No comments about In the Forest of Fontainebleau: Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet (National Gallery Of Art, Washington).

5 comments about Drawing Now: Eight Propositions.

1. I use this text in my Graduate Drawing class. There is a broad range of contemporary drawing included in the book, which gives the reader a snapshot of the variety of drawing being produced at the moment. The text in each chapter is brief, but complements the work, and contextualizes the drawings. I especially enjoy the fact that there are artists in the book whose work I like, and several whose work I don't really care for.



2. The book I ordered was delivered in 2 days, I think, and the book was in great condition. No complaints.



3. Drawing Now does a good job of critically displaying the work of many contemporary artists. Unlike Vitamin D, this book does not take a shotgun approach to viewing contemporary art, and as a result is more satisfying to behold. Not all the artists represented have great work, but you get quality reproductions of it, and worthwhile commentary on each of the thematic "propositions" in the book. Worth buying if you have the money. Worth renewing your library's copy if you don't.



4. The catalogue that accompanies the Drawing Now exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art is just as well thought and carefully crafted. The show is divided into eight themes that bring a solid foundation to a wide scope of works. Each section in the catalogue begins with an insightful essay further developing the rich ideas behind the show. The beautiful illustrations and large format of the book further compliment the important artworks included in the exhibition.



5. None of the decisions in this show were very difficult to make. All of the current stars in the drawing/painting world are present (John Currin, Kara Walker, Elizabeth Peyton, Kai Atoff, etc.) and the work they've offered is mediocre. That is not to say the work is bad by normal standards, they are the best of the contemporary scene for a reason: they're good. But, looking at each artist's best work, none of this is it. The essays are kind of hokey and embarrassing (in a bad way). The book is worth buying if you want to seem like you're "with it" when it comes to contemporary art, or if you are a student (such as myself, forever) and need it for research purposes to aid your own studio practice.

1 comments about Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay.

1. The concept of this book is very good: minimum text - maximum pictures. All art monographs should follow the same principle.
   The book is split into the chapters dealing with dominant artistic trends of the time, and subchapters dedicated to the most important artists within each trend/movement.
   The brief introductory essays are well written and help understand background behind the movements or artistic groups whose most representative works are displayed on the subsequent pages.
   
   If one hasn't seen d'Orsay's magnificent collection in person, they'll be amazed by this lavishly illustrated monograph.
   In most cases there is one plate per page, sometimes two and very seldom three. However, what I don't understand is 2 inches wide margin around the reproductions (???) Why? Why they were not printed at least an inch larger at all sides?
   
   Besides, though even the best repros can't do justice to the original, many pictures could have been much better. Don't get me wrong - majority of reproductions is of good quality, but there are those (I'd say one third of the total number) which are considerably lighter than the originals and/or have rather compressed values - Manet's Olympia being the most obvious example. (I've visited d'Orsay two months ago and the paintings are still vivid in my memory).
   
   However, these remarks shouldn't stop you from purchasing the book, since monsieur Lemoine in this monograph included works of many great but usually neglected artists, those which one can very rarely (or never) see in the books on art of the 19th century. There are enough books on Impressionists to fill all the world's garbage landfills many times over (and thousands upon thousands more are printed every year), yet it is so hard to find one monograph on the likes of Cabanel, Delaunay, Fromentin, Bonnat, Laurens, Carriere, Levy-Dhurmer, Hammershoi etc etc.

5 comments about The Art of Richard Diebenkorn (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Book).

1. This book provides an excellent overview of the arc of Diebenkorn's painting style, from abstract to figurative and then to his final amazing abstracts. This is a good starting point for understanding Diebenkorn's art, with large beautiful color prints of his paintings. And, because it's a paperback edition, it's pretty affordable for an oversized, color fine arts book.



2. Great reference on Diebenkorn with lots of color plates and in-depth text on the process of his work. It was recommended by my professor and I keep it by my easel!



