No comments about Understanding Installation Art: From Duchamp to Holzer.

No comments about Punu: Visions of Africa Series (Visions of Africa).

5 comments about Happy Kitty Bunny Pony: A Saccharine Mouthful of Super Cute.

1. I loved this darn book so much as well as the other 2 books I have bought two, One to save and one for crafting with. They are silly stupid fun books ,sure to make you smile



2. A collection of retro animal imagery with a smattering of extremely brief remarks that are sometimes amusing, often flat. There is no context, such as dates for the images, remarks about the artists or the companies that produced them, or even how they were originally used.
   
   Not intended to be a serious look at kitsch? Clearly. But if the point was to write a funny book, you at least need to put down some words on the page. . .as if you were actually writing. As it is, there is just enough off-the-cuff snidery to make you wish you they had put in something more, but unfortunately the rare amusing bits are rare enough to make you doubt that something more would have amounted to anything worth buying.
   
   As is, you get the least of all possible worlds: a dearth of anything funny to read; an utter absence of anything to think about; and the residual feeling that this slapped together confection was put out there without any thought as to who, exactly, their market might be.
   
   It adds up to something much, much less than the box of old greeting cards and cast-off wrapping paper it resembles--and which would be more interesting.
   
   Those interested in amusing deconstructions of the unfashionable would be better served by buying something that actual has something to say--either as a work of wit ("I Like You!" by Amy Sedaris covers a similar theme with many more laughs) or as a soft-scholarly look (anything by Jane and Michael Stern).
   
   IF you just want to look at funny pictures, buy some old greeting cards and make up your own captions. As for this one, clip out the shiny pictures and make yourself some ironic decoupage. That, at least, would treat this material with some creativity.



3. This is a funny book, but the humour for me is a bonus, I really bought the book to use for reference and inspiration.
   It's super kitch photos are mixed up with some other cool & crazy pages of graphic design.



4. I picked it up, unknowing, thumbed through it for a minute or two, and thought "MST3K." But without the cleverness.
   
   The lethally sweet pictures are cute (ever notice that "cute" is a four-letter word?) and added captions funny enough, for the first two pages. Maybe three. Then I started wondering, "OK, I got that joke - what's next?" There is no next, just the same joke again and again.
   
   At one point I was hospitalized and on heavy painkillers. I tried to watch the Flintstones, but turned it off when I couldn't follow the plot. If you know someone in that state, for medical or recreational reasons, they'll experience all of the book's humor for the first time again and again. They'll love it. That's not me, though, at least not today.
   
   -- ww



5. Mike Nelson of MST3K fame was a better writer than a host. I liked him on MST3K, but he really made an imapct when he was crafting the jokes as opposed to delivering them. Here, we see his brilliant, wry humor in all its glory. This is a rip on every marketing image so sickly sweet that it makes you physically ill. I would recommend you do some Sudokus as well as other brain excercise first: An IQ of 115 or higher is recommended to catch the funniest bits he delivers. That could also explain why my wife lughed harder than I did. Hmm. Back to the Sudoku academy, I guess.

5 comments about Methods and Materials of Painting of the Great Schools and Masters.

1. I am working on my MFA in art. While I am not a strict conservative in the tradition of painting, I am very serious about my training in the techniques of the old masters. Many new books have been published that claim to give you the substance needed, but most of these books show you what you can do, not how you can do it. We are in a period of time in art education where the late modernist and early postmodernist curriculum is strongly emphasized. It is a rare opportunity to find a teacher that has the information this book contains. A true painter ought to know where his materials come from and how they are made. This book gives direct translations from the old masters on how to create pigments and vehicles for oil painting. Like the fact that masters would save the bones from dinner and them char them to create lamp black. This book also gives techniques for purifying raw linseed oil. Little facts like these have been a mystery to me for so long because few teachers know this information.
   
   This is actually a two volume book compiled into one. The first volume deals primarily with recipes of the masters and correlating schools of their time. The second volume deals with techniques such as sfumato(Da Vinci) chiaroscuro(Caravaggio) and other important concepts in painting.
   
   If you learn more about the materials you work with, you will be a better artist, no matter what type of art you do. I recommend this book to the traditionalist, modernist, and postmodernist.



2. It took me several days to bull through the first 50 pages. I found out that must cultures used some sort of "drying oil" -- linseed or other for oil painting. This discovery astounded me so much, that Ii have been unable to continue reading. Perhaps the people who gave it a high rating could tell me something to encourage further reading.
   
   By the way this system won't let me give this book a zero star rating.



