No comments about Design Research Now: Essays and Selected Projects (Board of International Research in Design).

2 comments about The Art of John Berkey (Paper Tiger).

1. I used to think of John Berkey as just a sci-fi artist. But after viewing this book its clear Berkey is quite simply an excellent artist on all levels. What I find masterful about his work is that upon close viewing you see that he uses simple brush strokes for his approach. Yet, when viewed from a distance his art appears as detailed as any photograph I've seen. This is what it means to be a true artist: Being able to convey a clearly conceived and well-executed idea while maintaining an original sense of style and technique. Mr Berkey's work should be viewed by all, whether sci-fi fan or not.



2. For those of you who were inspired by John Berkey's fantastic visions of the future decades ago, you will find continued inspiration in Jane Frank's new book, The Art of John Berkey. This book complements the earlier Painted Space book well, but stands on its own as a serious work about John Berkey. Several pages of autobiographical notes from Mr. Berkey himself followed by several chapters chronicling the many phases of Berkey's remarkable career. Back before computers, Berkey mastered the brush, inferring technological complexity with only minimal strokes in a way few other artists can. He ranks high along with legendary futurist artists like Syd Mead and Ralph McQuarrie. The book is beautifully printed, with lush colorful pages that bring Berkey's paintings to life. I recommend you purchase this book-it will take you on a fantastical journey you will want to come back to time and again.

3 comments about Best Works of Aubrey Beardsley (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. 
   i was a bit dissapointed since i couldnt find the erotic illustrations from Lysistrata of Aristophanes.There are only details and expurgeted versions.



2. Big fan of this book. It's hard to believe he created so much in so little time. This book shows off a lot these works in good detail. I believe this is a must for anyone into art nouveau or Beardsley. Beardsley's use of large black spaces and intricate detail is highly evident in this book. I give it a 8.5 out of 10. Cheers, enjoy.



3. Inexpensive collection of Beardsley's black & white illustrations, mostly taken from other Beardsley books in the Dover catalogue. Some erotic penwork, but Aubrey's "obscene" art is quite tame by today's standards. Some of it even adorned the covers of magazines in his own time. Of course, the big value of this collection is that it's copyright free. You can use these illustrations in your crafts & collages or scan them for your websites. So, if you like that old decadent Nineties style (I mean 1890, not 1990), this book is one window you can peek through.

5 comments about East Side Stories: Gang Life in East LA.

1. i read the book in about 2 days. most of it is pictures, which is what i like to see in gang books since you do not see alot of pics in gang books... i think the book could have had more stories from the members in the book..but then again in the book the members did request certain things to not be said or photgraphed. the book is short... lots of pics. the author said he mostly wanted to center on the family and what they go thru... which when i bought the book, i wanted to hear more about the members and what they go thru instead of the family. it's pretty self explanatory what a family will go thru if their kid is involved in anything bad...
   
   the author also complains about in his book how he pretty much refused to take pics of violence or the members showing some guns or other things. he said for some reason violence sells... he wanted to photograph a diff side of the culture i guess, the non-violent side... as a reader of these books, i do like to see some of the violent stuff since like i said, there is hardly any pics in these kind of books... i'm not saying i want to see a photo of a crime in action, but i like to see the members, the tattoos... match a face to the name in the book.. which in this book, you can do sometimes...
   
   it's gets the 4 stars cuase of some of things i pointed out that i didn't like... but it's a good read...



2. One would think that this book would describe gang life more thoroughly. But, well over half the pages are pictures. Also, a lot of the rest of the pages either have a only few sentences or they are totally blank. I am very disappointed.



3. It doesn't get any more real than this!! I really enjoyed this book. It lets you really get to know the people in the book who are real and not just some made up characters. I hope to see more of these type of books from Joseph Rodriguez. I also like the idea that someone made above about the author doing an update to this book. That would be great!!!



4. Finally someone writes a book and tells the truth i grew up in East los and believe me it was hard but something we chose,we chose to gangbang and finally someone was real about it and wrote this book showing the way it really is and what we really go threw.........THANKS,VBTP



5. I live in East L.A., and I know two of the young guys that were in the book. This is what life for us is really like.Im 19, and the guys that came out in the book are around 22 now. I think that this guy has come a really long way and hopefully when he looks back at this book he will realize that he has turned into a better and smarter person.The author has my support in whatever he does. To come here to the neighborhood and write about what goes on in here is opening society's eyes to the everyday struggles and pressures that our young Chicano men have to go through. Behind every picture that Joseph has taken there is a story,and the people that live through it are the authors. I am sure that Joseph has some how helped these guys, because when I first met Porky the first thing he told me was that Pony and him had came out in a book!I think that this book should be updated and see how everyone is doing now.I recommend this book to anyone that wants to see some of the hardships of life.Pony died after this book was made but his smile and memory are always with me.When you see his face in this book don't think of it as another gang member, but as someone who was sill a kid that got caught up in the gang life.

