to grips as much as possible with the elusive, ethereal nature of postmodernism. It is impossible to encompass or define postmodernism; whose primary attributes are contingency, continually changing imagery, and pseudo-events and provisional personas to play to the media. But Mitchell has managed to relate postmodernism's sprawling nature and what accounts for this.



2. Professor Mitchell has put together an intriguing collection of essays that are distinctly devoid of the presumptuous art talk so often seen in the top periodicals and art blogs of our time - thank you sir! Since these essays are the work of an exceptional scholar, some of us mere mortals may have difficulty in following the abstract constructs and thoroughly academic ponderings. That said, I believe Professor Mitchell poses an interesting fundamental question as to whether the experience of viewing images has evolved within our minds to the point where we actually wonder if they have a life or consciousness of their own. If this is the case, the next question one may ponder is, what do they want? Professor Mitchell is quick to point out that in taking on the exercise of this thought experiment, we are not to proceed as though we are engaged in finding a cure for cancer here - my words, not his - but to proceed on a path of open-ended exploration. In attempting to answer this question, the author guides us along an extensive path that deals with numerous invocations, comparisons, analogies, postulates, arguments and other worldly considerations. Not only are the considerations of the world, but they contain a sampling of nearly everything in the world as well, from biblical chapter and verse to Marx, Blake, Nietzsche, Chaucer, Freud, Dante, et al. In the first half of this book, Professor Mitchell has indeed composed a concerto of tribute to much of Western Civilization. There are worse things one could do. That said, I would encourage the good Professor, in his ninth book (this is his eighth) to forsake his colleagues in academe just enough (heaven forbid!) to leave the huddled masses with fewer more distinct concepts and a more consistent theme. A reduction in the scope of considerations may help the reader to come away with a perception that there is a more differentiated hierarchy of importance amongst the contents of the book. In all fairness, each chapter of this very worthwhile book deserves its own review. I would also submit that the educational potential of this subject matter would not suffer in the least if the Professor were to delete his political inclinations, which, as interesting as they may be, do not enhance the subject matter of this book in any way. Anyone who wants to understand how we really relate to images should read this comprehensive book.

5 comments about Design Basics (with ArtExperience Online Printed Access Card).

1. I'm a designer and read this book because it is highly praised in design circles. Firstly, it's not a book on design but on art, though there is some graphic design but not nearly enough to satisfy someone learning about design. The book is relevant to design however, and the subjects covered definitely deserve study by designers.
   
   The text is for the most part clear and each principle is explained and illustrated fairly well. But... you'd better enjoy (or at least be able to tolerate) modern non-art. The examples used are hideous and far outweigh the genuine art of masters such as Michelangelo, Canaletto, or even Degas. This is the critical flaw in this book. All of the points could have been far better illustrated with real art, and the book would thereby be enjoyable. Instead, the reader is subjected to the pseudo profundity of scribbles, smears and conglomerations of junk, accompanied by an enunciation of the one [!] principle the so-called artist did implement. And this was probably an oversight on the part of the "artist".
   
   Related to this is that the periodic discussions regarding representational and modern art is, in my opinion, very disingenuous. The authors are quick to raise (what they see as) objections to representational art but give the perpetrators of modern nonobjective "stuff" a free pass, never questioning its merits or validity.
   
   I did learn something from this book, it's hard not to because it covers a lot of material, but it was an exceptionally unpleasant task and the learning didn't come from the junk "art" but from the text. There is nothing unique in this book that you won't find covered elsewhere. I recommend elsewhere.



2. If you're tempted to buy this hugely expensive book (for an over-sized, unwieldy paperback printed on medium-quality paper), think again.
   
   Let me complement the book description for you: Each concept is VERY superficially presented in a full two- or four-page spread illustrated with pictures of works of art that are NOT examined in an enlightening way. The book is basically a long list of design principles so shallowly presented that it's just that: a list.
   
