No comments about The Haunted Gallery: Painting, Photography and Film around 1900.

1 comments about Japanese Names & How to Read Them: A Manual for Art Collectors and Students.

1. Excellent, authoritative & easier to understand reference guide to this very difficult subject. Have to re-read a few times to understand, but guide is only one I found to be understandable. Very in depth research went into this reference & guide. I highly recommend for amateurs & professionals.

1 comments about Art Lessons: Meditations On The Creative Life (Icon Editions).

1. I've never wanted to call myself an outright artist because drawing is not how I make my living-it's simply an interest of mine-an intense one, but still not an occupation. Ever since my college days when the meanings of modernism and post-modernism seemed to control my brain, I've wondered how one defines "artist." Is it Duchamp and his urinal? Or is it Ghiberti and his Doors of Paradise? Art Lessons helped me greatly in understanding where an individual stands in the realm of art. Haynes examines her own place as an artist while incorporating her spirituality into her considerations. Her personal approach is just lovely-you feel like you're having a conversation with a friend. Many books I read on art seem distant or too high-brow, but Haynes' banter allows you to really feel at home discussing the subject of art in great depth. All her philosophizing does not give you her own definition of "artist;" she never forces any opinion on her reader. But her considerations lead the reader to a thought-provoked answer that lies within the SELF. I titled the review "Excellent Compass" for that reason-it's a guide to take you to your own artistic destination. They are right when they say, "Art Lessons is for women of the twenty-first century what Robert Henri's Art Spirit was for men of the twentieth."

2 comments about The Graphic Works of Odilon Redon (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

1. I'm a new admirer of Redon. I was truly excited to get this book so I could pour over the many bizarre and beautiful images I would find within it's pages. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am with the poor quality of reproductions. It's a cheap book, I get it---but wow. The image quality is about as good a 10 cent black and white copy you'd get from the library copy machine. The delicacy is missing. The luminous quality which makes his work so stunning, brilliant, and unearthly is completely absent. I guess what was most disappointing is how vacant and lifeless the work appears. I really can't believe it.
   
   Even though there aren't a lot of books available on Redon, but I'm pretty certain this particular one will be returned. I find no joy looking through it. I should have known better than to purchase a $15 art book. I have ordered, but have yet to receive, the Redon book "As In Dream" and here's hoping it's not a let down, too.



2. Odilon Redon's graphic works are eerie yet beautiful. Many are in the public domain and you may have seen some already (think hot air balloon with an eyeball searching upward). His artistry is a combination of a lonely childhood filled with enormous rooms and heavy drapery, and a desire to draw what the Romantics were writing about. His work is dark but joyful. Many references to the saints and Christianity, but that was the world he lived in. Overall, a treasure to own, occasionally peruse and learn from. If you like smiling spiders this book is for you.

1 comments about The Masculine Masquerade: Masculinity and Representation.

1. Perchuk and Posner ought to be rewarded for this study. Perchuk's writing, especially, was well worth the price of admission. Their analysis of today post-feminist, post-modern gender values is more than just informative and dead-on target - it sparkles with humor and irony and sizzles with deflatory realism

No comments about Inventing the Louvre: Art, Politics, and the Origins of the Modern Museum in Eighteenth-Century Paris.

4 comments about Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion (Leonardo Books).

1. The unique approach to handing the history of `virtual art' is scholarly and innovative, undermining popular conceptions of the notion of `virtuality'. I would have appreciated colour plates, since the subject matter often pertains to the study of many forms of visual art. A glossary of terms also would have been helpful. The addition of these to elements would make the book much more accessible to readers who are introducing themselves to these concepts and artworks.
   
   Broad in breadth and depth, Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion traces the history of virtual art through studying the history of `immersion' and `illusion' in the arts, and relates these ideas to the current developments in `virtual reality'. It is unlikely that the general public, or even most arts professionals, would consider the panoramic frescoes of ancient Pompeii a precursor to the 1980's notion of goggled cybernetic digitalia, nor the recent developments in transgenic art, yet this book includes very convincing arguments that link these ideas to the development of today's virtual art. Self-proclaimed as the `first' to link art history and immersive visual culture to the field of contemporary digital environment-based art experiences, this innovative and convincing research is laid out before the reader in an intellectual, yet accessible fashion, complete with diagrams and illustrations to illuminate key ideas. Many interesting works of art are chronicled here, placed within a contextual framework that demonstrates the significance of the ideas and technology supporting the works. Gathering this information in a print format also allows these works to live on and influence other thinkers outside of directly experiencing the works, which is often not technically possible, given the temporal nature of many immersion-based artworks. Ideas do not develop in a vacuum, but through the dialogues of overlapping discourses, combined with critical thought. Grau demonstrates that virtual art is not exactly new, and it satisfies a basic human desire for experiencing the `other', whether through looking at panoramic paintings of mythology or faraway lands, or designing a prototype Holodeck (Star Trek). Unexpected parallels abound, making this a very informative read that may forever change the reader's interpretations of classical art history as well as of virtual reality.
   
   It is likely that Grau reaches the academic arts audience he sets out to reach with this book, as is demonstrated by the numerous references to this book online, in various journals, blogs, and academic websites. This focus on art history as media history would be thoroughly appreciated by Marshall McLuhan fans, as well as art historians who specialize in media studies. Artists and historians interested in 3-D modeling, avatar development, online immersive environments, transgenic art, and historical instances of illusion in the arts will also find this book a valuable and up-to-date resource. This book would make a welcome addition to a University library, a gallery or artist-run centre's library, or the personal collection of savvy technophiles.



2. This book is a outstanding contribution to the upcoming new field image science.



3. This book is an excellent rendition for electro-visual labs.
   The work is perfect if you are looking for new ideas on interior
   decorating for the home. There are many exotic art forms
   depicted in this work.

   
   Virtual reality is integrated into art immersion. The work
   provides a panoramic view of the Battle of Sedan. There are
   pictures of the Futurama in the 1939 World Fair. In addition,
   a screenshot portrays the Home of the Brain. The work is
   excellent for anticipated student school projects.
   This work is perfect for art enthusiasts, historians,
   interior decorators, architects , photographers and a whole
   host of professionals in varied fields.




4. WIRED spoke about a "great read" and Lev Manovich decribed Grau's book as a "must-read for anyone interested in new media, art history, and any field using virtual images." - Grau lives up to expectations !  He analyzes what is new in media art by balancing recent works and historic media development, and so retells art history as media history. An interdisciplinary study in art history, media history, and new media art, the cross fertilization enriches his analysis and helps clarify the essence of immersion and Virtual Reality.  Beyond Grau's analysis, I was thankful to see so many artists involved - many hot names. This book will be valuable for both practitioners and theoreticians. Hopefully there will be a paperback soon for students.

1 comments about Amor Causa.

1. The quality of the paper is very good, but the pictures are like a fashion catalogue.

No comments about Without Boundary.

No comments about Selected Masterpieces of Asian Art.