5 comments about Poiret (Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications).

1. An interesting and well done book but for my needs, the Vionnet book sets the standard that I want in a fashion history book.



2. This gorgeous book is loaded with large colorful images of POIRET's masterful fashion designs. GREAT gift for anyone who appreciates luxurious textiles, intricate beadwork, the lost art of couture, the early teens/20's era. This is a great resource book for designers, artists, and textile makers. The best of the coffee table books out there



3. Mr. Koda and The Costume Institute scores with this lovely exhibition catalog! While not as lavish or sumptuous as The Philadelphia Museum of Art's 2003 Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli by Dilys Blum (at this juncture the absolute gold standard for Costume exhibition catalogs) this remains nonetheless an absolutely gorgeous volume. A perfect counterpoint if you will, to the even more lavish 1987 Rizzoli volume Poiret by Yvonne Deslandres. The current Poiret is a feast for the senses, especially, if you were unable to visit the exhibition in-person. You shan't be disappointed.
   
   A note about Rizzoli: In the decades of the mid 1980s and early 1990s this publishing house offered some of the most beautiful volumes devoted to the great couturiers. If you haven't already acquired them, I highly recommend each of them. The first was the aforementioned Poiret, followed with Christian Dior by Francoise Giroud in 1987; Balenciaga by Marie-Andrée Jouve and Jacqueline Demornex in 1989, and Vionnet by Jacqueline Demornex in 1991. Hopefully, Rizzoli is commencing such a series once more with the November publication of Lanvin!
   
   As the revival of long-dead haute couture houses continues, of late with Vionnet (as yet another ready-to-wear venture) in addition to the aforementioned volume, I also recommend the spectacular Madeleine Vionnet by Betty Kirke published in 1998



4. I think this is the best format for a costume/fashion book of a designers work Each article is photographed on a white mannequin in a white space with beautiful lighting. Each garment is shown in a full length photo and some have front back and detail views. For those who want to understand the cut of clothing, this provides as much info as one can get short of seeing the garment itself.



5. This large tome is a gorgeous accompaniament to the ongoing exhibition at the Met. Most of the book consists of full-page photographs on high-quality matte paper. While I'm a couple thousand miles from the exhibition, the book's photos means it's possible to see Poiret's wonderful clothes in close detail--and how amazingly timeless many of them were--as in you really could wear them today.
   
   So, why four instead of five stars? Because the text is good, but not superlative. Lots of good information about Paul Poiret, but I'd like to have had something that places him in the context of other designers--how they were influenced (if they were)and a livelier writing style--good fashion writing, even of the historical ilk, should be witty.
   
   It is, as I say, a gorgeous coffee table book. These days, it sits on a side table next to my couch because the matte gold cover just looks so darn good. I would buy this book if I were an interior designer just for decorative purposes.

1 comments about Erte's Theatrical Costumes in Full Color.

1. The Russian born fashion and costume designer Romaine de Tirtoff was known as Erte for the simple reason that was the French pronunciation of his initials "R.T." Erte was one of the most prodigious designers of the twentieth century, known for his colorful and audacious Art Deco designs. Even if you do not recall his name, I bet your remember having seen his work before. "Erte's Theatrical Costumes in Full Color" offers 49 plates from 1911 to 1975, with captions, of the work Erte did for theatrical productions, where his imagination was most unfettered and where his popularity lasted considerably longer than it did in the real world of high fashion. Erte was designing costumes for Mata Hari way back in 1913 and was still designing costumes and sets for a production of the opera "Der Rosenkavalier" in 1980. From a worshipper of Horus and the wife of Russian boyar to Aladdin and Faust, Erte displayed a wide array of exotic and historical styles in his dazzling costumes. The only real complaint with this collection is that there are only 49 gorgeous plates of some of his most stunning creations.

2 comments about Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings.

1. The interviews are what stand out more than anything. The conversation between Smithson and Kaprow is really worth checking out. Anyone who will be having a show of their own should at the very least flip through this book. Also sheds some light into Smithson's early work (some text based things and a few paintings and so forth). Who would have thought that it would be a fun read too?
   This is the kind of collection you can return to again and again.



2. Bought this book for research, a lot to read, all photos are black and white.

5 comments about The Art of 3-D Computer Animation and Effects, Third Edition.

1. This book is very cool and good ilustrated overall look at 3D computer graphics. I found usefull to step out of one 3d package and take a wide overall look at this amazing animation craft (I myself use 3ds max). Book is systematically organized and ilustrated good, there are many "behind the scenes", production type pictures. Why not 5 stars? This is subjective - there was sometimes strange confusion about author's selection of movies to take pictures from to show 3d graphics evolution
   4 stars - I like it! Time from time look for references, review terminalogy. Worth buying
   What not expect from book - application specific tutorials, book originaly isn't intendet to cover this stuff



2. This book was a required textbook for my begining Maya class, but be warned, it's more a book about concepts and 3D animation history than it is about instruction. If you need this book for a 3D animation class, I highly recomend getting another book with instuction specifically for whichever program you're using, because you're not going to find it in this one.



