No comments about Public Art: Thinking Museums Differently.

2 comments about Studio 54: The Legend.

1. I was far to young to really appreciate the magic that was Studio 54 - yes the legendary nightclub was even known on these far distant shores. So this beautiful book of photographs is a way to remember and revel in those carefree heady days. Almost every big celebrity of the time paid a visit to the club and they are all captured here in beautiful black and white photographs. Impressive. A great coffee table book.



2. Fantastic photos from an age that will never be again. Takes people back to that reckless age and climate.

1 comments about Uffizi Gallery Museum.

1. The Uffizi Gallery is Europe's first and oldest museum founded in 1546 when Cosimo I, the Medici due of Tuscany, envisioned bringing Florence's administrative and judicial entities and most powerful guilds under a single roof. The Uffizi Gallery houses two outstanding collections: The Galleria with masterpiece paintings dating from the 13th to the 19th century (as well as great works of sculpture from classical antiquity); and the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, a collection comprised of almost 120,000 drawings and prints. "The Uffizi Gallery Museum" is the story of these impressive collections and is superbly illustrated with more than 300 full-color illustrations combined with an informed and informative text. This is a showcase of the Renaissance that took place in Florence, Italy and has proved to be influential as a resource and example for every generation of artists from its inception down to the present day. No serious academic or community library Art History collection can be considered complete or comprehensive without the inclusion of a copy of "The Uffizi Gallery Museum" by Alexandra Bonfante-Warren.

No comments about A Brief History of Curating.

1 comments about Potentially Harmful: The Art of American Censorship.

1. Censorship is the latest rage amongst American hipsters. It's even starting to catch on with puerile twenty-something "students" from Nevada and it's proving to be quite infectious for giant multi-national book sellers...and let's face it, that's where we need it!
   
   Buy this book, Buy it here! Buy it now!
   
   Buy two!
   
   Bye.

No comments about Claes Oldenburg Drawings in the Whitney Museum of American Art.

1 comments about Wwd Illustrated: 1960S-1990s.

1. I just finished reading WWD Illustrated by Michele Wesen Bryant, and found it an absolute joy. The book is exquisitely set out from typeset to illustrations and a pleasure to read. There is a wonderful range and diversity to the illustrations with extremely insightful connections made between fine art and fashion illustration throughout. With fashion illustration being so popular currently in many designers advertising campaigns it is invaluable to be able to put it into a historical context. I whole heartedly recommend this book from a visual as well as an intellectual and historical perspective.

5 comments about Art Nouveau, 1890-1914.

1. This book is an overview of a wonderful exhibit that I saw at the National Gallery on Art Nouveau. How good was the show? I saw it five times and took a different friend with me everytime. It covers just about all aspects of the movement and also concentrates on certain key cities where Art Nouveau took particular hold. The first portion gives one the vocabulary to understand what Art Nouveau was and then provides some excellent examples of it in practice. This book probably is a better way to gain an understanding of this this wonderful artistic time period right before WWII. Because it provides plenty of examples I think there is a greater narrative structure than what one otherwise finds in single subject art books. Even though the exhibit has long closed, this is still an excellent survey.



2. A lot of people hear the word "Art" and think of a painting on the wall or a sculpture proudly displayed on a table or mantle. The lush images in this book remind us that we can incorporate "Art" into every physical part of our lives. There's no need to sacrifice form for function or beauty for utility. All you have to do is look at the woodwork, the floors, the lighting, the walls, and, yes, the decorative objects--in short, every aspect of an art nouveau home--to see "Art" in the smallest detail. Art Nouveau exemplifies the principle of "Art for Life".



3. This is a rare gem among art histories: A well researched book that an average person will enjoy as much as a researcher. What makes this book stand out from other books about art nouveau is how thorough it is (It is phone book thick) and the quantity and quality of the pictures. All the reproductions of art in this book are color, with the obvious exception of older photographs of artists and occasionally architecture or artifacts that no longer exist except in black and white pictures.
   
   The book takes the theory that art nouveau was part of a social response to industrialization. So the art is defined as art that used a return to nature or investigation into magic to try to make sense of the world. Art works are organized by what materials they were created from (jewelry, ceramics, textile, commercial advertising prints). Paintings and some examples of the other medias are grouped by country with a historical write on art nouveau in that geographical region.
   
