2 comments about The Studio Book.

1. I like this book for its photographic essay anthology on artists and their workplaces - I'm glad I made the right choice of buying it because I needed a full-term book on the subject! Everyone should consider it for their libraries as well as I did!



2. Caveat emptor. A very interesting and well done book that gives an interesting perspective on numerous artists, their studios and the designers of the studios. However, if you have an interest in studios not located in California, you like I will be quite disappointed. Apparently the "sun and sea" reference in the publishers description is supposed to indicate that the studios are all in California and is not just a metaphor. This omission is personally significant enough that for the first time I am returning a book to Amazon as I would not have bought it had it been accurately described.

No comments about Judging the Image (Transformations: Thinking Through Feminism).

No comments about People (Childrens Books).

2 comments about Hans Bellmer: The Anatomy of Anxiety.

1. This work is mostly meant for those who want to know more about the psychological and historical context of Bellmer's work. Includes many photographs, but in no way is a conclusive text on the artist. good buy for those sincerely interested in Bellmer.



2. If you're interested in Hans Bellmer's art aside from his doll, this is the only book currently in print that has pictures of his drawing, painting, and print work. As an art book, it's pretty mediocre. There are 5 color plates. All the other pictures are reproduced in black and white, no bigger than 3 x 4 inches and often smaller. Picture text includes artist, title, and medium, but does not give original dimensions or indicate if the picture was originally in color. Many of the pictures are reproduced so lightly that, coupled with the small size, it is difficult to see the work at all.

   The text, and there is a lot of it, focuses almost entirely on a Freudian examination of Bellmer himself. The art becomes merely an extension of the author's analysis of the artist. The author clings so strongly to this narrow interpretation that all the other facts and influences of Bellmar's life (growing up in Germany during WW1, coming of age during the Weimar Republic, and emigrating after the Nazi's labeled him as degenerate, the influence of the other Surrealists, the death of his first wife, his alcoholism, and so on) are simply mentioned in passing and then neglected as other avenues of explanation. By the end, the theory overwhelms the subject, and one wonders why the author chose to write about Bellmar at all and didn't simply write a general text on Freudian theory as a means of interpreting of art.

   The book does have a chronology of Bellmer's life, which is helpful for finding context, and a very thorough bibliography that will point you towards better examples of the art. I added a rating star for including pictures of previously unpublished work.

No comments about The Charleston Renaissance.

No comments about Stylefile: Best of Issue 01-10, Trains, Walls, Styles, Interviews, 09.05 : From Prototype to Silver.

No comments about Ghost Ships: A Surrealist Love Triangle.

No comments about Oil Painting Step by Step (Artist's Library Series).

1 comments about Women in Dada: Essays on Sex, Gender, and Identity.

1. While this book contains essays on the lesser discussed women of Dada, it also covers gender and identity in Dada - including Marcel Duchamp. It is also worth pointing out that while most of the women covered are Dadaists, not all are. Specifically, Georgia O'Keefe doesn't really fall into the Dada category. I would recommend this for those interested in the intersection of gender and early twentieth century art.

1 comments about The Cute Manifesto.

1. An excellent book that stretches the comic medium. I don't agree with everything he says, but it's always fascinating to be exposed to other points of view. Kochalka makes a bunch of excellent points. His essay "The Horrible Truth About Comics" is particularly thought provoking. A lot of what he says could be applied to any art field. Good food for thought.