1 comments about World Press Photo 1998 (World Press Photo).

1. International competition of photographs to test the most distinguished photos is considered valuable test for many international photographers, pressmen, news, and magazines, participating in the international annual event. A gift to be granted to the body, who mirrors different domains in all over the world.

   News photos are quite different from natural or animal ones, that is because the later have significant meaning about this world.

   This book represents tens of expressive photos, which honestly picture to us the other side of the world, through news photos about violenc, killing , and natural calamities.

   This book presents also the events of the preceding year including violence , killing , home dismissing practices , in addition to exciting sports , technical and scientific events . Moreover it shows the different types of life style of many classes and artists.

   We can safely say it looks like afilm about the last year events, in this exciting and rapid changing world , that integrates violence, home extrude , sadness happiness pains and victory joy. I as a matter of fact , consider it as life like drama.

1 comments about Magritte.

1. The catalogue for a comprehensive exhibition at the Jeu de Paume in Paris held in 2003, this book is a very good, well-documented, well-illustrated study of this ubiquitous Belgian artist who has inspired so many contemporary artists and publicists. There is quite a lot of material available on Magritte and I would say this one is one of the safest bets. Daniel Abadie is a leading French modern art historian and curator and his signature is a token of quality.

No comments about Intimate Eye: Portraits.

2 comments about The Collector's Eye: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art from the Thalassic Collection, Ltd..

1. My old OED defines a masterpiece as a "consummate piece of workmanship". Consummate, if you are wondering, is defined as "complete, perfect".

   And this gets right to the heart of my problem with this book; most of the objects described are damaged or incomplete. They are all interesting and commentary about them can help illuminate aspects of ancient egyptian material culture. But I think the question needs to be asked whether it is appropriate for a museum to present to the lay public such an eclectic group of objects as "Masterpieces"?

   For instance, sculpture, long the focus of study as one of the "fine arts" of ancient Egypt - is represented by twenty-six pieces. There is no question that the Amenhotep III figure of the god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is a masterpiece (#11) - or the extraordinary 30th Dynasty head of a priest (#25) - but how many more are there? Two or three? - the remainder being too damaged to convey the full mastery of the original craftsman (e.g. #'s 3, 6, 9, 15, 22, 23) and a few being works of just plain ordinariness (e.g. #'s 1, 10, 12, 21).

   Those of us that love egyptian objects can often extrapolate from a faceless queen (#6), nose (#8) or the stumpy torso of a legless, headless sphinx (#9), the beauty of the complete, original work. But I question the fairness of asking the public to see masterpieces in these fragments, especially when most of the entries in the catalogue discuss arcane points of style and multiple comparisons with far flung works that the reader or visitor to the exhibition cannot possibly be expected to have seen.

   This problem continues throughout the book, culminating in a truly unremarkable group of amulets. In addition, it troubles me that two successive entries (#'s 24 & 25) are written from strongly competing scholarly viewpoints with no effort made to explain the differences to the public. And when is it a scholar's duty to reveal that the authenticity of a work of art is the subject of very lively debate?

   As a record of the collection the book is OK; the photographs are excellent, the design pleasing. But if you are looking for a beautifully illustrated book about ancient Egyptian art right now, look at "Eternal Egypt" the companion volume to an exhibition of "Masterworks" from the British Museum currently touring the U.S.A (U Cal Press, 2001). This volume is largely written by Edna R. Russman, the best art-histocally oriented scholar in egyptology and features truly extraordinary objects. Many of the entries in this work will leave you with glorious, spine-chilling new insights into the astonishing arts of ancient egypt.




2. This is really a stunning book with lots of color pictures. Many artefacts are shown from several angles. There's precise information about each object given. At the end of each short article there's an extensive list of notes and bibliographic information for further reading.

No comments about Josephine Meckseper.

No comments about Magnum Photos: Euro Visions.

No comments about The Dali Theatre-Museum from Figueras.

1 comments about Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 1 (Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation).

1. This 2002 publication gives the reader an excellent overview of contemporary Native American art of the Southwest. Examples from 100 of the top SW Native American artists are represented in the book and in a traveling exhibition sponsored by the American Craft Museum of NY. Both layout and photography are well done and brief bios of each artist are included. I know it was a difficult task to make the final decision of which artists to include and which to exclude. Being a collector of Hopi art, I would have liked to see a few more examples from the Hopi ... especially kachina/katsina dolls (only two in the book). It is a nice addition to any Native American art library.

No comments about Kitaj: Pictures and Conversations.

No comments about Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation, 1 (Contemporary Native American Art From The Southwest).