   This book is great. The high quality color reproductions and so many of them are worth looking through again and again. If you are at all into art nouveau then you are likely to love this book. Libraries should make this available because of the wonderful high quality color reproductions.



4. This is the book to get on Art Nouveau. The authoritative essays are well annotated, and an excellent bibliography is included. The illustrations are very fine. Of course this is a nice "coffee table book," but really this is a wonderful reference book for scholars of the Fin de Siècle-Belle Époque. Highly recommended!



5. First off, thank you Paul! I have loved Art Nouveau from childhood, before I ever knew what the style was called. It is somewhere in my blood. ART NOUVEAU, 1890-1914 (pronounced Art Newvo) is like something from a dream. The photographs alone are worth buying this book for!

   Here are the chapters along with two or more of my favorite works from each:

   1 THE STYLE AND THE AGE
   Emile Galle' "Hand." Hot-worked glass with patination. French, 1904. Victor Horta, Hotel Tassel (Tassel House) First-floor landing with view towards staircase. Brussels, 1893.
   2 ALTERNATE HISTORIES
   Gustav Klimt, Pallas Athene. Oil on Canvas, Austrian, 1898. Museen der Stadt Wien, Vienna. / Doorway with two jambs and a pillar from the 11th-century church at Urnes, Norway. Late 19th-century plaster cast.
   3 THE CULT OF NATURE
   Louis Majorelle and Daum Freres, pair of magnolia lamps. Gilt bronze and carved glass. French, c.1903. / Louis Majorelle and Daum Freres, Le Figuier de Barbarie. Lamp of patinated bronze and carved glass. French, 1903.
   4 SYMBOLS OF THE SACRED AND PROFANE
   "Spiritualism: In philosophy the state or condition of mind opposed to materialism or a material conception of things." Madame Blavatsky, Theosophic Glossary, 1892.
   Rene Lilique, Dragonfly Woman*** corsage ornament. Gold, enamel, chrysoprase, moonstones and diamonds. French, c.1897-98. Calouste Gullbenkian Museum, Lisbon. / Gustav Klimt, Judith II (Salome). Oil on canvas. Austrian, 1909.
   5 THE LITERARY HERITAGE
   6 ORIENT AND OCCIDENT
   Tsuba (sword guard). Iron with gold and silver inlay. Japanese, c.1700-1800. / Inro (small container). Wood with black, gold and brown lacquer and glazed pottery., Japanese, c. 1775-1800. Signed Mochizuki Hanzan.
   7 ARABESQUES: NORTH AFRICA, ARABIA AND EUROPE
   (left and right) Glass flasks from Persia (Iran). c, 1885. / (centre) Glass flask by L.C. Tiffany & Co. ***American, 1896.
   8 LE STYLE ANGLAIS: ENGLISH ROOTS OF THE NEW ART

   James McNeill Whistler, Peacock Room for the Frederic Leyland Hourse, 1876. Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. / Alexander Fisher, peacock sconce.** Steel, bronze, silver, brass and enamel. English, c.1889.
   9 THE AGE OF PAPER
   Camille Martin, Portfolio, L'Estampe orignale.* Tooled mosaic leather. French, 1893. / Henri Bellery-Desfontaines, L'Enigme. Colour lithograph. French, 1898.
   10 MOULDING WOOD: CRAFTSMANSHIP IN FURNITURE
   Rupert Carabin, table, Wood. French, 1896. [I wish you could see this photo.** Two nude women on either side of the rectangular table have arms outstretched to hold the x top left of it, and their heads are the top right side of the x and their knees are bent to go down the bottom right of the x respectively.] / Eugene Gaillard, dining room** [black and white but oh I can see it in full color!] L'Art Nouveau Bing, Expositioin Universelle, Paris, 1900.
   11 THE NEW TEXTILES
   Henry van de Velde, dress** Belgian, 1900. / Otto Eckmann, Five Swans. Woven tapestry. German, 1896-97.
   12 THE NEW CERAMICS: ENGAGING WITH THE SPIRIT
   Agathon Leonard, part of a table setting: Jeu de l'echarpe. Porcelain.* French, 1898. / Weduwe N.S.A. Brantjes, dish.** Earthenware, Dutch, c.1900.
   13 THE NEW GLASS: A SYNTHESIS OF TECHNOLOGY AND DREAMS
   Louise Comfort Tiffany, vase.** Glass with applied and marvered colours, combed. American, 1895.
   14 MODERN METAL
   Horta House, view from the music room towards the dining room. *** 1898-1900. /Fernand Dubois, candelabra.** Electro-plated bronze. Belgian, c.1889.
   15 JEWELLERY AND THE ART OF THE GOLDSMITH [one of my favorite chapters]
   Phillipe Wolfers, orchid hair ornament, gold, enamel, diamonds and rubies.*** Belgian, 1902. / Ren' Lilique, iris bracelet.*** Gold, enamel and opals. French, 1897. / Rene Lalique, damselflies necklace.*** Gold, enamel, aquamarines and diamonds. French, c.1900-02. / Rene Lalique, winged female figure.*** Bronze. French, c.1899-1900. / Alphonse Mucha, bodice ornament.*** Gold, ivory, enamel, opals, pearls, and coloured gemstones. Czech, c.1900.

