5 comments about Fine Art Publicity, 2nd Edition: The Complete Guide for Artists, Galleries, and Museums (Business and Legal Forms).

1. Fine Art Publicity has some very good ideas about marketing and publicity. We just opened an art gallery, and have already had a few articles published in local newspapers thanks to the suggestions in this book.



2. I am writing a business plan to open an art gallery.
   Even though I already know how to market service businesses,
   I need to learn a lot about marketing an art gallery. I
   found a trove of very good advice in this book. I appreciate
   the easy layout and readability also. I expect anyone
   with an art business can find ideas here.



3. The majority of art career guides come from either career counselors or artists themselves, so it's refreshing to note that Fine Art Publicity: The Complete Guide For Galleries And Artists, appearing in its second updated edition, is written by an industry publicist backed by the knowledge of her profession. Galleries and artists receive the basics of marketing to the art community; from researching a media list for both local and national contacts to locating businesses connected to the arts, and gathering a library of samples for targeted publicity contacts. Simply an outstanding reference; a 'must' for aspiring artists and gallery owners alike.



4. I dont usually write reviews, but I completely disagree with the bad review on here. This is an incredibly useful book for art galleries. I can't express how helpful this book has been to me. This is a guide for galleries not artists, so maybe that's why the last reader had issues.



5. I buy alot of books but I have never before seen a book written for an adult audience spread so thinly over so many pages. I suppose this was done to try to create the illusion of there being more information here than there really is. What little useful information this book contians seems to be repeated over and over. I would guess again to fill pages. I feel there is virtually no practical information here for an artist and very little for a gallery. I usually don't have an interest in writing book reviews but I was so disappointed in this book that I wanted to alert others to search elsewhere for useful information.

1 comments about Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach: An Interpretive Approach.

1. Even though the information in this book is almost nine years old, it is still relevant and useful. People tell me so, and I find myself going back to see what I said when I get questions about label length, typesize, levels of information, or how long it takes to write. Do not buy the other book listed here, Making Museum Labels, because it is out of date (and out of print), and all the good content is in this one.

1 comments about Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West.

1. Could have been a glorious book but let down by the colour reproductions.I have seen many of these fabrics and quilts and the book does not do them justice.

No comments about Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture.

5 comments about Preserving the World's Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis.

1. It is a great survey book of some amazing cities. I tend to agree with what has been written. But just a word of caution, Tung's writing style will start to grate as every chapter ends with somewhat of a flourish. I think it detracts from his obvious love of cities and preservation.



2. In March of 1995 author Anthony M. Tung journeyed to 22 of the world's greatest cities in order to study how architectural preservation had failed and succeeded in some of the most artistically and historically significant urban areas around the globe. Having served for many years as a member of New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Tung sought to understand how the complex issue of urban conservation was handled around the world and to gather in one book a body of very basic information about this practice.
   
   Until the 20th century, each new stage of architecture and construction referred substantially to previous stages; in Western culture, there was a "direct aesthetic line" connecting the architecture of classical Greece, imperial Rome, the Romanesque period, the Renaissance, the Baroque, the Rocco, and all forms of classical revival that followed, with even divergent traditions like French Gothic or English Tudor making use of common architectonic elements. Cities tended to be harmonious, each new generation of buildings blending with older buildings to a great degree.
   
   In the 20th century however, many age-old aesthetic traditions were abruptly discarded by a modern, new, jarring architecture, built often at vastly different scales than older buildings, of completely different materials, built with new methods, buildings that were consciously designed to have a complete lack of relationship with the previous continuum of form. In Cairo for instance skylines once dominated by domes and minarets of mosques are now ruled by looming massive hotels. Massive gray residential slabs now dominate the remaining parts of historic Moscow. In some cases, as in New York, new buildings were built over and around preserved historic buildings, making them appear toy-like and ridiculous. Further, these buildings of alien scale and design often hopelessly fractured any urban architectural harmony, often forever, as what was destroyed can either never be replaced or only replaced at great financial, legal, political, and economic cost.
   
