2 comments about Pissarro: Creating the Impressionist Landscape.

1. If you like Pissarro's earlier landscape work before he got involved in neo-Impressionist stuff, this is pretty much the only book I've seen with a good selection of prints from that period. I wish it were more comprehensive but there are a number of lesser known paintings in here. A few knocked my socks off (such as Houses at Bougival 1870). At his best, he was every bit as good as Cezanne, Monet, and Corot; sometimes better. Its a shame that so many paintings from this period were lost in a fire.



2. I found that the book Pissarro was very through and had lots of his work included. I enjoyed it very much. He was one of the first impressionists and they school of impressionism is my favorite area of the arts.

No comments about Iranian Contemporary Art.

1 comments about Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond.

1. Each year there are increasing numbers of fine 'catalogues', beautifully designed and illustrated and written to accompany museum and gallery exhibitions. That major book publishing companies are paying attention to the arts in this way is gratifying indeed. But when a book of such insight and scholarship and content such as ART OF ENGAGEMENT: VISUAL POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND appears on the scene, it raises the entire issue of 'accompanying catalogues' to a new level. Peter Selz has created a volume of a topic that is pertinent not only to California art (though that in and of itself is rewarding in seeing the West Coast as pioneer in art form!), it is equally important to the examination of the influence art has had in response to and in alerting the public to the vagaries and contagions of political and social issues.
   
   Selz surveys California art from 1945 to the present and in doing so addresses such issues as the genocide atrocities of WW II as recalled by artists, the development of the Bay Area and beyond Beat generation, ethnic and racial issues involving the Chicano migrant worker struggles, the Black Panther movement, Feminism, Gay Crises and Pride, and philosophical/political issues such as capital punishment, environmentalism, free speech, censorship and all the tangential issues that accompany them. The writing is probing, challenging, disturbing, uplifting and ultimately reinforcing the concept that artists are often the passionate spokesmen for the silent masses.
   
   The artists responding to these issues are drawn from a large pool, that group including Hans Burkhardt, Robert Arneson, Enrique Chagoya, Judy Chicago, Llyn Foulkes, Rupert Garcia, Helen and Newton Harrison, Wally Hedrick, Suzanne Lacy, Hung Liu, Peter Saul, Miriam Schapiro, Allan Sekula, Mark di Suvero, Masami Teraoka, and Carrie Mae Weems. The reproductions of these powerful works are superb and the running commentary and information about the artists that accompany the images is first class. Not only paintings are represented, but also photography, murals, sculpture, performance art, drawings, installations - almost every manner or artistic statement.
   
   This is a singularly powerful book and should be up for many awards - for content, for the exhibition it represents, and for the documentation of the immense importance California art has had on the public's awareness of political change. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, November 05

No comments about form, color, illumination: Suzan Frecon painting (Menil Collection).

5 comments about Chasing Rainbows: Collecting American Indian Trade & Camp Blankets.

1. "Chasing Rainbows" is beautiful, profoundly informative and more fun to read than any collecting book you've ever owned...period!



2. I received this book as an early Christmas gift and now I'm buying a dozen copies to give to friends and family. This is the most beautiful and interesting collecting book I've ever read. The author is remarkably funny while delivering all the information on the subject anyone could possibly absorb. Just a fantastic effort.



3. Most books about collecting have lovely photos and dull text. This is an exception! Friedman's text is fun and helpful, with photos used as examples.



4. Wow- that's entertainment. Who knew blankets could be so fun and interesting? Now I do! A unique era in American history is crystalized in this book. If Barry writes it- I'll read it. Laughed out loud- often.

   Superb- buy it and will it to your favorite child.




5. I own a massive library of books on every imaginable collecting subject and none has given me more joy than "Chasing Rainbows". Barry Friedman has intertwined his vast knowledge of Indian blankets, American history, the antiques business and garnished the result with a unique sense of humor and breathtaking photos to create a book that is an absolute gem. This is a great book from a very gifted man.

