5 comments about History of Japanese Art.

1. The art was beautiful, and I have no idea how accurate the information was, but it was interesting. It did seem kind of vague???



2. This volume is a good overview of the arts of Japan from a historical perspective. The perspective is decidedly Western, however, and tends to overstate the relevance of "fine arts" as opposed to the so-called "minor arts" and crafts. Thus, woodblock prints are given less space than their cultural impact would imply. More importantly, ceramics are accorded very little space - a major shortcoming to any art history of Japan.



3. Depending on what your intended usage for this book will be, this book may be somewhat helpful. I needed this for an art history class my senior year of college as an art history major. Thing is, the class was pretty ridiculous. It was supposed to be an introductory class into the art of japanese art & tradition, but the professor spoke more of Chinese art & traditions.
   
   This book will give you a pretty thorough knowledge in Japanese Art, as well as some of its culture, more through the introductions of the eras and periods and through its pictures. But that's it, do not buy this if you're looking for a complete knowledge, because that's not what it is. Also, if you are looking for early (i.e. ancient!) japanese history, there really isn't any, in this book or just in general.
   
   Definitely buy it here on Amazon, because I found it to be a lot cheaper in comparison to my friends who had spent a fortune on it through eBay and the university bookstores. You may also want to get a soft cover if you want to sell it back later on or use it solely for class, because it's such a heavy book (I have the hard cover). My intent was to keep the book, because it's such a nice book to have in anyone's collection.
   
   If you do purchase it, you will not be let down. It's a great buy.



4. very good book decent photos, covered a good amount of information . Got for my history of japanese painting class helped out



5. Excellent - Just what I thought it would be.

5 comments about The Critique Handbook.

1. Way Cool! Proud to boast about this great project! Kendall Buster and Paula Crawford have tackled a very difficult and taboo subject with wit and wisdon, keen insight and thoughtfulness that transforms the culture of studio art education into a clear discussion of the artistry of creative presentation and all of the thinking, doing, and planning that support it. The authors unravel a mystery for art students to ingest that can only have positive impact on their the work. Artists who are eager for depth, breadth, and better ability to plan and present their ideas to others - this is a must read! The content is completely applicable to all art discipline areas. From painting to sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, design, photography - it cuts across all areas of the visual arts and binds the conceptual with the end product in an engaging discussion of the ways and means of creative evidence, philosophy, and discussion. An excellent required and affordable text for studio classes across the board! Harold Linton, Chair Art & Visual Technology, George Mason University.



2. I am an adjunct photography professor at a private college. This book was used as a text for a joint workshop on The Critique for the art department of our school and another local college. Given the complexity of the subject matter, this book does a good job of covering the basics of an art school critique. I particularly appreciated the discussion regarding the role of faculty and the personal baggage we sometimes forget we can bring to the party. It's impossible to cover all the possible permutations of The Critique, but this book does a fine job of highlighting the peculiarities of several art disciplines and the details that should be addressed. It gives you a springboard to make the conversion even if your discipline isn't specifically covered.
   
   If you teach art or hold critiques in your class, I believe you will find this book very helpful.
   
   My only quibble is the type size for my aging eyes. Don't be fooled by the physical size of this book. It may be compact but it makes up for it with density.



3. This is a well-written, insightful and important manual that every professor, teacher, curator, gallery owner, student and professional artist should have on their bookshelf. It IS extremely expensive, but worth every single dime. There is a million bucks worth of info between its covers! Run and place your order...I'm glad I did!



4. This book is very specific about how to conduct a critique and how to survive one without becoming emotionally involved. Although it only discusses the traditional fine arts,i.e. painting and sculpture, the techniques involved can be easily adapted to othere less trasditional forms of art, i.e. fiber art or photography. A very good book.



5. What a fantastic idea! How is it that something as essential and ubiquitous as the studio critique had not been examined in this way before? This book takes on the task brilliantly. "The Critique Handbook" is a wonderful mixture of how-to manual, theoretical analysis, irreverent debunker and basic gameplan. The authors' analysis of how to make the best use of the critique applies both to those giving the critique as well as to those receiving them. While students will find the book quite useful in learning how to negotiate the critique and find the best uses for the information presented to them there, professors and other professionals will also find much to think about in the authors' analysis of what makes a critique helpful and harmful. And, delightfully, the authors are not afraid to take on the sacred cows of the profession. Any art professor will appreciate the witty and deadly portraits of their colleagues sketched by Buster and Crawford in their analysis of the types that can be found in the artist's studio.

3 comments about Greek Art and Archaeology.

1. I am so happy i got this book from amazon. It shipped fast and came in perfect condition. Best of all i got it for $75, instead of $130 if i bought it from my school.



