No comments about Historia general del Piru and The Getty Murua: Facsimile of J. Paul Getty Museum Ms. Ludwig XIII 16 Two-Volume Set.

5 comments about Raising Hell: A Concise History of the Black Arts - and Those Who Dared to Practice Them.

1. This is a very good resource for occult study. It's a variable who's who of the occult world, giving the histories of some of the greats of magick. The only reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 is due to the fact that the title is a little misleading. This book actually had very few "black magicians" and instead covers just about anyone who matters in the occult world. A must read.



2. Raising Hell: A Concise History of the Black Arts and Those Who Dared Practice Them by Robert Masello is an concise but comprehensive overview of the history of occult arts throughout the centuries, filled with interesting stories and creative characters in search of power beyond their control. The book is divided into several distinct sections, each dealing with a specific aspect of the occult arts, giving the reader a wonderful glimpse into the powers which lie in the great beyond. Although it makes mention of numerous sources and reference material, by keeping the details to a bare minimum he only serves to wet one's whistle on the nature of his survey, making readers want to delve deeper into regions unknown. A great start for people interested in the occult but don't know where to start.



3. Not a bad book to begin with, but not something that is going to interest people above 'apprentice' level. The extensive bibliography has some good suggetions. Decent. I recommend it as a starting place for only for serious students. The only people I wouldn't recommend it to are those who confuse witchcraft (not a religion) for Wicca (a religion) (we don't want to offend those who want to white wash 'magic' and the occult).

   I recommend anything by R. Cavendish as a better read.




4. Although this book has a lot of documented information about magicians and Satanists, it continues the widespread belief in the United States that Satanism and Witchcraft are the same religion. Over and over again, Masello interchanges the terms of devil worship and witchcraft. In so doing, he encourages the same beliefs that caused the burning times earlier in our history. As a witch, I was extremely offended by the author's comparing me to people who call down demons to do evil. Witches do not believe in a devil or demons, neither do they cast spells or make potions in order to do evil to another. Witchcraft teaches followers to bless others and to do good. Please do not read this book thinking you are getting honest information about witches and witchcraft. The information maybe true, but it is true only of people who worship the devil.



5. This book is a great resource for anyone who is just starting his or her study of the history of black magick. It gives an overview of some of the darker practices and the bigger personalities involved. I give it three stars because only half the book is really about black magick. The rest is about occult practices that I don't believe fall under the heading, such as alchemy, divination and dream interpretation. It would have been nice if Masello had used that space to go into more detail about what the magicians actually did, but it is still an interesting historical study of the occult.

No comments about Claesson Koivisto Rune: 1. Architecture - 2. Design.

5 comments about The Art of Rowena.

1. This is a very beautiful art book of Rowena art works. The painting she did are seem so real and they got a fantastic atmosphere to it and the colored are great. I wish one day I can draw and paint has good has Rowena.



2. ...continuing from my review title: not just fairy-tale scenes, but most of Rowena's art has a magical touch, lavishly detailed.

   Rowena's fantasy world is like the colors of her paintings: rich, vivid and beautiful. A harmonious and sometimes even light-hearted approach is always present even in the face of danger. It seems that this talented artist believes in the victory of good over evil, which her high quality work is a testimony of.




3. Rowena's paintings depict the fantasy and surreal darkness of the world, focussing on monsters, myths, and legendary creatures which are unusual and warm. This gathers Rowena's many contributions to the fantasy world, and the full-page color reproductions of book jacket covers and other items will draw many already familiar with many of her works, who may not have viewed her art under one cover. A beautiful keepsake presentation.



4. Rowena Morrill is a very fine artist with an excellent eye for detail, just how good is revealed by her portraits of Isaac Asimov & Anne McCaffrey . I do have a couple of miner gripes some of her characters assume rather contrived poses, take the cover for example. Could anybody smile beatifically and thoughtfully drape a lily , while an animated statue grasped your leg ? The colours she uses are extremely vivid and some of her monsters are so garish they tend to Kitsch rather than visceral. But I`m a sucker for Brom and compared with his creations anything short of Giger looks tame, so feel free to disagree. These quibles apart this remains a collection of some extremely well done paintings and would be a worthy part of any fantasy art collection.



5. I have been a fan of Rowena for a few years now. Found her artwork on the internet. When I saw this book I had to have it and was not disappointed in the quality of her work. I'm not a big fan of the stories however but I will put up with them for the sake of the artwork. I perfer using my imagination to interpertate her artwork. I would recomend this book for anyone who loves fantasy art because it dosent' disappoint the fantasy fan. I could not ask for more except for more artwork in the books.

No comments about Maniac Eyeball: The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dali (Creation Art Directives).

4 comments about Impressionist Art Card Game.

1. e have had this game for a couple years and love it. My kids (7 yrs, 10 yrs, and 12 yrs) absolutely love to play it as much as I do. We make a pot of tea and have some great family game time. You play it just as you would play Go Fish. They are learning about great art and artists while having fun. What's better than that? A definite 5. One suggestion, though: the only thing that this game gives you over the Go Fish deck only is the book which tells about the art, which we rarely if ever look at. So you could certainly save money by just buying the Go Fish version which is just the deck but the exact same game.



2. I know alot about the impressionist already. So getting this game was just to add to my collection. I actually was impressed I learned something new. The writing and explanations are pretty simple, because it's geared towards children, but I still enjoyed it.



3. This is my 4 & 6 year old daughters' favorite game. We play memory and go fish and have a ball. They now spot Monets, Degas, Manets and Cassatts while we're out and get excited and tell us who painted the work. They love to tell friends and family all about the works pictured on the cards. A great game for anyone interested in art and teaching their children about art.



