Editorial Review

Though he is chiefly viewed as a monumental pop-art icon, Andy Warhol was truly a man of many talents. But his component parts don't necessarily match up. He made paintings, prints, sculptures, installations, performances; he produced one of the greatest rock bands of all time, the Velvet Underground; he directed films and wrote a novel as well as a philosophical text. But over and above this massive pile of work is a man who was unpredictable, enigmatic, and impenetrable: ultimately, he would have others think, almost inhuman.Read more

Reviews (1)

Imagery + Surrealism = Pop Realism
After reading this book, I reckon that Andy Warhol was a man of unpredictable genius. Imbedded in his images is the poetic appeal and the simultaneous pop and avante-garde timelessness of his art. He made theserious and the comic blend well. He balanced the beau monde and theclassless. His colour choices evoked and exposed the hidden images withinhis works, and they simply slither in mind once you stare at them. Unlikesome new generation artists or wannabees who only splash their canvasseswith colours, sometimes of uncompromising combinations, every artwork ofWarhol is alive, moving and his concept comprehensive. Here is a pop artistwho is wildly prolific! As a freelance writer and editor doing articles ondesign and who works within the pop culture, I'd say his works are morethan simply decoratives. They speak with you and are nothing less thanenthralling. I feel terrific owning a copy! This is a treasureable read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1928-1987    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Drawing    5. Exhibition Catalogs    6. Exhibitions    7. Individual Artist    8. Popular Culture    9. Warhol, Andy,   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (18)

Where are the Audio and Video Versions?
Yes, back in the late 60's or early 70's there were both audio and a movie version of this title.I use to own the LP album and frequently watched the short movie version that played on college campuses more than 35 years ago.Hopefully, the LP and movie will eventually be transferred to CD and DVD?Better yet: podcast?clyde

Wisdom from the Prophet of the Internet
Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) never conceived of the Internet.But the great communications theorist understood where communications was going, and the revolutionary effects of its direction.
To Digital or Not to Digital; Was That The Question?Chocolate/Vanilla, Either/Or Options?
Do printed Words create a sick society of antisocial eggheads with their noses hovering habitually above pages of ink?Duh, what?He said what when?
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Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Communication    3. Graphic Arts - General    4. Individual Artist    5. Language    6. Language Arts & Disciplines    7. Mass Communication    8. Media Studies    9. Technology And Society    10. Impact of science & technology on society    11. Information theory   

Reviews (1)

Bill's doxy

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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. Individual Artist    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Photographs: portraits   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Art Criticism    4. Criticism    5. Expertising    6. Gambling - General    7. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    8. History - Renaissance    9. Individual Artist    10. Oversize books    11. Painting    12. Specimens    13. Art / General    14. Art; science    15. Individual artists    16. Portraits in art    17. Renaissance art   

Reviews (3)

Spectacular
This book is spectacular.The images are breathtaking, and the quality of their presentation is nothing short of superb.Wow!!!

Why reorganize a symphony?
Let me qualify my remarks by first saying that I have not even seen this version. I have no doubt that the printing is of the highest quality, but I have a serious reservation about the organization of this book.Audubon deliberately mixed his birds in a non-taxonomic order to maintain a freshness and an element of suprise.I recently acquired a large format copy published by Welcome Rain, which follows Audubon's original order.The effect is a delightful romp through nature, full of suprises, drama and movement.He never intended it to be a catalog with all his ducks in a row, it was to be an experience.I have seen an abridged, small format edition of his paintings arranged in the standard, dull taxonomic order of a typical field guide and the effect is nothing like seeing them in the order Audubon intended.Rearranging the plates for convenience of listers diminishes this work, and to a certain extent, is a disservice to the artist.While I am happy to see that his work remains in print and is being reproduced at very high standards, I would hope that it would be viewed as a symphony, not as a random collection of notes needing to be organized alphabetically.

