5 comments about CLAMP North Side.

1. Clamp North Side is a beautiful collection of art from some of clamps most beloved works. It also contains short manga strips you won't find anywhere else and a very interesting interview with the creators. I'd say this is a must have for any CLAMP fan.



2. It's mostly pictures and there is an interview.
   Contents:
   Clover
   Magic Knight RayEarth
   Sohryuden
   Legend of Chun Hyang/Shin Shunkaden
   Clamp Newsletter(laboratory,News)
   CLAMP in wonderland
   Early CLAMP works in some publishers, now discontinued.
   CLAMP interviews
   Interviews are about CLAMP's experiences, I recommend you to buy this with MKR and RG Veda artbooks.



3. I absolutely love this book! It's amazing! Don't think you can just get the pics off the net, because it's so much better seeing the pics in real life, and it really makes a difference. It's worth every penny, and Amazon seems to have it on a permanent sale of twenty rather than thirty dollars. You can't get it any cheaper. Believe me, I looked everywhere. Great quality book, beautiful art and lots of it. The full-spread pics that cover two pages are the only setback, and a minor one.
   Now for the contents:
   
   1. Clover: the biggest section. Clover, like fine wine, needs an acquired taste. (I always wanted to say something like that) The art may not hit you at first, but once you get used to the art, you realize how beautiful it is. Clover is so beautiful, and I love the way they draw her hair blowing all over the place. I also love the futuristic mechanical theme and gorgeous, brilliant colors. And Kazuhiko and Suu are the cutest together. Not to mention Ai and Gingetsu. And there are a few stunning pics of Oruha, who I love! Plus all the cover art pics of the four Clover volumes. And a boxed set of Clover should be coming out this August (2005) so I'll finally be able to read another CLAMP masterpiece.
   2. Magic Knight Rayearth: Well, I have to say I was disappointed. Of course, there already were two volumes of artwork, so you can't expect to have that much left in this book. Most of the pics were the characters drawn chibi-form. I'm not that crazy about CLAMP's chibi guys anyway, so I wasn't so happy. Magic Knight Rayearth is one of my favorite CLAMP titles so far, so I was expecting more. The good thing was the full-color manga that wasn't included with the tankoban I got and had some crucial info in it. Where do they sleep? What do they eat? And what are there families like? The only problem was that the four pages of each section were squishd together in one page, making some small letters kind of hard to read. Still, there were some gorgeous pics, like the two posters with Emeraude-hime, Lantis and Zagato.
   3. Legend of the Dragon Kings: Love the art!! The four boys are so cute. There are the four of them as kings, and a napping series, and a tuxedo series and everything! Kawaii!!!!
   4. The Legend of Chun Hyang: Exuberant, energetic and colorful artwork. Chun and her hottie Yumeryu are the stars of this section, with one pic of Chun's mom and one of Chun as the cutest little girl y'ever saw! The full-page spreads of Chun on yellow and the other on red are so beautiful. I've been studying all the pictures of this book for ideas and tips to incorporate in my own drawings, the reason why I bought this book in the first place!
   5. CLAMP in Wonderland, CLAMP Campus Web Subschool, Others: the final art section. This section has group pics combining characters from all different series together, from Tokyo Babylon to x/1999 to RG Veda, plus pics with characters you have never seen before. This section also had the only nude picture of the book, a girl taking off her shirt and not wearing anything underneath. Nipples and breasts drawn explicitly, with full color. But it's only the one, so you can rip the page out if you like. Actually, there are a few not-quite nude pics in Clover and MKR, where the breast is not seen clearly, and no nipples are drawn. But don't worry; they're PG rated.
   6. Princess Mokona in CLAMP Country: A cute, short manga, very silly, drawn entirely in chibi-mode.
   7. Interview: The interview wasn't very personal; it was more facts than anything. The handwriting wasn't really THAT small, like other interviews say. There are also little pictures and footnotes that are useful and fun. But it was fun to read, especially the part on Chobits, the CLAMP series with the best artwork and cutest character!!
   8. Comments: Thumbnails of the pictures with comments. Unlike Naoko Takeuchi's comments on her artwork, CLAMP never really personalized the comments. Naoko-sensei (who created Sailor Moon) is a lot like me; she had problems drawing, disliked work after she made it and really loved her stuff. Anyway, the comments were fun.
   
