Artists Books

This is an interesting book all about an unusual subject:Turquise, as a mineral and as a color. One thing I liked is that each of the essays is self contained so one can put the book down and pick it back up at a later date if you like and you don't miss anything. Another thing I liked is that I learned quite a few things, for example the mineral Turquise is not only found in the American southwest. Read the book and find out where else it is minned. This is a book I will keep and reread. In fact the first thing I did upon finnishing it was to order a copy for a friend!
If you like this book you will like her other books as well. Raven's Exile: A Season on the Green River
After I finnished reading the book I discovered she has fund in her name that suppoerts desert writers: http://www.ellenmeloy.com/.

Enthusiastic Recommend: The Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen Meloy
I finished this book sitting in my camp chair on the edge of Capital Reef National Park - on the side of Boulder Mountain looking into the vista of the water pocket fold and the Henry Mountains. It was four days after I ran a half marathon, and I was decompressing on a camping trip. The scenery was amazing, Meloy's writing just as good.
Meloy lives not all that far from where I was sitting, in what I would call an "outpost of nowhere" in southern Utah on what she calls the "salsa farm beside the river." She's a desert rat with a keen sense of surroundings and life.
Her book is about a lot of things; it's a collection of essays loosely tied by the idea of turquoise - the color and the rock. But the essays that spoke to me were the ones about the land, the desert southwest and the creatures, plant and animal, that inhabit it. Meloy can bring you inside a flower, near a big horn sheep, into the river, out into the night sky. She made me ache to be part of the natural world, her desert world. Her prose is poetic. Here's a taste. This is what she writes about the river that is so deeply engrained in her soul when she finds herself swimming after her boat: "What happens when I surrender to the aloof, silken creature that hurls me down its spine?" Again, about her river: "I write a book about a river and cannot tell if it's a love story or an obituary or both."
She cares deeply about her land. And she also writes about writing: "Writers write because they can't shut up." This resonated. I have found my voice in my fifth decade of life. But I have also found other voices, voices like Meloy's that are worth shutting up to hear.

Did this ever happen to you, you close the pages of a well-written book and you just sigh for a minute, wishing it had not ended? And then as it happens you open up your daily newspaper and find out that the author has died, died even perhaps as you were reading and admiring her prose style? I first read "Swimming in Mojave" two years ago in the magazine ORION, and I laughed out loud thinking of the author trying to beat the desert heat by swimming across the sands, like a John Cheever character, in every swimming pool at every motel and resort her family could find. Recently I found this book, THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF TURQUOISE, and settled in for the pleasure of a whole collection of essays, and some well-researched bits of historical fact and fancy about the mineral turquoise, another hobby of mine.

The book took me over two weeks to finish, as I kept putting it down to admire the author's flights of fancy and beautiful language. There wasn't much of a story, but as I read it now, and think about the different essays from The "Deeds and Sufferings of Light" to the final chapters of "Brides of Place" and "Passing through Green to Reach It," I see so clearly how her words speak to the drive in every one who lives out West to stay alive and to see the possibility and grandeur in all of the things God or the Devil created. Ellen Meloy has left us, but she has left us with a magnificent charge, to go into the world unafraid and to urge the others to "You come, too."

There are three reasons to possess this book. The first reason: You want to read an author whose prose verges on poetry... "On the Colorado Plateau... nights come less as a smooth pause than as a steep, enduring purity of eye-blind dark. (In the day) The mesa's colors in their flanks - terra cotta, blood-red salmon, vermilion - bear the temperament of iron."

Second: Color for you, as for flowers, are a part of your being. You draw colors into your life as an elixir to defeat life's monotony. Ellen Meloy is a master wordsmith. She, more than most, knows that colors "challenge language to encompass them", yet, unabashedly, she tracks down the colors of nature, feels them, tastes them, holds them in her mind and then vividly gives them life. No color is sacrosanct to her. Yes, orange, red, blue, green will all find an expression, but Meloy seeks, not the plebeian, but the unusual, unique, even ruthless colors: burnt sienna, magenta, burgundy red, Prussian blue and of course turquoise, "the stone of the desert," "the color of yearning,". For Meloy; "Colors bear the metaphors of entire cultures. They convey every sensation from lust to distress. Flowers use colors ruthlessly for sex. Moths steal them from their surroundings and disappear. A cactus spines glows red-gold in the angle of sun, like an electrocuted aura." Life is good.

