2 comments about The British Museum Book of Chinese Art.

1. THIS BOOK IS INTERESTING BUT NEED TO BE UPTODATED WITH MORE COMMENTS AND MORE RECENT PICTURES AS LAST ESCAVATION IN CHINA HA DETERMINED A KIND OF NEW IDENTIFICATION OF PORCELAIN AND STUDY.



2. The British Museum has a wonderful collection of Chinese art, from the Neolithic to the early years of the 20th century, and this book uses the collection as an introduction to Chinese culture, and to the varied forms of art--bronzes, jades, pottery and porcelains, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, cloisonne, and lacquer work--that the evolving culture has produced for the past 5000 to 6000 years. The book opens with a very good but brief introduction to Chinese history and then surveys the various art forms. The color and black-and-white illustrations are glorious, and good choices have been made about the pieces to show in color (though one always wishes for more, especially in my case of Qing ceramics). The British Museum collection is featured, obviously, but the individual pieces are occasions for very clear and interesting discussions of the type of work each represents; the book in this respect is very much more than a catalog of one collection. I especially appreciate this more general information about various types of Shang bronzes or Qing ceramics, for example, and the detailed information about materials, techniques, and production. Anyone at all interested in Chinese art and culture will value this book, and it's also a book that will excite people who haven't previously been interested. Excellent and beautiful.

1 comments about A History of Engraving and Etching.

1. This is an excellent reference work. A must for antique print collectors. It's value holds up no matter how much time goes by.

No comments about Shaker Design: Out of this World (Published in Association with the Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture).

1 comments about Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon.

1. "Amelia Earhart: Image and Icon", Editor(s) Kristen Lubben and Erin Barnett, ICP, Steidel, Germany, 2007. ISBN: 978-3-86521-407-2, HC 165 pages includes Biblio. 3 pages and 85 B/W photographs, maps and ephemera. 12 3/8" x 9 1/4".
   
   Willis E. Hartshorn (Director, Intern. Center Photography) has 2 page Foreward to the preceeding AE Exhibition followed by three succinct essays with references by the writers (1) Kristen Lubben (Fame, Flight & the New Woman), 14 pages; (2) Susan Butler (Thirty-Nine Forever), 7 pages; and (3) Susan Ware (It's Hard Work Being a Popular Heroine), 16 pages.
   
   Whether you've read one, two or a dozen books on Amelia Earhart (AE), one cannot fail to conceptualize the dynamic, focused intensity with which AE concentrated her attention -- imprima: Aviation, Social Work, and Women's Equality, such that from this matrix there arose a perfect blend that was to become America's Sweetheart with a legend lasting, undiminished, over three-quarters of a Century.
   
   This book is special: it is dedicated to nuturing the understanding of societal perceptions that photo-journalism exhalts onto contemporary cultures by shaping the development, substance and subsistence of remembrances - in this case, the creation and adulation of recognizable contributions by one of its own citizens whose ingredients were close to perfect, importantly possession of humility and tireless devotion to the matters at hand. Each of the essayists focuses on a unique trait of AE: - symbolism, individuality, and true grit.
   
   There are 85 photo-engravures, each exactingly reproduced, some printed in full-page format, and each carefully selected to capture the essence of Amelia and the peoples and places of her time accompanied by a thoughtfully numbered index with caption and designation of maker when known. The book is a long overdue work of Love, written to capture the creative power of photo-journalism and serving as a memorial embracing her friends, family, husband and, of course, Amelia who is "Forever 39". This is a great book for the coffee table and library.

1 comments about Balinese Masks: Spirits of An Ancient Drama.

1. Not a great resource , the Balinese have a bottomless amount of masks and characters, this book skims the surface, but does not have much information on characters who they are what part they play, type of dance they would be involved in, coffee table quick flip.

1 comments about The Art of Joan Brown (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Book).

1. Lots of people copy Joan Brown, maybe not intentionally, but it happens. Unfortunately she died in a freak accident installing one of her works of art so we don't get to see her next creative incarnation. Her life was exciting and interesting and she embodied what is a true artist. Driven and consumed with creative genius. Read this book, and see what it means (and takes!) to be an artist. Then try and see her works of art in person. I'm thinking the SF Museum of Modern Art SHOULD have her stuff as well as MOMA in NYC. Even if her works aren't there...someone she admired will be. A must read for every young artist.

2 comments about Artists at Continent's End: The Monterey Peninsula Art Colony, 1875-1907.

1. Scholars, I believe, will love the text of this book. The general public and scholars will hate the fact that the illustrations are only slightly larger than postage stamps. The captions occupy as much space as the illustrations do. This book was clearly designed by someone who has no idea how illustrations and text should relate to one another. Shame on the University of California Press for destroying an excellent text with poor design and only average printing.



2. Being very interested in artists featured in this book I placed an order only to find that the repros are relatively scarce and rather small.
   Generally speaking, I really can't understand the authors of artist's monographs these days.
   It seems as though they have really hard time figuring out what their readers expect.
   
   Well, if some of that odd sort of people read this, I'll solve the great mistery here, once and forever - the readers want NICE, LARGE PICTURES.
   
   For some unfathomable reason, the writers and their editors think that the people who buy artists' monographs are interested in laaarge (often boring) essays, that they LOVE small reproductions and that they're really fond of margins 2"-3" thick.
   
   In a nutshell - if you expect large repros, avoid this book.
   
   Admittedly, the pictures are of high quality, but the averagely sized 4-5 inches. There's lot of repros smaller than that and several larger. In one of the essays you can read 18 pages without seeing a single color illustration.

No comments about Conversations with Cézanne (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art).

No comments about Manga School with Selena Lin Draw Your Own Manga.

3 comments about The House & Garden Book of Country Rooms (House & Garden Series).

1. Ideal for anyone seeking interior design inspirations for evoking a country atmosphere, The House & Garden Book Of Country Rooms is a simply gorgeous showcase filled with full-color photographs compiled by Leonie Highton (Editor-in-Chief of the British "House & Garden" magazine) of aesthetically pleasing and eminently practical country-style room designs. Descriptive captions highlighting balance and arrangement compliment the stunning and inspirational illustrations in this very highly recommended interior design reference.



2. This book is chock full of wonderful photos of absolutely gorgeous rooms located in England (mostly), France, Majorca, St.Lucia, and Greece. Graceful, nonpretentious elegance at its finest! If you love aged patinas, threadbare Oriental rugs, mellowed heirloom antiques, vintage linens, and a dash of eclecticism, this is THE book for you!



3. Like the other books in this House and Garden series, this is a wonderful reference for anyone interested in traditional, classic, elegant design. In my opinion, it should be in every interior designer's library! The interiors pictured are varied in their themes and beautifully composed. These are not cutsey, overdone rooms. They are timeless in their decor - informal and comfortable, but with style. I get new ideas each time I go to this book! The chapters are arranged by room type so that if I want to see kitchen design I can go right to that chapter rather than search through the entire book. Although, once opened, I rarely shut this book after looking at only one or two pages!