5 comments about The Guerilla Art Kit.

1. This book is so wonderful and inspirational! If you ever feel like making art is just a business and has no meaning, read this book & take back your power! Art is about freedom and this book is for anyone, artist or otherwise, who wants to exercise their freedom.



2. The Guerilla Art Kit is a charming addition to author/illustrator Keri Smith's curriculum vitae. Its attraction stems from its low-key style and a wealth of ideas executed well enough to appear at odds with the simplistic cover. Thumbing randomly through the book is unavoidable; it exudes an odd sort of charisma.
   
   The concept of guerilla art is a clever one. Who doesn't find the idea of a sneak attack appealing? The notion of walking tiptoe through some moldy paradigms to pop up suddenly with a speedy installation of public art and slipping away before the masses shake the haze from their eyes feels personal and fun. As a self-defined non-artist I look for ways to articulate impressions that feel like me rather than feel like art. The descriptor "non-artist" relieves most societal and personal pressure and expectation leaving room to play with ideas that include genuine expression of my self and my experiences. When a sharp idea like guerilla art comes along it adds a measure of amusement to the process. I'm already envisioning an art rebellion complete with secret handshake and passwords and covert operations to be carried out by members of the creative underground - a sort of "Hogan's Heroes" meets Bansky plus flash mob.
   
   Jennifer New's book gave me insight into what a journal could be but the artistic skill exhibited in those pages is a bit daunting to one who scribbles on scraps and torn pages and later can't read her own writing. The Guerilla Art Kit, while not a journal oriented, fleshed out my perspective with fun, quirky ideas and created a new line of thinking for me. Its unconventional cover and construction siphon away the intimidation factor - it's a tool the average non-artist can love unconditionally. It truly is enchanting.



3. I bought this as a gift for my husband so he could use this book as a tool for inspiration when he's not feeling creative (or feeling stuck on a project). Even though we've both had extensive art training it doesn't hurt to have some refreshing fun ideas to work with to get your mind flowing again.



4. This book has some great ideas about how to spark the atmosphere. Push folks to think...to speak out. We have the freedom to speak out (so far)... use it! This books helps the artist in you demonstrate your patriotism through dissent.



5. Se trata de un libro muy básico, en extremo. Si ya estás ligeramente familiarizado con stencils y cosas hechas a mano este libro te sobra. Tengo que pensar como reutilizarlo, una pena que no venga ninguna idea al respecto en el libro...

1 comments about Type Addicted (The New Trend of a to Z Typo-Graphics).

1. From the cover and through all the book you'll find many surprises. Lot's of wonderful and talented people. Inspiration.. should be the title of this book.

5 comments about Art History For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)).

1. What i really liked about Art History For Dummies is the fact that you do not have to start at page one and read it in order. You can skip around and read it. It is a very informative book that is a real joy to read. The art work alone in the book is beautiful. You can look at beautiful art and have fun learning about it. HIGHLY RECOMMENED! Hats off to the author.



2. This books helps one learn about Art History in a compact, easy reading, fun way. I gave a copy to one of my friends who read the entire book to her children while they moved. The children loved it! As with other Dummies books all the information you need is at hand!



3. I used my brother's standard art history textbook for the fall semester of my Art History survey course. I didn't like it anymore than he did. It's dry and scholarly, weighs a ton, and costs about $140--if you buy it new. For around $20 on Amazon, I purchased a new Art History for Dummies book for the spring semester, which has most of the same information (plus quite a few extra things, that in some cases, my prof didn't know). Art History for Dummies is great--easy, fun to read and very inspiring. I really enjoy reading it. There are not many textbooks I can say that about! Despite its title, Art History for Dummies puts me ahead of most of my classmates who are struggling to make sense of the required text by Stokstad. For less money, I'm learning a lot more than I would have with the textbook. The chapters on Neoclassicism and Romanticism, for example, had a lot of really useful information that my other book lacks, which helped me enormously on the essay section of the test. We had to interpret David's THE OATH OF THE HORATII and DEATH OF MARAT as Neoclassical works and Delacroix's THE TRAGEDY OF SARDANAPALUS and Caspar David Friedrich's THE WANDERER ABOVE THE MISTS as typical Romantic paintings. All these masterpieces are examined in depth in Art History for Dummies. I aced the two tests we've had this semester. Last semester, using the required text (Stokstad), I barely managed a C.
   
