Reviews (13)

The Art of Michael Whelan
"The Art of Michael Whelan" is a great book for art lovers.This book is a enormous and varied collection, divided into Whelan's commercial work of sci-fi and fantasy book covers and his personal paintings, most with a fantasy and nature theme.Additionally, there are interviews with the artist about his materials, methods and history in the field.Every painting is commented on, and the symbolism and story behind each picture adds to the enjoyment of each work, as well as the little preliminary sketches that show different paths the paintings could have taken.If you're a reader of fantasy and sci-fi, like me, you're sure to spot a few favorite books among this selection - Whelan has painted book covers for writers such as Anne McCaffrey, Stephen King, and Tad Williams.The best part of these works is how they can manage to look fantastic and surreal and still make you feel as if you're looking at something that actually exists. Every time I've looked through this book I notice new details.Michael Whelan's other two fantasy collections, "Works of Wonder" and "Wonderworks," are good, but nothing compared to this treasury.I recommend this great book to anyone with an interest in great art and fantasy, you won't be disappointed.

Breathtaking art, beautiful format
This book is truly a work of art! I wish it contained more of Michael Whelan's art.
Michael Whelan's style is gorgeously captured in this state-of-the art book.If you are a fan of Michael Whelan's airbrush art or his private collection, you will find something in this book for you.It includes mostof the passages paintings, the more famous covers (even the loathsomefuzzies), and many of Michael Whelan's unpublished work.The latter iswhat makes the book worth buy - I wish the book contained more of it andless of the cover art.I recommend this book for any fantasy artcollector. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1950-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Fantasy Illustration    5. History - General    6. Illustrations    7. Illustrators    8. Individual Artist    9. Interviews    10. Science fiction    11. Themes, motives    12. United States    13. Whelan, Michael,    14. Art / History / General    15. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    16. Individual artists    17. Whelan, Michael   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. European    4. History - General    5. Individual Artist    6. Individual Painters - 19th Century    7. Landscape    8. Art / General    9. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900    10. Individual artists    11. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    12. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (1)

About This Book
Retrospective collection of photographs. Destined to be another Michael Kenna collectible. A handsomely elegant production by Chris Pichler and Hideyuki Taguchi: Oversize-volume format in square shape. A very tall and thick book. Peach silk cloth boards with embossed titles on cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Michael Kenna. Essay, "Inventing Peace", by Anne Wilkes Tucker in the English original and Japanese translation. As difficult as it may be to imagine, Kenna's following in Japan is larger than in the United States. Extensive Biography and List of Plates appended at the end. In pictorial DJ with white and gray titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Published as a companion book to the artist's first retrospective, the new collection presents an overview of Kenna's landscape photographs made between 1994 and 2004, at the height of his fame. "Michael Kenna is arguably the most influential landscape photographer of his generation. The subject of over 20 books and hundreds of solo exhibitions throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States, Michael Kenna often works at dawn or during the night. He concentrates primarily on the interaction between the ephemeral atmospheric conditions of the natural landscape, human-made structures and sculptural mass. Kenna's exquisitely crafted prints are included in such Permanent Museum Collections as The National Gallery Washington, DC, The Museum of Decorative Arts Prague and The Victoria and Albert Museum London. In 2001, Michael Kenna was made a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture in France. Born in Widnes, England in 1953, he currently lives in Portland, Oregon" (Publisher's blurb). Anne Wilkes Tucker's illuminating essay examines Kenna's influence and impact on contemporary photography. One of the best single introductions to the art of an important photographer. � 2006, ModernRare.com ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    2. Individual Photographer    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography   

Reviews (6)