2. Great if you like archaeology, get the hardcover version too, its worth it, wont die over time!



3. This was a required text for an art history course I took in college, and, being an art history major, I found this to be an easy read. It made the material easy to understand, and the color and black-white photographs were excellent. Pedley covers the entire spectrum of Greek art admirably, makes connections to primary sources, and outlines the various styles so that even a student NOT interested in the subject comes away with something. Anyone needing a reference on Ancient Greek Art or wanting to learn about the subject will find his book to be invaluable!

3 comments about Italian Renaissance Art.

1. I was taking an art class in college titled "A Survey of Allegory of Italian Art" and this book was very helpful to look at the detail in the paintings and to read about the paintings.



2. I have read numerous art history books, and most suffer from being dry and too heavy on dates. This book is well-written with a style that flows from topic to topic. All the important information (yes, those dates!) a student will need is here, but the presentation puts it above the rest, making it an enjoyable book to read again and again. What I found especially valuable is how Adams places the works within the political and social environment of the times. Knowing the history adds a lot to art history! She provides sidebars with anecdotes about the artists or significant events in the era that have influenced the work. Stylistic and technical information is also excellent. Photographic quality is superb.



3. Italian Renaisance art by Laurie Schneider Adams is a wonderful introductory text on Renaisance art. It is very clearly written with a helpful glossary for those who are not familiar with art terms. It not only explains both style and iconography of the Renaisance period but gives a great backround of the culture of the period. The illustrations in the text are wonderfuly detailed and most are in color. This is a great text for intro. classes to Ren. art and people who wish to learn on their own.

4 comments about Drawing from Life.

1. I bought this book for a class I was taking and I ended up keeping it for myself once I finished the class. It is filled with information and instruction. I love this book and I very rarely keep book I buy for classes and this is one of the few I kept because I know I will use it many more times in the future. It works well for references and how to stuff.



2. Excellent book for anyone interested in drawing the human figure. Deals well and extensively with proportion, anatomy and nuances of figure drawing. Required by my art teacher and worth the money as an on-going reference source.



3. This book gives you the bones to enrich your experience with figure drawing. Professor Brown draws from varied sources and presents helpful images along with text that is intelligent and imformative. It is filled with sketches from masters such as Da Vinci as well as descriptive sketches from Clint addressing the figure as a subject filled with motion. I have continued to refer back to the book and appreciate its portable size. This is a book to take with you and keep even if you are moving around!



4. "Drawing from Life" is a treasure an artist, teacher, and drawing lover finds once in awhile. It is very logically layed out. I enjoyed variety of illustrations, the learning exercises, and glossary. Alas... some negatives: the price, the quality and detail of the reproductions, especially the anatomy ones. The book needs to be bigger in size and make use of detail enlargements to show the beauty of the drawings

5 comments about Perceiving the Arts: An Introduction to the Humanities (9th Edition).

1. I ordered this book based on the ISBN # from the university. What I received was same title of book - WRONG ISBN - Creates a lot of problems. I would have not taken the book at any price if it had not been the correct edition. Accelerated course does not allow time to return and get correct book.



2. I had to purchase this book for my Arts & Humanities requirement at WGU. I have enjoyed the user friendliness of the book. I have a greater knowledge of Art History, but next to nothing about composers etc, I have found this book to be a wonderful introduction into the world of the Arts, and look forward to finding ways to utilize what I've learned in the classroom!



3. I managed to have this book added as an alternate after fighting for years to avoid teaching another text, Humanities Through the Arts. That text had a very bad habit of talking in circles and I spent more time trying to explain the book than I did teaching the course. Our students normally have little to no exposure to the Arts and are easily discouraged. Not only is this little book half the price of the other but it is very straight forward in its approach. If you want a book that offers lots of chapters for testing purposes this isn't it. If you do a lot of group work and use projects and your own examples to teach, this text nails down the basics..



4. I have taught a course on the Humanities using this book, and found it mostly spot on in its specific contents. How to present all of the Humanities using one paperback? But - with just a few exceptions - this presents a good first look and useful rules of thumb in approaching the various disciplines. In areas that are underserved, such as Landscape Art, it actually fills a void. I recommend it and will use it again.



5. I used this book for my introduction to fine arts class and thought it was very good. Easy to understand and follow, and gave good information straight out without haveing to search for defintions or other stuff.

5 comments about Artist to Artist: 23 Major Illustrators Talk to Children About Their Art.

1. i thought this book was going to be good, but i didn't know it would be this good. each well-known childrens' book writer/illustrator writes about their lives, influences and inspirations.
   
   included are ealry photos, first drawings and a full page self-portrait.
   
   so thoughtfully put together. a beautiful book to browse through and inspire you and your children to pick up a tool and draw, paint and create.



