Editorial Review

At the beginning of 2005, Frank Warren launched a new blog called PostSecret as an experiment in community art, inviting strangers to mail him anonymous postcards that made art out of their innermost secrets and then posting a selection of the cards every week on his blog. Within a year, his blog was one of the five most popular in the world, and his first book, Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    3. Motivational & Inspirational    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Self-Help    6. Self-Help / Motivational   

Reviews (155)

Eye-opening and highly recommended!
To say that this book will reveal you a lot about the inner lives of people would be an underestimation. It goes even beyond that and allows you to connect with the others, to feel their happiness, sadness, triumph and depression. "Postsecret" gave me so many aha experiences that may compare only with the secrets which I learnt from the bestseller "scientfically guaranteed male multiple orgasms and ultimate sex". People have secrets for very good reasons and once you learn some of them you get an (unfair) advantage over the others. It is hard to predict what will be your reaction to the secrets revealed in this book but I am sure that it will leave a lasting impression in you just as every bold and highly valuable book does. "Postsecret" is one of the few books that may change your life and I highly recommend it.

Frank, You've Done Something Amazing.
My dad bought me this book because I made him go to the PostSecret Exhibit in Reading, Pa. He didn't know what it was going into and after seeing the exhibit and reading the book, he left in complete tears. This book is wonderful because it's like re-visiting the exibit over and over again. There is something very powerful about how reading other peoples secrets makes you realize how you are not alone. This is a book of humanity. So worth it.

The kind of book that reminds you what it's like to be human
I love this book.I love this project.I've been a fan of the website for awhile, and am glad many of the postcards have been published in book form.This is the type of art project that reminds you of the pain and beauty in humanity.You're also glad that there are other people out there in the world going through some of the same things that you are.Amazing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Art Media (Specific Aspects)    3. Art therapy    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    5. General    6. Motivational & Inspirational    7. Personal Guidance    8. Popular Culture - General    9. Postcards    10. Secrets    11. Self-Help    12. Self-Help / Motivational   

Reviews (7)

Outstanding
Outstanding 3-volume set that will soon become a cornerstone of any creative library. A great source to find inspiration and the handsome set adds a touch of class to your bookshelf. You can't beat Amazon's price, either. Highly recommended.

Great Book + Case is Not a Problem
Agreed, the book is extremely comprehensive.The case, though not particularly attractive, should pop open by pulling on the corner.Unless I was lucky...

incredible review
This is a must have for anyone interested in design.The reader is treated to the very best in design, design that works, looks great and is innovative.Starting in the 1600's, the work takes the reader on a journey of design. It limits itself to 999 objects and not one is a miss. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Design    5. Design - Decorative    6. Design - Furniture    7. Design - General    8. 20th century    9. 21st century    10. Art / Design / General    11. Industrial / Commercial Art & Design    12. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

Comming from an art school dropout
Most graffiti artists are of the same school of thought, that being; advertisements are everywhere - Shepard Fairey the OBEY guy, everywhere you look there’s someone visually shoving something down your throat and usually they want money for it.So why is it illegal to put some of your own art up just as much as they do?This is true and valid opinion for someone to have, but not when its coming from a guy who just sprayed his tag name on the side of the highway in 8 foot indiscernible lettering - that is what gives graffiti a bad name.In my opinion it should be against the law to sign your name on a train or a building - no matter how big it is or how many colors you used or how fast you had to run when the watchmen saw.It just misses the point of having a public exchange of ideas.
Art Crime Extraordinaire!
No artist comes close to the emotional impact he makes in this work. Brilliant-Brilliant-Brilliant.
one of my favorite artists
Banksy is an amazing artist, a lot of conceptual as well as visually appealing works. I knew that he is like a god father of stencil graffiti, but i never thought good he is with installations.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Criticism    5. Exhibition Catalogs    6. Popular Culture - Counter Culture    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Art / General    9. Individual artists    10. Painting & paintings    11. Social Science / Popular Culture   

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    3. Motivational & Inspirational    4. Popular Culture - General    5. Self-Help    6. Self-Help / Motivational   

Reviews (2)

A must read for new and old collectors
A unique and new look at the Art of Art Collecting.A full analysis of the sociological and esthetic mechanism that is the art world, as well candid advice and opinions from a selection of international art world figures.The book ultimately asks questions about the relationship between art collecting and art history, and challenges the traditional taboos and cliches surrounding art and money