   This book is great! I loved every page of it. Well, some of the pics at the end were ugly to me, but anyway...buy it now!!! If you want series like Legal Drug (ahhh....I just love Kazahaya-who doesn't??) Shirahime-syo and others, check out CLAMP South Side, which has a how to draw section, less extras, but more pics. BUY IT NOW!!!! (Highly recommended)



4. I am in love. I'd give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could.
   
   My friend had preordered this artbook and showed it to me when it arrived yesterday. I gushed over every single page of it. The artwork was exquisite - pages after pages of beautiful lineart with superior coloring (I can now understand why this had to be printed in Japan). I am ordering it right now!
   
   The first major category was Clover, and the illustrations were even more beautiful than in the manga - the coloring definitely boosted the beauty.
   
   The next section was Magic Knight Rayearth, including a few pieces of artwork drawn for the OVA (Princess Emeraude looked stunning). A minor complaint I have for this section is that the little strips of MKR mini-manga dialogues were already in print in the Magic Knight Rayearth I Box Set Memorial Book. Then again, the box set was limited edition so it could be considered a plus.
   
   As you might've already read from the artbook descriptions, this artbook also includes Legend of Chun Hyang and CLAMP in Wonderland as well as many little extras (I love the index of the artwork in the back with small explanations of each), so I won't make myself redundant.
   
   Just one thing that might slightly turn some people away from this artwork is that in the CLAMP in Wonderland section, one (and only one that I've noticed) page portrayed explicit nudity (specificially: realistic coloring & shading of the female topless body). I doubt any long-time anime/manga fan would mind this very much, but I'm mentioning this here just the same in case it matters to some people for any reason.
   
   A note about North Side versus South Side is their major difference: The artwork in North Side is from mangas published by Kodansha, while South Side includes artwork from mangas published by Kadokawa Shoten. I personally love the series from North Side a whole lot more, but make sure you check out both artbooks if you're interested!
   
   With that said, if you are a CLAMP fan, this is a MUST have for your collection. Even if you are not familiar with CLAMP, I feel that this artbook is in many ways superior to others due to the high quality of print and artwork. What can I say? This is worth the $30 - and as I am typing this, Amazon has it on sale for $20. It'll be worth every penny! I strongly recommend "CLAMP North Side"!!



5. CLAMP NORTHSIDE FEATURES RAYEARTH OVA,MKR,MKR2,SSD/LEGEND OF CHYUNYANG,CLAMP IN WONDERLAND,CLOVER,SOHRYUDEN however,this artbook has an interview of CLAMP and has descriptions of every image featured

4 comments about Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration.

1. Hmmmm, how do I start. This is one of my favorite printmaking artists. Chuck Close does not work within any printmaking boundaries, he goes beyond them. His etchings extend the boundaries of how many plates can be printed prior to the paper deteriorating, his blockprints are absolutely mind bending and astounding, his reduction linocuts are masterful, and his creativity for paper pulp prints is freakishly genius. I love, love, love this book, and if you have any connection to works on paper or printed images then you too will love the interviews with Chuck Close, and the explanation of the process and collaboration. need I say more? buy this book!



2. The illustrations of this book are very good for understanding the works of the artist and the process as well.



3. The first reviewer here is nuts. This is a book that was released when Chuck Close had a retrospective on his prints. This book has info on the prints and no paintings. what is great about 'Process and Collaboration' is the fact that it delves so deeply into Closes working habbits and how he pretty much invents his process from one small series of works to the next.
   
   This book gave me a huge boost in my appreciation for Close. I liked him before, but this added so much depth to my understanding of him as an artist. I now feel as though Close is as complicated as any other artist that I have knowledge of. Even though he has built a long and vibrant legacy based on nothing more than close-up head shots. This is a must have book and I only wish that every artists retrospective went into a similar amount of detail.



4. This book as described is about the prints, and talks very little about the paintings. There are very nice and clear pictures, but I really only found a few pages interesting, and the rest was just like one long interview about the materials he used and the stories behind who chipped what woodblock and how it got done, etc. Maybe some people will like this book but I only found it slightly interesting.

No comments about Dan Flavin: A Retrospective.

5 comments about Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums (Re Visions : Critical Studies in the History and Theory of Art).

1. The boook was for my academic course..... and I was surprised by the reponse of amazon. They delivered it to me so fast. Thanks a lot. And the quality of the book is good too.....
   Book is basically related to museum culture and importance of rituals in those spaces.