   If a competent teacher were to transform this book into a slide show and orally explore each principle, it would probably make good material for three or four classes.



3. We used this as a textbook in an "interdisciplinary approach" course at a photography school. The organization of the book and the illustrations are excellent. Much of the information seemed familiar to us all, but we found the book to be an excellent reminder and good focus for discussion. It helped us with our critiquing of each others' work in a variety of media (sculpture, drawing, painting, collage, photography and writing).



4. Back in college, two decades ago, one of my art professors required this book for every single one of his classes. He even offered to personally repay students who could not afford to keep their copy, if they promised not to sell it back to the bookstore. He told us that the best thing we could do for our careers in art was to keep this book. He was right. I've had my 2nd edition copy for twenty years, and no other book I've seen discusses visual theory so simply, logically and completely. The text is clear and straightforward and the examples are perfect, but it is Lauer's ability to organize a very complex subject into very specific, clearly-understood categories that makes this book remarkable.



5. this book is the foundation for understanding composition, but it is no substitute for continued research in art and art theory...this book is a superb starting point...if you're in high school i suggest starting your reading in art with this...if you are in high school and you have already read this...then GOOD, you're going to need to continue reading, and start by rereading this...if you're a freshman in college, read this and goto the library and check out every book you can by an artist that you enjoy and read what they have written about their art and other peoples art...and in the meantime read this book...another hint, write down the name of every book you hear mentioned in any art text that you think might interest you, hell write all of them down...and then read those books...and keep reading...read read read, and when you're not reading, work on your own art or whatever you want to call it...and do not neglect your other classes, ie english 101, math 101, sciences, history, etc...those classes are just as important as any art class you will ever take...we're all students for the rest of our lives (it's just that some people prefer the term "artist" avoid them if you can...) and we'll keep learning for the rest of our lives...so get used to reading...and get used to taking criticism about your work..

5 comments about Concerning the Spiritual in Art.

1. This book was purchased for a college research project and it was just perfect. It talks of Kandinsky's color theory and how music and color co-exist. The seller was professional and I got the book when it was promised. I would order from this seller again...definately!



2. Kandinsky had risen to positions of influence in other disciplines (political science/economics and law) before directing his considerable intellect to painting. His insights extended into the historic 'meta' trends of the arts and sciences, including the physical sciences, and had his interests been directed more to the history and philosophy of science instead of the history and philosophy of art, he might have written Kuhn's observations regarding paradigm change a half century before Kuhn did: "Here and there are people with eyes which can see, minds which can correlate. They say to themselves: 'If the science of the day before yesterday is rejected by the people of yesterday, and that of yesterday by us of today, is it not possible that what we call science now will be rejected by the men of tomorrow?' And the bravest of them answer, 'It is possible.'"
   
   Instead, Kandinsky extended the frontiers of painting and authored philosophic writings on the future of art that are among the most important of such works. M.T.H. Sadler, who translated this work into English, was a friend of Kandinsky's and was among his early admirers. The notes he has written in the front of the book (Translator's Introduction) are therefore more helpful than could be the opinions of many other critics, including myself:
   
   "Anyone who has studied Gauguin will be aware of the intense spiritual value of his work. The man is a preacher and a psychologist, universal by his very unorthodoxy, fundamental because he goes deeper than civilization. In his disciples this great element is wanting.
   
   "Kandinsky has supplied the need. He is not only on the track of an art more purely spiritual than was conceived even by Gauguin, but he has achieved the final abandonment of all representative intention. In this way he combines in himself the spiritual and technical tendencies of one great branch of Post-Impressionism.
   
   "The question most generally asked about Kandinsky's art is: 'What is he trying to do?' It is to be hoped that this book will do something towards answering the question. But it will not do everything. This--partly because it is impossible to put into words the whole of Kandinsky's ideal, partly because in his anxiety to state his case, to court criticism, the author has been tempted to formulate more than is wise. His analysis of colours and their effects on the spectator is not the real basis of his art, because, if it were, one could, with the help of a scientific manual, describe one's emotions before his pictures with perfect accuracy. And this is impossible.
   
