Bruno Books

From "Introduction":


"I am Bruno. In this book I will talk to you about your awareness (where your head is) and your body (where you are). Your body can only be in the present. It is at every moment of your life a part of that very moment. Every breath you take, you take here and now. Your body IS. The place is here; the time is now. It is different with your awareness. During most of your life, your awareness is not in the present. Either you anticipate what might happen or you reminisce about what should have happened. Your head is in the future or in the past. You worry today about tomorrow.

Your body and awareness are split. When you live this way you not only miss out on the present, you create tension, anxiety and dis-EASE. I call this lifestyle attitude Body Awareness Split (BAS).

GEBA Therapy is a method to help you bring your body and your awareness back together. GEBA stands for GEstalt Body-Awareness. When you have GEBA, you live your life in the present. You allow YourSELF to experience your life as it happens from moment to moment. You have your body and your awareness together. They form a whole - a Gestalt, as they say in German. Through this book you can learn HOW to have Gestalt Body-Awareness and HOW to integrate this new lifestyle attitude into everyday living. Throughout the book, 'attitude' refers to the relationship of your awareness to your body."

Structure of the book:

"The book is divided into 5 weeks. During each weekly section, you will be introduced to a new routine. Although the book presents the routines over a 5-week time period, your individual progress may vary. You might progress at a faster or a slower rate or in spurts and jumps, depending on your personal nature. Time is not important. It is only important that you can successfully experience each routine before going on to the next one. You will soon know when to continue practicing a routine or when to move on to the next. The only true criterion throughout the book is your own experience.

I have written this book primarily for 2 people working together on different routines which I call 'explorations.' The book is addressed directly to the person who will play a supportive role in these explorations. The person will read the book and relay the necessary instructions to his friend, who will actually be doing the different explorations. ...

In each weekly routine, GEBA Therapy presents various supportive practices, energy explorations, and sonance explorations. Supportive Practices bring you into direct body contact with your friend. Through touch and body manipulation, you become more aware of your body. Energy Explorations help you surrender yourself and reach the energy state. The energy state is experienced somewhere between being awake and being asleep. You have probably been in this state before for brief periods of time without ever stopping to explore it or feel what it is like. It is a state which opens up a whole new world for you. In this state you feel calm, relaxed and recharged with energy. Your awareness centers on your body sensations and feelings rather than on your thoughts. The energy state is basic to GEBA Therapy. Sonance Explorations help you to integrate yourself. You develop a sense of the different areas in your body, become aware of their relationship to each other and to your body as a whole. "

This text is the latest printed material on the work of Charles and Ray Eames. With recent publications by Eames Demetrios and Vitra Design, this text provides a unique modern perspective of the Eames's work. I am a scholar of the Eames' work and this book has many never seen before photo's and illustrations of Charles and Ray. I highly reccomend this title for anyone who intends serious to pursue serious scholarship of Charles and Ray.

I liked how Bruno forgot about the ice cream when he helped his friend, and how the St Bernard watched everything from the top of the hill.

Although this book is very rare to find and quite expensive when you do, it is very inspirational for a wildlife artist such as I. The reproductions are exquisite and educational as well. Many ideas for the expansion of art come to mind in viewing the images which range from white on white rabbits to detailed birds in near abstract settings. I found it a treasure trove of useful ideas. You won't be disappointed if you can find a copy.

Best sculptor I've ever seen. Movement is incredible. Book is the perfect reference source for ideas and inspiration. Can't go wrong with this one.

Raymond Fearn is well known for his work on earlier Italian music, especially opera, so it was with trepidation that I approached his book on Bruno Maderna, one of Italy's most charismatic composer-conductors of the twentieth century. Having said that, however, we have no other book in English on Maderna to compare it with, but I can say that the author has made a bold and accurate first attempt at portraying this avant-guarde giant for English readers.

The text gives the reader a good balance between recounting the eventful life of the man, from child prodigy to cancer victim, in clear and unhampered prose, and an unrushed analysis of many of his works. I couldn't help feeling, however, that the discussion warranted far more musical quotes and examples than were presented. The book does contain, however, the most comprehensive and extensive list of his output I have ever seen, which is a real help to musicologists wishing to date and track down his oeuvre.

There is enough here to satisfy the professional musicologist as well as the curious layman. Indeed it is essential for anyone interested in gaining an insight into the composer or indeed twentieth century Italian musical life in general.

Well presented and researched, the author has probed both the inspiration, and spiritual influences on Martinazzi's work. The images are beautifully photographed and it is delightful work to both browse and read in detail