For artists
For the Artist who knows what he or she is at and its certainly not for the hobbiest who would be lost with this book.This for me is a great book as it has enrichened me....information is always good.I am delighted to have it. a worthy addition in any collection.
A great book for serious arists
The language, as inaccurately mentioned in one of the previous reviews, is not that difficult at all.This is not a book for complete beginners, but definitely a must for anyone who considers himself serious as an artist.It provides a very detailed insight into the preparation of materials, the handling of paints and reveals numerous techniques, which were employed by the great masters (not only Renaissance and Baroque, but 18 and 19th century painters and some of the impressionists).There is a separate chapter dedicated entirely to the technique of the old masters.Though, the only drawback I find in this book is that it doesn't spend more time on any of the old masters in particular (it explains their technique quite superficially at times, and only touches the surface when it comes to some of them, so don't expect this book to be about the old masters' technique - it is about technique in general; "the proper way to paint" if you will, with numerous specific examples throughout on how different painters employed this or that method). Interesting, but cumbersome language
As a novice painter (hobbyist) with great admiration for the works of the Great Masters, I purchased this as a textbook to help me understand the great works as well as to learn proper technique.Given my "real world" schedule, it would be impossible to get to a proper art class, so this was to be a compromise.It is full of fascinating historical details, but the language used is often so cumbersome it's difficult to follow unless one has either a great deal of concentration, some prior experience with the subject under discussion, or both.The lack of illustrations is also a barrier to using this as a primary textbook.Mayer's book ("The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques") is written in a much clearer style and covers more modern materials as well as those of the greats.In sum, this is a very good book to have in one's library, but if you are looking for a primary text, use Mayer's instead. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Artists' materials    4. Individual Artist    5. Painting    6. Technique    7. Techniques - Painting    8. Art techniques & materials    9. Painting & paintings   

Subjects:  1. 1819-1877    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Courbet, Gustave,    5. European    6. Exhibitions    7. History - General    8. History - Realism    9. Landscape in art    10. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    11. Art & Architecture | History    12. Art / Subjects & Themes / Landscapes    13. France    14. Individual artists    15. Nature in art, still life, landscapes & seascapes    16. Painting & paintings    17. Realism    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

In the fourth volume in Fantagraphics Books' Read more

Reviews (14)

The best comic strip ever?
There was a time when the newspaper comic strip was HUGE.In the early 1900s, the success of a newspaper was in part due to the comics it featured.That era has long since disappeared, and it often seems that the comic strip is a neglected relic.There are still some good comics out there, but they are getting rarer and the newspapers treat them with less and less respect, cramming many onto a single page that used to hold just a few.
Completely Awesome... Peanuts 1957-1958
This series is going to be a regular drain on my bank balance for the coming decade, as that is how long it is going to take Fantagraphics to finish publishing this collection, if they stick to their published schedule.
Hitting Its Stride
Here the Peanuts gang becomes familiar, as they start hitting the usual topics that would develop and blossom over the years. Every one of the main characters has secured their place, and Snoopy starts his development into the multi-faceted character we know and love.
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Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Commercial - Illustration    3. Form - Cartoons & Comics    4. History & Criticism    5. Humor    6. Individual Artist    7. Humor / Cartoons   

Reviews (1)

A Retrospective of a Great Artist
This volume is one of the best written books about a living artist in our time with an informative timeline of the artist's life and achievements. Artwork is beautifully reproduced and delineated. This volume will soon be out of print. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1954-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Assemblage Art    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Exhibition Catalogs    7. Exhibitions    8. Individual Artist    9. Smith, Kiki,    10. Individual artists   

Reviews (4)

seeing through the opaqueness
whether this is Mann's best work it certainly is the most thought-provoking, when you think of the Deep South, you think of a place much like Stravinsky's Russia,Eastern Europa,or parts of New York State intolerant,class-orineted;superstitious,but also one that savors progess and the science of the image, the sensual,the evocative,but a place also defeated,Appomattox, that really has takened long to live with, in fact defeat is covered everyday in the macho-isms that has been part of popular strains in music.
Transcendent Images
Mann is one of the very most gifted photographers of our time. In her landscape work, she finds the perfect marriage of technique and subject matter--marrying the processes of 19th-century photography and historic lenses to the subject matter of great sites of the South, the profound and mysterious ways in which site carries memory. In doing so she has created images that seem to derive from our own memories, carrying the ghostly presences of the past, embodying something we hold in our minds while adding something distinctly new as well. Mann's are transcendent, glorious photographs that should be examined and appreciated by anyone with a discerning eye for great work from our own time.

Magnificent and complex
This is certainly Mann's best work. The landscapes seem destilled from both southern history as well as intimate and collective dreamworlds - both beautiful and intimidating. Look for a truly transcendental image that depicts a wooded landscape scarred by some kind of disaster. The image merges with the scarred emulsion of the glass plate to form a scull like shape that seems to expand into a fragment from and infinite outer space. An ambiguous, singular and extremely rewarding work of art. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1951-    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    3. Individual Photographer    4. Individual Photographers And Their Work    5. Landscape photography    6. Mann, Sally,    7. Photo Techniques    8. Photography    9. Photography Of Specific Subjects    10. Southern States    11. Subjects & Themes - Landscapes    12. Techniques - Color    13. Central Southern states    14. Photographs: collections    15. Photography / General    16. Places & peoples: general interest   

