MBR: The Art Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
German Expressionist Prints
Stephanie D'Alessandro, et al.
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
0944110940 $75.00 hudsonhills.com
The collaborative work of noted art scholars Stephanie D'Alessandro (Assistant
Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Artist Institute of Chicago), Reinhold
Heller (Professor of Art History, University of Chicago); James de Young
(Senior Conservator, Milwaukee Art Museum); and art historians Kristin Makholm,
Sarah B. Kirk, and Gretchen L. Wagner, German Expressionist Prints showcases
German art from the 1890s to the 1930s as housed in the acclaimed Marcia and
Granvil Specks Collection noted in the annals of art history for the quality
and breadth of its German Expressionist holdings. Artists represented include
Kathe Hollwitz, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, George Grosz, Lionel Feininger among a
wide range of artists whose work spans the the years between the Second Empire
and the rise of the Nazis. Included are examples of etchings, drypoints,
lithographs, and woodcuts. Enhanced with informed and informative biographies
of the various artists, a study of the papers used in their prints, analysis of
the marks used by paper manufacturers and collectors, essays on diverse issues
of visual culture and representation all deftly combined to make German
Expressionist Prints an invaluable and mandatory addition to substantive
personal, academic Art History reference collection.
Batik: Design, Style & History
Fiona Kerlogue
Thames & Hudson, Inc.
500 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10110-0017
www.thamesandhudsonusa.com
0500284776 $29.95 1-800-233-4830
Batik: Design, Style & History is both a history and a photographic showcase of
Batik textile art of Indonesia. Perhaps most often used in brilliant shawls for
women's daily wear, batik has even had styles meant to be associated with the
aristocracy and are worn to this day for ceremonial occasions. In addition to
full-color images of batik fabric, Batik: Design, Style & History includes some
vintage black-and-white photographs of batik being worn or even created. The
text spares no effort in delving into the traditions and even legends behind
this unique and wonderful blend of artistic expression and practical
functionality.
Rockport Publishers
33 Commercial St., Gloucester MA 01930
www.rockpub.com
Two important keys to effective logic design are recommended as basic library
reference acquisitions. Adams Morioka's Logo Design Workbook: A Hands-On Guide
to Creating Logos (159253032X, $40.00) provides a practical hands-on guide to
creating logos based on the successes of selected firms, from AdamsMorioka Inc.
in Los Angeles to Landor Associates in Tokyo. Each logo receives a color
full-page display with an accompanying facing page explaining the company
history, its founders, and its design search. Another exciting compilation of
successful logos is The Best Of Letterhead And Logo Design (1592530303,
$40.00), presented in an oversized volume which explores logo designs from
international firms, nonprofit groups, and small private institutions alike;
all with a variety of budgets and design needs. An outstanding collection of
winning letterhead and logo achievements is produced.
Worlds Of Tomorrow
Forest J. Ackerman & Brad Linaweaver
Collectors Press, Inc.
PO Box 230986, Portland, OR 97281
www.collectorspress.com
188805493X $39.95 1-800-423-1848
Worlds Of Tomorrow: The Amazing Universe Of Science Fiction Art by renowned
science fiction fan, memorabilia collector and B-movie icon Forrest J. Ackerman
(with the assistance of award winning science fiction author Brad Linaweaver)
is a veritable showcase of a specialized genre of art ranging from the 1920s
through the 1960s and representing a generation's visual imagery of the future
as depicted in science fiction magazines and books. These were pictures and
images that inspired children's imagination and fueled the inventiveness of
future astrophysicists, rocket scientists, university scholars. From robots and
androids, to rocket ships and flying saucers, to ray guns and alien worlds, to
exotic damsels in distress to gleaming cities of the future, Worlds Of Tomorrow
is an impressive and highly recommended work of a specialized American Art
History and 20th Century American Popular Culture that is as nostalgic to
browse through as it it entertainingly informative.
Pacific Jewelry And Adornment
Roger Neich & Fuli Pereira
University of Hawai'i Press
2840 Kolowalu St., Honolulu, HI 96822
0824828828 $33.00 uhpress.hawaii.educ
Enhanced throughout with the superb color images of Auckland-based photographer
Krzysztof Pfeiffer, Pacific Jewelry And Adornment is the collaborative work of
Roger Neich (Curator of Ethnology, Auckland Museum and Professor of
Anthropology, University of Auckland) and Fuli Pereira (Curator of the Pacific
Collection, Auckland Museum). This impressively informative work of art history
showcases 250 representative examples of traditional jewelry from the Pacific
made from the raw materials of jade, whale tooth and bone, shark teeth, tapa,
shells, and plant fibers. Insightful information is provided to the use of
personal decorative items to reflect power, status and community, as well as
their significance with respect to high ceremonial occasions. Drawn from the
collections of the Auckland Museum, these illustrative items reflect the vast
geographical areas of the Pacific from Micronesia, Papua, New Guinea, and Fiji,
to Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. Pacific Jewelry And
Adornment is a strongly recommended addition to any academic or community
library Oceanic Culture or Art History collection.
