5 comments about Everyday Matters.

1. I was not expecting anything when I started this book...frankly, I'm not sure I remember ordering it. In any event, the parallels between this graphic memoir and my own life make this book read more like an answered prayer than merely another memoir.
   
   I take that last part back. It's not just that the author's experiences mirror my own life that makes this book notable. Rather, it's that Gregory manages to capture his own HUMANITY...without resorting to irony or the manufactured self-deprecation that seems to plague the modern memoir that makes this book so notable. I mean, finally!, someone has managed to write an HONEST memoir, one that does not require an attorney's Release of the Facts as a prologue.
   
   "Everyday Matters" reads like a private journal, without the pretention that comes when the author knows other folks'll be reading it. Gregory's sketches are likewise uninhibited and imperfect; together, the text and illustrations create a personal, intimate environment for the reader that is inviting and judgment-free; none of the "You shouldn't have looked (though I knew you would, so I gave you my best side)" business that is the meta-text of so many memoirs, but instead offers a reassuring, "Well, that's me, hair and all...what do you think?"
   
   A thoughtful, generous gift from Gregory to his readers.



2. A very enjoyable read and inspirational. I went out purchased a sketch pad and started drawing after finishing the book!



3. This is a great book! I read it in an hour and a half. I enjoy knowing the process people take in order to deal with life's occasional hiccups that knock the world out from under you. It helps to know that you're not the only one sometimes. It's always a relief when the person works it out positively and thinks enough to want to share it with others. Thank you, Danny!



4. love it, love it, love it !!!!
   a wonderful inspiring little book.
   perfect smaller size (6"x8") to carry along with your sketchbook to keep you encouraged in your drawing.



5. I suppose I had some misperceptions of this book. I was assuming there would be more inspiration that would cajole me into journaling and artwork. I also thought is was he who was disabled - it was his wife. There was little mention of how his wife's diability figured into the whole pictue of his life. As a disabled person, I thought there would be some insight into overcoming disability to do what you want. I do however, love the way he draws and journals. In the end I saw this as a simple journal that anyone might have done. I still have his other book and I have higher hopes for that.

5 comments about Une Semaine De Bonte: A Surrealistic Novel in Collage.

1. great drawings of big author, worth the have it, but I saw originals in Vienna and must say that I was bit disappointed when I saw the drawings in the book. I think that they are not to good scanned. Originals have very thin lines and in the book that lines are not so thin, so much detail because of that is lost. Second, on original drawings some parts are sticked, and you see that in different shades of paper. And in the book all is on white paper so you cant know which part is collage. Hope that was helpful



2. I've never seen a book as random as this. Whether you view it from start to finish, or from finish to start, it makes just as much sense either way. The page you view next has little or nothing to do with the page you have just viewed. It's actually quite fun.
   
   Take for example page 10. You see a guy with a mustache staring at an open mouthed monster with a panther head and human body, standing on some steps, carrying a lantern, and wearing some type of backpack along with a cross shaped medal. Then on page 11, you see neither one of these figures, and instead see a similar monster with a panther head and human body also with a backpack, but this monster is calmly smoking a pipe, and stirring what appears to be some spaghetti-shaped substance on top of the headless body of a topless woman mannequin. In both pictures the panther shaped monster has a backpack and a lantern, but you REALLY have to use your imagination if you are to believe they're the same character since they don't look the same and are standing in completely different backgrounds while engaging themselves in completely different scenarios.
   
   It should be noted that the picture on page 11 definitely isn't the only picture featuring nudity. Like most surrealist works, this book has its fair share of the stuff. I don't know what kind of a maturity rating you'd give the book as a whole, but it definitely isn't for kids. Which is kind of a shame, because I think kids would really like all the weird creatures that fill up a good half of this work.
   
   I mean, we've got monsters with lion heads, bird heads, Easter Island rock heads, and, well, that's pretty much it for the heads, but there's dragons and other monstery stuff too. Then there's all kinds of random, non-monster sights to see, that feature your classic dark humor. I particularly like this picture where some guy is dropping a bat on the ground from a tray, and another one where a guy is just lying face down on the floor like he's dead while a woman's in the room combing her hair like nothing's wrong.
   
   My dreams are a lot like the pictures in this book. Not so much that they feature strange creatures, but that they're nothing more than a string of random, isolated scenes that rarely follow any kind of story. Or perhaps each is a story that never stays around long enough to develop any kind of coherency. Each of these Semaine De Bonte pictures looks like it can be a part of a story, but it's up to the viewer to come up with some kind of way that the snapshot picture he or she is seeing could have happened.
   