3. Out of the thousands of dollars I've spent on art books over the years to understand and improve my knowledge as a realist artist, this has to be the only one I've ever bought so far that I found completly useless.
   If you want to impress another artist, sure, hit them over the head with it. But apart from that I can't really see the point of it being marketed to modern day artists. Written in 1847 with language to match, it just simply describes what most realist artists can usually figure out for themselves by looking at the pictures. And come to much clearer conclusions. Something that your average artist without a generous income and the time to travel round europe during that time period probably couldn't do. Hence the reason I imagine, this book was written.
   
   As a teaching aid for your modern day realist artist, in my opinion forget it. If you want a book this thick and scholastic that will actually help you, get Ralph Mayers 'The Artist's Handbook of Materials & Techniques' instead.
   
   Beware of impressive, studious sounding reviews - I'm sorry I wasted my money on it.



4. A seminal work - referred to by authorities (Ralph mayer, etc) on painting technique. A must have if you're interested in painting technique throught the centuries.



5. My initial reaction on receiving this book was "Bloody hell is it big enough!?" At 1024 pages you're certainly getting a lot of information for your buck.
   
   Eastlake (1793-1865) was a former president of the British Royal Academy, director of the National Gallery, and in his day an major expert on painting techniques. Do note the book was first published in 1847, hence the writing style can be somewhat turbid. Perseverance pays with there being more information in here than you can shake a stick at.
   
   My comment about caution is based upon recent studies of old master paintings. The old masters would typically have a team of apprentices working alongside them, mixing paint, painting parts of the painting that the master was probably too bored to bother with (as well as good training for the apprentice) etc. The Master/Apprentice setup allowed for a continuous stream of knowledge being passed along the generations. However as oil paint technology advanced, in particular the ability to buy premixed paints off the shelf, the painter no longer needed a team of apprentices. He could pretty much get by on his own. Hence there was no longer anyone for the painter to pass on his knowledge to. This resulted in a considerable amount of technical knowledge being lost. (A good example is the recent theory promulgated by David Hockney that the old masters were able to paint such realistic paintings as they used rudimentary projection techniques to place a guide image on the canvas, overwhich they painted. No one knows if he is right or wrong).
   
   From the 1800's on, technical experts such as Eastlake and Max Doerner ("The Materials of the Artist") began to impart their wisdom on how the old master paintings were created. But the techniques thay had available were very rudimentary, more often than not being a case of the expert trying to reproduce a certain style and looking at the painting surface close up. The experts proferred their theories and techniques, often with much aplomb leaving no room for doubt. Unfortunately they were often quite off the mark - they could emulate a style somewhat but never 100%. There are too many variables involved even for a discerning eye. It has only been with recent advances in scientific analysis, chemical and visual, that a truer understanding of the old master technique is finally being determined. Van Wettering's excellent "Rembrandt - the painter at work" book details the findings of extensive research carried out on a number of paintings considered to have been painted by Rembrandt. The book is 340 pages, and they still haven't got all the answers. But what they have done is to throw in to doubt the theories and techniques of the 19th/20th C experts.
   
   There is a welter of information in this book, but if you are trying to perfectly replicate a certain old master painterly technique, and failing to do so, then be warned the experts might not be such experts afterall.
   
   All said and done, I do recommend this book for the wealth of information it contains. Numerous recipes for mediums, varnishes etc. along with many techniques that it lends itself to study in its own right. Dover books have once again provided an excellent product at an excellent price.

4 comments about Graphic Design as a Second Language: Bob Gill (Hands on Graphics).

1. This excellent book details the work process used by the famed graphic artist Bob Gill. The author defines graphic design as organizing a problem and then providing a superior solution. He says that a great designer must find a way of making the problem interesting. "Unless you can begin with an interesting problem, it is unlikely you will end up with an interesting solution."
   
   The structure of the book follows this method through numerous real-world projects. For each example, the author describes the original problem (e.g. create a logo for a company that makes very small models). Then the problem is redefined (e.g. create a logo that, even when enlarged to cover the side of a truck, seems small). Then his solution to the problem is shown (e.g. the small logo is gingerly held between the thumb and index finger of a large hand). The various chapters (Connections, Found Objects, Clich?s, etc.) show a variety of ways that redefining the problem may be accomplished.
   
   Many of the design examples from his portfolio are somewhat dated (the author even mentions this fact), but that's of little importance. The book provides a general work process to follow and he succeeds brilliantly - his method is fantastically useful.



2. Anyone can learn to use a computer and exotic software.
   It's having and executing a great idea that separates the pros from the copy shop hacks.
   Bob Gill, widely acknowledged as "the best of the best," is a brilliant designer who has written the only books I've ever read that actually teach you "how" to develop a successful graphic design concept.
   Without usign any exotic software tricks Gill gets right to the heart of the matter and shares, in example after example, his personal solutions to a variety of design problems.
   If you really want to learn how to be a graphic designer, this is the book you need to read.