2. As the title of Miss Duncan's book suggest, she sees the museums as almost religious institutions that entice the visitor to "enact a performance of some kind". Their very identity and meaning are constructed through this ritualistic practice, which is neither natural nor neutral. In the introduction the author states that she has no ambition in propagating what an art museum should be. In fact she does not indicate if she has such a clear cut ideal thought-out at all. The purpose of her research is to see, decipher and describe. There are, it turns out, two ways - two ideals in fact - a museum is presented to the public: the educational museum and the aesthetic museum. The first type proposes to educate the visitor, treating the exhibits as "art-historical objects", while in the second they are unique, original works of art to be reflected upon by the sophisticated guest, sheltered by the museum. Duncan insists that either way, all this happens in a "ritual-like" atmosphere, and that is what she wants to prove in her book. She deals with this aspect specifically in the first chapter. The older museums were practically all built in a style that consciously copied the architecture of old Greek and Roman temples and were often compared to them. The visitor, already mentally prepared for an enlightening experience, would receive (in a seemingly "objective" and disinterested package) rational and verifiable knowledge - a truth that is so obvious as to be irrefutable, when in fact it is highly subjective and hierarchical.
   In the second chapter, Duncan traces the development of the museum from the princely gallery into today's public, secular space, and maintains that this space is neither quite as clearly public, nor secular as it would like to be seen. Here, the Louvre and the National Gallery in London are primary examples. The museum here serves particular needs of the bourgeois state and its ideology.
   The third chapter follows the "museum boom" in the United States that begun in the late 19th century. Duncan sees it as a pretentious attempt of the new republic with no history to boast to be seen as civilized and a part of wider Western culture. She follows the mushrooming of "American Louvres", museums that ideologically support White Protestants' view of themselves and their political power. Here, an American museum equals money.
   Private museums that once belonged to rich collectors are dealt with in the fourth chapter. The characters of the often ruthless and predominantly white men are vividly brought to life, together with how they saw themselves, and how they wished their collections to reflect this.
   The final chapter deals in great length with the nature of modern art, and its use in today's museums.
   
