The Art Shelf 2/2
Midwest Book Review
775A Southpoint Boulevard, Petaluma, CA 94954-1495
www.pomegranate.com
THE ART OF ARTHUR AND LUCIA MATHEWS (0764936441, $40.00) is a 'must'
for any California art collection: it details their works and provides
the most comprehensive survey in print, adding plenty of background
history about a couple whose paintings, murals furniture, graphics and
more influenced the California Decorative Style itself. Color displays
of these many creations supplement their history and a survey of the
style as a whole, making for an authoritative history of the couple and
their contemporaries. Edgar Kaufmann edits AN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE:
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (076493659X, $39.95): while one might wonder at the
need for yet another Wright title, it's a fine compilation of his
formal and informal writings, lectures and talks and juxtaposes these
writings and case studies with black and white full- and partial-page
displays of his many creations throughout, offering more analysis based
on Wright's own words than most. Both are highly recommended collection
additions.
History and the Morris Dance
John Cutting
Dance Books/Princeton Book Company
http://www.dancehorizons.com
1852731087 $27.95
Is Morris dance heritage mysticism, dance, or entertainment? It's long
been shrouded in mystery, and research John Cutting spent some thirty
years dancing, teaching and researching the Morris dance from its roots
until 1850: HISTORY AND THE MORRIS DANCE: A LOOK AT MORRIS DANCING FROM
ITS EARLIEST DAYS UNTIL 1850 follows its evolution and answers many
questions. A 'must' for any college-level dance history holding.
Art of the Digital Age
Bruce Wands
Thames & Hudson
500 - 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10110
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
0500238170 $50.00
ART OF THE DIGITAL AGE represents the first major illustrated survey of
digital art and gathers works by over a hundred artists from around the
world. Introduced by a history of the genre and discussion of how it
differs from conventional art, chapters provide key works by
established and emerging digital artists and pairs discussions of
virtual reality and digital effect with critical insights on the
featured artists. Color photos abound in this fine comprehensive
survey, a recommended pick for any art library.
Symbolism of Chinese Children's Bibs
Christi Lan Lin
University of Indianapolis Press
400 E. Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46227
www.uindy.edu/universitypress
0880938668 $39.95
Symbolism of Chinese Children's Bibs: a Mother's Affectionate Embrace
celebrates and presents a collection of hand-made children's
accessories from China, presenting a gathering of parental love
reflected through hats, bibs, and carriers. Explanations of the
symbolism in Chinese and English provide excellent accompaniment to
color photos throughout - and while this is a specialty item
recommended for Chinese history and culture collections in particular,
any with an affection for kids will find it lovely and revealing.
Impressionist Camera
St. Louis Art Museum
Merrell Publishers Limited
49 West 24th Street, 8th floor, New York, NY 10010
1858943310 $75.00 www.merrellpublishers.com
Pictorial photography flourished at the turn of the 20th century and
crossed genres, styles and international borders as it produced
celebrated artists and fostered artistic change. Here to celebrate
these changes is Impressionist Camera: Pictorial Photography in Europe,
188-1918, a narrowed focus on European community photography
approaches. Selections consider how photographers created unique works
and visions, how they influenced on another, and how they contributed
to the fusion and symbolism of pictorial photography as a genre. This
book represents the first comprehensive country-by-country examination
on the topic and draws together contributions by an international team
of art and photography scholars and historians. Sepia and black and
white photos throughout capture the creations and sentiments of the
era.
Inferno
Charles Bowden
University of Texas Press
Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexasedu.utpress
0292713304 $45.00
INFERNO is a lovely gathering of photos by Michael P. Berman of the
desert Southwest, reflecting author Charles Bowden's passion for the
land he calls home. INFERNO was written while Boweden was lobbying the
government to create the Sonoran Desert National Monument: it pairs his
nature writing and descriptions with Berman's black and white artistic
desert shots and provides both an artistic and a natural history
celebration appropriate for collections strong in either topic.
Elias Rivera
Edward Lucie-Smith
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254-9911
www.hudsonhills.com
1555952674 $65.00
Elias Rivera painted social history at its best, from civil rights
demonstrations and rodeo events to daily life in Central and South
America, so it's fitting that the oversized ELIAS RIVERA tribute
embraces a wide range of his works spanning a forty-year time frame.
The monograph will prove essential for any comprehensive art library
collection; not just those in Rivera's Santa Fe home: it gathers his
realistic paintings in full color, gives them an oversized format to
gain as much of the real work as possible, and pairs them with actor
Gene Hackman's foreword and Edward Lucie-Smith's art history background
to provide all the insights newcomers need to appreciate Rivera's style
and heritage. There's nothing like it on the market, making it a rare,
unique treat.
Mario Schmolka is a fashion photographer who lives and works in Vienna:
art libraries strong in fashion or photography will find his full-page
color photos in INTENSE (3937718451 $49.95) go beyond fashion, however,
probing nudes, modeling, and startling effects. His classy works are
eye-popping whether they include clothes or not, emphasizing the
synthesis of woman and garment as often as the female nude and the
texture of her background. YOUNG DESIGNER'S AMERICAS edited by Carissa
Kowalski Dougherty (3937718400, $29.95) introduces some fifty selected
designers and design companies - many of them newcomers - packing
pages with color photos of products and including an index holding
contact details for easy access to the company or designer. Interior
design pros seeking specific products will find this an excellent desk
reference. Gabriele Rigon's ROXANNE (3937718818) provides gorgeous
color photos of a young model: some sepia, some using lens filters,
some natural. A lovely, different archetype of fashion and beauty is
presented in the dialogue of photos which presents Roxanne in different
poses, phases, and changes.
Aperture Foundation
547 West 27th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001
www.aperture.org
Elizabeth Broun, et.al.'s WILLIAM CHRISTENBERRY (1931788898, $50.00)
provides a comprehensive survey of works by Christenberry: over half
has been unpublished, including his photos of the Southern landscape,
and provide a catalog of his best American South regional focus since
the early 1960s. Christenberry photographs the real world from back
roads and rural towns to graveyards, returning to the same locations
annually to provide a documentary of changes. Any interested in the
South will relish this collection. John Divola's THREE ACTS
(1931788952, $50.00) comes from a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient who
has won numerous other awards for his art, gathering three bodies of
work he produced throughout the 1970s. His monograph focuses on
abandoned houses in Los Angeles: a very specific regional focus that
surveys their markings, changes, and social meaning. Both black and
white and color works trace the changes experienced in these houses and
narrow the focus right down to the gritty textures as well as the
psychological atmospheres of the abandoned. THINGS AS THEY ARE:
PHOTOJOURNALISM IN CONTEXT SINCE 1955 (1597110140, $75.00) pairs essays
by Mary Panzer and Christian Caujolle with the first real world history
of photojournalism, gathered by an international committee of
consultants, leading photographers, art directors and curators.
Landmark stories and headlines are packed into pages of full color
displays: more than an art book, THINGS AS THEY ARE will appeal beyond
the art world into the genres of journalism and social issues. All are
outstanding works.
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