No comments about Short Course In Photography, A (7th Edition) (MyPhotographyKit Series).

5 comments about The Collins Big Book of Art: From Cave Art to Pop Art.

1. I am a professional artist and teacher. The Collins Big Book of Art offers a view of various periods, styles, genres, and trends in a way I have not found in any other reference book. Its terrific and useful.



2. This book was not what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a nice coffee table book - that it would be cool to pick up and flip through - but it reads more like a college textbook, and if I could, I would sell this book back to the college bookstore.



3. Much repetition and too little of artists neither western nor white...or male for that matter. Though the sections are a lovely idea the same art is used in each. A not terribly risky venture, this.



4. This volume takes you through the history of art in a way that embraces the reader like none other. There is order here in the way the material is presented. It is very logical and helps explain quite a bit of what has gone on since the first artistic expressions were created. You can feel your way through history and find a clear development of artistic techniques and styles. There is a definite reason behind these and it is explained with great feeling. There is quite a bit of psychology about the subject matter of what is on the canvas. Why does an artist or group of artists choose to capture something in a particular way? This is a quite a book.



5. This is a great book for anyone who wants to know a little (or a lot!) more about art. It has numerous illustrations, a timeline, and also goes into themes and how certain art movements have depicted a specific feature (eyes, for example). You can open the book to any page to get a quick glimpse and learn some fun facts, or you can read it from the beginning. The Collins Big Book of Art is beautiful and the best general book about art I've seen. I received it as a gift, and I'm going to be buying it for others this Christmas.

3 comments about Sketching and Drawing for Children.

1. I gave this to my 9 year old niece, who likes to draw. I had a book very like this one (probably an earlier printing) when I was small. She loves it! She particularly likes the way it helps her to draw the "difficult" things--proportions, perspective, etc. She has already gotten a lot of use from the book and I am glad I gave it to her. It's not a bit outdated it seems, although it was originally published 50 years ago.



2. We purchased this book for our 7-year old daughter. The book is written and illustrated where she can read it herself and learn as she goes. She was able to improve on her drawing of an apple withing 5 minutes of using this book. It has great drawing techniques that a young child can easily pick up and learn themselves or with the help of a parent or older sibling.



3. I purchased this book for my daughter who is twelve years old. She has always had interests in art, and drawing in particular. This book clearly demonstrates techniques that will allow her to develop her existing skills as well as add new ones. I wish that it was one of a series of books rather than a single publication. She loves it.

5 comments about Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations in Full Color.

1. This thin volume is filled with some of the most enchanting drawings and paintings ever to grace childrens' books. There is an element of style in Rackham's work that reminds me in many ways of Japanese woodblock prints of the 19th century. And like a quality Japanese woodblock print, a Rackham plate is a feast for the eye.
   
   Fairy tale subjects can range the fair to the hideous. Often illustrators are biased towards one end of the spectrum. Rackham is one of those talented artists that can simultaneously capture the beauty of a fair maiden and the brutishness of a foul giant in one composition. I especially like the vitality of his figures and the whimsical and often grotesque facial expressions of his fairies and giants. I would recommend this volume to anyone who is fond of fairy tales and fine illustration.



2. very pleased with the book.have always hoped i could draw like him but my life took me down another road



3. Indeed a grate collection of various fairy tale illustrations. A must have if you are a Rackham or fairy tale lover regardless of your age.



4. This slim book presents 55 of Arthur Rackham's fairy tale illustrations from several of his books. The illustrations are reproduced on high quality paper. Almost every image is at least 5x7 or 6x8 inches in size and suitable for framing. While I don't usually recommend deconstructing books for their illustrations, this book is well-suited for the purpose and preferable to taking apart an older book for its plates. No fairy tales are presented, just the illustrations with their titles and sources. If you are a Rackham fan, buy one copy to take apart for framing and another one to keep on your bookshelf. Most of these illustrations are not available in any size for art prints. Many of the illustrations are not available in print in any other source at this time except for the original antique books in which they appeared.



5. when i ordered Rackham's books, I was taken a childrens lit class and was surprised to see the Grimm nature of stories for children. The very detailed and dark paintings help to show this and also harken one's mind into a world of fantasy and magic-a crucial element in any children's work. Enjoyed it and his rendetion of Wagner's ring, although it lacks (by nature of the Operas tragic tale) the vigour and innocence of fairy tales and insted enters the relem of Epic.