3. I've only glanced through the book so far but it looks amazing, I can tell this'll be a great compliment to my studies at the Academy of Art in San Francisco! Thanks!



4. This book is just an overview of computer animation. You can't learn anything from it. I was hoping for a vanilla instruction book because I own Carrara and Hexagon and I have to buy Maya or Lightwave books and try to adapt them to Carrara and Hexagon. The pictures inside aren't that great either - the cover has the best characters. For the money, I would rather have bought another Maya or Lightwave book.



5. This is a boring textbook. No real indepth stuff here. Not software specific and not helpful to people want to actually learn computer animation. If you want to "read about" and discover all the wonderful terms and the history of-what to call things then maybe. Don't be drawn in by its heavy use of well known imagery and pretty pictures. It just doesn't have substance. I wish they had renamed this book- with a subheading stating language and terminology.
   
   Look at the firt edition which is now $6.00. Art is a learnt through application. A large point of understanding concepts is to apply them. This book lacks showing the latter.
   
   Save your money.

1 comments about The Expressive Arts Activity Book: A Resource for Professionals.

1. THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS ACTIVITY BOOK: A RESOURCE FOR PROFESSIONALS compiles a set of tested activities for use with people in a range of care settings, to help them explore experiences, physical and emotional issues, interpersonal problems and more. It goes far beyond most psychology and educational guides to offer a set of creative ideas and exercises hospital workers, schools and other caregivers can use in the daily course of their interactions - and it also provides variations and assessment pointers. It's an invaluable workbook that health collections will find important.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

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.

1 comments about Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography.

1. I grew up in the days when "great black leader" meant Dr. Martin King, Jr. I read X's autobiography, but found the man hard to like or understand. This small but fact-packed graphic novel is a great help to understand the forces that shaped Malcolm, and the changes he underwent.
   
   The novel lays the context for the story with swift, deft strokes that show the experience of blacks in America's history, from slavery to Jim Crow. The story shifts to tell of X's parents, and covers his childhood, young adulthood as a petty criminal, eventual jailing and conversion to Islam, his hajj and his assassination.
   
   There's a lot to learn about X in this book, much of which was (with attribution) taken from his autobiography. Without saying it in so many words, the books reports inconsistencies in stories he told about himself and the recollections of others. His mother claims not to recall the story of facing down racists while pregnant with X.. The book is also honest about his criminality (as was X himself) and his association with the Boston and Harlem drug and club scenes, including experiences with conking his hair and his dalliances with white women. X's jailing gives the book an opportunity to explain X's attraction to the Nation of Islam, and explains NOI's distinction (due to its myth of white devilry) from other branches of Islam. Malcolm comes across as an intense man of great persuasiveness and integrity, whose incredulity at the sins of NOI's leader, Elijah Mohammed, are laid as the cause of his murder.
   
   This is a quite honest book that lays out the facts and lets the reader decide what to make of them. Was X an effective leader? What is his legacy? What if he had chosen not to challenge the NOI's cult of its leader? The sense of "what might have been" hangs heavily over the book.
   
   The book is drawn in stark black and white, fitting for a man who experienced the world that way and for the basic racial clash of his time. The book's timeline slows down dramatically toward the end, which covers the lead-up to X's violent death. The sense of impending doom, paranoia and creeping dread are expertly conveyed.
   
   It's hard to pin which age group would be most appropriate for the book. There is no graphic sexuality, though marital infidelity and prostitution are discussed. Drug use is discussed, but not glorified. Definitely a book for high-schoolers, with some mature middle-schoolers thrown in.
   
   "Malcolm X" admires its subject without flattering or praising him beyond what his own admirers said about him -- or by whitewashing the less savory elements of his life. X was many things, but in the end, a man, like King, whose religion afforded him a vision of a world in which the presence of racial hatred did not have to be taken for granted.

5 comments about The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art.

1. This book has a wonderful introduction written by the Mark Rothko's son Christopher Rothko. He explains the way some years after his father's death the manuscript was discovered, and edited. Mark Rothko never finished the work but rather left it off in draft form, perhaps as his son speculates because he became involved in his principal work, painting, again.
   The book consists of a series of short essays on such subjects as 'The Artist's Dilemna' 'Art as a Natural Biological Function' 'Art as a form of Action' 'The Integrity of the Plastic Process' 'Art Reality and Sensuality' 'Plasticity' 'Space' 'Naturalism''Subject and Subject Matter'
   'Beauty' ' The Attempted Myth today'.
   Rothko considers the artist's ultimate reason for doing what he does. He rejects the idea that the first reason is the desire for immortalization. He rejects the idea that the artist " wishes any charity in regard to his self- assumed sacrifice" He claims instead that the Artist " wants nothing but the understanding and love of what he does."
   Rothko writes profoundly and often movingly.
   A highly recommended work.



2. this is basically a personal journal. The artist's ruminations about art and life - very dry reading. Rothko often contradicts himself. There are several books available (such as those published by Taschen) which are much more readable and are filled with beautiful illustrations of the artist's work.