Subjects:  1. 1828-1882    2. 19th century    3. Architecture    4. Art    5. Artists    6. Biography    7. General    8. Great Britain    9. Individual Artist    10. Individual Painters And Their Work    11. Poets, English    12. Pre-Raphaelites    13. Rossetti, Dante Gabriel,    14. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900    15. Individual artists    16. Rossetti, Dante Gabriel   

Reviews (2)

Restoration of a Worthy Magnum Opus
Fortunate is the arts library to have the restored and embellished 1977 monograph on the life and work of American artist Joseph Cornell, an artist whose importance not only to the craft of assemblage but to the history of American art continues to grow as the years pass.Author Diane Waldman initially based her monograph on extensive interviews with Cornell and his confreres in preparing the 1967 retrospective of Cornell's art for the Guggenheim Museum.And fine though that now extinct monograph was, it was important to update it with the added information gleaned from the 1978 gift of the bulk of Cornell's archives donated by the heirs of Cornell to the Smithsonian Museum, forming the Joseph Cornell Study Center in Washington, DC.
An Excellent Primer On Cornell and His Work
Finally, a beautiful, comprehensive book about Joseph Cornell and his work. Diane Waldman knew Cornell intimately ever since she was an art student (and through doing gallery shows for him), and this affinity shows; this is ultimately a book of love and tribute to a friend. Read more

Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Cornell, Joseph    5. Criticism and interpretation    6. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    7. Individual Artist    8. Sculpture    9. 20th century    10. Art / General    11. Collage    12. Individual artists    13. Sculpture & other three-dimensional art forms    14. USA   

Reviews (3)

Young man crazy about this book
Looking at this collection really shows the diversity in Hokusai's long career. In one of the essays, the writter comments that Hokusai changes his style so much that his work looks like the work of a different artist. The breath of this volume helps the viewer see how creative and inventive this master is. What I like about Hokusai is that his personal life is just as interesting as his work. The essays included do a good job placing the differnent periods in context with the times and Hokusai's own massive body of work.

excellent
Excellent printing and selection, a great book for art reference or read.

The definitive collection
There are two or three different collections of Hokusai's works in print this Fall (2003), and of them this is the best. The others are good, solid selections of his material, but this combines an encyclopedic sweep of nearly all of his available prints (including ones rarely seen, such as his erotic prints) with a superb color printing. I'd recommend this above all of the others, if you're looking for a complete catalog of his works. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Asian    4. Individual Artist    5. Techniques - Painting    6. Art / Individual Artist    7. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900    8. Individual artists    9. Prints & printmaking   

Reviews (1)

Outstanding retrospective
This book is a wonderful introduction and overview of the career of Micheal Kenna.Kenna's long-lived exposures and unusual eye for his subject material are unmistakably uniqueIt is no wonder he is consideredone of the world's most collectible photographers and apppeals tocollectors just beginning to develop an interest in photography. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Individual Photographer    2. Individual photographers    3. Photo Techniques    4. Photography   

Editorial Review

As the Read more

Reviews (18)

An original and admirable work, but not entirely typical of Gorey
THE CURIOUS SOFA: A Pornographic Work by Ogdred Weary is one of Edward Gorey's works in which the story is told through delightful pen-and-ink drawings with witty captions. A 1961 send-up of Victorian pornography, the book's thirty pages tell the adventures of Alice, a young woman swept into a long series of sexual adventures. THE CURIOUS SOFA's cleverness lies in that on one hand it reveals nothing obscene--one would hardly have to fear if a young child came upon the book. A good example caption is: "Downstairs the three of them played a most amusing game of Herbert's own invention called 'Thumbfumble.' They then sat down to a sumptuous tea", which is accompanied by an entirely innocuous drawing. Yet, for the adult the book is ultimately the most filthiest thing this reader has ever encountered outside of some Cocteau Twins lyrics.
Volume Eleven Of The "Encyclopedia Of Unimaginable Customs"
In a typically odd work by Edward Gorey, the protagonist, Alice, gets her eyes opened to many new experiences by companions of various sorts (including Colonel Gilbert and his wife Louise, both of whom have wooden legs, and Donald, a sheepdog). All these new activities are strangely suggestive, but not what most people would actually call pornographic; after all, the book is only illustrated with Gorey's discreet little drawings.
Gerald did a terrible thing to Elsie with a saucepan....
Though definitely not for everyone, this is probably the creepiest little thing I've read in a LONG time, this being accomplished entirely by subtle insinuation and suggestion than anything concrete.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Fiction    3. General    4. Individual Artist    5. Techniques - Cartooning    6. Topic - Adult    7. Art / Cartooning    8. Home furnishing & decoration   