2. I think this is a wonderful book for children to understand that art is really an emotional, personal thing. I think it's a book EVERY teacher in the elementary should have.



3. I love this book. I had gotten it with my children in mind but being an artist myself, found great joy in reading it.



4. This is a charming book to be enjoyed by all;young children, who will enjoy having this read to them, to aspiring artists, to older fans. Early work of these illustrators and pictures of some of them as children along with their stories give a picture of their development.This may also offer an introduction to new books and illustrators. Great for teachers and librarians when presenting a story.



5. This a wonderful book for inspiring budding young artists. Wonderfully illustrated with examples from all the artists (including fold-outs). A great way to learn about their lives and work.

3 comments about Twelve Monet Bookmarks (Small-Format Bookmarks).

1. They're cute. Sturdy, not too thin. Come in book form and you just tear them out.



2. If you like Monet and don't mind postcard-style bookmarks these are good for the price and include some of Monet's more famous paintings.



3. These are nice every day bookmarks. They're not fancy, there's a book of them and they are made of cardboard. The back says the name of the painting,and the front with the picture is kind of glossy. I wouldn't give them as a gift, as they are not really gift quality, unless it was to someone who is a Monet enthusiast or admirer that would be thrilled to have a little of their favorite author nestled between the pages of a novel they are reading. I think they are a fair price. If you lose one, you've got several others to tear out of the book they come in... the edges end up slightly perforated because you have to rip them out of the book of bookmarks. They aren't hard to rip out though, if you bend them a little bit. They rip out fairly clean. If you wanted them to be more durable and not get stained or bent I guess you could laminate them.

4 comments about Art and Experience in Classical Greece.

1. J.J. Pollitt is one of the most respected scholars of ancient Greek art, and with good reason. His analyses are clear, well-written, cautious, and highly logical. Art and Experience is a classic (!) work of Pollitt's early career. It is an authoritative and engaging introduction to the history of art in ancient Greece, focusing on the Classical period (fifth and fourth centuries BC). The book assumes a general familiarity with some ancient history, philosophy, and literature, so it might be most useful for students or enthusiasts of classical culture who feel that their understanding of classical art is lacking. Nonetheless, the text is introductory enough that even a reader with no background in classics could find the book interesting and informative.
   What makes this book a particularly valuable introduction to Greek art is that it aims to explain the motives and ideas behind the art rather than to provide the reader with a list of works and names of styles. Pollitt answers the question of why Classical Greek art looks like it does, and he thus gives his reader a framework for understanding individual works.
   I can level only two criticisms at the book, and they are both relatively picky. The first is that, because of the brevity of the book and its intended non-specialist audience, some of Pollitt's conclusions seem to me like logical leaps, and some of his arguments seem too summary to be fully convincing. I would have preferred a more comprehensive treatment with fuller explanations--something along the lines of Paul Zanker's Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. As an introduction, however, the extent of the arguments in Art and Experience is sufficient. My second criticism is that Pollitt at times reveals more personal value judgements regarding the art of ancient Greece than I thought were necessary or appropriate. This is no doubt in part the product of the period in which the book was written, when value judgement still played some role in the teaching of art history (it has since largely been abandoned). It also may relate to the intended audience: I am sure that some readers will be interested to hear what traditional considerations have made art historians consider certain works to be "great." At the same time, readers should be wary of Pollitt's negative statements about some of the art (e.g., Hellenistic sculptures of children). The value of such art has recently been reevaluated by many art historians, including Pollitt himself, and the works do not deserve the dismissive tone apparent in Art and Experience.
   On a final note, readers should keep in mind that this book is intended to cover only a brief (though significant) period in the history of ancient Greek art. Because of its scope, this book does not provide a "grand tour" of all famous Greek art--works like the Nike (or Winged Victory) of Samothrace are not covered. While Art and Experience is a great way to begin an exploration of the art and culture of ancient Greece, for a full picture one must consult additional sources. I highly recommend following Art and Experience with Pollitt's masterful (and more scholarly, though still quite accessible) Art in the Hellenistic Age.



2. Knowing little of Greek art, I happened upon this book in my shelves (an old college textbook belonging to my husband). I was pleased and impressed with this overview of Classical Greek art. Pollitt covers the main strands of development in architecture, sculpture, and painting and places the works firmly in the context of the historical events and cultural atmosphere of their times. As a result, I came away with an increased appreciation and understanding of the quality and value of Classical Greek art and of the interconnection between art and larger society in ancient Greece.