   I'd recommend this book to anybody over 18. It's definitely an interesting, unusual item to have in your own personal library and also a golden opportunity to re-live the long gone European surrealistic fad of the early 20th century.



3. My best friend interested me in this book in high school and before amazon.com it was hard to come buy in the small town that we lived where the only art that exists is 'impressionist' paintings of moored boats and whatever you can find at wal-mart in the home decor section.
   
   This is the epitome of black and white, balance and the finest collection of surrealism I think that you can get into a book. Dover does it justice with clear prints and an excellent binding. I've had my copy for years and it's been everywhere with me through several moves and colleges. And the price is quite reasonble. Guaranteed to make you get some of Dovers clip art so you can experiment on your own.



4. This is an incredible piece of work, absolutely integral to any collection of anyone who has an interest in the Dadaists or Surrealists. Ernst's intuitive juxtapositions create an intirely seperate and complete logical (or illogical, depending) world of lurid mysticism and dread. Though not without a sense of humor. If you like this, also check out (if you've not already) the work of Joseph Cornell and the writings of Lautremont.



5. This is probably the best of Ernst's collage novels. Certainly it is a good bargan at this price; moreover, the others (The Hundred Headless Woman and A Young Woman Dreams of Taking the Veil) are virtually unavailable anyway.
   
   Earnst's collage novels are now more of historical interest than anything: that is to say, they represent quite a remarkable event in cultural history as evidence of Modernism, Surrealism, Expressionism, etc. However--that said--they're not quite as spectacular as some other reviewers might otherwise lead you to believe. The collages are not really as shocking as they perhaps once were, and the Dadaist poetry is rather inane and trivial: the worst that could be said of any art--just consult Wilde!
   
   The large oil canvases of R.-F.-G. Magritte are inestimably more significant, worthy, important, and great as original works of art, and as historical artifacts of Modernism and the Surreal.

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.

5 comments about In Style: Instant Style (Your Season-By-Season Guide for Work and Weekend).

1. Neither style or substance,
   
   Very disappointed with this book , offers one very basic page of advise on dressing for your body shape i.e. slender/small-busted /full-figured, which lets face it girls is what we really want to know. Unless your are form the planet Mars and do not know the difference between a shirt and a jumper .. keep your money and put in towards a yearly subscription to the in Style magazine.



2. The information contained in this book was quite general and I did not feel that it was detailed enough regarding classic versus contemporary fashion. The information provided was something anyone would come up with on their own if they read even a few fashion magazines. Regretfully, there was not a single item in the book that made me re-think my wardrobe or give me any "Ah-hah" moments.



3. I loved this book. It's a great follow up to the other Instyle book's I've collected over the years. This fashion guidebook provides helpful and relevant insights to the young adult shopper. I especially like the info about how to jazz up an otherwise plain outfit with cool accessories.



4. Things I liked: The way this book showed more than one way to wear a piece. I also liked how it identified items that you should splurge on. Of course both of these things can be found in any magazine or online at little to no cost.
   
   Things I didn't like: The book doesn't really address different body types, which plays a large role in what styles you buy. It also doesn't say how many of any certain item you should have. Should I have 1 suit or 20??
   
   Overall, if you want a book on style I would buy the Luck Shopping Manuel. That book is worth the money!!



5. Really enjoyed this book ....it was nice to know as I age I can still look stylish without looking like I was dressing to young. Thanks for the tips on keeping in style for seniors.

4 comments about Internet Art (World of Art).

1. This book offers the very best of the World of Art Series' reference-based scholarship. Parallelled in the series only by the contributions of Hans Richter and Roselee Goldberg (most likely because Greene shares with these scholars the distinction of being a firsthand participant-observer in the phenomena she describes), this book is a wonderfully comprehensive and readable introduction to an arcane, subterranean art history. This will surely be considered the guidebook for a largely uncharted territory in contemporary art.



2. I read an article about this book/author in a recent issue of Time Out New York. At first I didn't think I would be remotely interested in the subject matter. It seemed pretty random. But the article really piqued my interest in the field. After reading the book INTERNET ART, I think internet art might be the most intriguing contemporary art practice out there. This book has a great balance of insider experience, 20th century art history, and handholding for novices (which I am). A really good resource.