   "Kandinsky is painting music. That is to say, he has broken down the barrier between music and painting, and has isolated the pure emotion which, for want of a better name, we call the artistic emotion. Anyone who has listened to good music with any enjoyment will admit to an unmistakable but quite indefinable thrill. He will not be able, with sincerity, to say that such a passage gave him such visual impressions, or such a harmony roused in him such emotions. The effect of music is too subtle for words. And the same with this painting of Kandinsky's. Speaking for myself, to stand in front of some of his drawings or pictures gives a keener and more spiritual pleasure than any other kind of painting. But I could not express in the least what gives the pleasure. Presumably the lines and colours have the same effect as harmony and rhythm in music have on the truly musical. That psychology comes in no one can deny."
   
   Some aspects of Kandinsky's color theory are dubious, at best they cannot be universalized, and Kandinsky sees this. But other of his ideas and arguments are widely accepted among artists, even as being self-evident. Stating that "there is no 'must' in art, because art is free," that is, free to address external representations OR "the inner need," to merely chase after material 'objects' OR to wrestle with the mysteriously spiritual, to somehow meld the two visions OR to stay purely to exploration of the spiritual high ground, Kandinsky absolutely rejects the materialistic expectation of an art "explanation" that has been articulated by EO Wilson in his unfortunate daydream 'Consilience' (Wilson knows ants better than he knows humans, and is given to understanding humans to be essentially ant equivalents).
   
   Anyone interested in art history, painting of the past century, or the relationships/correlations/divergences of the various arts (visual, musical, literary), as well as anyone interested in the meaning and purpose of art, or in the philosophy of aesthetics, should read this important book, perhaps more than once.



3. Kandinsky throws his ideas out in a slightly esoteric manner. It make take a few rereads to really grasp the quality of discourse he presents. But, in the end, his commentary shines brightly through his comparisons of music to painting. The spiritual triangle is comparable to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is important to remember that Kandinsky is not using the term "spiritual" in a religious sense.
   This book is a very good read for anyone feeling slumped in their art making. And for anyone who wants to expose themselves to ways of thinking about art. By the third time I had read the material I had underlined and highlighted almost every line and filled all the margins with notes. The book is fantastic. It is especially good when paired with Hans Hofmann's essay "In Search for the Real." Although the ideas in the two books do not parallel. In fact the lines aren't even on the same page. Kandinksky's critiques of other familiar artists are very interesting too. Names like picasso and Cezanne pop up quite a bit.
   I'll stop rambling now. Read the book, it is very good.



4. Wassilly Kadinsky was a 20th century painter and his CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART provides a blend of philosophical, spiritual and artistic reflection as it examines the premises and presence of spirituality in art. This new edition is a recommended pick not just for art students of modernism, but for readers of spiritual works: it includes letters between Kadinsky and Sadler, unpublished prose poems, and a fine attention to artistic reflection and analysis.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



5. I enjoyed reading the book. At times it was over my head,but still it was worth the effort!!!!

2 comments about Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces, 1990-2005.

1. This is a wonderful book. Literally. That is, it is full of wonders. At his not infrequent best -- in his essays on jazz and the blues -- Luc Sante reminds this reader of Edmund Wilson. Like Wilson, Sante is dogged and forensic. Without showing off, he tells you things you didn't know and puts you gratefully in his debt. And at his most casual (for instance, his piece on Rudolph Giuliani), Luc Sante is a joy to read.



2. KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS is a collection of Luc Sante pieces originally published, although many in somewhat different form, in journals or newspapers (such as The New York Review of Books or The Village Voice) between 1990 and 2005. (If you are wondering about the title, Sante provides no explanation or clues other than noting that "Kill all your darlings" was "writerly advice attributed to William Faulkner.") The individual pieces, 25 in all, deal with New York City and its environs or with significant (and, in several cases, not-so-significant) figures or events in American music, literature and belles-lettres, the visual arts, or pop culture broadly construed.
   
