2 comments about Encyclopedia Anatomica (TASCHEN Icons Series).

1. Stumbled on the Museum La Specola on a trip to Florence about five years ago. The museum, which is primarily a museum of natural history, is run down and dusty. They save these anatomical models for the end of the self-guided tour.
   
   Even covered with dust, they are spectacular. Created towards the end of the 18th Century, they are cut-away wax models of the human body that were used to instruct medical students.
   
   They have been cleaned up for the pictures in this book. The pictures are great -- lots of large full-color pictures of the highest quality, perhaps because the publisher (Taschen) is a publisher of fine art books.
   
   As an aside, I saw a horror movie on TV one night in which one of these models was used as a freshly opened abdomen of a young woman who had been murdered by an evil doctor It looked pretty realistic.
   
   Anyway, buy the book, then go visit the museum when you're in Florence (it's next to the Pitti Palace).
   
   If this page shows it as unavailable, try Encyclopedia Anatomica (Klotz)



2. I ran across this book in a small shop in Rome (wish I had seen it here first) - while the text of my copy is all in Italian (And I don't read Italian) the pictures were enough to sell me on wanting to see the exhibit it represents. It is chalk full of beautiful photographs of the human anatomical exhibit at La Specola, a zoological museum in Florence, Italy - kind of on the strange macabre side, but if you like that, you will love this book. The focus of the human exhibit is a number of incredible 18th century wax sculptures that were done for the study of medicine and strange ailments of the body. As a figure drawing student, I am very interested in learning as much as I can about anatomy - this book has some beautiful artistically well done photographs of these various anatomical structures which are a wonderful study tool for me. Hey, all I can say is that the price was so good and I loved the book enough to buy a couple copies and give one as a gift - and I will add that the price here on Amazon is better than what I paid.

No comments about Amusement Parks of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

2 comments about Action Painting.

1. This book is the catalogue for a recent exhibition held at the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. It is full of color illustrations and interesting essays, especially the one by curator Pepe Karmel on Picasso's influence on the art of Jackson Pollock (the American artist absorbing and then, in some way, transcending the Spanish master towards violent abstraction). The book also enables the reader to discover some less "main-stream" artists, such as the unjustly overlooked Wols, whose influence on subsequent European currents was to be as important as that of Pollock in the US. Apart from Pollock, 28 artists are present in this book,ranging fron De Kooning to Cy Twombly, From Fautrier to Arman, From Frankenhalter to Mitchell, etc. All of them show how far-reaching the concept of action -painting was (and still is, as is very well shown in the last essay of the book)and how far it went beyond the mere household names of Pollock, Kline and De Kooning.
   
   Why only 4 stars then? Because of the quality of the paper, which is somewhat disappointing and only allows below average illustrations, even in close-ups.



2. Jackson Pollock is named in the title for being the primary model and pivotal artist in action painting. Action painting stands out as a type of painting in the post-World War II art movement "concentrat[ing] above all on the true essence of painting" for exceptionally capturing the essentials of "color, painterly gesture, and immediacy" which were the movement's ideals. Informed Art in Europe and Abstract Expressionism in the United States were major styles with associated characteristic techniques growing out of the movement. The Foreword by a trio of art critics/historians makes a point of the "open rivalry between the two positions...from which the American side emerged 'victorious'." Along with Pollock, the American artists Robert Motherwell, Cy Twobley, Helen Frankenthaler, and Clifford Still were internally recognized as top action-painting artists; with commensurate demand for their paintings at top prices in auctions and galleries.
   
   Among among the European artists featured are Eva Hesse, Karol Appel, Wols, and Roberto Matta. Willem de Kooning and Arshile Gorky are found too among some of the artists of foreign birth who spent most of their careers in the U.S. Each of the 27 artists is introduced by a short paragraph of biographical and artistic information followed by four or so full-page color illustrations of representative art works. Pollock gets about 18 pages which include four double-page illustrations and a fold-out for a 4-page spread of his work "Horizontal Composition."
   
   Pollock's action painting originated in the mid 1940s when he first practiced his now-famed "drip technique, which might perhaps better be described as 'pouring' or 'throwing'" paint on a canvas while staying with his wife at a friend's place on Long Island. It wasn't long before other artists started to imitate or use variations of this technique. Although Pollock's technique is commonly looked upon as radical and revolutionary, as Ulf Kuster notes in his essay. painting has always been an outcome of some action, or specific technique, by an artist. Kuster puts action painting in the context of the course and aims of modern art while also recognizing it as a specific area with its own techniques and ambitions. Other essays expand on topics and issues concerning what has been defined as action painting. One of these engages in a ranging comparison of Pollock and Picasso as two prime representatives of different avenues, sources, and expressions of modernist art.
   
   The enlightening essays take up at most one quarter of the book. The book will be appreciated mostly as a survey of the leading artists of action painting and their varied styles.