   I even took the dummies book with me to the two art museums we were required to visit. It really opened up the paintings and sculpture for me. I understood art like I never have before and had the best art-museum experience I've ever had.
   
   The color art reproductions in the book are fantastic. (Some of the b&w are very good, other's are too dark or too small.) At first I wished there were more pics. Then I discovered that the book has an appendix with Websites of all the art that's discussed but not shown. I just type in the Web address on my laptop, and voila, there's the painting. These are really super Web sites, and I can make the pics as big as I need to (much larger than you find in any book) and zoom in on details. Plus, with most of the Web sites, you don't just get one or two works by the artist like you do in a textbook; they give you a whole chronology of paintings or sculptures. You can see ten or twenty (and in some cases over a hundred) paintings by each artist! You gain a much better feel for the artist's style and how it progressed throughout his or her career. If you're writing an essay on a painter, that's the way to do it. It helped me anyway. Once I started using the appendix, I really came to like it. (Make sure your browser saves the addresses you type in; because you use a lot of them more than once.)



4. I'm not an art major but I recently signed up for an art history class ("Modernism"), which I thought would be an easy elective. Unfortunately, the professor expects us to memorize a lot of facts and I found that the overpriced textbook for the class (Gardner's Art Through the Ages) was not very helpful in sorting out all the different artists, works, and styles that I had to learn about. I didn't want to drop the class and mess up my GPA, so I decided to see if there was a "dummies" book on the topic. I've used other "dummies" books before, and I've always found them to be well organized, informative, and entertaining. I was pleased to discover that this is also the case with Art History for Dummies, by Jesse Bryant Wilder. Wilder brings the subject to life with descriptions that are both thorough and easy to understand. In addition, he explains the motives of the artists in creating their most famous works, which is something my professor thinks is really important. One thing that I found particularly helpful is Wilder's way of explaining the various "isms" that we are studying. For example, he compares Cubism to cracking an egg and then reassembling its fragments on a flat surface: "you can see all sides of the egg at once, and yet it's hard to recognize the egg" (p. 303). Expressionism is compared to bashing in a classical "gilded box" (like a Gainsborough portrait of a placid aristocrat) so we can see the emotional struggles going on inside the box (inside the person) (p. 296). These kinds of analogies make the different movements of the Modernist period more understandable and memorable than the descriptions in Gardner's. Of course, Art History for Dummies covers much more than just the Modernist period and I've already started reading through other sections of the book, not for class but because the topics are so interesting to read about. The book includes clearly labeled headings as well as lots of photos, illustrations, anecdotes, and definitions of technical terms. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about art history and have an enjoyable reading experience at the same time.



5. I learned more about Art History just reading the Introduction than I have ever known before! I have a big Art History book from my daughter's college class and it was way too complicated and thorough for someone trying to learn without a professor on hand. I would highly recommend this book.

4 comments about Children and Their Art: Methods for the Elementary School.

1. The book looks brand new and I received it in less than a week. I am very satisfied and would highly recommend.



2. I am beginning art teacher and I have found this book incredibly helpful. What I like most about it is that it is thorough, but condensed. It covers a lot of important information in an accessible and easy to read way. A great overview on child development, and practical methods for the Elementary Art Classroom. A great reference.



3. Children and Their Art is the most comprehensive textbook available for teaching art education methods. This bestselling textbook covers all aspects of teaching art in the elementary classroom: the basic principles and goals of art education, the characteristics and needs of children as learners, the core principles of art as a subject-aesthetics, principles of design, art history, art media-and all aspects of instruction-curriculum planning, sample lessons, classroom management, and assessment. The seventh edition has been thoroughly updated and includes coverage of the National Standards for Art Education as well as the impact of postmodern thought on the practice of art education. It also provides a concise overview of child development theories and the latest findings on child development and brain research, including Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences.



4. This is a great book to use in a pre-service teacher education program. However, I am a long-time art educator and I still refer to it because it has a wide range of information on issues we encounter every day. This year I am teaching the art class for undergraduate elementary teachers and it is proving a very valuable resource. It is written in a readable, highly practical way with lots of examples that make adding art into an elementary curriculum not seem so foreign or so daunting. I do feel that there is a need for other supplemental reading and resources to accompany this text, but it is a great overall art education text, especially for the generalist teacher.