   Older cities of handcrafted buildings, made of natural materials from the immediate environment of the city, reflecting the historical values and physical characteristics of unique urban cultures Tung wrote now constitute a "finite resource from a closed period of human cultural evolution." Much of the unique architecture of the world's great cities - ancient Roman ruins, the cross-cultural traditions of Singaporean pernanakan architecture, buildings that show a great "specialness of place" - is still in danger in many places of being replaced by a global monoculture, of older unique buildings being replaced by comparatively poorly constructed structures that are generic in design and that differ little in response to local environmental and social surroundings.
   
   Why were older buildings replaced? War certainly plays a factor as might be expected, though by and large Tung feels that city residents themselves are responsible for building replacement. Sometimes older handcrafted buildings are replaced for what were laudable reasons, such as slum clearance, attempts to give the poor a better quality of life, though often irreplaceable but fixable buildings were demolished rather than rehabilitated. Some cities, such as Vienna, Charleston, and Amsterdam (which are detailed at length), bucked this trend, either saving old buildings or constructing new public housing with a conscious effort to maintain local architectural traditions. More often than not though making money was the goal; speculative real estate and construction in the name of progress fractured urban landscapes, as out of scale skyscrapers thrust into the London skyline and ugly hotels of poor artistry were erected in Cairo.
   
   Sometimes destruction or replacement of older handcrafted buildings seemed nearly unavoidable; Kyoto for instance, largely spared bombing in World War II, for centuries a city with buildings comprised of shoji (sliding walls of light wood frames covered by translucent paper) and tatami (rectilinear straw mats of standardized dimensions that covered the floors), were rapidly being replaced post-war by modern Western buildings that could more easily accommodate such innovations as modern plumbing and electricity. Tung related how this "culture of destruction" is being reversed, efforts in this regard aided by uniquely Asian views of preservation (often times ancient buildings are wood and are partially or wholly rebuilt periodically, the emphasis often in China and Japan on preserving the original form not as in Europe or America the original material) and permanence (Japanese buildings were traditionally built to withstand natural disasters and wars by being flexible and if destroyed by being easily rebuilt).
   
   Sometimes architectural preservation - or destruction - was dictated not by war or by progress but by ideology. The Third Reich demolished the landmarks of Warsaw as a punitive action against the Poles, Nazi architects purposely identifying key Warsaw buildings and purposefully destroying them (additionally many were destroyed in actual combat). As an act of defiance, Polish architects risked their lives (and quite a few perished for their efforts) to document this heritage before it was destroyed, hiding plans and documents during the Nazi occupation and then completely rebuilding the city as an act of remembrance.
   
   Tung recounted many successes in his book as well as failures. What are the common denominators in successful preservation? Clearly economic underdevelopment causes decay and destruction of historic assets. In a detailed chapter on Cairo, Tung discussed how the city's massive problems posed by skyrocketing population growth, extensive poverty, and an endemic culture of illegal settlement and corrupt, byzantine bureaucracy have caused residents to perceive conservation as a lesser priority and have created unique environmental challenges to the city's priceless Muslim architecture thanks to air pollution and a rising water table. Citizens of cities have to have in addition to the means of preserving the city a will to do so; while many of the historic districts of New York were listed and are protected thanks to the efforts of the residents of those areas, Venice, despite widespread international support, is decaying as fewer and fewer Venetians actually live in the historic city, not only affecting city politics and budgets as residents of the historic city lose clout to those outside the historic city but by simply not being present to provide such upkeep.



3. this book is a wonderful read. it should be a mandatory read for all city planners/architects. there is so much we can learn from the successes and failure of other cities' efforts in preserving their heritage.

   for most people, it's still a great treat coz' the stories of how these great evolves are just mesmerizing. the tale of the reconstruction of warsaw is a moving moment of human history. and the decaying of ancient cairo is tragic and upsetting. the author manages to tell these stories in a context relevant to all of us, as a city dweller or a visitor in a globalized world. he also makes us aware of the complex underlying forces behind the metamorphosis of these urban fabrics.

   i am looking forward to visiting or revisiting these great cities after reading this book. and i am eagerly waiting for a sequel that uncovers the stories of other great cities like prague, kathmandu, bangkok, shanghai, new delhi, sydney, buenos aires, havana, istanbul, barcelona...