3. Mark Rothko wanted the viewer of his work to engage in the metaphysical. Yes, his paintings are beautiful colour works, yet the impact on ones pysche is where Rothko wanted to communicate. Colour was his tool. Philosophically he was a profound man and this book has given great insight into how relevant [important] Rothko is to annals of Art History. When an artist expresses the spiritual, emotional, academic, through colour and the scale of the painting, he engages the viewer on so many levels. This book gives insights, and is a worthwhile acquistion to the understanding of the man, Rothko!



4. In rummaging through Mr. Rothko's diary we admit to a certain thrill of impatience, one not far removed perhaps from the eagerness of a child confronted with a cake crammed full of delicious fruits and nuts. The words of a sensitive and accomplished individual come at us, after all, in The Artist's Reality, with the rapidity and variety characteristic of a fertile mind at play with a vital business. And a delightful morsel it turns out to be, this work which has been recalled to life following a miraculous rescue from an old trunk, as its editor informs us, and bearing witness from its very title to a commendable regard for the real.
   
   While a thorough analysis of this work would take us far, we will confine our remarks requisite to the limitations of space. Let us applaud, to begin, Mr. Rothko's generous consideration of the topic of abstraction, a term which he believes should be applied in a broad sense to any distortion of surface image rather than restricted to works divorced throughly from representation. Such recognition is most productive, we believe, toward an avoidance of the common practice of the assignation of creative works to one camp or the other. The more refined observation of the existence of works of art along a continuum of abstraction contributes to the achievement of an understanding of the universal underpinnings of their production. Even supposedly abstract works of art, insists Mr. Rothko, are rooted in and vitalized by the sap of life arising from the beating heart of reality: "It may be that abstract art does not employ subject matter that is as obvious as either the anecdote or familiar objects, yet it must appeal to our experience in some way." Rather than the conjuring of an artist's unbridled imagination, abstraction is the manifestation of earthen tethering as the creative individual commands the complete truth-- that is, renders reality. Painting, to restate the foregoing in Mr. Rothko's words, is "a corporeal manifestation of the artist's notion of reality."
   
   Second, we direct the thoughtful reader to the chapter on subject and subject matter. Mr. Rothko, to state his interesting analysis in brief, distinguishes between a painting's "subject matter" and its "subject." The former consists of the recognizable elements-- existing in their replication at whatever degree of distortion, as we have already seen. The latter, which the author equates with "design," is "what the artist intends in the picture." And that, to carry the matter to its end, is simply the final result of all creative labors: "The subject of a painting is the painting itself." One need stretch that proposition but a short way to deny the existence of any method save one for the successful restatement of the full content of a painting: that is the redoing of the painting. That the well constructed painting is its subject incarnate is a truism with which we will never quarrel, save to appeal for the application of this verity to the entire array of the arts. Let us recall Leonard Bernstein's statement that "the only way one can really say anything about music is to write music."
   
   Mr. Rothko's work possesses a stylistic charm brought to the surface, we believe, by a persistent ability to marry the subtleties of reflection with an astute manipulation of the linguistic gears. Let us remind ourselves that the words of artists are to be given the greatest reverence as they represent the best image we have of the flame arising from the nexus of anvil and creative hammer. The Artist's Reality, in particular, must be recognized as resident of the very top of that heap of illuminating works which by a peculiar level of insight become Rosetta stones to the secrets of the artistic mechanism.



5. One of the commercial reviews indicates that this book is a "period piece" and that description probably best describes the book. It was written in a period of time long before Rothko was working his signature style and had achieved any success.
   
   It also didn't help that the Introduction, by the late painter's son, Christopher Rothko, was unnecessarily portentious. The later parts concerning the history of the manuscripts, also written by Christopher Rothko, do tone down the excess language and are quite interesting.
   
   The essays themselves seem incomplete, pedestrian in spots, and extremely dated. As others have noted, Rothko doesn't talk about his own work.
   
   Who is the audience of this book? Completists? Researchers? It can't be that many people.
   
   Something like the publicaton of Kurt Cobain's Journals in book form several years after his suicide had relevance to that artist, even if it was a bit like peeking into somebody's diary. "The Artist's Reality" has almost no relevance to most fans of Mark Rothko and certainly none to those who appreciate his more famous style of painting.

4 comments about The Girl with the Gallery.

1. Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
   It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.
   
   I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
   and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....
   
   Fascinating and excellent read.



2. I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.



3. Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.



4. The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.
   
   There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.
   
   It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

3 comments about By Hand: The Use of Craft in Contemporary Art.

1. I've been eyeballing this book for quite some time and finally added to my collection.
   
   I have a BFA in Crafts and am always on the lookout for books which address craft as a fine art form versus craft as a DIY/hobby. By Hand definitely covers it.



2. This book came as a answer to a Dream. Just what I wanted. An insight into what Textil-Arist are doing. And some of them are Masterpieces. Of course I have my favered pieces, hope you find your's.
   A book I will keep on my coffetable for a long time.



3. this book is a really interesting look into the crafty end of fine art. the photos are lovely and the short essays are fun to read.