4. This lovely game is a great learning tool for children seven and up. Based loosely on the card game Go Fish, the young ones can all learn about beautiful art painlessly.

1 comments about Botero: Abu Ghraib.

1. I have always been enraptured by the work of Botero; I love his oddly-proportioned people whose immense, weighty bodies often teeter on tiny feet. Botero's off-kilter figures engaged in the horrors of Abu Ghraib make his work in this book even more compelling, disturbing and engaging.

No comments about The Art Question.

1 comments about Unfold/Enfold hc.

1. I picked this book up and decided right away to send it to my artistic book-making friends! A rare one for those who likes crafty stuffs...

3 comments about The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry.

1. The Conclusion which crowns this, the most perfect book in the English language should be memorised and chanted sutra-like on a daily basis.



2. This work by Walter Pater, published in 1873, as
   a volume of collected (previously published) essays
   along with an essay on "Winckelmann", a Preface, and
   a Conclusion was [and perhaps still is] an extremely
   influential work of aesthetic criticism. The volume
   helped shape [influence] the perceptions, the
   attitudes, and the approaches of many youthful readers
   in the late 1880's and 1890's. It is very interesting
   to read, immensely engaging to consider and muse about,
   but also offers cautions to the overenthusiastic,
   easily influenced [or persuaded] disciple.
   This volume consists of an Introduction [by the
   editor, Adam Philips], a Preface [by Pater], 9 chapters,
   and a Conclusion (in this particular edition
   by Oxford Classics there is also a chronology, a
   Selective Bibliography, an Appendix titled "Diaphaneite,"
   and Explanatory Notes in the back. The chapter titles
   (after Pater's Preface) are: Two Early French Stories;
   Pico Della Mirandola; Sandro Botticelli; Luca Della
   Robbia; The Poetry of Michelangelo; Leonardo da Vinci;
   The School of Giorgione, Joachim Du Bellay; Winckelmann;
   and Conclusion.
   * * * * * * * * * *
   What's the problem here? Well, unfortunately, Pater
   is not completely reliable as an objective perceiver
   or critic. He tends to be a bit eccentric in his
   individualistic perceptions and interpretations of
   the art works, but he goes ahead and defends this
   approach in a very "modern" sounding fashion --
   which seems to include a bit of "situational perceptions,"
   subjective impressions of perception and response,
   and subjective criticism. Which makes for extremely
   engaging [sometimes irritating] reading, but leaves
   something to be desired as far as objective and
   judicious thoughtfulness and truthfulness. Pater
   seems to believe that it is acceptable to "bend"
   or even create facts to further his own it-pleases-
   me-to-think-that-this-is-or-should-be-so desires.
   We know that we are on a slippery critical slope
   [though it will sound all too familiar to modern
   ears and modern apologetics] when the editor Phillips
   informs us: "In Pater's first published writing, his
   essay on Coleridge of 1866, he had suggested that --
   'Modern thought is distinguished from ancient by its
   cultivation of the "relative" spirit in place of the
   "absolute" ... To the modern spirit nothing is, or
   can be rightly known, except relatively and under
   conditions." It doesn't take much time to realize
   that such a critical position is going to lead to
   an end-position of aesthetic, critical, and moral
   relativism ("You can't tell me I'm wrong, because
   there is no one set way of seeing, analyzing,
   believing, or evaluating."-- the spoiled, indulged child's
   self-justification for the validity of its own
   ego supremacy and authority against that of any
   parental or adult restrictions. Such a position usually
   means a lack of any meaningful in-depth self questioning
   or objective evaluating of personal motives, and a
   welcoming of lack of restraints in the pursuit of
   pleasure and non-self discipline. And this, of course,
   is the critical negative refrain that often comes
   against the decadent followers of Pater's credo.]
   The second fall-out effect of Pater's evaluations
   and pronouncements is that some of his disciples
   [self-styled] went farther than even he was willing
   to approve with their hedonism and purposefully
   shocking lifestyles and "decadent" behaviors and
   aesthetic appetites.
   But it came from statements like this, which Pater
   may have meant one way, but which their subjective,
   individualistic perceptions took another way: "The
   aesthetic critic, then, regards all the objects with
   which he has to do, all works of art, and the fairer
   forms of nature and human life, as powers or forces
   producing PLEASURABLE SENSATIONS [caps are mine], each
   of a more or less peculiar or unique kind. [We value
   them --he says] for the property each has of affecting
   one with a special, a unique, impression of pleasure.
   Our education becomes complete in proportion as our
   SUSCEPTIBILITY to these impressions increases -- in
   depth and VARIETY."
   Let the perceiver and the critic -- and the
   experiencer -- proceed with extreme caution and good
   judgment.
   * * * * * * * * *



3. This book has changed many lives in a very
   peculiar way: although its evaluations are
   quite wrong at times, particularly the chapter
   on the School of Giorgione(if you care, check
   out the edition with an introduction by
   Kenneth Clark), Pater's Renaissance still
   shines with the very same light that made it a
   cult among Victorian youngmen.

   The "gemstone flame", the pervasive feelings
   of which Pater invited us to share have not
   vanished (in spite of the attempts of the
   so-called modern art), and the book's
   invaluable lesson is that you simply
   do not need a fancy objet d'art to see
   what true beauty is all about.

   So basically this is what I have to say: if
   you have ever derived aesthetic pleasure from
   anything at all in life, you should read this
   little book tomorrow. If you never felt any
   such pleasure, you must read The Renaissance
   right now, or you'll simply let the good
   things pass you by. I mean it.