Beautiful volume of audubon
If you are a birder and you collect all the great bird books, your collection is not complete until you get this. A beautiful book, contained in a hard case, with excellent printing. A steal at $250 at its original price, now knocked down between $125 to $185. Get this book! A great tribute to Peterson and Audubon. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Artists    3. Biography    4. Birds    5. Individual Artist    6. Nature/Ecology    7. North America    8. Ornithologists    9. Ornithology    10. Techniques - Painting - Specific Subjects    11. United States    12. Birds (ornithology)   

Editorial Review

For more than 30 years, Dale Chihuly's work, principally in glass (but occasionally including such unconventional media as neon and ice), has challenged traditional distinctions between craft and art. Chihuly's oeuvre is notable for its vibrancy of color, the boldness of its shape and execution, and, in recent years, its studied mimicry of natural forms, from cacti to seaweed and jellyfish. The scale of these blown-glass works ranges from pieces suitable for a coffee table to vast hanging chandeliers that drape from ceiling to floor or shoot up like Christmas trees from below. At times, Chihuly's work is merely decorative, a collection of brightly colored, softened glass forms that resemble melted Christmas tree ornaments, sea anemones, squash, wriggling eels, and other organic shapes. The dizzying abundance of work created by Chihuly himself and his students-cum-assistants at his Pilchuk Glass School, and the enormously successful marketing of this art (Pilchuk, located near Seattle, is open to visitors), has lead some viewers to an overfamiliarity with the work. But art critics Donald Kuspit and Jack Cowart argue for its originality and importance in their introductory essays. (Perhaps overly so: Cowart compares the pieces to Matisse, Turner, and Walt Disney's Read more

Reviews (5)

Magnificent Chihuly Art
This book is beautiful!I visited the botanical gardens in St. Louis and saw some of Dale Chihuly's work close up. I've never seen anything like it. What an incredible art form this is. This book brings back the same feelings I had while looking at his work in person. The pictures in this book are breathtaking. The great thing about this particular book is that it has pictures of his work located all over the world. Many of the pictures have a location listed and some of them have Mr. Chihuly's comments on the piece and how he felt about creating it. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a general book on his work. I have it on my coffee table in the family room and everyone who opens it up, can't put it down. Every turn of the page brings a "WOW" or "Incredible". Truly a `must have' book for your collection.

Hypnotizing and beautiful
I was introduced to Chihuly through a special on my local PBS station many years ago.I couldn't remember his name, but I always remembered that he was the brilliant man with the unorthodox style.His vision and his artistic talents are immense.This book is absolutely mesmerizing and gorgeous with page after page of color photos.From the "Chihuly Over Venice" project to his designs for the set of the opera "Pell�as et M�lisande" for the Seattle Opera.This book truly is a feast for the eyes and the soul.Chihuly is a master of glass and this book proves it.

Truly a worthwhile book
Among the thousands of art books on the market, Kuspit's exhaustive look at Dale Chihuly's career in glass is a bargain for the Amazon price. Filledwith gorgeous color photos of Chihuly's unique work, and intelligentlywritten, this book will grace any art lover's shelf. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1941-    2. 20th century    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Chihuly, Dale,    6. Crafts & Hobbies    7. Criticism and interpretation    8. Essays    9. Glass & Glassware    10. Glass Arts And Crafts    11. Glass art    12. History    13. Individual Artist    14. Sculpture    15. United States    16. Art / Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    17. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass    18. Chihuly, Dale    19. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    20. Individual artists    21. USA   

Reviews (4)

Great art book
Wonderful book showing many of Harper's prints as well as a paragraph about each written by him.

A Delightful Mixture of Art, Science, and Humor
Beguiled by the Wild is a complete collection of limited edition prints by wildlife artist Charley Harper that spans three decades of his career.The captions printed in the book are the original versions that were issued with each print. The prints have long been sold out and this book represents the only published collection of his work. A rare self-interview and introduction by Roger Caras are the only additional text. Each page brings to life an example of Charley's unique ability to combine humor, art, and science. Readers will be hard-pressed to flip through the pages of this coffee table book without stopping at almost every page to learn the message inherent with each piece. Charley's unusual style, which he calls "minimal realism", catches the eye and draws a smile. Often a maze of bright colors and geometric shapes dominates the scene making an initial interpretation puzzling. Reading the caption usually provides insight into the biology of selected insects, birds and mammals, which is often whimsical and always factual. "Armadittos", for example, depicts and inverted armadillo mother suckling a line of four pups in a circle of pine needles. The caption describes how armadillos always reproduce with four genetically identical quaruplets of the same sex(and they live in pine forests of the southern states).Similary, "Jesus Bugs" depicts a group ofwater strider insects with large circles surrounding each of their six feet, which also form circular shadows under the water. Only an entomologist would know that these circles represent depressions on the water surface caused by minute foot hairs that keep the insects from sinking. This artist has attracted a large audience of amateur and professional biologists who should get their hands on a copy of this book before it too goes out of print.