   The premise that museums are ritual sites is highly problematic and on closer examination cannot be supported by facts. The argument that older museums were built in the style that closely followed that of the temples of antiquity is a hollow one, for in the late eighteenth and throughout the nineteenth century, all structures of significance were built that way. Banks, schools, parliaments, city markets, private houses, ch?teaux, family crypts, public baths and indeed museums were built in that style. Does it mean that all of these were ritualistic, temple-like places? Hardly. Duncan either doesn't know it or doesn't grasp the significance. Instead she tells us that in art museums, it is the visitors who perform the ritual. And I think therein lies the problem. While it is perfectly reasonable to say that a great majority (if not all) of people attending a mass in a church are there for a specific - ritualistic - reason, such assumption won't work when studying the behavior of museum-goers who may be there for a number of causes. First of all, there is absolutely nothing about timing one's visit to a museum that would suggest this. There is nothing regular about the visits and such a visit is often accidental as much as planned. Once inside the museum, I have never seen anything that would suggest any shared patterns of the visitors' conduct that would support this `ritual' theory. I have always interpreted what is more-or-less silence or only quiet talk as a mere politeness towards people around, rather then any sort of `ritualistic behavior'. I am silent in a hospital too. Whether one wants to admire one particular work of art or even see it as such is one's free choice. No museum in the world could force me to look at something longer then I want to. I have seen people, particularly in American museums, to behave no differently the they would elsewhere. Museums can place all manner of things for us to see in every way they can, to represent whatever they want them to represent, but in the end it is up to us to accept it or not. If someone wants to worship, why should I care?
   Duncan quotes Goethe as he impatiently waited for the opening of the Dresden Gallery in 1768 and using his exaltations as a proof of the ritualistic nature of gallery visits. She probably doesn't realize, that if this was the very first day of a gallery functioning, in the 18th century when there were almost no public museums or galleries, there could be hardly any talk of an established ritual. Duncan states that the origins of the evolution of the museum from the princely gallery lie in the discourse "in which bourgeois and aristocratic modes of culture were pitted against each other" and that the museums such as the Louvre stand as monuments to the new bourgeois state as it emerged at the time of revolutions. Yet later in the second chapter she says that conversions of this type happened before revolution in Dresden and Vienna. Why aristocratic and ultra-conservative regimes such as Saxony and Austria had at the time, would promote a monument to bourgeois state remains a mystery our eager writer could not be bothered to explain. After all, even Bourbons were considering opening the Louvre to the public before the revolution. Between 1789 and 1871 France experienced several revolutions, was run by three monarchies, two empires, three republics, directory and a consulate, and went through the Paris Commune, yet none of these widely varied governments thought of closing down the museum. If the new type of museum was simply a monument to the bourgeoisie, then why was it kept on in Soviet Russia and the entire communist bloc? Little details like that could not bother Duncan. Her overall historical scholarship is below that of an eight-grader, and so she cheerfully states that by 1825 all western capitals, monarchical or republican had a national gallery. Obviously, the fact that in 1825, there was no republican government in Europe escapes her. It is the complete lack of in-depth knowledge on Duncan's part that allows her to arrogantly write that the countries of the third world have museums just so that they can receive western military and economic aid. It is not just that it is plainly insulting, but what is implied is that getting money and weapons from the west is as easy as building a museum. And why, then, do some third world countries that refuse aid from the west still build museums? If a major argument in (what I take for) a serious book is built on hot air like that, than the book is perhaps not as serious as we might think. Duncan, as is painfully obvious by now, has no taste. It is therefore no surprise that she hates those who do. With misplaced sarcasm she derides the practice of basing museums on `national genius', claiming this to be the governing pattern in the west by 19th century. I seriously doubt that, if only because hardly two, perhaps three countries in the west could possess such wealth of cultural heritage as to claim a genius and not be laughed at. British art galleries, for example, could hardly build their identity on such shaky ground. But Duncan does not care about facts. Or logic. She unworriedly states that museums were seen as instruments of "social change capable of strengthening the social order", without realizing that it is a contradiction in terms. Now the plot has been completely lost, and by chapter three Duncan doesn't talk about ritual anymore. What she wants is to hate and deride. To her, public museums set up in the United States in the second half of the 19th century are nothing but nests of hypocrisy, thinly veiled racist institutions, run by and for the white male, the root cause of all evil. Uncouth terms like the `WASP' are standard here and one is left wondering if all white male Protestants really are pathological liars. The impression one takes from this is that museum founders, donors and curators are twisted, dangerous psychopaths. Perhaps we should keep them under lock and key as soon as they even start rambling about museums. When talking about lives of museum donors, Duncan approaches something resembling mildly appealing writing, but only because the subject is interesting. Predictably, another pearl awaits us at the end of the fourth chapter where she idiotically writes that Andrew Mellon's refusal to have his name associated with the National Gallery "is an act, however, that also obscures the deep contradiction on which the National Gallery is built: that one man, single-handedly, was able to dictate, pay for, and carry out the creation of so potent a symbol of the nation's spiritual and material wealth". I don't see Duncan's point. So what if one man can do all this? One man was behind building of the Suez Canal, one man led India's independence movement, a single sixteen year old French girl in the 1420's saved her country, yet no one would claim there to be some "deep rooted" contradictions. One prefers to admire the courage and persistence of an individual. Duncan does not. To her, anyone out of the ordinary, above the average, is an elitist.
   It all finally falls apart in the final chapter on modern art museums. These are places frequented by sexual deviants, all male. In fact, Duncan is convinced, all (!) of the modern art is about sex. This is just one of her bizarre beliefs, based on her strange, shamanistic psychoanalysis. I was, let me admit, a bit surprised to discover that as a man I had feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability in front of mature women (like Duncan, I presume) and was frightened of the vagina. Throwing in Latinisms just for good measure is apparently Duncan's idea of maturity.



3. Excellent working with seller, received item very fast! Would definitely recommend business with this seller.



4. Dr. Duncan's books discusses the history of art museums and focusses in on some notable, present day museums. Her approach combines the traditional art historian view with a sociological view. Art is not created in a vacuum and reflects the society it lives within. Duncan's approach gives us insight into why some artwork is accepted while other artwork is not.

   This book was required reading in my undergraduate studies. It is one of the few I choose to have in my personal library as well.

   Carol Duncan's book is small in size and easy to read. However, just because of its ease and size, don't mistake its value to art history. It is well researched and well edited. It is short, sweet and to the point. Too bad other art history books cannot be like that.




5. Dr. Duncan's book was required reading in my undergraduate studies. She writes from two angles - first, being the traditional fine arts view, and second, a sociological view. Art is not created in a vacuum and is directly affected by the society it lives in. There is a value to looking at art from this combined point of view. You have a clear picture why some art is considered valuable, while some is not.

   Carol Duncan's book delves into the reasons why we have art museums and then focusses in on some notable museums of today. The small book is an easy and quick read. However, its relative ease and small size does not mean it does not inform. It is well researched and well edited. It is short, sweet and to the point. Too bad more art history books are not like that.

2 comments about Great Expectations: John Singer Sargent Painting Children.