1 comments about Prado - New Edition.

1. Every picture is in color and many have a few words about the painter and the work of art. Covers both the "Spanish Collection" and the "Foreign Collections". I was particularly interested in the works of Bosch in the "Early Netherlandish and Flemish Painting" collection. The reader learns about the the history of the times as well as the things to notice in the paintings. The book is too heavy to carry while traveling, but it's just right for preparing to visit the Prado which is what I'm doing. I have the edition from Scala Publications Limited, reprinted in 1998. Every page is European art lover's delight.

5 comments about CLAMP North Side.

1. when i was first leafing through the north side book i wasnt even much of a Clamp fan and only CCS from all thier works, however i was in awe (especially in the clover section) .i strongly recommend both north and south even for those non clamp fans . trust me youll be converted.



2. Clamp North Side is a beautiful collection of art from some of clamps most beloved works. It also contains short manga strips you won't find anywhere else and a very interesting interview with the creators. I'd say this is a must have for any CLAMP fan.



3. It's mostly pictures and there is an interview.
   Contents:
   Clover
   Magic Knight RayEarth
   Sohryuden
   Legend of Chun Hyang/Shin Shunkaden
   Clamp Newsletter(laboratory,News)
   CLAMP in wonderland
   Early CLAMP works in some publishers, now discontinued.
   CLAMP interviews
   Interviews are about CLAMP's experiences, I recommend you to buy this with MKR and RG Veda artbooks.



4. I absolutely love this book! It's amazing! Don't think you can just get the pics off the net, because it's so much better seeing the pics in real life, and it really makes a difference. It's worth every penny, and Amazon seems to have it on a permanent sale of twenty rather than thirty dollars. You can't get it any cheaper. Believe me, I looked everywhere. Great quality book, beautiful art and lots of it. The full-spread pics that cover two pages are the only setback, and a minor one.
   Now for the contents:
   
   1. Clover: the biggest section. Clover, like fine wine, needs an acquired taste. (I always wanted to say something like that) The art may not hit you at first, but once you get used to the art, you realize how beautiful it is. Clover is so beautiful, and I love the way they draw her hair blowing all over the place. I also love the futuristic mechanical theme and gorgeous, brilliant colors. And Kazuhiko and Suu are the cutest together. Not to mention Ai and Gingetsu. And there are a few stunning pics of Oruha, who I love! Plus all the cover art pics of the four Clover volumes. And a boxed set of Clover should be coming out this August (2005) so I'll finally be able to read another CLAMP masterpiece.
   2. Magic Knight Rayearth: Well, I have to say I was disappointed. Of course, there already were two volumes of artwork, so you can't expect to have that much left in this book. Most of the pics were the characters drawn chibi-form. I'm not that crazy about CLAMP's chibi guys anyway, so I wasn't so happy. Magic Knight Rayearth is one of my favorite CLAMP titles so far, so I was expecting more. The good thing was the full-color manga that wasn't included with the tankoban I got and had some crucial info in it. Where do they sleep? What do they eat? And what are there families like? The only problem was that the four pages of each section were squishd together in one page, making some small letters kind of hard to read. Still, there were some gorgeous pics, like the two posters with Emeraude-hime, Lantis and Zagato.
   3. Legend of the Dragon Kings: Love the art!! The four boys are so cute. There are the four of them as kings, and a napping series, and a tuxedo series and everything! Kawaii!!!!
   4. The Legend of Chun Hyang: Exuberant, energetic and colorful artwork. Chun and her hottie Yumeryu are the stars of this section, with one pic of Chun's mom and one of Chun as the cutest little girl y'ever saw! The full-page spreads of Chun on yellow and the other on red are so beautiful. I've been studying all the pictures of this book for ideas and tips to incorporate in my own drawings, the reason why I bought this book in the first place!
   5. CLAMP in Wonderland, CLAMP Campus Web Subschool, Others: the final art section. This section has group pics combining characters from all different series together, from Tokyo Babylon to x/1999 to RG Veda, plus pics with characters you have never seen before. This section also had the only nude picture of the book, a girl taking off her shirt and not wearing anything underneath. Nipples and breasts drawn explicitly, with full color. But it's only the one, so you can rip the page out if you like. Actually, there are a few not-quite nude pics in Clover and MKR, where the breast is not seen clearly, and no nipples are drawn. But don't worry; they're PG rated.
   6. Princess Mokona in CLAMP Country: A cute, short manga, very silly, drawn entirely in chibi-mode.
   7. Interview: The interview wasn't very personal; it was more facts than anything. The handwriting wasn't really THAT small, like other interviews say. There are also little pictures and footnotes that are useful and fun. But it was fun to read, especially the part on Chobits, the CLAMP series with the best artwork and cutest character!!
   8. Comments: Thumbnails of the pictures with comments. Unlike Naoko Takeuchi's comments on her artwork, CLAMP never really personalized the comments. Naoko-sensei (who created Sailor Moon) is a lot like me; she had problems drawing, disliked work after she made it and really loved her stuff. Anyway, the comments were fun.
   