   Inasmuch as I had read and valued highly two of Sante's previous books ("Low Life" and "The Factory of Facts"), I bought this book with high expectations simply because it was by Luc Sante. But reading 25 disparate pieces, with no real unifying threads or themes, was not quite as smooth sailing as I had anticipated. I could only read two or three at a time, over several weeks. And, unfortunately, the least interesting pieces (at least to me) were the ones on New York City at the beginning of the book. But the intrinsic interest picked up after the first 110 pages, with the high points, to my mind, being the pieces on Bob Dylan, Buddy Bolden, the origin/invention of the blues, Hegre and the Tintin books, Walker Evans, two of Michael Lesy's books of American photographs, and Robert Mapplethorpe.
   
   Sante is a keen observer and often insightful commentator regarding popular and "middlebrow" culture as well as the underbelly and detritus of American life. He writes well and with a distinctive voice. (An example: "All kinds of thoroughly debunked specimens -- the noble cowboy, the contented housewife, the edenic small-town past -- continue to stagger along in the collective imagination because of their proven effectiveness as topical analgesics for reality-based headaches.") This collection illustrates that almost any of his pieces are worth reading, although it will be the rare reader indeed who truly is interested in everything that Sante writes about. All the same, these pieces probably are best read as they were published -- one at a time.
   
   Finally, kudos to the publisher for a sturdy yet reader-friendly binding and a very readable lay-out.

5 comments about Art Dealer's Field Guide: How to Profit in Art, Buying and Selling Valuable Paintings.

1. I'm new to the field and had no idea where to turn for advice. Thank you for writing this!



2. Ron Davis' book was exactly what I was looking for as a new dealer/collector just getting into the art world. It provided me with an abundant amount of information to get me started with my quest to develop the skills I desire to make educated transactions. It think as a beginner that this was a great place for me to start. I am very excited to continue my self-education and now I know how. Thanks,
   Ron!



3. I'm relatively new to art collecting, and found this book to be helpful and practical. I learned a lot from it. Recommended.



4. The Art Dealer's Field Guide is an invaluable reference book. I have dog-eared half the book for future reference. It is full of useful web-addresses, resources & experts. It is an extremely practical book & I found it to be a crash course on the business of art. I do not think this information is readily available to the general public. I have a degree in fine art, but would never have known where to begin the type of research that is described in the book. This is full of information that can only be learned through years of experience & is most likely kept an industry secret. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning how to invest in art.



5. This is an amazing book. For the novice or even someone with some knowledge of the art world, Davis reveals his tricks of the the trade and inside scoop of the business brilliantly.
   
   I can't recommend this book enough. It gave me confidence to talk the talk with the dealers and gallery owners. Wish there were more books like this on every topic....
   
   Thanks Ron.

3 comments about Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination.

1. I ordered this book for my husband's birthday and he was estatic. By far it is the best book we own. The many visuals are breathtaking. The text takes you into a wonderful journey. Highly recommended



2. Better late than never, & well worth the wait. Beautiful reproductions, some of which I'd never seen before, illustrate all facets of Cornell's brilliant, quirky career. This was supposed to have been the catalog for the retrospective that began it's rounds last year (I believe) but did not appear until long after it had left the Smithsonian. There are other books out there, but this one is the best I've seen thus far. If you are a fan, an assemblage or collage artist, this is the new bible chronicling the life of the artist with whom those techniques have become synonymous.



3. This catalogs and comments on the wonderful display of Cornell's work, on tour at the time of this writing. I had known Cornell's work only by reputation (and a certain amount of urba myth) before seeing that display. It stunned me; I've never had such a strong response to any other collection, ever. Although Cornell worked in several formats, his "shadow boxes" earned his reputation. Each one is a world in itself, filled with mystery and meaning.
   