1. He has drawn and painted children since his teens. I liked how he painted his youngest sister Violet from the time she was born in 1870 until her marriage to Mr. Ormond. His paintings of children are diverse, from the kids from the Lily Carnation picture, to the upper class work study of the Boit children, to the teenage picture of Rosina nestled on a tree limb in Capri.
   
   He really showed his craft in painting the diverse pictures of children. He may not have had children, but his interest in them were very sincere and touching.



2. The book of children's paintings by Sargent is sold in many book stores. An excellent book, its list price is $60. Amazon lists it at nearly 50% less. Thus, the sale was not so much for a superior product, as for a far cheaper price.

5 comments about Style & Splendor: The Wardrobe of Queen Maud of Norway 1896-1938.

1. I never tire of this gorgeous book. The clothes are breathtaking and the photographs of very high quality. The text is informative and well edited. My taste runs more to mid-20th century clothing, except when I have this book in front of me.



2. Great book!! another Bible for me for great design and detail for young designers .



3. Beautiful book. Beautiful images. I wanted MORE images but that's just me.
   Cool to see some other designers works besides the greats like Dior and Balenciaga. There are a few outfits that really take my breath away. If it had more images I would have given it 5 stars! but it really is a 5 star book for most people.



4. This book is excellent for costuming ideas. It has large, sharp pictures that show the details on the dresses beautifully.



5. All of the books on historical fashion published by the Victoria & Albert Museum are beautiful, and this is no exception. I saw this exhibition while I was in London this summer and I was pleasantly surprised at liking the book because I always assumed that publications wouldn't be able to measure up to seeing the garments in person. Instead I found that the book gives me a chance to appreciate each beautiful garment at my leisure, and read the history about Queen Maud (which gives a context and feeling of `realness' to the clothing). The book features Edwardian coronation gowns (literally, Maud wore one for the coronation of Edward VII, her father), sportswear (riding gowns etc.), and dresses and suits through the late 30's all beautifully photographed and described.

No comments about Fields of Vision: The Photographs of Ben Shahn: The Library of Congress (Fields of Vision).

No comments about Museum Skepticism: A History of the Display of Art in Public Galleries.

4 comments about UltraModern: Samuel Marx Architect, Designer, Art Collector.

1. In choosing to name this book, "Ultramodern...", the author has painted herself into an intellectually untenable corner; the evidence presented in the book would scarcely lead the reader to the conclusion that Chicago architect/furniture designer Samuel Marx was even modern, let alone "ultramodern". And it is not as if Ms. O'Brien was not given ample opportunity to prove the title's assertion.
   Given the enviable privilege of unfettered access to a trove of material (including photographs detailing Marx's commissions) owned by the Chicago Historical Society, the Art Institute of Chicago, and numerous other cultural repositories , Ms. O' Brien was able to "cherrypick" the most suitable examples of Marx's furniture to make her point; she presumably chose to exclude information and photographs which would be less compelling in illustrating the putative importance of Marx as a modernist architect and furniture designer. Despite this obvious selection bias, the vast majority of the items chosen to be illustrated by O'Brien (perhaps 80%) were merely comfortable reinterpretations of known traditional styles commonly found in haute bourgeois households of that period. Perhaps more distressing is the fact that a good deal of the furniture "designed" by Marx that would putatively be labeled "modernist" in today's world is shown to have been "adapted" (O' Brien's term) from works that had been previously designed by luminaries such as Jean Michel Frank, T.H. Robsjohn Gibbings, Donald Deskey, Paul Frankl, Isamu Noguchi and others.
   
   In actuality, Marx's adaptations frequently make the pieces less modernist, not more. In some instances his adaptations fail altogether. For example, Marx "adapted" a sleek off white Jean Michel Frank parchment covered waterfall low table by gluing a thick black (Chinese) Coromandel panel to the (replicated) table top thus ruining its sleekness and monochromatic subtlety. The result is analogous to adding a large set of gilded bull's horns to the grill of an exquisitely sculpted classic Rolls Royce.
   