Enter a whole new world!
A book for the rest of us!Adam Lindeman lays out the basics surrounding the world ofcontemporary art using a series of interviews with collectors, dealers, critics and curators. As the book explains, contemporary art is hugely popular all over the world and the internet and art fairs have changed the nature of the business. This book is a primer for those who have touched the edges of the contemporary art world and will likely prove interesting forthose who are already knowledgable.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collecting    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. Antiques & Collectables    7. The Arts: General Issues   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Catalogs    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Private    5. Individual Artist    6. Individual Painters - 20th Century    7. Pinup art    8. Private collections    9. Special Subjects In Art    10. Subjects & Themes - Human Figure    11. United States    12. Art / Popular Culture   

Reviews (3)

A beautiful book
The photography and the text of this book has been described in other reviews, but I want to add that this is now one of the most beautiful books that I own. The typesetting is flawless, the paper is of a much higher weight than I have seen in other monographs, and, of course, the reproductions are class. These points are magnified by the sheer size of the book-- check the dimensions given in the details above. The book is a work of art.

"The Meaning of the Idea Photography" -- Alfred Stieglitz
This book clearly deserves many more than five stars.It is one of the most remarkable expressions about and by an artist in any genre that I have ever seen. Wonderful collection of his writing and photographs
This is far more than a picture book; it contains 73 high-quality plates and its real treasures can be found is the twenty page introduction and the fifty pages of selections from his writings about his work and views onphotography.As a full time artist, I found this book to be both rich andinspiring.If you have lost sight of why you shoot pictures, try this as areminder of clearer moments. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1864-1946    2. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    3. Exhibition Catalogs    4. Exhibitions    5. Individual Photographer    6. Photo Essays    7. Photoessays & Documentaries    8. Photography    9. Photography, Artistic    10. Stieglitz, Alfred,    11. Biography: general    12. Individual artists    13. Photographs: collections    14. Photography / Photo Essays    15. Stieglitz, Alfred   

Reviews (11)

A Great Gift
I have received this book as a gift and have given it as a gift.It is wonderful!You can look at it for hours and still pick it up again and again.Also, you find that there are many more illusionists other than Escher.

Wow.
This book is a wonderful overview of a lot of interesting artistic styles and mind-blowing techniques.Of course, you can buy more complete editions about the specific artists within this book, but I haven't seen such a variety of of artists and images put together in such a great way before.This was a great purchase, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in any of the artists within it.

Masters of Deception
This is an excellent resource. Anyone interested in visual illusion and the artists involved in creating it will thoroughly enjoy this book. It is difficult to get a chance to look at it, let alone read it, because someone else is always picking it up and becoming enthralled with it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. History - Contemporary (1945- )    5. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    6. Optical illusions in art    7. Art / General    8. Art Forms, Treatments & Subjects    9. Puzzles & quizzes    10. STUDY NOTES - SparkNotes   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Fine Arts    4. Individual Artist    5. Spanish: Adult Nonfiction    6. Catalogues raisonnes    7. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    8. Painting & paintings   

Subjects:  1. American - African-American    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    6. Design - Textile & Costume    7. Exhibition Catalogs    8. Folk & Outsider Art    9. Quilt Making    10. Art / American / African-American   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (3)

Another "make-a-buck" issue...
I too was disappointed in this issue of Visionaire like many others. It seems Visionaire has had an "up and down" quality issue as of late. Some issues are as elaborate as can be, others are like this issue, a cheaply bound paperback magazine in a cheap plastic sleeve. Classy-But Not What I Expected!
I was really excited about getting this new book by Mario Testino, one of my favorite photographers, but was truly disappointed when it arrived.Yes, it's a very classy publication, and comes in a unique & different pink slipcover,but not being familiar with Visionaire's previous publications, I expected a paperback book of high quality, however, what I got was a magazine.Yes, it is numbered in a limited edition of 6000 but it's not even signed by the photographer. Visionaire has lost its magic
I have been a fan of Visionaire since issue 23 directed by Karl Lagerfeld and at that time the issues were fabulous and worth the price. Well that time has gone and now it is really not worth it anymore. This issue comes in a plastic sleeve and is a simple paper book. There's really nothing special about this item. When i heard that Mario Testino was the force behind this issue i thought it would be like his first issue, no. 22 chic. Well it is quite the opposite! Don't buy this item at bookstores but try to get it for less at auction sites. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photoessays & Documentaries    4. Photography    5. Subjects & Themes - Fashion    6. Fashion design    7. Photographs: collections   