3. If you love the Bay Are Figurative movement as much as I do, this book is the definitive volume.



4. This is a great collection of Diebenkorn's work through the years. Though it's a paperback, the book is big, sturdy, and will last a long time. The color plates are very true to his original works.



5. Richard Diebenkorn has finally achieved the status of Modern Master, but his success was only secured later in his life and after his death. Although he was at first an Abstract Expressionist artist who painted as convincingly as Still, Rothko, Kline and Motherwell, he was too much identified with the Bay Area, and therefore he did not have the imprimatur of the New York critics. Then, in the 1950s, he was viewed as having betrayed the New York Abstract Expressionists, when he turned to figurative painting with David Park and Elmer Bischoff. Eventually, until his death, he returned to abstraction with his much-acclaimed "Ocean Park" series. And then the critics finally realized what had eluded them for years: That Diebenkorn painted abstract realism, leaning more to one and then the other, all his life.
   
   Jane Livingston does a fine job of portraying the life of Richard Diebenkorn through his stunning paintings, which exemplify fire beneath the calm. Be sure to read the Norland book as well, since his book is still the seminal book on Diebenkorn.

5 comments about Al Capp's Li'l Abner: The Frazetta Years, Volume 1 1954-55.

1. I caught the tail end of the Li'l Abner series as a child in the 1960's and remember loving it. I recently started looking for some collections in libraries, but couldn't find any so I looked on Amazon and found this volume and bought it. I've had a great time reading it and even though the things it satirizes occurred before I was born, I'm familiar with much of them through my study of history. Much of what is satirized is applicable to any time and is still fresh.
   
   I've recently been reading some of the classic satire of Voltaire (Candide) and Rabelais (Gargantua and Pantagruel) and this seems to fit right in with that style. I guess I have a warped sense of humor. I wish today's comics were this good.
   
   I enjoyed the artwork and appreciated the explanations at the end of the book highlighting some of the items that someone born after that era may have missed. I highly recommend this book. I will probably order more volumes.



2. Grew up reading this series. Now I have a permanent copy of my own. Good price and great product for comics junkies.



3. I bought this volume (and volumes 2-4) for my Dad for Christmas because he was such a big L'il Abner fan when I was a kid in the 60's. When they arrived I just had to sit down and read them all before wrapping them up! L'il Abner is a lens focused on it's own era in time, totally tongue-in-cheek! For rollicking fun and biting satire these comics can't be beat!



4. Lil Abner always had a strong fan club that allowed the reprinting of the daily strips by Kitchen Sink press for about 25 volumes, which if there was no fan base, only one or two volumes would have been published.
   
   In addition,we are very lucky that Frazetta's reputation and fan club would allow the printing of a comic strip that John Steinbeck once stated, its author, Al Capp, should be given the Putszler (excuse the spelling) prize.
   
   Al Capp was a master satirist and storyteller, who would have one acclaim like Mark Twain or O'Henry if not for the snob attitude toward comic strips.
   
   This is shown here. The 50-year-old color strips are re-printed in a fine manner with expert commentary about the period they were written in by Denis Kitchen.
   
   Beware, they feature "politically incorrect" well-endowed women, and one main character, Daisy Mae, as mostly submissive, which would not be allowed in comic strips today as it would raise the ire of feminists and other "progressive" people.
   
   On the other hand, it features the two main male characters, Abner and Pappy, as idiots or wimps, Abner and his brother Tiny as "hunks", and the one of the main women characters, Mammy as the leader of the Yokum clan, who occassionally beats Pappy, which are allowed in comic strips today as the "Progressives" seem to have no problem with this.
   
   Remember, vintage comic strip reprints do not generate big bucks, some even lose money. They are produced out of great admiration for the strips, and we should be grateful for the publishers for doing so.
   
   
   By the way, why does Amazon include a 'NO' in 'was this review helpful to you?'. People are only human and don't like opinions that differ from themselves. With some who are less mature, this the 'NO' makes it too easy express such displeasure.
   
