5 comments about Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art.

1. If you read Juztapoz and High Fructose, worship Mark Ryden and Coop, love art but are disappointed with contemporary conceptual and process work, THEN BUY THIS BOOK!!!! The out and out bible of pop surrealism and low brow. Savy mixes of graffitti street culture with fine art. I have to say that the discovery of pop surrealism, which I first saw in this book, revolutionized my own art work and has radically changed my ideas about the trajectory of art. Needless to say I like it.



2. Together with Peter Swirski's 'From Lowbrow to Nobrow' this is one of my favourite books on popular art, aka lowbrow, pop, junk, genre, and so on.
   Jordan's focus is very much on the visual aspec ts of lowbrow art, an orientation which is only enhanced by the graphic design of the covers and the book itself. I was quite familiar with many of the artists represented in his book, so I was a little less than completely enthused.
   One of the chief drawbacks of this very engaging book is the palpable lack of a more historical/analytical framework in which to situate lowbrow art. Another thing I would have loved to see is, especially since Swirski usefully traces it, a detailed treatment of nobrow culture and nobrow art which appears to have been around longer than most critics and commentators would have us believe. All in all, I give Matt Jordan a well deserved four stars, reserving the top score for the book which is really a companion rather than competition to his, From Lowbrow to Nobrow.



3. This book is a fine introduction to the work of a younger generation of painters who eschew the cold, minimalist aesthetic that afflicts contemporary art like herpes on Paris Hilton's nether regions. These bold dudes and dames draw instead from the pop culture all around them--and the pop culture of long-lost bygone eras, like the '80s. If you're at all familiar with psychedelia, punk, hot rods, comic books (and underground "comix"), "classic" TV, tiki culture, advertising art & design, fast food, celebrity magazines, steers, beers, queers, freaks, geeks and of course serial killers, then you should find the art in this book accessible as a beer bottle bong in a Phish fan's dorm room. What sets them apart from the pop artists of yesteryear is the young bucks approach the culture as the warm embryonic bath from which they were weaned, lost their virginity and will drown in. Whereas even Warhol had to keep at least one foot in the "high" culture (his bread & butter, after all), artists like Gary Panter and Robert Williams would be just as happy plastering their wares on T-shirts and album covers (and don't bring up Warhol's dalliance with the Velvet Underground; most art snobs still dismiss that amazing band as so much juvenile effluvia). While a great deal of snark and irony can be found here, there's also a genuine appreciation of subjects they were supposed to grow out of.
   
   While everyone will have their own personal faves, and it should be noted that there are a wide range of styles represented here, for me the standouts include the goth-tastic Camille Rose Garcia and Mark Ryden, the gonzo surrealism of Scott Musgrove and Skot Olsen and the cubist comix art of the great Gary Panter. Many will be familiar the highly influential Robert Williams, whose work suggests a coke-addled Salvador Dali on a high speed road trip through the trashiest regions of American culture with a bunch of Hell's Angels as tour guides. Don't hate him just 'cause Guns n' Roses used one of his pieces for an album cover--hate him 'cause he disses pretty much every artist that came in his wake. Still, I have to admit his stuff is pretty rockin'.
   
   Now for the downside. While the reproductions here are generally clear and well-presented, artists who use a lot of detail, like the disturbing, obsessive Joe Coleman, are hemmed in and almost incomprehensible. Even more disappoiting is the cover desigh and title; sure, most of these artists have an appreciation of kitsch, but their work isn't kitschy. It's one thing to wear marginalization as a badge of honor, it's quite another when one of your supporters (Matt Dukes Jordan, the author) marginalizes you, if only by accident. One could also fault the lack of graffiti art here; if "lowbrow" is not really a movement, then why not? All in all, though, "Weirdo Deluxe" is more fun (and informative) then shaving the hair from Ed Asner's back.



4. As a contemporary artist and fan of post war american art I found Dukes Jordan's tome to be a fascinating blueprint of both cutting edge "Lowbrow" art and it's genesis in US kitsch kulture.
   
   I've been subscribing to Juxtapoz for years, so I'm already familiar with most of the artists featured by Jordan. Nevertheless I snapped up his book RIGHT a way. It's cool to have a mini monograph of so many cool artists at my fingertips. The art reproduction is first rate.
   
   His time line describing the key events in 20th century american pop culture culminating in the Lowbrow movement was particularly fascinating. He ties together all the disparate cultural threads as he traces the history of this art form.
   
