No comments about The Carnegie Museum of Art: Collection Highlights.

2 comments about Mustard: Journey to Love.

1. The illustrations in this children's book are marvelous and make it well worth the price of the book. Unfortunately, the text is heavy-handed New Age "Message with a capital M" and not much good as a story. Everybody seems to think that writing is easy, you just type away and bammo! there's a story! Well, this book would be much better without the words. On other occasions I have seen wonderful visionary artists undercut the mystery and meaning of their art with clunky, graceless, all-too-obvious prose. Don't explain your art! Let the viewer get it for themself, and it will be a much richer experience.



2. Jessel Miller is as talented an illustrator as she is a storyteller. Her three Mustard books are filled with whimsical watercolors in bright hues and rich details. They teach values such as caring for the earth and respecting your elders and everything in between. They are a joy to read and a wonderful gift idea..

1 comments about Inside Out: New Chinese Art.

1. This catalog presents a wide range of 'new' Chinese art (1985 onward). Some of it may be familiar to readers only casually acquainted with Chinese art, but most of it will not. In fact, even gallery goats are likely to find much new material. They have included the hanging scrolls (Zoon) of Huang Chih-Yang, the rouged, flower biting comrade by Li Shan, Fang Lijun's rage against conformity (the Chinese version of Munch's Howl), and Zhang Yu's elegant meditation. They have also selected pieces that look like rock album covers from the sixties, several more that express current turbulant feelings about Mao and his legacy, and many others that show this developing nation is growing up quickly...perhaps too quickly for its own psychic good. There are several essays to provide background and cultural context, but frankly, they're a bit lengthy and repetitive. This collection is certainly worth a look, but for every piece likely to raise an eyebrow and draw you in, there will be two that are quite forgettable.

No comments about American Impressionism: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

No comments about The Japan Idea: Art and Life in Victorian America.

4 comments about Cezanne.

1. Assembled to accompany a major retrospective of the artist's work, "Cezanne," by four art scholars and curators, includes 258 large color plates and 350 black-and-white pictures of paintings, drawings and sketches, organized by chronological period.

   Each gorgeous plate is accompanied by the work's provenance and exhibitions. Accompanying text describes the painting's personal and historical context as well as critical responses at the time and through the years.

   The book also includes quotes from Cezanne on art and two lengthy, thoughtful essays on "A Century of Cezanne Criticism."

   A volume which will afford hours and years of pleasure to anyone interested in Cezanne's art.




2. Picasso, speaking about modern art and artists, referred to Cezanne as "the father of us all." He was that rare artist whose vision -and ability to express it- was so keen and unique that it can actually impact the way we se the world around us. (How often I look into the trees and think "that looks like a Cezanne.") More than any other book of his work this volume succeeds in showing the sweep and depth of Cezanne's genius. The reproductions are superb and plentiful. The descriptive text accompanying each image, while interesting, needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as is often the case in catalogues of this nature. But the truth is I buy art books for the pictures! For text, try Rewald's book which is also excellent and contains some paintings not elsewhere printed, and deals extensively with the relationship between Cezanne and Zola. I also recommend Gotz Adriani's book on Cezanne. But if you can only have one, this is it.



3. The clumsy, poorly written text in the first few chapters is almost impossible to read. Since it's so disjointed and quotes too much from Cezanne's personal letters or from other writings, I skipped over a large portion of this. I was also surprised that the authors tried to make Cezanne into some sort of religious deity, rather than a master of his art; it could be marketing hype accompanying the show, but Cezanne's work speaks for itself. In spite of these flaws, the painting and sketches are wonderfully reproduced, and the accompanying description is pretty good. But because the accompanying description is always laudatory and doesn't adequately talk about his mistakes, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Cezanne's masterpieces and his OK work. The best part is learning what other artist, such as Monet and Matisse, owned what Cezanne painting (and then trying to speculate on why they liked a painting so much).



4. This is a must for art lovers, in general, and for 19th cent. french art lovers, specifically. Rich in colour images and a detailed editorial on each piece. Also gives the history of ownership.

   Absolutely wonderful. A must.

No comments about Angels from the Vatican: The Invisible Made Visible.

No comments about Cultural Heritage Conservation and Environmental Impact Assessment by Non-Destructive Testing and Micro-Analysis.

No comments about Lilly Reich: Designer and Architect.

No comments about Mexican Modern: Masters of the 20th Century.