   Ok, time for just the chapter titles and most essential loves listed from each chapter. This gives you an idea of how comprehensive this book is!

   16 THE CONCENTRATED ESSENCE OF A WRIGGLE: ART NOUVEAU SCULPTURE
   Jean Dampt, The Fairy Melusine and the Knight Raymondin. French, 1894.
   17 THE PARISIAN SITUATION: HECTOR GUIMARD AND THE EMERGENCE OF ART NOUVEAU
   Hector Guimard, principal entrance to Le Castel Beranger.** Paris, 1898.
   18 VICTOR HORTA AND BRUSSELS
   All the photos from the Victor Horta House!
   19 MUNICH: SECESSION AND JUGENDSTIL
   Franz von Stuck, The Sin. Oil on canvas. German, c.1906.
   20 SECESSION IN VIENNA
   Josef Hoffmann, Palais Stoclet, detail of tower.** Brussels, 1905-11.
   21 GLASGOW: THE DARK DAUGHTER OF THE NORTH
   22 LOUIS SULLIVAN AND THE SPIRIT OF NATURE
   Adler and Sullivan, Transportation Building, Columbian Worlds Fair. Chicago, 1893.
   23 BARCELONA: SPIRITUALITY AND MODERNITY
   Lluis Domenech i Montaner, auditorium of Palau de Musica Catalana.*** Barcelona, 1905-08. / Antoni Gaudi, Casa Batllo, detail of fascade.*** Barcelona, 1904-06. / And all photos of Antoni Gaudi, Sagrada Familia!***
   24 BUDAPEST: INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS AND NATIONAL CAPITAL
   Odon Lechner, interior of The Museum of Applied Arts.*** Budapest, 1896./ Zsolnay factory, vase. Prcelain-faience covered in Eozin glaze.** Hungarian, 1899.
   25 THE NEW ART IN PRAGUE (where my violin was made)
   Oswald Polivka, entrance to the Novak Building.** Nove Mesto, prague, 1901-04./ Interior and exterior photos of Osvald Polivka and Antonin Balsanek, the Municipal House
   26 HELINSINKI: SAARINEN AND FINNISH JUGEND
   27 MOSCOW MODERN
   Elena Polenova, plate from Mir Isskustva. St. Petersburg, 1900.
   / Fyodor Shekhtel, both photos from the Riabushinsky mansion.*** Moscow 1900-02.
   28 LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY AND NEW YORK [another one of my favorite chapters--I adore L.C.T!]
   Everything! Four Seasons window. Leaded favrile glass. American, 1897.
   29 TURIN: STILE FLOREALE, A LIBERTY FOR ITALY?
   The coolest chair I've seen in a long time: Carlo Bugatti, chair.*** Parchment over wood, copper, paint. Italian, 1902.
   30 A STRANGE DEATH...
   "Decorative Art can no longer exist any more than the 'style' themselves...Culture has taken a step forward and the hierarchical system of decoration has collapsed." Le Corbusier, L'Art decoratif d'aujourd'hui, 1925.
   ILLUSTRATED OBJECT LIST: ART NOUVEAU 1890-1914 EXHIBITION, NATIONAL GALERY OF ART, WASHINGTON. Perhaps the best for last, has thumbnails of 375 additional pieces! I love it!

   Listening to King Crimson The Power to Believe...awesome too.
   Soar!

No comments about Art/Women/California, 1950-2000: Parallels and Intersections (San Jose Museum of Art).

No comments about Cleaning Painted Surfaces: Aqueous Methods.