5 comments about Hallmarks of the Southwest (Schiffer Book for Collectors).

1. This book is a must have for the serious collector of Native American jewelry. This compilation is broad and attributes many makers to their nation of origin. There are names, initials, and pictographs, with an assortment of unknowns as well. This book is worth its weight in gold!



2. I've been able to find some of the marks in the book but so many times the marks I'm looking for are not listed. I was also surprised that some names, such as Harry Morgan, were not in the book.



3. We have had previous editions of this book by Barton Wirght for years. This up-dated edition is just more current, but overall it is a very helpful bood to us.



4. Although the exchange process was easy, both copies of the book that Amazon sent had pages either missing or hugely out of order. I wished there was a way for Amazon to check the copies, under such circumstances, before sending them out.



5. This is the eagerly-awaited second edition of Hallmarks of the Southwest; as a longtime collector of Native American jewelry, I'm happy to finally have a copy of this book.
   
   Naturally, not every craftsman can be represented in such a comprehensive work, and complicating this is that not every piece is stamped with identifying marks. (Some of my favorite jewelry isn't stamped at all, even with "Sterling.") Many of the references are a carry-over from the first edition; since silversmithing is often a family tradition, certian respected craftsmen working today may not be represented but their families are.
   
   It's a valuable overview, and leaves the reader [me, at least] wanting more.

5 comments about My New York: New Anniversary Edition.

1. By PHIL
   
   I'm happy I read this book because there are many cool things in this book. It explains all the cool things that you can do in New York City. It has the whispering room in Grand Central Station. You whisper into one corner and someone whispers at the other and you can hear each other.
   And lots of things like that. It is mostly for kids 7-11 years old but adult tourists will like it to.
   
   ...Story Board...
   
   It's about a girl that made an agreement with her mom to go on trips every weekend. The girl's name is Becky. She and her mom go to places that are fun in New York.
   
   On one trip they go to Radio City Music Hall to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Her friend Martin comes with her. In the book, she describes how the orchestra rises out of the floor in the beginning and then goes back in. I went to this show with my parents and this really does happen!
   
   They also go to the New York Public Library, Central Park Zoo, the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, Times Square and other cool places.
   
   I recommend this book to any tourist trying to find fun stuff to do when visiting New York City.
   
   This Book Is So Darn Cool!!!



2. Bought this for my little cousins overseas to help them understand where we live. Apperently their mother likes it more than them! Now they know where I'm talking about when i say we went to Central park today or the zoo. i'll be buying more for my friends children as gifts. Great book.



3. The pictures are colorful, very detailed, and are a lot of fun to look at. It's narrated by a little girl who's venturing the famous sites of NYC. I had fun reading it and I'm
   sure kids will like it. I got the new anniversary edition. I really recommend it. NYC may change years from now. This book captures and reminisces our exciting city during our time...2002.



4. I thought that this was an excellent book. The pictures are great. I read it to my kids before visiting New York and after reading the book my kids could not wait to see all of the places that we read about. My daughter was especially thrilled to ride the same horse on the central park carousel that the little girl in the book rode.



5. This is a beautiful book, full of detailed illustrations kids love to explore. Parents should note that not only is it littered with promotional messages, but that several of them promote Scientology/L. Ron Hubbard/Dianetics.

5 comments about The Art and Science of Modern Tattooing.

1. this book is easy reading, straight to the point.It has a great deal of information on tuning tattoo machines that you simply don't find out there. very informative. A little more on tattooing itself would have made this book top knoch, though the best book Ive read on tattooing.



2. I just got this book and think it is absolutley fabulous. I taught myself to tatttoo and wish I had this book before I started on my own. The technical info on the operation of the tattoo gun, as it pertains to the application of ink is, detailed and understandable. For me the grammar and spelling errors were minor and did not detract from the understanding of the material presented. I would recomend this book to anyone who has an interest in the process of tattooing, as a practitioner or admirer of tattoo art.



3. I have both of Ericks books.(Have not read his last one.)Have learned a lot. And he is a good writer, both educational and funny. A must have for the aspiring tattooartist.



