No comments about Calder: An Autobiography with Pictures.

2 comments about Animal Sketching (Dover Art Instruction and Reference Books).

1. The author says "...the object of this book, which really is to create a stimulant to the younger artist, to draw things as he sees them, has fulfilled its purpose." I am neither young nor an artist but I find this little book very stimulating. If you browse the book you will see very simple animal sketches. Many of them are so simple that I thought I could do them better, so I tried. And this is the important thing, I tried, I copied the sketches in the book. Maybe one sketch has only a few lines and maybe you get some/all of them right, but what do you think of the overall result? Could it be better? Just do it again, after all it only takes a moment, there are only a few lines to draw.
   I have only tried with the sketches in the book and I have yet to try with living animals (dogs, cats, cows,...) I wanted a book on animal sketching and, besides the title, this es the content of this book.
   I highly recommend this book.



2. It was fun to see the Calder drawings, I was much more familar with his sculpture and enjoyed these drawings. Calder's work always has attracted me and I was happy to find another facet.

No comments about Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey with Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Calder, and Louise Nevelson.

2 comments about Selected Fables of Jean de la Fontaine.

1. This book contains many short french stories that are sure to be a big help to any beginner through intermediate level student. It enriches french vocabulary while simultaneously getting the reader used to translating in a non-strict, understandable manner. The opposite page with the english translation is a big help when one gets stuck on a new word!



2. Fables are entertaining and interesting, reasonably easy to understand for the intermediate French student. Not being familiar with De La Fontaine I was hoping for a short story format, and was surprised to find all of the fables in verse (poetry). All in all, a good book.

1 comments about Alexander Calder and His Magical Mobiles.

1. Calder is my favorite artist ever. This book captures many of his different styles of works, but it needs photos of his standing mobiles, such as Little Parasite. The book has only a couple photos of unspectacular standing mobiles.

1 comments about Alexander Calder, 1898-1976.

1. Calders work leaves me speachless and in its place... inspired, to do more, better. The book(hardcover)itself is beautifully bound and constructed of the highest quality materials, making it a delight to page through. The writing style is rigid and impersonal. Perhaps the author was careful to provide a neutral background for the colorful, animated genius of Calder but it lacks rhythym, speed and ease of use. I loved the tactile experience of the book itself and of course, Calder for his fresh, brilliant and prolific inventiveness.

No comments about Calder: Gravity and Grace.

1 comments about Calder in Connecticut.

1. Reading this book about Calder's work makes me want to bend a wire clothes hangar into nifty loops and spirals ... just for the fun of it.

   Calder's art is BIG TIME fun, on every scale from immense graceful outdoor sculptures to strikingly elegant necklaces and pins. The book shows the variety of his creations...tapestry motifs, silver and brass cutlery, campaign posters. Check out his clever pull toy for a toddler.

   Mobiles is probably Calder's most familiar category of work, but his playful menagerie, including a kangaroo, an elephant, a giraffe, a big bird and a flock of origami-size birds is his most endearing.

   Photos and narrative, together, convey the wit and warmth of the sculptor. They offer opportunity to meet Calder, his wife, and their circle of friends.

   Calder, by fine example, inspires one to lighten up and love it. This book is written permission to do exactly that, be it, high brow, low brow or no-brow.

2 comments about Calder/ Miro.

1. it is always interesting to see how artists and friends influence one another and here is another brilliant examination. alexander calder and joan miro couldn't have been more different, yet, it seems that this factor propelled their friendship. they true friends from the beginning the artists, and their families, remained close throughout their careers. often collaborating on works, sharing ideas or simply exchanging artistic gifts their friendship shines through to their art. this show brings commonalities and collaborations together under one roof (some for the first time ever) and explores the influences behind the objects. bravo to the curators for bringing this to our attention and thanks for the fantastic catalogue that accompanies it!



2. This is a wonderful catalogue that accompanies the landmark exhibition that was held at the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Switzerland in 2004, and at the Phillips Collection in Washington. Apart from the groundbreaking comparative study of both artists, which is very well written and highly informative (a trove of previously unpublished documents), the illustrations are fantastic. One of the most moving series by Miro, the Constellations, some 40 watercolors painted in 1941, are wonderfully echoed in a three-dimensional space by Calder's delicate mobiles of the same period. Highly recommended.

1 comments about The Surreal Calder.

1. I think this is very detailed and thorough book on Alexander Calder's life of creating movable sculpture.