3 comments about Sailor Jerry Tattoo Flash, Vol. 1.

1. Excellent Book! Amazing art. BookMistress did a great job with communication and delivery. Thank you so much. I will definitely buy more books from them in the future. Thanks Again!!!!!



2. This book is unbelievable! I love it! It is great for the aspiring tattoo artist or anyone else interested in tattoo art. Each page contains full page pictures of Sailor Jerry's flash art. I highly recommend this book. It is definitely worth the money.



3. This book features outtakes from a journal by Sailor Jerry. Itproves that he was not only a terrific tattoo artist, but also a manwith an intellectually stimulating mind. I was amazed at how his sence of humor jumped out of the pages and laughed out loud more than a few times. I am sure that if you love the art of tattooing you would love to hear the quips that Mr. Collins puts in this amazing book! END

4 comments about The Girl With the Gallery: Edith Gregor Halpert And the Making of the Modern Art Market.

1. Like another reviewer, I find it hard to put this book down.
   It is frankly and beautifully written in a way that puts the reader in the back of the Rolls Royce with Abby Rockefeller and behind the desk with Edith in her Greenwich village gallery.
   
   I am only half way through the book and am savoring it thoroughly for the ride that it is taking me on: I feel like I walked the construction site of Rockefeller Center,toured Radio City Music before the first Rockette,
   and participated in persuading Mayor LaGuardia to put a subway stop at Rock Center....
   
   Fascinating and excellent read.



2. I had a lot of trouble putting aside the book so that I could take care of my normal daily chores and business. It was interesting to me from a variety of points. One of them was the excellent introduction information about how the author first learned of Edith Gegor Halpet and then how surprised she was to discover a treasure trove of available research material including an oral history that included more than 800 transcrbed pages. While I'm not in the gallery business, I do enjoy art and I found the book a very interesting story of how tough a business the marketing of art really is. Halpert's struggles opening and running a gallery have valuable lessons for any small business owner. Some of her sales techniques could be applied to almost any business with great success. The book is a great read and provides glimpses into the world of art, artists, patrons, museums, and the important contributions women have made to the art fields over the years. It's another example of how women have come into their own.



3. Fascinating bio and first rate discussion of the strange intersection of high-art and commerece. Shows how much artists owe to the people who support and believe in them.



4. The title here is just a little bit misleading. Yes Edith was the girl with the gallery, but there were a lot of girls that had galleries. What Edith built was THE Gallery, at least so far as modern American art was concerned. Furthermore she did it from the outside, she was born Russian, coming to America when she was six, and at the young age of 26 founding the Downtown Gallery in Greenwich Village.
   
   There was at the time no American art movement. The few painters of the time had great difficulty selling their work. Edith changed that. Her gallery specialized in the work of these New York locals, combined agressive selling with a devotion to this style that remained for forty four years.
   
   It was largely because of her that there is an American art scene. This book is a fine tribute to her life that has largely been forgotten.

2 comments about Towards a New Museum: Expanded Edition.

1. This book is ok if you want a coffee-table type, once-over- lightly look at some new museums. If you want the kind of serious consideration or analysis that seems promised by the contents/chapter titles, look elsewhere. A waste of $ for my purposes.



2. Victoria Newhouse's book on recent museum design is fascinating--I have been to many of the projects she includes (there are lots and lots of them), and her descriptions and analyses of them never fail to strike me as remarkably insightful. I don't always agree with her comments or her selection of projects (Frank Stella should stick to painting), but as a whole the book is both a wide-ranging compendium of current designs for the visual arts, and an informed treatise with a strong point of view. Far from being an advocate of universal space, Newhouse keeps returning to her central theme: how well does a particular design serve its particular contents? In answering that question, she displays an unusual comprehension of sophisticated issues in both the architectural and artistic arenas. Newhouse has visited much and looked hard; she has also apparently done a lot of research, talked to many of the clients, architects, and curators, and gives one not only the obvious facts but often the inside story. Then she calls it as she sees it, cogently summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of each project's suitability as a container for art. This is required reading for anyone seriously interested in or involved with problems of museum and gallery design.

No comments about Marsden Hartley and the West: The Search for an American Modernism (Georgia O'Keefe Museum).

3 comments about The American Century: Art and Culture 1900-1950.

1. This, the first volume of a two volume work (this is by far the stronger of the two)may not contain the strongest prose in terms of capturing the moment in history when America finally began to assert her own unique voice in the visual arts, but it does boast many glorious images.