   Are they trying to discourage negative reviews, hence not purchase the CD. Such reviews only help a person in not being dissatisfied a product that received positive reviews



5. These are Sunday Li'l Abner pages, penciled by comics legend Frank Frazetta. In my opinion, Li'l Abner was the greatest comic stip of all time. The strip was fantastic during the 1950s, so you can't go wrong here. It seems like this was released because of the Frazetta connection, but the art looks pretty much like all other Li'l Abner art. Frazetta was clearly drawing as close as he could to Al Capp's style. But any excuse to have Li'l Abner strips released works for me. Highly recommended.

No comments about Dali & Film.

No comments about Guide to Getting Arts Grants.

1 comments about Artist Trading Cards (Twenty to Make).

1. I like the concept of explaining a particular technique, then showing how the same technique was used to make several different ATCs. Instructions are clear and artwork examples are beautiful and inspiring. Some materials may be difficult for some readers to purchase, however.

No comments about Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India.

5 comments about Venice and the Islamic World, 828-1797.

1. All around Venice (or Venezia as the Italians call it), you see a profound Muslim influence. In the archways above doors, in the windows of canal architecture, on the rooftops the weaving of these two sensibilities is undeniable. We saw this book at an exhibit at the Doge's Palace in Venezia at the end of summer, 2007. This book is a translation of the book that was published to accompany the exhibit. It is a more than faithful capturing of both the content and spirit of the exhibit.
   
   Particularly today, it is important, as well as healthy, to sustain appreciation of these ancestral collaborations because they are weaving of the fabric of our contemporary cultures. In the book and the exhibit, it is easy to feel the curiosity and respect each of these cultures has for the other. They are drawn to one another's differences rather than being repelled by them.
   
   Although the cover artwork of the English language version differs from the other language versions of the exhibit publication, the content is either parallel or the same - something I could not verify since I am limited to speaking primarily English (more and more, feeling this is a handicap in today's global culture). This particular book, I'm told, accompanied the same exhibit when it was in New York. I don't know how well it was received there - but in Venice, it was magical!
   
   I highly recommend this book and would hope that somewhere in the world, there would be a place for the marriage of these cultures to find a more permanent home. The expression of the cultures working together, dancing and weaving their way through the marketplace of ideas, theology, and trade is something that should not be lost. This book teaches us that we have much to learn from cultures different from our own - whichever culture this may be. This curiosity should not close down with the end of an exhibit's run.



2. What a dissapointment of a book when the subject has such visual and aesthetic potential. My gripe is mainly with the imagery - paintings are almost invariably reproduced in a size between postage stamp and post-card, when what one would like are full-page reproductions, with details to illustrate the costume and artifacts of the islamic world which began to turn up in Venesian art in this period. Buy it if you want an informative text, but definately not if you want a visual feast.



3. For centuries The Most Serene Republic of Venice was the the western terminus of the fabled Silk Road. The city's warehouses were the repository of every luxury that Persia, India, China, Siam, the Levant, Byzantium, and the Ottomans had to offer. This book is a wonderful companion to the Met's glittering exhibition of art, illuminated manuscripts and decorative objects, which give a sense of Venice's singular place in the history of the Mediterranean. Viva San Marco!



4. This book is excelent. This book is the catalog of the exhibiton that
   is on tne Metropolitan Museum of New York.



5. This book is the catalogue for a traveling exhibition held at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in 2006 and at the Met in New York in 2007. It is a very complete study of the influence of the islamic world on the Republic of Venice, encompassing all forms of art, painting, architecture, ceramics, textiles, engravings, books, and even religious artefacts (mosque lamps for example). All these works of art are the results of intense cultural and economic exchange between both worlds and the catalogue emphasizes this very well. A scholarly publication well served by wonderful illustrations. A very detailed checklist of all the works in the exhibition (medium, dimensions, location) makes this book a definite reference on the subject.