Great Coffee table book for lovers of animals & modern art
This is a wonderful coffee table book for anyone who loves animals and modern art. In his unusual style, the artist brings animals to life with geometric precision. The more I look at the art, the more I like it.Read more

Subjects:  1. American wit and humor, Pictor    2. American wit and humor, Pictorial    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Catalogs    6. General    7. Harper, Charley    8. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    9. Individual Artist    10. Individual Painters - Contemporary    11. United States    12. Wildlife art    13. Trees & wildflowers   

Reviews (15)

An Excellent book for the Doré or Dante lover
The quality of this book - along with an amazingly affordable price tag - quickly persuaded me to pick up a copy. Its really everything you could ask for in an art book;
Absolutely Wonderful (Really 4 and a half stars)
I have looked at a variety of Dante artists. Some well known and some are not. Suloni Robertson, John Flaxman, Willam Blake, Sandro Botticelli, Sandow Birk, Herb Roe. Do a google search to look at the works of some of these like Sandow Birk. There are some that are more obscure which in a way documents the Comedy, more specifically the Inferno. I'm not going to say who I don't like but Dore is the best. I am rather specific about artists. Dore makes the grade. He is good, really good and when you look at this book, you feel like you are in the terrible depths of hell. I like purgatorio too. I feel the religious prayer songs in my head as I see Beatrice's entrance. There is so much symbolism in these pictures, especially in Paradiso. Though I do disagree with the depiction of Muhammad in hell, the rest is fantastic. I mean that he looks more like he's British then Middle Eastern. I imagine him with blonde hair in the plate. The tortured look on Dante's face in the plate with Betrand de Born, (The cover pic) is extraordinary. I felt how he felt. That is why Dore is so good. I had also hoped for more detail with Ugolino because his story is fantastically horrifying.
The Dore's Illustrations for Dante's Commedia are great.
The Illustrations from the 1st canto in the Inferno to the last of Paradiso are great because they help as a visual aid when reading the Divina Commedia.One can really see how and in which ways Dore, when he design the illustrations, followed the text very closely. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1265-1321    2. 1265-1321.    3. Art    4. Dante Alighieri    5. Dante Alighieri,    6. Dante Alighieri.    7. Divina Commedia    8. Divina comedia    9. General    10. Illustrations    11. Individual Artist    12. Photography    13. Printmaking    14. Techniques - Cartooning    15. Art / Fine Arts    16. Illustration   

Reviews (1)

Beautiful, thought-provoking and utterly magical
I recently discovered Sugimoto's pictures browsing the web.This book is beautifully produced and plate after plate demands not only an aesthetic response from the viewer but also a decidedly intellectual and conceptual one (maybe that's the same thing!).It's rare to find art that is simultaneously so beautiful and so profound. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Asian    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    4. Essays    5. Individual Artist    6. Individual Photographer    7. Individual Photographers And Their Work    8. Photo Techniques    9. Photography    10. Photography As An Art    11. Individual artists   

Subjects:  1. Individual Photographer    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography   

Reviews (8)

A Masterpiece
Jenny Saville's paintings are not only gorgeous painterly works but also speak volumns about the view of all bodies and the meaning of difference. She is the Bacon and Freud next generation from a feminist perspective.

Beautifully presented
Jenny Saville's gripping art is presented beautifully in this lavish full-color hardcover. Her work, evocative of Lucien Freud's but somehow more slick -- her brush technique is very clean -- is at once lovely and disturbing. This is a book any admirer of fine contemporary (or, for that matter, any era) representational art should own. Saville is still remarkably young; one can only imagine how far her talent will guide her.

good book
es un buen libro, para los que conocemos a Jenny por im�ganes de sus obras en internet, te puedes llevar una sorpresa en cuanto a la tem�tica, es una tem�tica densa, pero incuestionable en su t�cnica, es una gran pintora.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Individual Artist    4. Individual Painters - Contemporary    5. Art / Individual Artist    6. Art styles: c 1960 -    7. Individual artists    8. Painting & paintings   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. History - General    4. Individual Artist    5. Techniques - Painting    6. Individual artists   

Reviews (9)