Subjects:  1. 1848-1894    2. Architecture    3. Art    4. Caillebotte, Gustave,    5. Exhibition Catalogs    6. France    7. Gardens    8. General    9. History - General    10. Homes and haunts    11. Individual Artist    12. Painting - Other Specific Subjects    13. Yerres    14. Caillebotte, Gustave    15. Gardens (descriptions, history etc)    16. Impressionism    17. Individual artists    18. Post-Impressionism    19. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Still one of the most fascinating books on the nature of creativity ever published.
This is the most recent and expanded edition of the book, which by now has become a classic work that really transcends the "interview with a famous artist" label. I own an earlier edition of the book that I have virtually memorized, so the new additions and expansions David Sylvester has included stand out for me, and amplify the original edition considerably. Whether or not you are a fan of Francis Bacon's painting, the book offers Bacon's insights (as well as Sylvester's) on the very nature of creativity, obsession, and what drives artists of any kind (painter, poet, composer, etc.) to devote their lives to their chosen pursuits. Plus, Bacon's rather sulphurous personality and opinions are captured vividly on the page, through Sylvester's obvious freindship and fascination with the man. An absolutely essential, and rather unique book...over the years, I have been amazed at how many people I have met, from all areas of the arts, who have found this work a source of inspiration and endless fascination.

Invaluable Chronicle of a Tortured Artist
"Interviews with Francis Bacon" (1987) captures remarkably on paper the tortured mind of the famous British painter (1909-1992). It belongs on the shelf of every Bacon fan and artist, regardless of medium. Nine interviews range from 1962 to 1986, Bacon's fifties through his seventies, in the form of interactive conversations with art historian David Sylvester (British, 1924-2001), ranging from Bacon's frustrated youth to his unique artistic techniques, the meaning of art to the meaning of life. Sylvester cleverly steers toward topics Bacon finds interesting, allowing him to discuss them at length. (Some of the original audio may be sampled at BBC4's website, though this book's text was heavily edited and re-manipulated from those recordings.) Only the Best
The best book by any artist I have read....utterly inspirational for anyone involved in creative endeavors. What's more, you don't have to agree with all of Bacon's forthright opinions. It probably helps to have seen some of his best work in color, as all the reproductions are monochrome. No matter...I have given away more cpoies of this book than I care to remember. Essential. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1909-    2. 1909-1992    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Bacon, Francis,    6. Great Britain    7. History - General    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Painters - 20th Century    10. Interviews    11. Painters    12. Bacon, Francis    13. England    14. Individual artists    15. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (12)

A must have for Queen Mary or Ocean Liner fans!
First and foremost I am a die hard Queen Mary Fan.
A superlative book about the ship's construction and art.
This book will captivate you. It bears reiterating how superb the photographs, art, and text are in this book. This is WAY more than a coffee table book, and it does its subject justice. Beautiful Ship, Beautiful Book
I literally couldn't put this book down after starting it -- Steele has written a fascinating retrospective on this great ship.The book's format is high quality and heavy on photographs, making for a very attractive book.But Steele also does a good job of exploring the ship's history, particularly the design and engineering perspectives.I agree with another reviewer that Steele could have (and probably should have) gone into greater detail on the Queen's post-retirement history as a tourist attraction, and should have addressed the structural and design modifications resulting from that transformation.But this shortcoming detracts very little from an otherwise enjoyable volume on the history of a famous and beloved ship. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Design - Decorative    3. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    4. Individual Artist    5. Ship Design And Construction    6. Ships & Shipbuilding - History    7. Transportation    8. Art / Design / Decorative    9. Shipbuilding technology & engineering    10. Ships & shipping: general interest   

Reviews (16)

Works and lives of great masters by their contemporary
"Do you admire a beautiful tower resounding with sacred sound?
Mainly a Scholar's Tool
Vasari's classic text is well written (translated, I guess I should say) but extremely tiresome.For nearly every artist he simply lists their works, and rarely with more analysis than by describing them as "life-like" or "beautiful."For example, here is what he says about Titian's Assumption of the Virgin in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice, one of his most famous and celebrated paintings: "He did a panel for the main altar containing Our Lady ascending into heaven, with the twelve apostles standing below her and watching her ascent, but since this work was painted on canvas and perhaps poorly cared for, little of it can be seen."That's it.The only exception to his utter factual tediousness is Michelangelo's Life, where, although he goes into almost no description of the works themselves besides his characteristic fulsomeness, he does provide some interesting anecdotes.If you are looking to understand and analyze Renaissance art than this book will not help you.If you are looking to engage in scholarly debate over the origins and documentations of the discussed works then you should probably read the original, unedited version in Italian anyway.