2 comments about Ed Fox: Glamour from the Ground Up.

1. Very high quality. Amazing photographs and an excellent DVD movie included. It's really better than I thought.



2. We shall be incredibly thankful for Mr. Fox's initiative. If you are into feet erotica, this book is all you ever wanted. Hope there's another volume by Ed some time in the near future.

5 comments about The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (Cartoon History of the Modern World).

1. He always uses humor to bring low the ego of man and the pomposities of our forefathers, and hence ourselves. It's good we don't take ourselves too seriously. We will make better choices for our future that way.
   
   For those who might criticize this book as glossing over certain episodes: Well, I hope this isn't someone's *only* history book. It should just be in everyone's collection along with other reputable history volumes. These books are good for pointing out the history hidden well between the lines in most history texts.



2. Of course all the Cartoon histories are really great, illuminating, and educational, but on this one, I kept being irritated by with it references to today's events - references that a in a few years will be incomprehensible. A historian should write for the ages.



3. Great for a student who just can't get into the dry text book in history class. Factual, funny and in a cartoon format. Student's who find that they have no interest in history, may decide differently when they read this.



4. First of all, I was a big fan of the first 3 books. But this one was no where near as good. Here are some of my complaints.
   
   He comes off as more forgiving of the Aztec empire (human sacrifice, slavery and all) than the Spaniards (slavery, sans human sacrifice). A little more examination into the changes in the native populations day-to-day life would have been appreciated.
   
   He seems to dismiss the theory that germs were the dominant factor in allowing Europeans to conquer the Americas. While he does touch on disease in a few instances, his only direct approach is to portray this notion as a way to assuage white guilt. But this was, almost certainly, the reason why Europeans were able to conquer the Americas and not Africa or Asia.
   
   He perpetuates the myth that the croissant was invented to commemorate the victory of the Siege of Vienna. In fact, the myth originally claimed that it was invented for the siege of Budapest, and this was most likely invented as well. The first time that this story is told is in 1938, far too long after the fact to be accepted as fact.
   
   The treatment of slavery and the U.S. constitution is shallow. There were real conflicts here that could have been given better treatment. I'd rather that he'd saved this for another volume than skim over it.
   
   The religious conflicts in Europe were much more complex, and deserved more in-depth treatment. Too often, Gonick makes snarky comments about the participants, but there were real fears, real ambitions, etc. that motivated these conflicts.
   
   In fact, too often, just like his comparison of Aztecs to Spaniards, he seems willing to accentuate European sins over non-European sins. One can't help wondering what types of biases he harbors when addressing these comparisons. Was life in Peru really better under the native lords than under the Spaniards? Under what measurements?
   
   As well, the Ottomans are never addressed directly, even though they were an important world power. And did the Ottomans work in the African slave trade (why yes, they did)? How did this effect Africa, Turkey, etc.?
   
   Some of this may be alleviated in future volumes, but this volume by itself is weaker than previous ones.



5. The most enjoyable entry in Mr. Gonick's series since I read his first volume in 1993. This book covers history from roughly 1300-1750, with a refreshing and rare emphasis on pre-Columbian American cultures, such as the Aztecs and Incas. Gonick also delves into the might of India's Moghul Empire, dishes on the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the first stirrings of the Enlightenment, global trade in the great age of sail, and more importantly, the sex lives of the rich and famous. Gonick pays particular attention to philosophers and scientists of all stripe, and does so with his trademark good humor and gift for turning what could be dry information into something genuinely fun to read. I'll say it again, you can learn more from one of Larry Gonick's books than from a semester in college!

3 comments about Becoming a Graphic Designer: A Guide to Careers in Design.

1. If you're learning design, this is a great way to start. It lays out the basics and has numerous interviews with current designers. It will help lead you toward a career in design if you pay attention to all their clues. It has many different examples of different design fields, so you can decide which one interests you most. The only thing I wasn't impressed with was the color layout. For a design book, it should be more aesthetically pleasing, but it had only black, white, and green. I'm sure that's to keep cost down though.



2. I do agree with the previous reviewer that this book does not have practical advice in terms of performing graphic design related duties. There are plenty of books out there that you can acquire that will outline the process of designing, design elements etc... such as "The Elements of Graphic Design" by Alex. W. White.
   