3. This book is great. Aside from any typographical issue with the book the information is proven worth while. The book opens your mind to see relationships between concept and execution that will actually reach your target audience. You learn some of the "common sense" of what graphic design that requires a genius to point out in a simple and straight forward manner.



4. After reading all the rave reviews I ordered this book and after flipping through it, decided to return it. Nothing was remotely inspiring. Supposedly pro, but book design and layout design amateurish. Like 2 spaces set between sentences? Save your money.

4 comments about Dot Dot Dash: Designer Toys, Action Figures And Character Art.

1. The book is comprehensive and inspiring to me as an artist.
   Not, however, suitable for children under age 13, as
   some of the toys are quite gruesome, and some are sexually oriented.



2. This book it's what I expected and more, great compilation of pictures, hundred of toys, very visual and complet.



3. I'm telling you this really gets the conversation started. Anyone who has never seen these designer toys really get a kick out of it. This was a great purchase to hold off my addiction from buying all of the figures. The one complaint is they could have off-centered the really well done photographs so they don't get cut off in the binding. Very pleased with the amount of artwork in there. Definitely would recommend it to anyone, a collector or any other person who appreciates a fun piece of art.



4. I just got a copy of this book in the mail today. I love it. I have been looking thru it and showing it to my friends(I have three toys in this book)since I opened it this morning. I only have one issue with it and that's that one of my toys is listed as being an 8" Dunny when it's actually a 3"...Not a big deal.
   If you like designer toys even a little you will dig this book. If you are a toy customizer or toy designer, I hope you find this book as inspiring as I do.
   This book even has an entire section devoted to plush toys! I've looked thru several designer toy books and I've never seen one as complete as this one.
   
   Visual eye candy yum!

5 comments about Color Theory Made Easy: A New Approach to Color Theory and How to Apply It to Mixing Paints.

1. This is a good referance material for comprehensive study of colors. I find it very useful when I have to use complementary colors and choosing colors from different brands. The author did in deepth study on how to mixing different colors with various outcome. It helps me a great deal to choose the colors I want to use in my paintings.



2. Because watercolor colours name's aren't the same as acrylic and oil, it just doesn't make sense at all to me, and to say "made easy" I didn't think so, but i'm sure it's a great book for watercolorists!



3. Combined with Michael Wilcox's book, "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green," this book will help make sense of the enormous number of colors available to the watercolor artist today. Many watercolor artists recommend specific colors just because they've been using them for years, or they confuse the issue by trying to talk about staining versus non-staining, opaque versus transparent, granulating versus non-granulating. Those are all important qualities to know about a paint, but even more basic to that is what color it is and how it will mix with other colors. If you understand the color theory presented in this book and in Michael Wilcox's book, then you will be quite capable of creating a wide range of quite satisfactory colors from just a few well-chosen basics. (Not that you have to stick with just a few basics.)
   
   What I found particularly valuable in this book is that the ideas *work.* I am not so sure about his theory about *why* they work, but the fact is that they do. The information in this book both overlaps to some extent and is complementary to Mr. Wilcox's book, so I highly recommend that you get both books. Between the two, you will have enough grounding in sound, applicable color mixing procedures that you will be able to confidently mix any two colors you want and have a very good idea what you will get as a result.



4. I just finish the book. i am not a painter but this book gave the basic, and more, theory on colors and how to use them.
   I study graphics and design in computers and today I can select colors and understand why i was selected them.
   this book belong to all of those that want to know how to understand colors and how, for instanse, to make a deap design or how to manipulate your color in the artwork.
   use this book!



5. This book teaches correct color theory and gives a great deal of useful information. The scientific explanation of cyan, magent, and yellow being the primary colors is very convincing and makes a lot of sense. There's a lot of practical information in this book. I don't know if there are any better color theory books, but at least this book is a good one and not a waste of money like Quiller's book, "Color Choices."

No comments about The Philosophy of Art: Readings Ancient and Modern.

3 comments about Molesworth.

1. The book certainly did not look used - like brand new. I received the book in only a couple of days! Very impressed with the service and I emailed them with a thank you.



2. This is the best book ever on Molesworth. If you like Molesworth furniture and Native American art, this is a beautiful large colorful book. Dont miss out on this one. I think it will soon be out of print. Don't pass up a chance to visit Fighting Bear Antiques if you are ever in Jackson Hole.