4. This book has some good information on machines that would probably take forever otherwise to learn. It is by no means comprehensive but I think it's a good starting point for any beginner tattoo artist, like myself, as it goes over a wide range of things from machines and their parts to preventing cross contamination. The poor grammer was a little distracting for me because that sort of thing drives me nuts. There was a lot of "your" instead of "you're" and "there" instead of "their", etc. If you can look past it then you'll be fine!



5. This book is more of a personal notebook than a reference guide. Some of the information is poor or misleading, such as the section on inks. And it was very poorly written. It doesn't seem to have been edited and the author has a less than positive outlook, almost angry in places. I bought the book without having seen it first which I would not do again. Try Huck Spauldings "Tattooing A-Z." All around a far better buy.

4 comments about Humanities through The Arts.

1. This book provides a thorough survey of pretty much all the arts (not just visual arts) using plenty of well-chosen examples, many examined in some depth.
   
   The organization of the book generally has a chapter for each art form, with each chapter mostly organized into various themes. This complements other books organized according to an historical approach.
   
   By the time one has progressed through the journey of the entire book, the diligent reader should come away enriched with new perspectives on life and reality.
   
   The one downside of the book, which isn't minor, is that I found much of the writing to be unnecessarily complicated and tedious. I'm not saying that the authors needed to "dumb it down," but I do think they could have conveyed their message much more clearly without compromising its substance. It's as though they just adopted a clunky, somewhat highbrow style at the outset, got used to it, and than ran with it all the way through the book, forgetting the needs and wants of their audience in the process. Lest one think I'm being too critical, consider the book The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern, which is both enlightening and a joy to read.
   
   The above issue brings my rating down to 4 stars, but I still certainly recommend the book because of the considerable value it brings to the reader. Just be prepared to be genuinely attentive as you read it. Your investment of time and effort will be well rewarded.



2. I love to buy my books on this web site because i never had any problems with orders.



3. I ordered using ISBN number as given by my university. What I received was not the same ISBN. It was the same title of the book, just the incorrect revision. I am doing an accelerated course, so the seller's offer of just return it for a full refund was not very helpful to me. I don't know if the problem was with the seller or Amazon. I am quite dissapointed that I got the wrong book. There are discrepancies.



4. Speedy and as ordered. If you are ordering this book for a class, make sure you get the correct ISBN number. There is a 2008 edition of this book!

4 comments about The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths.

1. Don't let the number of syllables fool you - Krauss' words are far too big for her britches. Sarcastic and often defensive in tone, this polemic falls short of the academic masterpiece it is often purported to be. Her characterization of Mondrian's artistic program as an obsession with the grid betrays either an ignorance of or indifference to the artist's own (extensive) writings that is shocking for a critic of such high repute. While I support Krauss' broader aim of knocking Modernism out of its traditional ivory tower, her willingness to forego evidence in favor of arguement does nothing to further the cause.



2. This book was very good from an art student point of view. It is very revealing of some subtle changes that took place early in the 20th century and became part of the collective-art-unconscious. You just don't get this sort of insight from an art history class. Thank you Ms. Krauss.



3. As Hal foster... writes, miss Krauss cannot be blamed of the conceptual limitations of the time... if read within a historical context, this book Is very enlightening and very compromised with structural analysis, as it is with it's by- products (of wihch, we often make so much of a deal these days) ... this includes early -and pure- examples of deconstructivist meta-texts. It seems to me that her efforts have not been scaled to the dimension they have. It is (still) a formidable introduction for anyone interested in really getting involved in post- structural thinking. A sort of golden thread for the roots of contemporary thought. Her, "sculpture on the expanded field", is illuminating, don't miss it. I really regret having rated "the optical unconscious" 4 stars, it must also be 5. Such risks taken by an art historian must not be taken lightly. She has taken first, as few others,the steps to construct--- the difference---.



4. While this book deals with some incredibly interesting subject matter, overall it tends to fall flat, partially due to Krauss's outmoded Weltanschauung and belief (although probably unconscious) in transcendental/idealist aesthetics. Although if you like Hal Foster this would be right up your alley.

1 comments about Edgar Degas: Paintings That Dance: Paintings That Dance (Smart About Art).

1. As a teacher looking to add to her biography collection, this series is a dream come true. It's written in a style that is attractive and holds a child's attention. There is a mixture of real art pieces and drawings done by the book's illustrator. It's a painless way of learning new information. I highly recommend all books in this series for any 3-5 grade teacher.