4. For close to three decades, I've tried to understand why some cities preserve their historic and architectural fabric, while others destroy theirs. I now have a much better understanding about the political, social, and economic dynamics underlying preservation, or the lack thereof. Moreover, the author articulated some basics that no previous book ever did. Like, what is holding up all those building in Venice? And why did Warsaw, almost alone among cities ravaged in WWII, rebuild its historic fabric? The author not only answered my Warsaw question, but moved me to near tears in the process. (Why isn't this heroic story being made into a movie?) In short, buy this fascinating, informative book!



5. What makes a city great? How do you preserve a great city? Why do you preserve a great city? Who can preserve a great city? As you finish this well crafted review by Anthony Tung of the evolving fate of 20 famous cities from around the earth, you feel the answers to these questions are within your grasp. A great city is a living manifestation of the society that built it over the centuries. It can be preserved by the dedicated and enlightened effort of those who live in it. Only they can develop it in a way that recognizes the changes of time without giving up their cultural heritage. Great cities are the architectural fabric of civilization, showing how it evolved in various parts of the world as societies developed within a particular regional environment. Its residents, if they can maintain their culture and heritage in the face of change can preserve it, supported by benevolent assistance from others when needed.

   This book makes clear that there are also common threats of destruction each of these amazing cities must face. Beyond the ravages of time, which can clearly be overcome in a stable situation, three become apparent in reading the stories of these great cities. They are destruction from war or by conquering invaders; deterioration as the original builders move out and are replaced by those who are poorer, less educated and ironically often subjugated by the original builders; and destruction to make way for more modern and impersonal buildings and infrastructure based on the influence of modern global society.

   I wish to thank the author for the journey he shared with me. When he was writing about those cities I have visited, such as Paris, London, New York or Mexico City, he captured the essence of their heritage in a way that rang true to my experience. When discussing the state of those I would like to see; Beijing, Kyoto, Cairo or Athens for example, his descriptions were again lucid and highly credible. They made me want to visit the city and try to comprehend its past and its fate for myself. Written in a style that makes you feel you are in these great cities vicariously, this book not only makes you want to visit them, but also to do your part to help preserve the heritage of the city that you call home.

No comments about Carr, O'Keeffe, Kahlo: Places of Their Own.

5 comments about Breaking into the Art World: How to Start Making a Living As an Artist.

1. This book had some good information but it was not very in-depth and covered a fairly narrow range of topics. It was very specific to drawing and painting with a lot of information on being a street artist, making prints, how to sign your prints, and the like. As an aspiring glass artist, I found large portions of the book irrelevant to my chosen medium. That said, I found the chapter on galleries and consignment to be interesting and informative, but at only 15 pages it didn't do much to make up for the rest of the material that I didn't find useful. I was also slightly annoyed by the many spelling and grammar errors, but I realize this isn't an issue for many people, I think I just had too many spelling tests in elementary school.
   
   I bought "How to Survive and Prosper As an Artist" by Caroll Michels at the same time and plan to read it next. White recommends it for a more in-depth treatment in his chapter on galleries so I think it will probably offer me the meat I am thirsting for.



2. This is not at all a book that will give you hints or help you to Break into the Real Art World ( I am talking: real galleries and the Real Art world out there: The Contemporary art world). This is only a book to help you sell your stuff in the streets which is what you should avoid at all costs if you want to break into the real thing. Not a helpful book at all. Its about selling Epson prints for $30 in the streets. Great if it is what you want to do but not great if you have a bit more ambition than that. Some people are fine with it, great art does not sell in the streets. Sorry, but its true.



3. I have worked as a street artist for years doing quick sketch portraiture but this book really sparked my interest in creating my own artwork and selling it in the same way. The book mostly focuses on selling work without going through galleries. If you are interested in doing gallery work, I would recommend another book, Taking the Leap, by Cay Lang. Breaking Into the Art World is great if you are just starting out as an artist and makes the process of selling your artwork on a smaller scale seem a lot easier with step by step information.