Finally, you will find in Ellen Meloy a forthright lover of nature. She is a south westerner, lover of the desert and outdoors woman who sees in desert life the paradoxes of being. She calls for attention as she expresses the damage to the earth that we are so thoughtlessly committing. She points out how we, Homo sapiens, are the first species to witness and will our own extinction. Her social - naturalist commentary is balanced with humor and memoirs; her narrative is both captivating and informative. She is at her best when she sticks to the southwest, but the chapters that chronicle her forays to the Bahamas and the Yucatan are nonetheless engaging. This is a well-crafted work that is filled with captivating metaphors, naturalism, travelogue, memoirs and humor. If you seek award winning writing, are captivated by colors and find sustenance in the natural world this is a highly recommended read. 4.5 stars

He was called the 'greatest realistic artist alive' by Robert Hughes and creates the quintessential blend of realism with haunting viewpoints and twists of light, so ANTONIO LOPEZ GARCIA is a 'must' for any serious art library collection. It gathers under one cover the major paintings and drawings of his career, revealing the Spanish artist's methods and adding detailed explanations and explorations of themes to each full-page color image.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I have enjoyed, and continue to go thru this book. I am very pleased with this book. It certainly has been worth the long wait, before it became available. Thank you. WB

Yes this book is smaller than the $1,500. Rizzoli book, but it has great reproductions and newer work that isn't in the other book. This is a MUST have for any Lopez Garcia fan.

Why so inexpensive when the Rizolli book is $500 - $1000!!! Size. This book is 6 3/4 by 8 1/4. I appreciate anything I can get on the artist, but the person who put this book together should be shot. Metaphorically.

"Magpie Magic" by April Wilson, sub-titled, "A Tale Of Colorful Mischief", Dial Books, New York, 1999.

The words in this book stop with the copyright page. Then, the entire story is told in colorful illustrations by April Wilson. The magpie, a black and white bird, first is drawn, and, with a backward glance, flies off the paper. The illustrator's hands attempt to catch the wayward bird, who soon returns to eat the luscious, red cherries that also pop up off the paper. The orange balloon is soon popped, too, but then the magpie helps the hands to draw with the yellow pencil. The story continues through the colors of the rainbow, green and then blue, and finally, to a purple (violet) cage into which the magpie is lured with more bright red cherries. A brown lock is drawn to secure the cage and the brown key is erased.

But! The magpie has seen how the gum eraser works, and uses it to escape from the cage. The bird then creates mayhem until the illustrator erases most of magpie with the white gum eraser. The magpie struggles to re-constitute itself , and does so using every color of the rainbow. A most colorful story, indeed!

I originally bought this book to give to my then 3-year old granddaughter. Then went back the next day to buy one for myself. It has given me pleasure every time I open it.

The 36 full page drawings are beautifully done and there are so many stories to be told and embroidered about each of them.
With the book on your lap, all the drawings are approximately life size, so there is an immediacy to the stories you will "write" about the pictures. As you tell the story, it is almost as though you are also drawing the pictures yourself.

A gift of a magical box of colored pencils produces some surprising situations. Your child will tell his own story from the emotions that are implied by the beautiful illustrations. You will see at the end of the story how the magpie "reinvents himself" to suit himself!

I purchased this book for my 3 year old daughter for Christmas. It was one of two books that we had borrowed from the local library over the course of the year that we wanted to keep. (My wife tends to borrow about a dozen or two books a week as the library is right next to the preschool.) It was wonderful to provide my daughter with the chance to tell the story herself. The drawings and story line drew her in. The editorial reviews do a good job of describing the book, so I won't. This is one of two books out of the hundreds that we have borrowed that we elected to purchase, so my high rating isn't just inflated. ("The Lion and the Little Red Bird," by Elisa Kleven was the other.)

I'm an amateur photographer, so when I heard an interview with Arnold Newman on NPR's Morning Edition, I knew I had to get this book. Newman is considered the inventor of "environmental portraits," in which the photographer uses surroundings to capture essential elements of his or her subject.

The photos collected in this volume span Newman's entire career and range from Senator John F. Kennedy to President Bill Clinton. The collection is mostly black-and-white. Leafing through the book, I've gotten many ideas for my own photography, but I've also gained a new appreciation for many of the historical figures Newman captured in his work.

The book is large and heavy, very satisfying to hold and look through, and will make an excellent coffee table book. Whether you're into history or photography, you'll really enjoy this book.

I just got back from the Newman exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C. and although I thought I had seen most of his work, I was stunned by the boldness of some of the photo collage work and color work which I had previously only seen in B&W. The book has all of the show and many more. It was $40 there and they were selling like hotcakes. The book is beautiful and has $1 million worth of images in it. Hard to pick a favorite. Certainly Picasso and maybe Isaac Asimov too.

Excellent collection of Newman.
Everyone does environmental portraits these days.
Newman is the original and the best.
A beautiful and inspirational collection.