3. [let this man speak for himself...]
   A thoughtful observer of these events, like
   Aeschylus, could not but have felt uneasiness.
   Were the Greek cities and the factions within
   them being drawn, through their quest for power
   even at the expenses of principle, into the
   cycle of *hybris*, *ate*, and *nemesis* which
   they themselves had seen in the undoing of the
   Persians? In a world where Zeus punished
   *hybris*, where men reaped the fruits of their
   own actions, were they sowing the seeds of
   their own downfall?
   "...be mindful, men of Greece and Athens,
   lest one among you, disdaining in his
   mind the fortune of the present, and
   lusting after more, waste the great
   blessings he has..."
   the ghost of Darius had said in the *Persians.*
   These fears, and with them the vivid memory
   of what destruction actually means (particularly
   in Athens,which had been sacked and ruined by
   the Persians) must have been strong motivating
   forces in the creation of the serious and
   meditative character of so much Early Classical
   art. The "Aspasia," the Charioteer of Delphi,
   and even the very early "Blond Boy" from the
   Athenian acropolis all seem to be attempts to
   embody the ideals of thoughtful restraint and
   responsibility which the Greeks were so frequently
   prone to forget. (pp. 26-27)
   * * *
   The fallen warrior [sculpture] from the east
   pediment [of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina] is
   another matter. As life ebbs away and he sinks
   toward the earth, he tries futilely, sword (now
   missing) in hand, to raise himself. His eyes
   narrow as his consciousness fades; his mouth is
   slightly open as his breathing grows difficult;
   he stares at the earth. His enfeebled movements
   contrast poignantly with his massive physical
   frame in which, for practically the first time,
   the individual details of the musculature are
   fused and unified by a softening of the lines
   of division between them, and by increasingly
   subtle modulation of the surface from which one
   senses the presence of a unified physical force
   emanating from within the body. The sculptor
   who conceived the figure had obviously thought
   carefully about exactly what it meant. He must
   have asked himself what it must really be like
   when a powerful warrior is wounded and falls.
   What does he feel? How should we feel? And
   what meaning is there in our feeling? (pp.19-20)
   * * * * * * * * *
   There are irritations in this work...amidst the
   riches. Pollitt seems to find no inspiration in
   the *Diskobolos* statue by Myron at all...devotes
   little space to it except to mention its "rhythmos,"
   but, incredibly, nothing about its beauty and the
   idealization of the harmonic development of the
   musculature of the male body by an athlete.
   And Pollitt has the bias of "reason" and
   "rationality" as the supposed prime virtues of
   Greek thought and art...over the mystical.
   Yet, if divine inspiration of poets and
   artists is not a mystical experience, then
   what is? And the Greeks certainly seem to
   have subscribed to that belief early on.
   * * * * * * * * *



4. Pollitt's book is one of those rare pieces of writing that rewards you with fresh insight each and every time you pick it up. It is beautifully and sensitively written, and manages to breathe remarkable life into the civilization of ancient Greece. This is a wonderful way to prepare for a trip to Greece--it will only make your travels even more rewarding. This is history at its best.

5 comments about Cartoon Animation (The Collector's Series).

1. I am taking Web design and Animation. My professor suggested that i review this book. She is right the animation is wonderful and i would recommend it to anyone that is inspired by animation and perhaps want to make it a career.



2. This book is a must for all would be animators. I have dabbled with cartoons for years but this book helped me bring them to life, I used the walk sequences as templates and dressed them with my own characters, thus enabling me to focus on the character and not worry about the position of the legs.
   There is plenty of help and advice on character building, movement, mouth shaping for speech, hands, expressions, I could go on but I won't.
   If there is nothing in this book to help you.........then you should be working for DISNEY.



3. hmm i think its the best book for learning to draw and animate cartoon characters
   , complete with guided and many2 example and illustration.



4. It was like reading a comic book, only I was learning a lot reading this one. An artist cant help but appreciate the art work by Mr Blair present in the book. I went through the alligator and hippo sequences like a million times. Masterpieces !
   Just by examining the brush strokes and stuff you get to know so much, the discussions on character building etc are a bonus. I wont be able to agree with anyone saying there are hard and fast rules for character building but yes what I read in the book WORKS, like a character with no chin does look like a screwball.
   Later the discussions on sequencing became a little monotonous and its then that I realized I wasn't reading a comic book but they really were redundant at two three places. Animation techniques discussions are simply great. So are drawing and scene building ones. All in all I learnt a LOT ! Could be because I didn't know a lot but I'm really happy that I bought this book, I couldn't afford to not have this masterpiece.



5. I bought this book several years ago, around 1999, and for its price (or whatever) it's the best book an animator can begin with. Along with The Illusion of Life, it is a must have book for all animators. It taught me the differences between the "cute" types and the "screwball" types, showed how the stopwatch and metronome are used, and even a few things about clean-up. If you love cartoons, by all means GET THIS BOOK!