1 comments about Murano Glass (1910-1970) Theme and Variations.

1. This is an excellent reference with great photos and a section which shows the makers labels and signatures. Really useful book, recommend it for all collectors of Murano from the 1950's/60's.

3 comments about Colour in Decoration.

1. This book has many traditional rooms, but because it is not new, the "contemporary" rooms tend to look a little dated now. Funny how the old days look better than the recent past. What set it apart for me was the text, which discusses the history of color in decoration and is extremely interesting without being long, and the information on pigment reactions in making ones own paint. She includes several pages of different pigments mixed together in the back, as well as a discussion of different wall painting mediums. As a painter making my own lime wash, this book, while not a complete reference, gave a few invaluable details that made my project a success, and I really only bought it to see the photos of rooms in different colors.



2. I am studying Interior Design...and this book is great! It is easy to read and very helpful!



3. I own about 25 books on interior design and home decoration. This is certainly in my top three, and probably the most oft consulted of them all. Each chapter covers one of the basic colours, from green and blue through to pinks and neutrals. But after this sparse description it is hard to convey the beauty and depth of this book. When I say cover a colour, I mean really explore it. It's cool version, warm version, soft, light, borderline with its neighbouring colour on the colour wheel.

   And the way that each colour is covered is unique. Very minimal (but useful) text, and instead full page pictures of utterly inspiring interiors featuring the colour tone/intensity on each and every page. It uses excellent photographs from a wide and rich range of interior design. All true to life from real (moderna and historical) homes - and usually illustrating a good marriage between a particular colour/shade and the style it most compliments. Going through it, one soon becomes aware of one's taste. The pictures are so good - so evocative of the theme of that particular colour - that one has a simple emotional response of things like "love", "comforting", "not me", "does nothing for me", "joyful", etc. Using this book and trusting my visceral response to the delightful, subtle shades on each page, I virtually decorated my whole house.

   A very sophisticated book on colour, that speaks to us in the most simple of ways - through the eye to the heart.

No comments about Picturing Animals in Britain: c. 1750-1850 (Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art).

5 comments about WALT DISNEY IMAGINEERING: A BEHIND THE DREAMS LOOK AT MAKING THE MAGIC REAL.

1. This book contains an astonishing array of images and sketches from throughout the development of various projects the Imagineers have worked on. If you are interested in really understanding the forced perspective of Cinderella's Castle, or the graphical concept behind "It's A Small World", or if you're just a big fan of the Disney theme parks, this is a remarkable resource, full of life and creative spark. Though it does not have any sort of case study of the development of any particular attraction (though why would it since the most important part of the development is the final version, the one that guests get to enjoy!), a single flip through the book will reveal the vast amount of effort that goes into the Imagineer's creations. Through a closer inspection it is possible to understand the intricate ways in which the various departments collaborate on the projects. Overall, it's a spectacular collection of images and ideas, and is well worth the money for anyone who has ever dreamed of being an Imagineer.



2. Wonderful book full of information! Definitely recommend this for any Disney behind the scene facts!



3. I added this book to my collection several years ago, and it is a great addition to any Disney or Imagineering fan's collection. I personally am a huge fan of Walt Disney the man, and all the projects he was involved in. This book gives more images than anything else, but some of the images and the little bit of information it gives is definitely interesting and fun to have. If you are looking for something more in depth about Imagineering I don't know if you will really find it here - it is similar to what you might get in watching a behind the scenes special feature on a DVD, it just glosses over some of the projects and plans throughout Disney Imagineering history.



4. I taught high school art and retired a couple years ago. This was my bible for creative ideas and approach. I now teach at the college level and still use it regularly as a reference.
   
   I have gifted this book to several of my outstanding students. They loved it.



5. I loved this book because it has so many pictures. It is most interesting to see aspects of the rides that you might not get to view by visiting the park. The enthusiasm of this book is inspiring for anyone who is interested in theme park design. It does not get into anthing too technical, or show you what an Imagineer does from day to day on a regular basis. I would reccomend this book if you are interested in seeing Disneyland from another angle or if you want to be a theme park designer. It is a very good book if you aren't looking for technical advice, just to have fun and get excited!

3 comments about Telematic Embrace: Visionary Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness by Roy Ascott.

1. Finding accurate accounts of historical turning points warrants careful scanning and careful elimination. There is much information to be read in articles, books and in the minds of academics who can give tid-bits of how we got to where we are today in a world of art and technology. But there are few people who can provide us with a rigorous account that actually has (1) depth and substance; and (2) an actual birthing of an era. This book provides us with both.
   
   For the disciplined reader, Roy Ascott and Edward Shanken provide alluring, inventive and down right smart accounts of the time frame in which art evolved into a 21st century discipline; for the lazy reader, Roy Ascott's sentences are a crisp and inviting story of what it could behoove the artist to pay attention to.
   
   Natasha Vita-More



2. This collection offers a unique and valuable history of art and technology from the 1960s to the 2000s as chronicled through the brilliant writings of Roy Ascott. A pioneer of cybernetic and telematic art, Ascott is generally recognized as a leading figure in the field of new media. His theoretical writings are inventive, prescient, and provocative, and are required reading for students and professionals who are interested in learning about the ideas that shaped interactivity, media art, and net art.

   Shanken's introduction offers an erudite but highly readable and insighful guide to Ascott's work as an artist, theorist, and teacher, placing his many contributions in a broad context of art history, the history of ideas, and the history of technology. At 94 pages, this essay offers one of the most extensive art historical treatments of art and technology currently in print and makes an invaluable addition to the literature.

   The book may be a bit pricey, but it is well worth it and this is one volume you'll be glad to have in hard-cover.




3. E. Shanken writes like a baton twirler with a Ph.D.

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.

No comments about Generations and Geographies in the Visual Arts: Feminist Readings.

No comments about Shoji Hamada: A Potter's Way & Work.

No comments about History of Art Vol. I, Revised w/CD-ROM & ArtNotes, Vol. I Package (6th Edition).

3 comments about The Mansions Of Denver: The Vintage Years.

1. "The Mansions of Denver" is a must for anyone interested in the history of Denver and Denver's prominent families during the "gilded-age." There are plenty of photos of the mansions of Denver, both those that are still standing as well as those lost to the greed of fools with no sense of historic preservation.



2. This is the book many of us have been waiting for. I, and many of my friends, have wondered about the history of downtown Denver, especially Captiol Hill, and particularly about the Victorian mansions in the neighborhood that we heard had been torn down years ago. Not many people we talked to had any information. This book has it all. It covers all the big houses and major names in the development of early Denver. It tells how fortunes were made and lost, and what happened to the many mansions that were built with money from mining, oil, real estate, and ranching. While some of these gems survive, most notably the Governor's Mansion and the nearby Grant/Humphreys mansion, hundreds were lost to urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s. While Bretz laments their losses, he gives us a glimmer of hope that those that have survived will be with us a long, long time.



3. Denver is blessed with an abudence of Gilded Age gradeur and this book does a fine job of focusing on the best of these. The images are crisp and clean and the text is very enlighening. It is a shame that some of these homes have been lost, but having said that, Denver should be proud that so many are extant. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Denver or just fine residential architecture in general.