   Maybe this book is nothing more than a glorified coffee table book, but what a fine, colorful one it is. The book is crammed full of beautiful reproductions of some of the finest work America's shores ever produced: Stella, Johns, Pollock, O'Keefe, Lawrence, Benton, Hopper and Calder all recieve detailed representation.

   Being personally obsessed with the art of the Depression, I particularly valued the long, detailed chapter contained here.

   Many hours have evaporated as I have lost myself in the many rich reproductions. This book, when enjoyed in union with Robert Hughes' excellent "American Visions" (which supplies the much needed rich prose), serves as a fine celebration of America's visual culture. A fine addition to any library.




2. This is a survey of American culture, as manifested in everything from travel books, film, dance, to the fine arts. It lurches from subject to subject at times, but its strength is that it places the fine arts in their cultural context.



3. I pre-ordered this book from Amazon as soon as I read about the exhibit at the Whitney. Ths book is a wonderful compendium on art of the 20th Century and is loaded with information and great photos of what will become the "classic" works of the 20th Century.

4 comments about Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest: Your Guide to Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, and Historic Forts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

1. I have had an interest in western ghost towns since the late 1960s and have sought out and photographed many ghost towns over the years. To that end, I have about 30 or 40 ghost town books and I would have to say that this is not one of the best. In my opinion, it is one of the worst. In fact, it's not as good as other books by Philip Varney in the same series. However, as a professional photographer myself, I can say that the photographs by John and Susan Drew are quite good. One problem with this book is that it lacks the depth of most other ghost town books. The information given just skims the surface. It's generally just raw facts such as when the town was founded, etc. Good ghost town books should go into the colorful stories that all these towns have. That's what's so fascinating about ghost towns. Another problem with the book is that it shows too many towns that are not really ghost towns at all but may only have a couple old historic buildings or they may be simply tourist towns. Many of the pictures are not of towns at all but rather dilapidated barns, etc., which can be seen anywhere in the country and are certainly not ghost towns. There is a classification system for ghost towns and not all ghost towns are classic "true" ghost towns, of course, but this book has very few ghost towns that will be of interest to a real ghost town enthusiast. In addition, the text doesn't always clearly specify the status of the towns so a reader may travel far to see a ghost town only to find that it's bustling town with a couple historic buildings, a museum, or it may be just a tourist town. I would like to know the true condition of these towns but Varney is very vague about that. Most of my ghost town hunting has been in the Southwest, California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana so it is possible that there simply aren't that many good ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest but other books that I have would suggest otherwise. Unlike some other books in this series, the maps do not use symbols that represent that actual state of the towns. For example, a crossed shovel and pick symbol often represents a "true" ghost town. But this book does not follow that useful and helpful practice, which is odd. It almost appears as if Varney simply got lazy in this effort and didn't bother to seek more remote ghost towns or gather more information about he towns he does cover. Good ghost town books should be enjoyable even to the armchair traveler who will never actually go to these towns. To accomplish that, the unique and interesting stories of the towns should be sought out and shared by the author. Florin's books, although dated, are wonderful examples of how ghost town books should be. Fortunately, if and when I do seek out ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest, I have other books that cover that region much better than this one.
   
   One other point: A very interesting and fascinating feature often included in the best ghost town books are "then and now" pictures that juxtapose images of the past and the present of the towns. For example, it's very interesting to see period photographs of, say, the town's main street along side a recent photograph of the same scene. There are a couple old pictures in this book but recent photographs of the same scenes are not included.
   
   All-in-all, I can't really recommend this book to ghost town enthusiasts but I suppose it's a moderately interesting addition to a ghost town book collection. But if you are seeking true ghost towns and interesting information about them, you can find better books to meet those needs.



2. I bought this book as a gift. Since my parent are from that area I thought they'd enjoy it. However after I read the book I found a pretty major mistake. In chapter 3 the writer refers to the Pacific County seat as being "North Bend" when its actually South Bend. One can only hope the writer didn't make any more mistakes.



3. This book covered many of the most popular ghost towns in the Northwest corner of the US and Canada. A myriad of good photos and just enough information to entice you to get in the car and go. I would have liked to have a little more information regarding those obscure ghost towns that are not easily accessed or identified.



4. We have been photographing Ghost Towns for about 30 years now and we must say that this is probably the best book that we have ever seen... and we have seen them all!

3 comments about Francis Bacon: The Human Body.