   All in all a fabulous art book.



5. A first-rate introduction to an underground art movement that blends cartoony pop culture elements with fine art sophistication. True to the spirit of the art, the book is fun to read and packed with colorful details about the artists, their work, and the history of the movement. The selection of art provides a good overview of each artist's work and the print quality of the art is excellent -- clear, bright, and detailed. The book's zany and beautiful design complements the art. Highly recommended.

4 comments about The Turkic Speaking Peoples: 2,000 Years of Art And Culture from Inner Asia to the Balkans.

1. This is a very beautiful and informative book, but the editing and proofreading leave quite a lot to be desired. The typographical errors are too numerous to list, as are examples of lack of consistency in transcription and spelling. It would certainly have been less confusing to readers if the information in the various articles had been correlated so that contradictions did not occur. For example, Talat Tekin, in his chapter, "Present-Day Turkic Peoples and Their Languages," says that "Karay [Karaim] is now a dead language," yet Éva Csató Johanson, in her contribution to the book, "The Karaims: The Smallest Group of Turkic-Speaking Peoples," quite correctly states that Karaim is an endangered language, but is still alive and spoken by Karaites/Karaims in Lithuania, as well as by some elderly people in Halich, in addition to Dr. Csató's comment that the Karaites/Karaims of the Crimea are trying to revive their dialect of the language. There is also some data on the origin and history of the Karaites/Karaims of the former Soviet Union that is presented as fact, although scholars have been hotly debating these issues for quite some time.
   
   The book undoubtedly has a large number of wonderful photographs and much useful textual material, but unfortunately, in many respects, its scholarly value is somewhat limited, not to say questionable.



2. Excellent scholarship on Turkish culture
   
   Today I opened this huge book and I am truly amazed about the range of articles and high quality of the contributions. Abundant illustrations accompany the texts. This books made me feel like packing my bags and visit all the places that are mentioned, like Central Asia, Mongolia, Russia or Turkey.
   
   Besides the description of the Turkic languages and history of the Turkic peoples this book focuses on several topic that are highly relevant for contemporary Europe, like the relationship between the Turks and Arabs and the political situation in Anatolia following the Turkic invasion. Nowadays this is seen as a clash between cultures and Christian and Muslim faiths, but this books shows the not so well known facts of peaceful coexistence of Greek and Turkis communities.
   
   Also highly interesting and less known to most Europeans is the fact that a considerable portion of the population belongs to of the Alevi faith and its diverse branches in Turkey, which is a "liberal" islam. I can recommend also an article about the relation between Europe and Turkey.I saw also a nice article about Manichaeism and Buddism among the Uighur Turks.
   
   I have not started to look into the article on Turkish cuisine, but the description of pilav and other recipes are worth to try in your own kitchen.
   
   With 500 pages and lots of illustrations on a wide range of subjects this book should be interesting enough for everyone, even people who consider themselves experts on Turkish culture. Highly recommended!



3. With its informative content & very well chosen photos the readers will have a better understanding of the Turks and their culture. Every chapter will let the reader get another book about its content and it will remain as the reference on Turks for a very long time.



4. Very impressive pictures and good overview. Even new beginners in Turkology can understand the basic concepts. Not detailed but gives certain taste of Turkic world. Strongly advise to everyone who is willing to learn about the TURKS and TURKIC(TURKISH) WORLD.

2 comments about Karl Blossfeldt: The Alphabet of Plants.

1. The photographs in this book of nature will inspire any artist or crafts person...or architect. The work provides inspiration when it can't be found in the field or back yard. Its a book that is pleasurable to leaf through.



2. Form is highly mimetic in nature. A limited number of what might be called prototypical patterns find their way into an infinite number of fomal structures. For example, it is apparent upon close inspection that branching patterns of trees (best seen in winter, of course) eerily resemble arterial branching patterns of the heart as revealed by cardiologic angiography. Despite divergent functionality of the two systems, the formal architecture is almost identical! This is no accident of nature, to be sure. Karl Blossfeldt: The Alphabet Of Plants is a survey of some basic forms in nature. Its premise, as articulated in an introductory essay by Gert Mattenklott, is that "the architectonics of the modern age are built upon archaic, elemental forces. The rationally calculated workings of machines is in secret correspondence with the eternal rythym of life, and the plant serves as the model." Thus a careful, aesthetically mindful examination of the plant world is important in the first instance because it has the power to inform and expand our perceptual vocabulary. And, following on from that, to enhance our capacity for developing efficient, durable industry and for creating visually resonant art and architecture. Indeed, Blossfeldt was a sculptor by training and so the primacy and importance of form in his photography need hardly surprise us. What does surprise, however, in this eye-opening series of high contrast, texturally detailed duotone photographs (created some seventy to eighty years ago) of mostly quite unusual plant morphology, is the obvious correspondence of the geometry of plant life to so many of the constituitive and ornamental forms that make up the physical manifestations of modernity. There are only a limited number of (archetypal) patterns to be made use of, it seems, and their inventory is definable.