3. Beautiful pictures. A must-have for anyone interested in this underrated artist, though the kitchiness of many of Molesworth's pieces has been ignored, and rightly so. Wonderful book.

5 comments about How to Use Your Eyes.

1. HOW TO USE YOUR EYES
   by James Elkin
   
   I am a strong believer in the power of observation. Learning to see, really see, is not as easy as we would like to believe. Observation simply meant to notice, perceive or watch attentively, as Webster's Dictionary suggests. Observation is more than looking, it is learning from looking.
   
   Why is it so important to be observant? I have come to realise that it is the vital key to optimum performance in science, in business, in sports & in other life pursuits, e.g. reading & writing, photography, etc. In reality, it's a critical survival skill!
   
   Thousand years ago, Leonardo da vinci had proven its significance in his varied field of expertise. He said, in order to attain a complete mind, one must learn how to use all our senses, especially learn how to see.
   
   Edward de bono, recognised as the world's authority on creativity, talked about it - perceptual sensitivity - first in his seminal work, Mechanism of Mind, in the late 60's & then in his many subsequent books on lateral thinking.
   
   Many consultants/authors have since then pursued & reinforced the same line of thought.
   
   Interestingly, to share with readers, I noted that the common denominator in the following important business words:
   
   vision, visionary, imagination, illumination, enlightenment, foresight, farsighted, perspective, viewpoint, spectacle, inspection;
   
   has a visual component: 'seeing'. Come to think about it, the word 'seer' even has 'see' in it!
   
   I have also learned that the word 'idea' has its origins from a Greek word, which means 'to see'. Even the word 'intuition' originates from a Latin word 'intueri' which also means 'to see'.
   
   So, how does one develop & enhance the power of observation?
   
   I have found one very good book on the subject. It's 'How to Use Your Eyes' by James Elkin, who shares many techniques & tips. His book is both visually stunning & mentally stimulating. It is more of a field guide as the reader needs to physically exercise the 'world experience' by himself rather than just sit back & enjoy the 'word experience'!
   
   In terms of my own 'world experience', my favorite chapters in the book have been:
   
   How to look at:
   
   - a postage stamp;
   - pavement;
   - engineering drawing (should have known this when I was an engineer);
   - mandalas (may be too esoteric for some readers!);
   - perspective pictures;
   - a map;
   - a face;
   - a fingerprint - with the aid of a magnifying glass, of course);
   - grass;
   - a twig;
   - sand;
   - sunset;
   - inside of your eye;
   - colours;
   - nothing (this one almost drove me bonkers!);
   
   Frankly, I did not realise that there are so many things to see from "universally unnoticed" objects around me.
   
   To share with readers, I would like to suggest another very good book, i.e. 'Playful Perceptions: Choosing How to Exerience Your World' by Herbert Leff.
   
   'Everyday Wonders: Encountering with the Astonishing World Around Us' by Barry Evans is worth exploring, too.



2. I ran across this while browsing through the QP section in my college library (QP being physiology, which is a bit odd; it really should be under the T section). The general theme of the book is looking at objects or aspects of objects which people often overlook. It's an excellent book for anyone with techy/nerdy interests in general, amateur artists, and science and art history students.
   
   It might also be an unusual but very nice present for the kind of bright child who likes the Dorling Kindersley sort of books with lots of photos and explanations. They could browse through the pictures and then dig into the text as they get older. I know I'd have loved this when I was ten.
   
   The book deals with very specific cases such as perspective drawings, X-rays, and bridge engineering, but reading it is also a great reminder to literally look at the little things in life - there's an amazing amount of information and beauty to be found in small details.



3. ...particularly the chapter "How to Look at Oil Painings". The chapter is about looking at the crack pattern on the back of an oil painting and how you can tell a lot of information about the type of painting, and when it was painted, just from that crack pattern. Lots of the other chapters are excellent as well, but this one tickles me each time I reread it. I would recommend a prospective buyer pick up a copy at a bookstore, and read a chapter at random. If you like that chapter, chances are you will be delighted with the entire book.
   
   P.S. Another book worth looking for that approaches this topic from a different viewpoint is THE AWAKENED EYE by Ross Parmenter.



4. How to Use Your Eyes by James Elkins invites us to look at -- and maybe to see for first time -- the world around us, with breathtaking results. Note, only a little of this book is about colors. Other chapters include things that everyone sees, but no one notices: cracks in pavement, culverts under highways, grass, sand. We appreciated sunsets much more after reading this book.



5. I love this book. I love the fussy little details. I took this book to school, and two eigth-graders were fighting over it. They were eager to show other students and me the gems they had found in it. Thanks to Marcia for giving it to me.