   However, this book as its sub-title clearly states is "A Guide to Careers in Design", and in that regards performs very well in outlining the myriad of different fields and industries that Graphic Designers are involved in. Also, they interview many key figures involved in these fields and pick their brain regarding the state of design, dynamics of their respective industry and also how one should best approach beginning a career as a designer.
   
   I found the book invaluable in that it was like having wise uncles in dozens of different design industries and having a talk with you about, "How things really work." Somewhat light reading but still quite informative.



3. This might be a good book for someone who don't have any design experience. I was looking for direction in how to begin as a novice with some training rather than starting from scratch. This book is for those who would say, "Hmm should I get into graphic design? Where do I start I no absoultely nothing?". The description just wasn't very helpful to me.

1 comments about Sculpture Today.

1. This is a beautiful book. It is more than I expected and a pleasure to own.

5 comments about The Dore Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy.

1. Book arrived in promised condition, and in a timely fashion. I would buy from this seller again.



2. This guy is pretty much in the same league as Jack Kirby. Whereas Kirby's all soft lines and images pancaked on the page, Dore looks like he's carving his cartoons into a tree. And all these scary demons and things look tired, like they've been running marathons all day. The victims kind of look like they're enjoying it, so I guess if you're into S&M, I could recommend it. Me, I prefer "Spawn" by Todd McFarlane. The Violator? Now that's a monster you can sink your eyeballs into. And I know it's like super-uber hip, but I don't know why these illustrators feel they are so special when they work exclusively in shades of black. Like my momma used to say, "A little rouge really accents the cheekbones."



3. The quality of this book - along with an amazingly affordable price tag - quickly persuaded me to pick up a copy. Its really everything you could ask for in an art book;
   
   The pictures are all very big, but not overwhelming; Its easy to see minute detail, and the overall scope of the image. I actually blew up some of the prints in photoshop and printed them on huge poster paper for my room, while not sacrificing a drop of detail.
   
   Also, I had to put quite a good deal of pressure onto the spine of the book in order to get a good scan from them, and im happy to say that doing so didn't even leave an annoying "bookmark" crease in the book, and the spine didn't even crease. Dover books really did produce a fine quality book, and the note on the back really is true: This book IS permanent.
   
   If you have read or are reading the divine comedy this book is a great reference to glance at every now and again to truly suck you into Dante's epic poem, and bring you to the Heights of Heaven, The Depths of Hell, or the pain of purgatory in a way you could never have imagened.
   
   The woodcuts done here by dore are so elaborate and vivid you could spend a good portion of a day just gazing into the faces of cursed souls writhing in hell, or the beauty of millions of angels soaring in the highest heaven. Dore illustrates every picture so full of movement and depth its the next best thing to a movie.



4. I have looked at a variety of Dante artists. Some well known and some are not. Suloni Robertson, John Flaxman, Willam Blake, Sandro Botticelli, Sandow Birk, Herb Roe. Do a google search to look at the works of some of these like Sandow Birk. There are some that are more obscure which in a way documents the Comedy, more specifically the Inferno. I'm not going to say who I don't like but Dore is the best. I am rather specific about artists. Dore makes the grade. He is good, really good and when you look at this book, you feel like you are in the terrible depths of hell. I like purgatorio too. I feel the religious prayer songs in my head as I see Beatrice's entrance. There is so much symbolism in these pictures, especially in Paradiso. Though I do disagree with the depiction of Muhammad in hell, the rest is fantastic. I mean that he looks more like he's British then Middle Eastern. I imagine him with blonde hair in the plate. The tortured look on Dante's face in the plate with Betrand de Born, (The cover pic) is extraordinary. I felt how he felt. That is why Dore is so good. I had also hoped for more detail with Ugolino because his story is fantastically horrifying.
   
   The book is a must for any Dante fan. I look at it a lot, even if I have seen the pictures hundreds of times. I really don't think that you can get bored with this. There is always something new to look at. Some detail you looked over. Buy this book because the scans online don't give the justice that this book has. Buy it, look it over, get inspired by it. Maybe we will see your work on Amazon in the near future.



5. The Illustrations from the 1st canto in the Inferno to the last of Paradiso are great because they help as a visual aid when reading the Divina Commedia. One can really see how and in which ways Dore, when he design the illustrations, followed the text very closely.

No comments about Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980.