No comments about Cuba Libre.

No comments about America and the Tintype.

3 comments about Underworld: Sites of Concealment.

1. This review is intended to compensate for deficiencies in Amazon's usually excellent descriptions of books.
   
   This book is the catalog of a traveling exposition of art photographs, taken entirely within Germany, and centered on underground places from historical times to the late 20th century. The bulk of the book, and its main value, lie in the reproductions of 83 color photographs. These are technically superb in selection of subject, artistic composition, and photographic execution. The images focus entirely on structure and underground spaces: nowhere appears a human being. Every image is reproduced in large format, using a top-quality printing process.
   
   The book has two main text chapters, both bilingual in having both the original German, and an English rendering in translation.
   
   Preceding the presentation of the images is an artistic exposition of human responses to underground places and their cultural significance. The underlying material is thoughtful and sensitive, but the English translation seems mechanical and less than fluent.
   
   Following the presentation of the images is an image-by-image commentary on the history and significance of each subject. Here the English text is fluent and delightfully informative.



2. I've paged thru this book hundreds of times for inspiration, and research. I consider this book a valueable asset to any library. It's a fantastic reference source that covers such a wide variety of images. The photos are magnificent.



3. As a concept designer in the entertainment industry, I found this book to be a wonderful resource for all the underground hideaways that you rarely see. I highly recommend this book!

No comments about Homo Sum.

3 comments about Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life.

1. Such a cute little book! Flipping Brilliant: A Penguin's Guide to a Happy Life is a perfect gift for penguin lovers, the bird-obsessed or anyone who,d appreciate a touch of wisdom from the colder side of life. The photos are stunning!



2. This is the best new little penguin book out there with a wonderfully philosophical
   view point that is charming and encouraging and truly inspirational. Buy it! A wonderful gift
   for young and old. Great photography!!



3. I Love penguins and of course want to learn all I can about them. Now with this book, I can learn from them. It has very beautiful pictures and great "life lessons" This is a fun book to read when you have a few minutes or are having a bad day. Penguins remind us what life is about and show us to keep it simple. A great book!

No comments about Big Island; Images of the Island of Hawaii.

3 comments about Russia: Beyond Utopia.

1. This is one of the rare books that gave me pure pleasure. Andrew Moore's pictures of Russia are not to be just looked at but contemplated. Returning to them one discovers each time something more about their beauty and the story they tell. Andrew Moore makes us see things our eyes would never have seen if we had visited those same places. The editor is also to be congratulated for the great quality of the book.



2. I was disappointed when I looked through this book. I am not sure what I was expecting. I might have kept the book if I had understood more of the pictures. I have been to Russia 3 times and I guess I saw more things that I would have included in this book. Russia is far from a utopia and to not picture the every day tourist scenes is perfectly fine, but I guess I would have wanted more explanations. The picture quality however was very good.



3. What a delightful collection of photos from modern Russia. What particularly lured me into buying this book was first, a fascination for Russia, for life in its newly changed government, and because this book shows two sides of the country, both the decadent imperialist past and the new, modern Russia. What stikes me most in these photos is the incongruency in the every day elements of life, the mix of building materials that were no doubt selected for their functional rather than selected for any artistic merit, and how it all blends together to create a certain 'look' to the country.
   
   Some photos that caught my eye include a derailed line of boxcars shot at the port of Okha, a side-car motorcycle posing in front of a boxy two-story apartment building near the sea of Okhotsk, and a well manicured dining area at the Ukrania Sanitorium, color coordinated in white, light blue and red, illuminated both by natural light and a lit chandelier. Most of the photos are populated with people, some showing both the residents and their environs, and other photos focusing more on the land and structures of the country itself.
   
   The range of the 120 plates leaves me with such a visually mixed reaction to the country, from its vastness, to its natural beauty, with a touch of gloom.
   
   I am very pleased that I bought this book.