No comments about Graph Paper Art.

5 comments about Alex Stewart: Portrait of a Pioneer.

1. This was of special interest to me since I live near the location of this book. I simply could not put it down until I read it cover to cover.
   
   A fascinating look at our early pioneer families, the hardships they endured, and the genius of their innovations.
   
   A great read.



2. This is an amazing book about Alex Stewart, an Appalachian survivor. It is told from an interview style where Alex explains how he learned to make different utilitarian items that his family and community needed to survive. He also tells stories of how he learned what plants healed people from illnesses, learned the skills to survive the harsh locations of the Appalachian mountains and loved life with every ounce of his body.
   My Appalachian born grandparents read it cover to cover over and over and then had to travel to the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tenn to see the common items they remembered with Alex throughout the book. John Rice Irwin, the founder of the Museum of Appalachia is a gifted historian and this shines through in any of his books, written to remember the people of Appalachia. He also seeks to capture this throughout his living Appalachian village, the Museum of Appalachia. A MUST visit and A MUST read for any Appalachian native.



3. i recently read the book about alex stewart and i have to say that it was so good. i loved it. alex was so talented and as the book stated "he was a national treasure." i would liked to have met him. any craft the author asked him about, he responded that he could make it. what a unique human being. he was warm, endearing, and a very kind and gentle man. he told completely the life of the pioneer to john brice irwin and the book is so well written. it was a joy to read and told in detail of the hardships the people of that era had to indure. i felt by the end of the book the sadness of alex stewart's death and that i had gotten to know him well.



4. I bought this book at the Museum of Appalachia (also founded by the author) on my first visit to Tennessee. The book is almost entirely a transcript of a dialogue/interview between the author and Alex Stewart. At first, I thought this would be a strange format, but as I read on, I discovered that this would be the only way to authentically capture the mind and spirit of Alex on paper.

   If you're not from the South, you might find Alex's dialect charminging unusual. A few times I had to read a passage over and over again to fully understand what words Alex was saying. Here is an example where it took me a while to realize that Alex meant "Lord" when kept saying "Law":

   "They didn't have no men folks, but they had several children. Making liquor was the only way they had of making a living. Law, they had it hard."

   The author cleverly asks questions to get Alex to reveal his pioneer wisdom. More than that, though, the author's selections and chapter arrangements helped to organize the sprawling encyclopedia of Alex's mind.

   By the time I reached the end, I was sad to have the "conversation" over. I felt I had known Alex a bit personally, and I mourned at his passing. It was joyous reading while it lasted and my heart ached to know more of Alex.

   This is a fabulous book I can't recommend enough. 10 STARS.




5. One reason I bought this book is because my Greatgrandmother was Alex's Aunt. I visited Alex as a child with my Parents and Grandmother. Alex was always sending my Grandmother items , such as walking canes. He made my mother a rolling pin, which she still has. Most of all the book gave me many names of my relatives that ive been searhing for.

No comments about The Writings of Robert Motherwell (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art).

2 comments about The Art of The Darkness.

1. As a big fan of comic books and comic book art, I've known for a while that the cover art of The Darkness series from Image is exceptional. How exceptional, however, was never quite known to me until I picked up "Art of the Darkness".
   
   This large format book is beautilfully produced, printed on glossy paper, and reproducing some of the most seminal of the covers and produced for The Darkness, with such luminaries as Michael Turnes, Marc Silvestri, and Dale Keown featured, among many others. I've very impressed with this book - I certainly got much more than I was expecting, and I holds a place of honor on my bookshelf. My only complaint is that it is too short - at only 96 pages, there were a number of other excellent covers that should have been featured - as the "catalog" of covers at the end of the book attests. Otherwise, however, a great offering form Image, who continues to put out great art books. Recommended for the comic book fan.



2. I bought this book thinking it would be less beautiful, but it's nice, an all right book. I had imagined it would be comic-sized but with extra pages as a big number or something, but it turned out to be a book with the size of an art book, and it does contain beautiful illustrations.
   
   The only reaosn for which this one is not getting the five stars marker is because it could have contained more pages!!! And sketches!!! And also because it showed some ilustrations small sized in an interview, or something, but those illustrations never got to make it to a full page drawing, and they were beautiful to begin with.
   
   But great nevertheless.

1 comments about Francis Alys (Contemporary Artists).

1. So far Alys's books have looked like artist's books. Finally a cathalogue that encompasses his main works, in a beautiful edition and strong texts by him as his fellow curator.

No comments about Georgia O'Keeffe and the Camera: The Art of Identity (Portland Museum of Art).