   One of the tenets of modernism, "Form follows function", was obviously not an urgent priority for Marx . Living in Chicago for more than 30 years, I've had the opportunity to handle/inspect many known pieces of Marx furniture that have shown up at local auction houses (more than 100 pieces at Wright, Leslie Hindman, Sotheby's (Chicago), Susanin's, Hansel's , Toomey Treadway, Dunning's, Bunte, Milne Klein etc.) and hundreds more that were most likely done by Marx but were unmarked (much of his furniture was unmarked, a fact that is not even mentioned in the book). What is discernible after inspecting even the "best" pieces (and living with some of the others) is that Marx's pieces were not very well thought out. For example, if one does a search for Marx's furniture, a silverleaf bombe chest being sold (for about $70,000) comes up. This dresser, which sold at Wright Auction about two and a half years ago for about $25,000, has massive drawers which are extremely cumbersome. Moreover, Marx made matters worse by unwisely choosing to put only one centrally placed pull on each drawer (and not a very functional pull at that). Resultantly, even when the drawers are empty, they are very unwieldy; fully loaded, they are nearly impossible. More recently (December 2007), Wright Auction (the purveyor of the most desirable Marx furniture at auction and certainly the most fecund source for "signed" pieces) sold a simple burled oak veneer desk designed by Marx for one of the partners in his architectural firm (Charles Schonne) for about $16,000. The desk drawers had no pulls on them whatsoever; only the top drawer had an indentation for fingertips to facilitate its opening. In order to open each of the remaining drawers, one would need to grasp with one's fingertips both of the (lateral) free edges of the drawer and tenuously negotiate its opening. The desk is fairly attractive but not very well designed. These are not isolated examples; they are fairly typical. Moreover, Marx chose to make most of his furniture with veneers and time has not been very kind to most of them.
   
   To what did Marx owe his success? Quite simply, a large part of his success came from social connections garnered as a result of his marrying stunningly well (at least twice). Marx, whose father was a prosperous dry goods merchant in Mississippi, seemingly hit the marital jackpot in 1916 when he married Margaret Schaffner, the daughter of the head of Hart, Schaffner, and Marx (no relation). Through social connections facilitated by his marriages, Marx received many commissions from members of his elite social set which included a bevy of extremely wealthy Jewish corporate movers and shakers, mainly in Chicago but also in New York and Los Angeles In 1937, after a brief second marriage to a sculptress (who went on to be the long term paramour of Mies),the 52 year old Marx married Florene May Straus, the daughter of the founder of the May Company, a thriving department store chain. (To put this in perspective, May Company was purchased by Federated Department Stores in 2005 for $11 billion.) This marriage opened even more doors for Marx, including a series of commissions amongst the Hollywood elite. It was only after his marriage to Florene that Marx started collecting major art works by big name artists eg. Modigliani, Picasso, Matisse, etc. In the book, Ms. O' Brien makes a good deal about the "moderness" of the Marx art collection but again this is somewhat misleading. To collect Picasso, Matisse, and Modigliani in the 1940's and '50's was not at all cutting edge; Picasso and Matisse had already been superstars in the artworld for nearly 30 years before Marx bought his first major work.
   
   This is a good book to borrow from your local library or through interlibrary loan.



2. This book gives a very good insight to the man as well as to his work. The photography was excellent. I was able to understand alot about the great designers and architecs of the mid portion of the previous century.



3. Samuel Abraham Marx was an architect, furniture designer, connoisseur, and collector who worked during the early decades of the 20th century. Profusely illustrated with more than 200 images, "Ultramodern Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector" by Liz O'Brien (a decorative arts dealer specializing in modern design) is the first monograph of a once relatively obscure by nowadays increasingly influential American designer. "Ultramodern Samuel Marx" is the product of ten years of research and includes many of his undiscovered projects, including houses that he designed but which have been razed (despite preservationist protest) as well as his unique furniture designs. Properly providing context to his place in the history of twentieth century architecture and design, "Ultramodern Samuel Marx" is an informed and informative showcase of a remarkable talent whose hallmark was to so skillfully combine architecture and furniture designs so that they complemented and supported each other both esthetically and functionally. A superb and insightful introduction, "Ultramodern Samuel Marx" is a very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, academic, and community library American Architecture reference collections and supplemental reading lists.



4. This book highlights the importance and beauty of the "real modern" movement and one of its most celebrated arctitects of the movement. The homes and furnishings that exsit to date that we are able to study and review are just wonderful. It is an important book for anyone interested in the modern movement and its historical development in the United States. It is written extrememly well and informs without lecturing the reader. A perfect book for our current era of "editing our lives."

1 comments about Thomas Hope: Regency Designer.

1. This is a truly excellent addition to the rather small literature on Thomas Hope. Every facet of his career and talents from Interior design,collecting and travel, furniture design, drawing and writing is discussed, as is his -and his family's - history. The catalogue section presents the history and significance of items designed and owned by him and his family. A worthwhile purchase for anyone interested in interior design, collecting or simply the lives of extraordinary individuals.