The Intimate Landscape
Estelle Riback
Lost Coast Press
155 Cypress St., Fort Bragg, CA 95437
www.cypresshouse.com
1882897811 $29.95 1-800-773-7782
An enthusiastically and unreservedly recommended addition to personal,
professional, and academic American Art History collections, The Intimate
Landscape: A New Look At The Origins Of The American Barbizon School by Estelle
Riback offers an expertly informed and informative history and analysis of the
work of American artists William Morris Hunt, George Inness, Homer Dodge
Martin, and Alexander Helwig Wyant who were the late-nineteenth-century
progenitors of what was to become known as the influential American Barbizon
school of art. Breaking with previous American and European art traditions,
these four original, gifted, and innovative artists opened a new movement in
the development of American landscape painting, preparing the way for an
eventual emergence of modern art in American salons, galleries, and popular
culture.
John James Audubon
Richard Rhodes
Alfred A. Knopf
1745 Broadway, 17th fl, NY, NY 10019
www.aaknopf.com
0375414126 $30.00 1-800-726-0600
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Richard Rhodes has done it again: produced a
definitive work worthy of prizes and mention as the first major biography of
artist John James Audubon to appear in forty years – and the first to reveal
his private and family life. Fans of the bird artist begin with Audubon's
arrival in New York from France in 1803, learning about his family background
and his marriage to a wellborn English girl before he journeys to frontier
Kentucky to begin a new life exploring the wilderness of birds against all
odds. A riveting, finely crafted survey bringing life and insight into
Audubon's artistic creations, John James Audubon: The Making Of An American is
an essential, core title for academic and community library American Art
History collections.
Princeton University Press
41 William St., Princeton, NJ 08540
1-800-777-4726 www.pup.princeton.edu
As a young boy Jacques Henri Lartigue used photography to record his life,
capturing both family and interests. His art evolved to produce a vivid set of
modern images which even today is attributed more to instinctual genius than
education: Kevin Moore lays this myth to rest in Jacques Henri Lartigue: The
Invention Of An Artist (0691120021, $45.00), exploring Lartigue's background
and the influences on his photographic interests and development as an artist.
Moore's expose of Lartigue's life and family succeeds in displaying his early
influences and the logical progression of his talents. Steven Henry Madoff with
Nancy Milford and Edward Saywell's Christpher Wilmarth: Light And Gravity
(0691113599, $49.95) is a striking collection considering the artist whose
light-filled glass and steel sculptures delighted the art and architecture
world, but whose life ended with his suicide at age forty-four at the peak of
his career. Wilmarth's talents and creation are wonderfully captured in this
first in-depth examination of his life as an artist, which uses both his works
and interviews with family and friends, articles, and his own published
writings to lend insights into his psyche and arts. A beautiful, notable art
history title.
Taschen Publishers
6671 Sunset Blvd. #1508, Los Angeles, CA 90028
www.taschen.com www.amazon.com
Two outstanding art titles are rich in illustration and unusual art history.
Max Allan Collins, George Hagenauer and Steven Heller's Men's Adventure
Magazines (3822825174, $39.99) gathers extraordinary visuals from the adventure
magazine holdings of the Rich Oberg collection, pairing full-page color
reproductions of covers with its fine history of men's adventure magazines in
postwar America. Essays focus on the history, culture and artistry of the
magazines and include publisher lists and profiles of artists and writers
alike. Fans of animation will relish Julius Wiedemann's Animation Now!
(3822825883, $39.99), a study which includes a bonus DVD displaying examples of
work, the production of commercials and trailers, and more. This is packed with
profiles of almost a hundred of the world's best-known artists and studios,
including an A-Z arrangement and examples and descriptions of their works, and
contact information. Any involved in the world of animated art will fin d this
visually packed with color: a powerful reference indeed.
Allworth Press
10 East 23rd St. #510, NY, NY 10010
1-800-491-2808 www.allworth.com
Maria Piscopo's Graphic Designer's And Illustrator's Guide To Marketing And
Promotion (1581153635, $19.95) is a powerfully comprehensive guide to the
field, creating an in-depth survey of its latest trends, business secrets, and
how to create impressive portfolios and marketing tools. From appropriate
networking strategies to creating contact campaigns, Graphic Designer's And
Illustrator's Guide To Marketing And Promotion is not to be missed. Peggy
Hadden's second edition of The Artist's Quest For Inspiration (1581153589,
$19.95) revises the prior edition by offering several new sections on drawing
inspiration from current events and by updating contacts and resources. Hadden
uses a practical approach to overcoming creative blocks, from exercises to
meditation: chapters cover both individual exercises and working with other
artists and teachers to inspire creativity.
Frozen Music
Gil Garcetti
Balcony Press
512 E. Wilson #213, Glendale, CA 91206
189044927X $125.00 www.amazon.com
The oversized duotones of Gil Garcetti's photos in Frozen Music are presented
in an oversized folio-type format to capture the innovative ironwork of the
Walt Disney Concert Hall. Art library collections strong in architecture and
photography will find Garcetti's use of the 35mm camera astounding as it
captures in black and white the lines and features of the Hall, rendering it in
a medium which captures its exquisite lines and precise form.
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