Editorial Review

Sexy, modern, and unabashedly consumer-oriented, Art Deco was a new kind of style, flourishing at a time of rapid technological change and social upheaval. Lacking the philosophical basis of other European design movements, Deco borrowed motifs from numerous sources--Japan, Africa, ancient Egyptian and Mayan cultures, avant-garde European art--simply to create novel visual effects. Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent - Good scope and global reach.
Bought it - read it - refer to it as a source and to unashameably copy.
The greatest book on Art Deco!
This book is an absolute triumph. First, it is positively gorgeous - the images just leap off the pages.Second, the essays are more in-depth, engaging, and informative than any other book I've found on the subject.This book discusses every facet of Art Deco as well: it explores the origins at the Paris Exhibition in 1925, goes through the influence in East Asia, Latin America, and South Africa, not to mention Europe. A great chapter on Deco in Hollywood; also explores all of the sources, iconography - and all of this on top of covering every aspect of the movement - ceramics, jewelry, fashion, architecture, glass, photography, graphic design, bookbindings, travel and transport, and so so much more - with stunning visuals.A fantastic read, a great resource, a beautiful work, and an absolute MUST for anyone interested in the subject! Well worth the money, and a fantastic addition to any library.Highly recommended!

The first and last word on Deco.
A sumptuous coffee-table book of this exuberant art style and I think it could well become the standard book on the subject.The forty essays are divided into four sections, Sources and Iconography, 1925 Paris Exhibition, Spread of Deco and finally Deco World, and I liked the way, especially in Sources and Iconography, that the authors explain how various art styles were moulded into deco art which culminated in the very influential 1925 Paris show.Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Antiques/Collectibles    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Art deco    6. Art, Modern    7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    8. Design - Decorative    9. Exhibitions    10. General    11. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    12. Art / Design / Decorative   

Reviews (1)

At Last, a Tribute to an Art Dealer!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has produced yet another fine curatorial statement with their exhibition 'Cezanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde' and fortunately the accompanying catalogue is as bold and beautiful as the exhibition itself.The concept of discussing artists of international stature from the stance of the man who gave their careers the jumpstart needed is unique and valuable and is a tribute to the work that art dealers around the world perform in assisting artists in their career paths.
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Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. 20th century    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Art, French    6. Artists and patrons    7. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    8. Essays    9. European    10. Exhibitions    11. France    12. History    13. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    14. Art / General    15. Art funding, patronage & sponsorship    16. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (5)

The best on the subject !
Being relativelly new to the subject of Japanese swords and fittings I was quite impresse by two things:
Very Good Buy!
Very amazing photos, and quality information on each photo and sword. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

A modern book on japanese sword fittings
This review is a joint effort with Laerte E. Ottaiano
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Catalogs    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Design - Decorative    6. Exhibition Catalogs    7. General    8. Japan    9. Metal Arts And Crafts    10. Metal Work    11. Sword guards    12. Sword mountings    13. Swords    14. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles   

Reviews (6)

Want to know more about Mata Ortiz and its potters?
This is a great book for all that are curious about Mata Ortiz pottery and the people who make it. If you want to start collecting, it's a great book to have for a reference source. All artists mentioned in this book are of high caliber, as good, some even better than the Native American potters of the Southwest. At this time, these wares are also less expensive and affordable to most people. Hopefully they will be a good investment for the future.
Mata Ortiz Pottery
A wonderful collection of photographs combined with dialoge about this remote village in Mexico.It describes the journey to get there, then details the lives of the talented people who live there.The photogtaphy is outstanding.A must for any person collecting or thinking of collecting pottery from this village.

The Next Best Thing To Owning A Pot
Almost 40 years ago Juan Quesada from the village of Mata Ortiz in Chihuahua singlehandedly revived Casa Grande style pottery. This book is a beautifully illustrated account of his success, along with the other artists of the village who learned from him. Becoming familiar with these artists should lay to rest the notion held by many Americans that Mexican imports are second class. These paper-thin pots are as beautiful as any you will ever see. This book has color photographs of many of the potters from Mata Ortiz as well as pictures of their pots. There is information on how the pots are made-- they are all built by hand from native materials, painted with brushes made from the artists' children's hair and fired over cow dung.Read more

Subjects:  1. Art & Art Instruction    2. Ceramics    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Criticism    5. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies    6. General    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Indians of North America    10. Description and Travel    11. Mexico   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Fashion    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. Nudes & Erotic    7. Fashion design    8. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (3)