4. An interesting book. Very concise, gives you an alternative view on life as an artist and how to make money from your art. Very good section on documenting your work, full marks for that. I'll be implementing some of those ideas. It's nice to read of someone who's made a name for himself and managed to sell his art without galleries.



5. I purchased this book with several other titles on the same subject. If I had to pick only one of them this would be the book.
   Out of the books I've read this is the only one that gives you a solid plan and explains step by step how to make it work.
   A must read for any artist who is interested in a plan for making a living making and selling their art.

4 comments about Business Graphics: 500 Designs that Link Graphic Aesthetic and Business Savvy.

1. Steve Liska has created a gorgeous book - as elegantly designed and rendered as the projects he has chosen to highlight. These carefully selected case studies offer rich examples of the power of design and the importance of aesthetics in developing strong business brands and identntities. This beautifully illustrated book should not only appeal to artists and graphic designers, but to anyone who appreciates the beauty of high quality design. The pages are filled with outstanding examples of design, along with insightful commentary.



2. This book does an extraordinary job of both highlighting and discussing the important subtleties that separate exquisite and effective business graphics from mediocre and unappealing modes of design. The book showcases brilliant work from the portfolios of the best communication design firms out there. Business Graphics is also nicely laid out and employs a clear and insightful writing style.



3. This thing is a freakin' encyclopedia of graphic
   design. I love to run across cool stationery or well
   designed communication stuff. This book is chock full
   of it. I've been going on a bunch of websites that I
   learned about in the book--cool, hip sites I've never
   heard of before. The book itself is beautifully
   designed and it showcases so much good design. If you
   care about this stuff at all, this book is not to be
   missed.



4. I would strongly recommend this book. It's great to see amazing design and understand the thinking behind it. The book is well organized and nicely written.

2 comments about Reflections of a Culture Broker: A View From the Smithsonian.

1. Reading this book you start to feel like you can predict what Kurin will say when faced with different situations. This is not a bad thing. What I mean is, you learn how he looks at his job as an anthropologist/ethnographer/broker of culture. The discussions of how the visiting teams and the American hosts had to overcome assumptions and produce accurate, honest, sensitive cultural events for the Smithsonian is really fascinating. We love Kurin from his first chapter (Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief) through the freedom he allows the Festival of India performers to transform the festival, into his head-butting with Soviet beaurocrats, and right to his conclusion when he discusses the future-- globalism, tourism, indigenous products, culture policy and more. Kurin is doing amazing work and I am thankful he found time to write this book and let us know about it.



2. This book includes interesting essays on ways that cultural traditions are brokered in public programs and within academic research. The case studies are especially interesting and provide excellent ideas about major issues involved in coordinating public events. The chapters on the state of anthropology, the controversy over the Enola Gay exhibit, and the future development of public programs are especially strong. The writing will be useful to coordinators of events that display history, folklife, and culture to audiences, and the book will also appeal to anyone who attends festivals, concerts, museum exhibits, and other presentations of culture.

3 comments about The Graphic Designer's and Illustrator's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion.

1. Many books of this ilk have an attention grabbing title, yet are poorly written with basic concepts repeated to fill up the chapter. Not so with Maria's book - she succintly describes the strategy and process of marketing and promotion for the creative professional. In doing so, she breaks down the feeling of being overwhelmed by the tasks to create visibility and thus business, and you are inspired to create a plan and act. Thank you Maria - this was the book I've been searching for.



2. The quality of the writing here is just great. Some really lucid explanations of subtle concepts.



3. Too little has been written about the business side of graphics and, unfortunately, much of what exists is too theoretical or academic to use. Maria's book "cuts to the chase" and tells the graphic arts professional what they need to know to succeed. Corporate contractors can benefit, too, in learning how to maximize "win-win" situations with their creative professionals. This is a user-friendly handbook for the busy commercial artist - or the artist who would like to become busy by tapping the insights of a seasoned professional.