1. Not so long before I had no idea of who Bacon was and what he painted. Remember how I once skipped lectures in university and played PSX game Silent Hill all day along. In Making OF of this game I first time heard that some art inspiration for game was taken from Bacon paintings. And so I came to Bacon and his art :)
   Personally for me, and again just for me, I gave this book 5 stars because pictures here catch my eye like none art before. Bacons pictures by some reason looks stunning and scary at the same time. This book contains his pictures of human body theme only, as a cover says. I liked the way author gone - less text, more pictures. Second half of the book is containing just paintings with minimum comments below, mainly one paint picture on whole page. There are also few "three page rollout" inserts, showing few Bacon's triptych paintings which I liked. Pictures of second half is fully colourfull, first half of the book contains one page for text and other page for black and white, zoomed in picture of Bacon, that gives kinda cool look.
   This book will gave it's best to filmmakers, animators, concept artists, scriptwriters, Bacon enthusiasts who seek to take inspiration for horror art, movies, animations, whatever.



2. I think I had a false expectation. I expected something 'more' - images similar to the Bacon images in 'Van Gogh and Expressionism' which are stunning and vibrantly colorful. The images in this book fell short of that. Had I looked through this book in a bookstore, I would not have purchased. I should have done more research on Bacon before purchasing this and the Bacon portraits book which also was a disappointment but better than this one.



3. David Sylvester is one of the finest biographers of contemporary painters on the shelves today. His insights into such obtuse minds as Giocomettti and de Kooning and Francis Bacon have brought us, the viewer and thinker, closer to the real synapses at work. In this lavishly illustrated catalogue the emphasis is on the whole human body - alone, in confined spaces, distorted and reassembled in triptychs. Sylvester opens this format with terse discussions about particular paintings, using only black and white details of the works he is discussing. Then, once we have the groundwork established, the last half of the book is simply the paintings, printed on the finest peper, with foldouts that do justice to the triptychs and color separations that are as near to the originals as is possible. A feast for the eyes and mind....and imagination.

2 comments about History of the Poster.

1. This book is mainly a pictorial of 291 poster designs from the very late 1800's up until the late 1960's. There are many great and important examples found in this book, both well and lesser known posters are showcased. Some parts of this book could described as egotistical going into the 50's and 60's as there are many Müller-Brockmann works shown; however, I found this to be quite relevant with Swiss design of that time being so revolutionary. Then again I am a great admirer of his work. Additionally, the writings throughout the book are quite enlightening and are not too heavy to read. The printing quality is great, examples are large, shown in full colour and printed on very nice stock. The creator's name, size, year, type of reproduction, and descriptions of the purpose are included for each poster. One of the pro's to this book was the inclusion of these very brief descriptions. A very good piece of information to include in a design collective as it is essential in order to judge whether or not a piece of design is effective; something a few overrated books on identity could use (e.g. Los Logos).



2. This new edition of History Of The Poster by Josef Muller-Brockmann (1914-1996) brings back into print a seminal work originally published in 1971 and which has been regretably out-of-print for many years. Despite its name, History Of The Poster is not so much a straightforward historical narrative as it is a fantastic gallery of posters used for politics, propaganda, advertising, and art throughout history. A tri-lingual book in English, German, and French, History Of The Poster contains a brief introductory essay then reveals almost three hundred posters in full color, followed by an afterword remarking on present and future trends. A unique and welcome new style of artbook.

1 comments about Vivienne Westwood (Va).

1. We caught the Vivienne Westwood retrospective traveling show at the De Young Museum in San Francisco, and were blown away by the inventive, fun, nutty clothes this woman produced. This book serves as a exhibition catalog, although many of the pieces in the show are not in the book, and nothing matches seeing the wild shoes, hats, dresses and frocks in person. The book design is a minor annoyance, as it can be a little hard to find the garment pictured, who was wearing it, or when it was created. And I think frankly the girl has her best work behind her, but the glory of it cannot be exaggerated, or, to put it another way, her exaggerations were truly glorious. Over The Top in the very best way.
   
   Thoreau would no doubt disapprove....

5 comments about I Can't Be Good All the Time.

1. This has the best Comments! It's great for all you sassy women out there! It makes me feel better just looking through it. I gave it to all my girlfriends for christmas this year! It's got the amazing retro pics too. I love it!



2. For the independent female (who has a good sense of humor), you won't find a better gift!
   
   This book sits in my powder room and not only do I still pick it up and get a giggle now and then, but my guests always emerge from the loo with a smile, too!



3. I love Anne Taintor's humor. This collection is not quite as funny as her other ones, but was a hit with the person I gave it to as a gift. Enjoy!



4. I got this book for my mother, along with the other one recommended by Amazon to buy together, and it's very funny. I was looking for something that would give her a lift and it definitely did; she enjoys them quite a bit.



5. This book is a very humorous one just to leave laying around for a random, quick giggle.