1 comments about New Land Marks : Public Art, Community, and the Meaning of Place.

1. New*Land*Marks: Public Art, Community, and the Meaning of Place, edited by Penny Balkin Bach, is the book version of an exhibition of models and proposals for an ambitions public art project in Philadelphia, undertaken by the Fairmount Park Art Association. In a way, the show and book are virtual public art: the photographs, texts, and models are a vision of what could happen, not only in this project but in the larger area of community-based public art. Sixteen artists provide visions of the city, communities within it, and the interaction of art, the public, and public space. The book itself is beautifully designed: with innovative site photographs and innovative presentation of the texts and models proposed for each site. This book breaks new ground in the field of public art.

No comments about Monument To Now.

2 comments about Worlds of Thomas Jefferson At Monticello.

1. 
   What a book! If you are planning on visiting Monticello or learning about Thomas Jefferson, you must have this book! This is like having Thomas Jefferson's accounting book with you. Many, if not all of Jefferson's personal effects are cataloged in this book!



2. If you are interested in Thomas Jefferson or Monticello, this is a terrific book. Over 150 of Jefferson's personal possessions are photographed and documented with detailed explanations and provenance of the items. Covered are varied objects such as works of art, china, portraits, scientific instruments, natural history specimens, and personal objects. This book really illustrates how varied Jefferson's interests were. A very fascinating book!

5 comments about 2007 Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market.

1. This is a great book of sources for freelance projects. It has interesting articles and tons of people to contact. You do need to read through carefully to pick publishers who are more likely to need your services.



2. essential to the start-up freelancer or the old pro who wants new contacts for work. I wish they had this when I was starting out...



3. Don't waste your money. As an art-rep I think this book is depressing and does not give a complete view of the choices that artists have. I found many mistypes and I believe that their sources are not a good spread of the market. My advice is to get it from the library and explore your options on the web. Just like anything start at the bottom, be nice, willing to learn, and stick to it. It is possible to make it.
   -KTB



4. Full of information and where to submit things. It is really helpful. I'm so glad there is a book out there like this.



5. This book is so inspiring. I have not yet sent any art off to the world, but I feel confident now..before I had no idea how to go about it.

4 comments about A Maritime Album: 100 Photographs and Their Stories.

1. There is no question that the photographs in this work are wonderful, bringing "old salts" back to their environment and leaving landlubbers in awe.

   However, the text, as indicated by fellow reviewers, can be considered a bit obscure if you are looking for cut-and-dry captions. It should be noted that one of the most appealing aspects of the book is that it does not simply apply a caption to an associated photo but rather tells the story behind it, providing details you simply would not be privy to from viewing the picture alone.

   This wonderful book has been given as a holiday gift time and again in our family and has provided many a pleasurable moment flipping through the pages.

   "Tight Lines!"
   ~..~..~.. ><((((*>




2. The great photographs cannot salvage the horrible text which rambles off into areas completely removed from the subject matter. Benson's commentary is... well... odd. At times you wonder exactly what it is he's talking about. And the few warship photographs exhibit a great deal of bias against all things military. This is particularly odd since the Mariner's Museum, which has attached its name to this drek, earned its reputation primarily on the preservation and salvage of warship artificats from the USS Monitor. Just plain weird, this book should be avoided at all costs expecially if you've ever been a sailor in uniform.



3. I bought this book with great anticipation expecting a wonderful book on maritime photography. I am a fan of John Szarkowski and love his earlier work. While the choice of images is superb and the reproduction is wonderful, I was extremely disappointed by the text. Written by Richard Benson, it can only be characterized as bizarre, irrelavent and self indulgent. Opportunities to place the work in an historical or artistic context were often lost to flights of fantasy.



4. I own a signed copy of this book, and it sits proudly on my coffee table. I have read it twice already, and each time I learn something more about a specific photograph which I had not realized before. A great collection of images, from the Civil War to imported VWs on the dock in Baltimore, MD.