Mostly architectural projects well illustrated by excellent photos mostly in color; also plans, sections, elevations, hard line axonometric views, hand sketches of excellent quality, and short text descriptions.
CONTENTS:
Foreword by Kenneth Frampton 6
Introduction by Paolo Portoghesi 7
The Eternal Return of the Same by Bruno Minardi 9
PROJECTS
Manetti House, Ravenna 10
School in Marina di Ravenna, Ravenna 12
St Bernadino Cemetery, Urbino 14
Rural Centre, Crucoli 16
Dantesque Zone, Ravenna 18
Watercolours 20
Engravings 22
Stamira Square, Ancona 24
Theatre in Forli, ForU 26
Increasing the Height of Council Houses, Cesena 28
Temporary Houses, Foggia 30
Housing in the Former Dreher Brewery, Venice 32
Les Halles Square, Paris 34
The Alpine Theafre 36
Seven Drawings for an Exhibition, Venice Biennale 38
The Canal Port, Mazara del Vallo 40
The Spa Town, Calatafimi 42
87 Leopoldstrasse, Munich 44
Restoration of the Malatesta Castle, Gatteo 46
Kaufman House, New York 50
Standiana Park Canoeing Facilities, Ravenna 52
New Central Railway Station, Bologna 54
The European Town 56
New Ice Stadium and Sports Facilities,
Cortina d'Ampezzo 58
Lego House 62
`Punto Vela' Commercial Building, Marina di Ravenna 64
The Wandering Yard, Rome 66
The Sag ittaria Chair 68
First World War Museum, Primolano 70
Gens Claudia, Garden Furniture 72
San Niccolo Fish Weir, Florence 74
Marmarica: Redevelopment of Old Harbour, Ravenna 78
SAR Transporti Offices, Ravenna 80
Med imar House, Ravenna 82
The Mosaic House, St Croce, Ravenna 84
Classis Acmar Office, Ravenna 86
Tourist Centre and New Faloria Cableway,
Cortina d'Ampezzo 88
New Town Gate, Cortona 90
`Nostalgia Urbana', Venice Biennale 92
A New Town Gate, San Marino 94
Urban Plan for the End of the Grand Canal, Venice 96
San Nicola Port, Tremiti Island 98
Project for the Old Town, Dubrovnik 102
Vitiello House, Ravenna 104
Housing in the Former Poggiali Sawmill, Ravenna 106
Buton Renewal, Bologna 108
The New Speicherstadt, Potsdam 110
New Piazza Diania, Orta San Giulio 112
ANew'Stadtvilla', Potsdam 114
Trombini House, MarinadiRavenna 116
Restoration of the Convent of San Francesco,
Bagnacavallo 118
Angelo Fabbri Mall, Ravenna 120
Public Offices in the Former Gas Works, Ravenna 122
Carlo M Carafa Square, Grammichele 124
The New Stadtschloss, Potsdam 126

Alphabet books remain the bane of children's librarians worldwide. Tons of these puppies come out every year. Sometimes they appeal to only certain demographics (like the racecar alphabet books, for example). Sometimes they're incredibly hip and modern and hold zippo interest for the children that they are (supposedly) intended for. Sometimes they're deathly dull affairs that offer nothing new or brilliant and sometimes they're so packed with brilliance that it's difficult to remember what the book's initial importance was in the first place. Step back in time then and view the 1960 creation, "Bruno Munari's ABC". Created by an author/illustrator that, "began his career by exhibiting with the second Futurist movement" in Italy (or so his bookflap says), Munari was an excellent graphic designer in his day. And he gave the world this ABC book, one that remains so incredibly popular that it has appeared on the New York Public Library's "100 Pictur Books Everyone Should Know" for 2004. It's a thick sturdy affair, with pages that would take more than the mere strength of toddlers to tear. More importantly, in spite of its very basic design and concept (showing objects that begin with each letter presented) it remains beautiful to look at and interesting to read.

Your first image in this book is of a luscious orange/red apple sitting in a white space. On its stem crawls a realistically rendered black ant with the only words on the page, "an Ant on an Apple". Then you turn the page to a full double spread of a brilliant Blue Butterfly. It's a deep royal blue, but of a shade that brings to mind deep pockets of the ocean and long shadows late in the day. Munari uses watercolors to their fullest in this book. A careful reading through each page displays objects on white with simple words and recognizable objects. To my mind, the only object here that struck me as a little out of date was the rendering of an old rotary-dial telephone. And in any case I sincerely doubt that your kids will find it unrecognizable. Munari has also included in this book a small fly that breaks out of its own F page to buzz into other interesting shots. There is a mild understated commentary that remarks on this. When, for example, the fly alights on a pink ribboned hat that may soon be crushed by a hammer, the commentary gasps, "look out, fly!".

It's the range of colors in this book that really let it stand out though. Whether you're viewing a purple violin, the pink flesh of a watermelon, the brown of an owl, or the green of a leaf, the book is a visual cacophony of shades and images. There's something about Munari's sparse style that continues to appeal, even to this day. If you want alphabet books that blow you away with their wit and wonder, they exist I assure you. There are probably tons of them out there that seek to impress far more than this creation. But if you want something classic and classy that teaches the alphabet without distracting or obliterating its original message (which is to say, teaching the alphabet in the first place) then "Bruno Munari's ABC" should be a first choice.

This handy, compact volume offers a scholarly, yet readable introduction to the history, architecture, and sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. An introductory essay, "The Parthenon and the Theory of Classical Form," provides an overview of all aspects of this temple and a context for the essays to follow.

The history of the Parthenon is discussed in four essays: "The Political Implications of the Parthenon," by Russel Meiggs; "Fifteenth-Century Drawings and Descriptions of the Parthenon," by Charles Mitchell and Ciriaco d'Ancona; an eyewitness account of the bombardment of the Acropolis, 1687 and 1688, by Christoforo Ivanovich; and "The Acquisition of the Elgin Marbles, the Years 1799-1806, by Jacob Rothenberg.

The architecture of the Parthenon is discussed in two essays: "The Design and Building Techniques of the Parthenon," by William Bell Dinsmoor; and "Aesthetic Analysis Concerning the Curvature of the Parthenon," by A. Mavrikios.

Finally the sculptures of the Parthenon are discussed in two essays: "Athena and Athens in the East Pediment of the Parthenon," by Evelyn B. Harrison; and "Gods and Men in the Parthenon Frieze," by Philipp Fehl.

The book is copiously illustrated with black-and-white photographs of the temple and its sculpture (both the friezes and the pediments), maps, plans, and reproductions of historic drawings.