Magnanimous Homage to Giants of Italian Art!
Vasari's LIVES has lived for over 450 years, and it's easy to see why! From Cimabue to Titian, he covers (in this edition)over 40 artists during about a 250 year period! A great artist himself, Vasari spares no superlatives in describing the work and lives of these individuals.They are just about all "most excellent", and produced titanic painting, sculpture, and architecture. He claims (erroneouly, according to the editors) that one murdered his rival, and definitely was not a nice guy. But the rest are generally given the royal treatment. Oddly,Botticelli seems a tad slighted. The Big Three, Leonardo,Raphael, and Michaelangelo are practically bathed in the light of the devine!.Many anecdotes are mentioned, which give real life and sometimes fun to these Olympians. Plus, discussions of the progress and styles/ techniques which come full flower with these Big Three. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 15th-16th Century Art    2. Art    3. Artists    4. Artists, Architects, Photographers    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography / Autobiography    8. History - General    9. Individual Artist    10. Italy    11. Reference    12. Art & Architecture    13. Art / History / General    14. Other prose: 16th to 18th centuries    15. Renaissance art   

Reviews (8)

Matisse - He Shocked the World Yet He Pleases The Eye of the Individual!
Such a wonderful book to read! After seeing his works of art at the museums in New York (MET - MOMA); in Maryland (BMA); and in California (San Francisco), it is a joy to the human spirit to read this biography. This book offers the reader all the underlying events contributing to each of his major works of art. It allows us to better appreciate his extreme and intense efforts to create; it allows us to recognize his unquestionable courage to be himself while many of the art world turned away from him; and one will learn of his life long love of the natural world (birds and plants) and his view of the importance of the spirit of man. Further, this book allows the reader to see his social frustration; one can learn of his powerful drive (so red hot) to create, and one will see in words how he commanded everyone around him to assist him in his zeal to achieve his personal best in art. As the book denotes towards the end even Picasso, the great competitor, stated in a discussion of one of Matisse's later works (the Chapel in Nice): 'Only Matisse could do this!' Read to learn, read to know, and read to be more deeply passionate in love with Matisse as I am!

See New Dimensions of Matisse's Work
Those of us who live today are spoiled in one sense that we don't realize:We can see Matisse's work on display and appreciate its evolution.That wasn't possible until just the last few decades.Until then, many of his most powerful works were locked up in the Soviet system and not on display or were in the hands of reclusive collectors.
Inspirational
Being a artist sometimes one needs to see new the world around them. The pressures of family life and the ability to do what you do sometimes empties the soul. What I find the most interesting is the perspective given to the self appraisal and the internal struggle Matisse went through in his personal and business dealing. Anyone interested in the business aspect of the art world from the artist perspective will find this book helpful in both personal and professional dealings. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Matisse, Henri,    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Individual Painters - 20th Century    5. Individual Artist    6. France    7. General    8. Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers    9. Artists, Architects, Photographers    10. 1869-1954    11. Biography & Autobiography    12. Artists    13. Biography   

Subjects:  1. 20th Century Art    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. Frankenthaler, Helen    6. Individual Artist    7. Women And Art    8. Art / Individual Artist    9. Individual artists    10. Painting & paintings    11. Prints & printmaking    12. Sculpture & other three-dimensional art forms   

Reviews (1)

Lounging about
At last a book about THAT chair.Thomas Hine, one of the contributors to this interesting book, writes a chapter about the way the chair kept popping up in all the right media and this probably helped it along to its iconic status.I was aware of the chair many years ago and kept seeing it in interior design photos, adverts, and anywhere that visually needed to project an upmarket ambience.Strangely I never saw anyone sitting in these chairs and I was surprised to find, when I bought one, that the back does not support one's head.A 1956 photo used in a Herman Miller ad shows a stockbroker friend of Charles Eames clearly with his head on the back, he was either a short guy or had moved well forward in the chair.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Design - Furniture    4. Individual Artist    5. Furniture & cabinetmaking    6. Product design