Catalogue of a 1995-96 exhibition with 7 papers and pictures of the artifacts
This quite beautiful book is the product of an exhibition by the Art Museum of Princeton University that ran from December 1995 through February 1996.It was called "The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership".The first half of the book contains seven very interesting papers that made varying degrees of sense to me.Not because the papers were poor, but simply because I am not an authority in the field.Trying to weigh and interpret the scant threads of evidence (but the evidence is actually amazing) is tough for professionals.For amateurs like me, it is quite impossible to do much more than pay your money and take your chances.We follow along as best we can and watch developing trends in the scholarship.
Reconstructing a culture entirely from religious art
Mesoamerican archaeology is a little world by itself - I know, because I used to live in it. It has a very cosy relationship with museums and the "art" collectors who buy the objects that are looted from archaeological sites, which lie destroyed, torn into shreds under the forests all over Central America and Mexico. But it has almost no touch with reality any more. The things they say about the ancient Olmec are almost fantasy, because in truth we know so little about these people. Almost all the objects in this book were stolen from Mexico, ripped from the archaeological context that might tell us something about their real meaning. These are probably religious articles - we may never know. But imagine trying to reconstruct the rich life of rennaisance Italy by looking at reliquaries in Catholic churches! If you are still persuaded by the "mysterious Olmec" propaganda spouted by Coe and his looter buddies, go read Flannery & Marcusin the first 2000 issue of the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, and think it over.

A Must Have for any Olmec Enthusiast
The Olmec World is an amazing resource for those who study or have an appreciation of early Mesoamerican Art.At its most basic level The Olmec World is the catalogue of the 1996 Olmec Exhibition at the Art Museum at Princeton University the first comprehensive show of Olmec art in America.Drawing upon nearly all of the major Olmec museum collections in North America from Dunbarton Oaks to Princeton's own expansive holdings, the exhibition also drew heavily from many private collections never before shown to the general public.For instance, John Stokes' amazing collection of ceramic babies and jade masks are showcased in this catalogue.However, almost as impressive as the pictures are the essays in this collection.Michael Coe has done a marvelous job of soliticing and editing a myriad of papers on the mysterious Olmec. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American - Native American    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Criticism - Native American    6. Exhibition Catalogs    7. Exhibitions    8. History - General    9. Indian art    10. Mexico    11. Olmec art    12. Archaeology    13. Central America    14. Ceramic arts, pottery, glass    15. History of art: pre-history    16. Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides    17. Sculpture & other three-dimensional art forms    18. Social Science / Native American Studies   

Reviews (5)

Remarkable
Coupled with Hans Richter's: "Dada, Art and Antiart" and movement's philosophy and works are clearly understood. Graphics are truly great and commentary enlighten. It might be noted this book is German published as the Max Ernst book "Life and Work". Both with numerous colored plates of the highest quality. The Dada book though excels in text.

DADA:ZURICH,BERLIN,HANOVER,COLOGNE,NEW YORK,PARIS
IF YOU LIKE ART THIS IS THE PERFECT MEAL.
Dada: The Movement of Absurdity and its Profound Effect on Art
With the world wholly at war in WW I everything sane seemed challenged - to a few artists.These important minds gathered into a movement that at the time seem absurd - straying away from the expected paintings and drawings and sculpture that had become the norm for the definition of Art: names such as Tristan Tzara, Hans Arp, Sophie Taeuber, Hans Richter, Hannah H?ch, Raoul Hausmann, George Grosz, John Heartfield, Kurt Schwitters, Max Ernst, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and Marcel Duchamp challenged every aspect of the establishment and raucously boasted works consisting of photographs, collage, commonplace items such as the infamous urinal, performance, and poetry.The ultimate result of this at first dismissed movement (a movement which lasted only ten short years form 1916 to 1926) is now patently obvious in the manner in which art has been transformed in the post-Dada world.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Arts, Modern    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Dadaism    7. Exhibition Catalogs    8. Exhibitions    9. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    10. History - Surrealism & Dadaism    11. Surrealism & Dada   

Reviews (1)

Shades of Walker Evans
Christenberry photgraphs and crafts replicas of the landscapes in Hale County, AL. This is the same area in which Walker Evans photographed the people and places in the 1930's for the US Gov't and the classic "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."
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Subjects:  1. 1936-    2. Christenberry, William,    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Exhibitions    6. Individual Artist    7. Individual Photographer    8. Individual Photographers And Their Work    9. Photo Techniques    10. Photography    11. Photography Of Specific Subjects    12. Photography, Artistic    13. Subjects & Themes - Travel - General    14. Central Southern states    15. Individual photographers    16. Photographs: collections