An Essential Insight
Heralded as perhaps one of the most influential conservation photographers of all time, Ansel Adams for many has existed only as a name attached to brilliant, vibrant and expressive landscape photography.Perhaps if you have read his three-party series, "The Camera," "The Negative," and "The Print," you are familiar with Adams's technical thought processes.With "The Making of 40 Photographs," we gain insight into Adams' creative process.And for many of us who aspire to create brilliant nature photography, it is this insight that is most valuable.
Great informative and entertaining book!
As far as I'm concerned, this is a must have 4th book to the Ansel Adams series of The Camera, The Negative and The Print. It is very informative to read about not only the circumstances in which Adams made these black and white photographs, but also some of the technical and even emotional factors. Superb Case Studies
If you want to learn photography and you would prefer to learn (or supplement your learning) by intensive case study, this is the book for you. Ansel Adams is a master at controlling composition, light and perspective, and he conveys his unique methodology admirably in this book. This book covers much more than his epic landscapes -- there are a lot of still life, portrait and architectural case studies. And he's not just discussing the zone system, but also everything else involved, including packing the right equipment, leaving at the right time, and hunting down the right subject. And above all, patience and persistence. The photos themselves are reproduced with admirable tone, sharpness, and contrast, as they are in all the books in this series. And although there are only forty of them, each case study runs two or three pages in addition to a full page photo. And if you like this, check out Ansel Adams' classic three part intensive introduction to photography, in the same series as this book: The Camera, The Print, and The Negative. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1902-    2. 1902-1984    3. Adams, Ansel,    4. Individual Photographer    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photography    7. Photography, Artistic    8. Techniques - General    9. Photographic equipment & techniques    10. Photography / Techniques   

Reviews (3)

Get to Know this Complex Woman
Berthe was obviously an anomaly in her day and age... and, being self-deprecating and reticent, might've actually wished to be forgotten.She WAS literally forgotten for many years after her death.I am grateful to Ms. Higonnet for writing the book, but I felt throughout the reading that, although it was obvious Ms. H. admired Berthe, she didn't truly understand her.It bothered me that most of the book was about OTHER people, although her life DID seem to be about OTHER people.Berthe was generous and hidden, yet daring and "out there."It was probably very difficult to find the true Berthe.She was obviously very much beloved by the other Impressionists and her contributions as the catalyst of the group were immeasurable.But I wanted to know more.I didn't like it that each time she had an accomplishment, it seemed to be overshadowed, in the biography, by moving on to the accomplishments of one of the other more luminous figures in her world.Berthe was beautiful, dedicated, a wonderful mother and wife... after years of pressure by society and her own parents whose biggest fear was that she was to stay a "spinster" (who the HECK invented that word???)...I really felt for Berthe.But was she bulimic?Was she anorexic?What WAS the true nature of her mental challenges?I'd like to have seen some more of that area explored - as it has been so deeply investigated in the case of Vincent van Gogh.Whatever her maladies, we've got to admire the fact that she, unlike Mary Cassatt, DID have it all - career, family, home life, social recognition... and balanced it all so beautifully. But I wished Ms. Higonnet had given us just a bit more to grasp onto.

Berthe Morisot
GREAT BOOK!!I bought this book used from That Book Lady, Thorough and perceptive
My first reaction to Anne Higonnet's biography of Berthe Morisot was that it was a bit stiff. I had recently read Dominique Bona's "Berthe Morisot: Le secret de la femme en noir" and found that book to be well done, even though lacking documentation and even though indulging in "maybe it was like this" speculations from time to time. But I very much liked Dominique Bona's informal style, referring to Berthe Morisot as "Berthe", while Anne Higonnet almost always refers to her as "Morisot" (a small issue but one that is quite representative of the stylistic difference in the two biographies).Read more

Subjects:  1. 1841-1895    2. Artists    3. Artists, Architects, Photographers    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. France    9. Individual Painters - 19th Century    10. Morisot, Berthe,    11. Art / General    12. Biography: general    13. Impressionism    14. Individual artists    15. Morisot, Berthe    16. Painting & paintings    17. Post-Impressionism   

Reviews (9)

Don't buy this book if you have the first one.
Had I known that the book would be a complete repeat of his last book I would not have purchasted it.Only a few new paintings. I was extreemly dissapointed. The publersher should be ashamed of this product.