Arnold Newman died recently at age 88 but his photographic work will live one. Newman was known for his environmental portraiture - capturing the famous faces of his time in the atmosphere in which they created their magic and lived their lives, sometimes private, but most times public.

In this superb collection of Newman's work there are the famous photographs of Igor Stravinsky at his piano, Marilyn Monroe ('she was terrified of aging'), Carl Sandburg, Mickey Mantle, Truman Capote, Pablo Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Sir Cecil Beaton, Diana Vreeland and many more. Each subject is part of a personality scape, accompanied with the trappings that made them famous.

Arnold Newman felt that a subject's environment illuminated the subject, and while many other photographers have followed his lead, Newman remained at the top of his genre. This book is an excellent tribute (though not published as such!) to an artist departed whose legacy will linger. Recommended. Grady Harp, June 06

I was entirely satisfied with the conditions of the book. The content is by clement greenberg, so it is very "greenbergian"...

Clement Greenberg was an art- historian and literary- critic who had major influence on the artistic world of his time. He is also a writer rich in ideas whose analyses and interpretations add new dimensions to the meaning of the works he interprets. In this work of collected essays he writes upon the forebearers of modernity, Renoir , Picasso, Braque, Soutine, Chagall . He also writes about more modern artists Marin, David Smith. He also writes on TS. Eliot, and on Kafka.
In a sense Greenberg was one of the critics who helped define ' modern art'. In this he equated modern art with the 'avant garde'. The avant garde artists were for him those for whom the subject of art had become art itself. The artists and poets he focused upon he understood as being without a kind of secure public that for a period of time in Western Art had supported the 'elite work' which is art. In this he saw Yeats, Rilke, Stevens as Rimbaud, Mallarme, and Valery poets whose real effort was in an effort to make a world of their own art- language and form.
We are now nearly half a century since Greenberg wrote these seminal essays. And it seems that while he may well have helped define a moment in the history of Art and even of Literature , Time and History have not stood still. And the question of a content in art and literature which comes from human life and experience, and too relates to our social reality is still with us, and has returned in greater strength. And this while it also possible to maintain that Greenberg's interpretative line really only partly defined the world of for instance a Stevens or a Yeats whose fictional and imaginative universes were too anchored in Key West and Sligo and other real spaces of our own dark beautiful and recalcitrant earth.

This is the best book of criticism of early/mid 20th C. art ever written, maybe the best one that ever will be written. it is the fundamantal text for the art of the period. Giving it 5 stars, or 10 stars, seems meaningless. If you want to know about the art of this time, look at the art, then read this book. After that you can get into the details.

Clement Greenberg does an excellent job of explaining how the individual and society experience and identify art. His essays on avante-garde, kitsch, and modernist painting are especially interesting, although his socialist "tendencies" tend to undermine objective discussion and mix art and politics (not always inseperable anyway, though). If you read Greenberg, you should also check out T.J. Clark, who takes issue with many of Greenberg's ideas.

SI DESEAS CONOCER LA OTRA PARTE DE LA HISTORIA DE LAS ARTES... ESTA HISTORIA SI INCLUYE EL ARTE REALIZADO POR MUJERES ARTISTAS.

I saw this book reviewed in Bust mag and am so glad I got a copy for myself. Peggy Phelan and Helena Reckitt have accomplished a "portable gallery" in this book--it is like seeing all of the works themselves, but with commentary that helps at every step of the way.

Peggy Phelan's introduction is great because she draws everything together in a way that I couldn't do on my own, and actually, I am amazed ANYONE could do it. Wow.

The book is expensive but worth it because otherwise you would have to buy about 100 books to try and do for yourself what they did here.

Peggy and Helena, and all the artists, YOU ROCK!!!

This book is a great "picture book" for anyone interested in art and/or women artist. The descriptions of the work are concise, giving enough information to make you want to investigate further. A necessary addition to any art book collection.

This book would be an excellent textbook for a Women In Art course. It doesn't have much information on centuries prior to the twentieth and largely focuses on art, artists, and issues from the 1960's on, so it wouldn't do as the only text for such a course. But this is all you need for late twentieth century concerns.

The early essays are dripping with Freudian psychology and psychoanalytical social criticism. The issues surrounding why it took so long for there to be a sense of equality of greatness amongst artists of all genders is explored deeply. The issues of representation of all races and sexual orientations then follows. The book stops just short of discussing the newest research on intersex persons (persons born with an extra chomosome, among others {XXY, for example}).

For a movement that was intending to create a sense of equality, feminist theory highlights both the vast differences as well as the profound similarities between the perception processes of men and women. This includes both the perceptions of and different approaches to art as well as life. Yet, when all is said and done, more recent artists are primarily interested not in these issues, but more a sense of having their work judged based on its quality, not their gender.