   This book is great! I loved every page of it. Well, some of the pics at the end were ugly to me, but anyway...buy it now!!! If you want series like Legal Drug (ahhh....I just love Kazahaya-who doesn't??) Shirahime-syo and others, check out CLAMP South Side, which has a how to draw section, less extras, but more pics. BUY IT NOW!!!! (Highly recommended)



5. I am in love. I'd give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could.
   
   My friend had preordered this artbook and showed it to me when it arrived yesterday. I gushed over every single page of it. The artwork was exquisite - pages after pages of beautiful lineart with superior coloring (I can now understand why this had to be printed in Japan). I am ordering it right now!
   
   The first major category was Clover, and the illustrations were even more beautiful than in the manga - the coloring definitely boosted the beauty.
   
   The next section was Magic Knight Rayearth, including a few pieces of artwork drawn for the OVA (Princess Emeraude looked stunning). A minor complaint I have for this section is that the little strips of MKR mini-manga dialogues were already in print in the Magic Knight Rayearth I Box Set Memorial Book. Then again, the box set was limited edition so it could be considered a plus.
   
   As you might've already read from the artbook descriptions, this artbook also includes Legend of Chun Hyang and CLAMP in Wonderland as well as many little extras (I love the index of the artwork in the back with small explanations of each), so I won't make myself redundant.
   
   Just one thing that might slightly turn some people away from this artwork is that in the CLAMP in Wonderland section, one (and only one that I've noticed) page portrayed explicit nudity (specificially: realistic coloring & shading of the female topless body). I doubt any long-time anime/manga fan would mind this very much, but I'm mentioning this here just the same in case it matters to some people for any reason.
   
   A note about North Side versus South Side is their major difference: The artwork in North Side is from mangas published by Kodansha, while South Side includes artwork from mangas published by Kadokawa Shoten. I personally love the series from North Side a whole lot more, but make sure you check out both artbooks if you're interested!
   
   With that said, if you are a CLAMP fan, this is a MUST have for your collection. Even if you are not familiar with CLAMP, I feel that this artbook is in many ways superior to others due to the high quality of print and artwork. What can I say? This is worth the $30 - and as I am typing this, Amazon has it on sale for $20. It'll be worth every penny! I strongly recommend "CLAMP North Side"!!

No comments about European Tapestries in the Art Institute of Chicago.

1 comments about Tracey Emin.

1. If we can assume for the moment that one of the most daunting enemies of art is fear, then Tracey Emin is contributing to the art world in ways that are anything but obvious. If art causes one to think, to wonder, and to move the artist's images in and out of one's own life, just to see how it fits, like furniture seeking its rightful position in the room, then the business of art is really all about seeding the imagination. Seeds must be honest, and honest art must be fearless. The art in this book is not always pretty and comfortable, but it is always thoughtful and honest and fearless. In the effort to appreciate art, people have cautioned that one should view the art - not the artist. That isn't possible in the case of Tracey Emin, because the art and the artist are inseparable entities. She is the art, and her honesty shines through like a diamond in a mud pie. I don't know Tracey Emin, but I do know that if I ever met her, I'd never forget her. This book might be most readily appreciated by artists who will not just find inspiration in images that haven't already been thought about as much as the ones thought about but supressed. If you're an artist, I can't promise that you'll feel good about the way Emin approches her art, but I'm reasonably sure that you'll feel good about the way you'll begin to approch yours.

1 comments about The Art of Layering: Making Connections.

1. This is a fantastic book for any creative person to read. My husband bought this book as a gift for me and I highly recommend it. It has been inspirational -- I am so aware now of layers in my art, my writing and my life after reading this book. It doesn't ever make it to the bookshelf. It sits out where I can pick it up and enjoy rereading it and looking at the art! Treat yourself or ask for it on your wish list! You deserve it!

1 comments about Pottery by American Indian Women: The Legacy of Generations.

1. Susan Peterson has done a fabulous job highlighting the matriarchs (Nampeyo, Maria Martinez, Lucy Lewis, Margaret Tafoya), matrilineal line (Fanny and Dextra Nampeyo, The Lewis Women, Lu Ann Tafoya, Nancy Youngblood Lugo), and avant-gard (Alice Cling, Nora Naranjo-Morse, Jacquie Stevens) women artists who have maintained and expanded this ancient art form into the 20th-century. This retrospective featuring innovators of Native American pottery is a beautifully-illustrated book and a must for anyone interested in this art form. You will not be disappointed. Buy it while you can in the clothbound edition.

No comments about Managing World Heritage Sites.