Worth its weight!
Claudio Bravo's expanded tome is packed with decades worth of his catholic (note: small "c") version of realism.In their pureness of representation and presentation objects presented often elide with the ideal and the abstract.See for yourself, just look at the painting of wool yarns shown on the dust cover.
A Generous Feast for Lovers of Realism
Representational art - observing and painting what is actually seen by the artist - remains the constant in the fluctuating trends and movements in art history.There are times when realist painting is praised and times when it is loathed as pass� and static.But in the handsof its masters, and Claudio Bravo the Chilean artist painting in Tangiersis certainly one of them, it is a zenith of creativity.
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Subjects:  1. 1936-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Bravo, Claudio,    5. Catalogues raisonnâes    6. Individual Artist    7. Individual Painters - Contemporary    8. Art / Individual Artist   

Editorial Review

They had faces then, in the golden age of Hollywood when a publicity photo could make or break a star. The visual power of George Hurrell's portraits, with their Rembrandtesque lighting and dramatic poses, shaped the careers of such stars as Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Jane Russell, and did as much or more to establish them as their film performances. Mark Vieira, who adopted Hurrell's techniques and uses them to this day, explains how the master portraitist lit and retouched his photographs--a portrait of Crawford before and after retouching reveals what an artist the one-time painter really was--and analyzes their impact. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
This book -- how beautiful.I have photography books by several of the great portrait photographers of the 20th Century, and this one is the best.There are a wealth of photographs, and the story of Hurrell's life is also interesting.If you ever thought about seriously learning about photography and taking some good pictures, this book will take any hesitation out of your mind.Gorgeous!!

Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits
This book is everything I expected.The pictures are great and the text very informative.I am enjoying it very much and it is a valued addition to my film library.

EXCELLENT BOOK! Vieira's mastery of the written word brings that era to life.
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and then reading this beautiful tribute to the legendary work of George Hurrell.As compelling as Hurrell's photos are it is the author's indepth knowledge and understanding of Hollywood and Hurrell that set this book apart.
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Subjects:  1. 1904-1992    2. Glamour photography    3. Hurrell, George,    4. Individual Photographer    5. Individual Photographers And Their Work    6. Motion picture actors and actr    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. Photo Essays    9. Photography    10. Portraits    11. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    14. Chapman, Bill    15. Films, cinema    16. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    17. Hurrell, George    18. Individual artists    19. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    20. Photograph collections    21. Photographs: portraits    22. Second World War, 1939-1945    23. USA   

Reviews (2)

My oldest possession.
It's true, this book is my oldest possession, from an earlier printing, I've had this book since the early 70's. If you are a painter and want to learn how to put space and light into your work then this book is your greatest resource and greatest challenge. For those in the know, Morandi is THE ONE for creating a palpable space in two demensions. The space shimmers and moves - it's real!

Excellent book
The prints are excellent - both in terms of variety and quality of print. I use them in classes and they are really a treasure.The text is very readable and enjoyable as well (though I care more about the printquality). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1890-1964    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Catalogs    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. History - General    7. Individual Artist    8. Individual Painters - 20th Century    9. Morandi, Giorgio,    10. Art / Individual Artist    11. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    12. Individual artists    13. Morandi, Giorgio   

Reviews (2)

Photography of David Hamilton
Absolutely yummy!! The Best of David Hamilton
What is there not to like about David Hamilton's photography? "The Best of..." doesn't begin to cover the breadth of his art, but is an excellent taste of his work.It captures the beauty of nature, youth, maturity, eroticism, sensuality, thought,humor, curiosity, tranquility through the eyes of his lenses, and his own stylistic interpretation. "The Best of...." is, in a phrase, relaxation for the eyes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Photography   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    4. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    5. Individual Artist    6. Techniques - Painting    7. Individual artists   

Reviews (11)

Not Worth Looking At
Poor reproduction quality.Actually no quality.Not approved by the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust.

Adams wouldn't have approved
While some photos are reasonable, most are seriously flawed. Some are flat, some are excessively contrasty, others seem murky and indistinct. Some of the photos need cleaning to remove dust spots, etc. Even the title is wrong , as the book includes photos of dams and sheep.There are many other excellent books, which have been prepared from Adams prints and produced with much more care. Buy one of those.

Are we looking at the same book?
Many of Ansel Adams' exquisite photographs c