The only disappointment I have in this book is one that no other book addresses either. So, I mean this only as a minor criticism. In short, the book does not answer the following: Is ther an intersex mind state? Feminist theory either didn't reach the point of asking this in time for the extensive research put into this book or it has come to its conclusion and will transform gradually into a whole other movement.

The art chosen to represent the above ideas and explorations is top quality. The reproductions are sharp and colorful. I would recommend this book to anyone with interests in women in art or in feminist theory.

As I read the novel, I could only picture the buildings, locations, and associations in my mind. David Morris has lifted the veil, and has given a new meaning and apprciation of the book. The great photographs, and the well-writtwen, meaningfull and very discriptive text, makes the book a "must buy" for anyone who has read the novel, and especiallyto one who is planning to read it. I can only hope that Mr. Morris is working on a similar companion book for "Angels and Demons". David, you must.

Excellent book! This book actually lets the reader see the places and pictures mentioned in Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code. It really helped bring the book to life. This book is a MUST HAVE whether or not you're reading The Da Vinci Code.

What a tremendous addition to a great work. As a published author and someone with an insatiable appetite for reading, I was, like so many others, mesmerized by The DaVinci Code. What a tremendous bonus to discover 'The Art and Mythology of the DaVinci Code by David Morris. If you attempt to conjure images while reading (don't we all?), this work is nothing short of remarkable. While well read, I am not well traveled, making this work all the more enjoyable. I found myself re-reading DaVinci!! Don't miss this masterpiece.

I have truly enjoyed every minute of it. The perpetual beauty of the book is remarkable. The perfect view and clearity of the pictures give you a 'being there' feeling; however, the knowledge that pours from the words are eqaully superb. Overall, this is a must have book to complete one's collection.

i am still waiting to receive this book
what happened?
why such a long wait?
thanks
M.A.

Guercio's exploration into the symbiosis of the artist's life and work will change the way art is viewed and appreciated.

The monograph theory is sound and very interesting. The jargon is wearying, however. Why do philosopher's seem incapable of writing clearly?

Although the monograph seems like an obsolete form, there are many reasons, art historical, political, and human, to rethink the genre today.
The author furnishes extraordinary primary research and delivers an important message that admiring artworks must incorporate a thorough knowledge of the life of the artist. This knowledge is mediated by the humble efforts of hundreds of years of chroniclers--art historians, critics, connoisseurs. Gabriele Guercio pays tribute to art and the science of art.

Punk is an art and Winston displays it as it is

Punk is an art and Winston displays it as it is

Winston's work to me is so amazingly awesome that I can not define how great the book is. Check it out for yourself and you will understand

Winston Smith takes retro drawings and paintings from thee original picture, and turns them into collages. Thee collages are intended to inform and amuse you. In thee opinion of me, Winston does with pictures what people like William S. Burroughs and Jello Biafra have done with words. Most of these pictures are very funny and very thought provoking. This book also makes for a great conversational piece for your coffee table or whatever. Also included are album covers he has done for Dead Kennedys, Green Day, Tijuana No! etc.. There is a four page pull-out of the banner for Tijuana No! and a two page pull-out for the cover to Dead Kennedys' album Bedtime for Democracy which you can find in thee music section of this site. I reccomend this book not only for punk rockers but for free thinkers of all shapes and sizes. There is so much to look at in one picture you can read this one again and again.

An excellent reference book concerning the work of Albert Paley. This book really drives at the esence of the sculptor's medium. Many fine examples of the artist's work are illustrated in black and white as well as full color pictures. This book does a great job of representing the scale of Paley's later public sculpture pieces and is a must have for any artist blacksmith.

One of the most inspirational metal artist's of the century. Very complete in it's cataloging.

Makes you want to go out and pound steel.

A great catalog of Albert Paley's work from his jewerly to his gates. Very detailed bio and great pictures. What an incredible American craftsman.

This is the only book that I've come across that presents the full spectrum of Albert Paley's work in crisp B/W and color photographs and that details a biography of the artist. My introduction to Paley came unexpectedly when at a function in the Wortham Center (Houston) I was greeted by his soaring Stairway Scuptures, which are included in this book. Paley goes beyond creating sculptures that stand as isolated works of art. His scuptures enhance the spaces in which they are placed and are themselves enhanced by those spaces. The author does a superb job of describing the experience of entering a vast architectural volume and the impact that Paley's monumental sculptures have by their positions within it. This book is the next best thing to having that experience for oneself. If you love Gaudi and other artists of the Art Nouveau movement, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.