   This dense book presents photos of the works in that tour, along with extensive commentary and biographical notes. The collection's boxes appear, of course, along with Cornell's work in two other categories: collage, and works that I'll call "albums." I admit that collage, even when exceptionally well done, generally doesn't move me. Collage elements enhance his boxes but do not, to my taste, stand well on their own. I found the albums tantalizing, though. Each one collected "natural" images from the popular media, collage, and Cornell's surrealist writings, all loose, in some kind of storage case. They were meant to create a unique experience for each viewer, changing in sequence, organization, and juxtaposition each time the pages' order changed. Displays under glass preserved the artworks, but blocked the museum-goer from experiencing the albums as they were meant to be experienced. I envy the preparators and curators who got the direct experience of this art in preparing the display.
   
   Unfortunately, this book's photographic representation of the albums also blocks the experience that Cornell intended - but I'd rather have the fixed depiction than none at all. The fixed and 2D representation of the dynamic and 3D boxes gives the same sense: a pale shadow of the boxes' magical presence. This book does as well as can be hoped, but no book can replicate the subtle optics and shifting perspectives of the original objects.
   
   I've only sampled this book's profuse text. If you can't see the originals, the commentary helps bring them to life. Notes on Cornell's career, times, and friendships also cast informative light on the works and how they arose. The gorgeous photos are so distracting, though, that I keep wandering away from the text. If you've seen the show, this will remind you of what you saw (there was so much), and deepen your appreciation of it. If you haven't, it will make you wish you did.
   
   -- wiredweird

5 comments about Galen Rowell: A Retrospective.

1. Spectacular Photos and what an athlete. His death was a loss, but he lives on in these images



2. This is more a short biography with too few of the beautuful photos this talented outdoor photographer made. I would have like to have seen more full page photos and more of them.



3. this book was amazing, the pictures are stunning, and the stories about him are almost unbelievable. I highly recommend this book for fans of photography or anyone who loves the outdoors.



4. If you are familiar with with the work of Galen Rowell I don't need to elaborate on the beauty and quality of his work, if you aren't familiar with this man and his work it will be a valuable addition to your knowledge and enjoyment of photography. Galen Rowell had an unfortunate and untimely death
   after a very active life of globe trotting for photography that transcends
   the material plane. The book presents many of his best works in a lovely format. A coffee table book that will get noticed.



5. If you have every looked at Galen's photos and wanted to see more, this is it. With his life cut short, at least we still have archived material that can be released in a book this nice to bring us more glimpses of his world. The color is amazing, the subjects grand, and Galens storys bring it all alive in my livingroom.

5 comments about Art: Multiple Choice and Constructed Response (Praxis Study Guides).

1. Try to get a used copy otherwise this is a waste of money. The only good part is that it has a practice test with the answers. No real tips or other good info. I Suggest just studying from Garner's Art Through the Ages.



2. A little bit too expensive... but I paid 25? (i think) from amazon, it cost about twice that on the ETS website.
   So i think i got a good deal.



3. This book is only guide lines of topics. If you recently finish college and
   have all your material fresh in your head this is the book for you, but if you are like me and needed a good review this is not your book. There is a lot of material in the test regarding ceramics, photography, and architecture artist that are not found in this book not even a mere mention.



4. Bought this book for the Art:Content Knowledge test and found I paid for only 24 relevant pages out of a 186 page book. Don't bother if you only need to take one of the art related tests. Go to the web site and view the sample test online for free and search other sites for test content. Otherwise there is some advise on how to take a praxis test--oh boy!



5. This guide does not help much in giving information- but it was helpful as a starting point for studying. I looked up every answer I didn't know- and every possible choice I didn't know and felt very prepared going into the test. The graded answers for the essay questions were the greatest help the book provided. Having the essay questions to practice on (and set the proper time limit with ) was very helpful. I was able to compare my answers with the graded answers and better understand what they were looking for and how I could improve my essays.