3. I am an avid reader about contemporary art and I found this book pushed buttons and raised questions I had never even thought of... it's clear that the internet is a defining medium, especially for younger generations, and this book helped me think about the net in a more critical and expansive way. I love the World of Art series and recommend its titles to those trying to get their minds around art and art history. This book was great and I especially liked author's use of the non-net art examples including Tiravanija, Valie Export, and Cindy Sherman.



4. In the end, for all its fury (and New Mediasts and Anarchists worked side-by-side in the 1990s) revolutionary art was caught in contradictions. It could not or would not break free of the forms of bourgeois media culture as a whole. Its content and method could become transformations of the hierarchial media but, while net art remained imprisoned within the social spectacle, its transformations remained imaginary. Rather than enter into direct social conflict with the old media it criticized, it transferred the whole problem into an abstract and inoffensive sphere where it functioned objectively as a force consolidating all it wanted to destroy. Revolt against push media became the evasion of push media. Marx's original critique of the genesis of religious myth and ideology applies word-for-word to the rebellion of bourgeois network art: it too "is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. It is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people" [Marx, Contribution to the critique of Hegel's "Philosophy of Right"].

No comments about Living with Art: With Core Concepts.

5 comments about Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Weirdos (Ed Emberley Drawing Books).

1. I bought this for my 7 year old Nephew because he likes to doodle and draw. This book was too complicated for him. He likes Ed Emberley's other book.



2. My 7 yr old is a bit of a perfectionist and easily gets frustrated with his drawing abilities. But he really likes this book. It's fun for him because it's monsters and such and it shows "how-to" really well.



3. I work with kids so these books are great! My grandmother gave me a whole set of them when I was little and I absolutley loved it! The "how to draw" directions are so easy to follow. Great for almost any age!



4. I teach art to many levels and the students already love the Big Purple Book and The Big Orange Book. This will quickly become their favorite!



5. Ed Emberley is amazing. This book is great for Halloween or those times when you want to draw a monster or two. I taught myself how to use Illustrator and Ed's books are a great resource because of the way he simplifies each drawing. Don't fear, this book can be used just as well with pencils, crayons or markers.

5 comments about Magic Eye: A New Way of Looking at the World.

1. I really love these books. I am fascinated by the technique used to get the 3-d affect. I have everyone out.



2. Images with an embedded three-dimensional image fascinate me. For a long time, I was unable to discern the interior image, but when I was finally able to do so, I was hooked. This collection of 22 images kept me busy for several hours as I went stared at each page until the image appeared. When you look at these pages from a distance, the colors appear to be ordered, but not structured. It is only when you look at it the right way that the true image appears. If you enjoy figures with embedded three-dimensional images, then this is a book that you will appreciate.



3. Yep, the first time those seemingly random sqiggles of color in Magic Eye leap into formation and you're staring down at an object under all that chaotic visual mess...it's a magic moment for sure. These books are a lot of fun and worth the effort it takes to get the knack of how to do it. It took me a few tries before I saw anything here, so if at first you don't succeed, stay with it because it's worth it.



4. If humans were truly telepathic, there would be little need to explore the ruminations of impressions that identify and create the discourse that produces harmony, vision, and processes that enable man to live together. What we think we see in another's actions is often unrelated to their actual thinking, and hence, the value of interaction is of great importance to humans. By having multiple options of movement, to be influenced by impressions, experiences, and by learning means that the quality and quantity of interactions always carries different meanings to different people, being measured or scrutinized by subjective means as they always are. Therefore, contextual science is inherent in achieving progress, the slow laborious process of acquiring common ground of meaning, objective, and resolution in any interaction, however brief. Since that requires a good bit of reading people's behavior, and processing intent, from the perspective of the "other" external to oneself, conjecture and breath of conjecture provides ample opportunity for success or mistake. The chipping away process of illusions to reach the depth of meaning and significance is a large part of what makes the content of human life. As if the graph existed that placed everyone upon a spectrum of spacial plots, some would be expected to be closer than others, which may or may not reflect the ideal, but may be more related to any given point in time, and attention.



5. This visual manipulation is sort of fun to engage in with youngsters who seem to have more enthusiasim for this 3-D -eye-foolery. When I read this book with my children years ago I didn't seem to have the patience to sit and stare at a bunch of randomly placed dots and come up with the correct image. I used to look at these things and start hallucinating and concocting images that were NOT there! If I waited long enough a younger, brighter mind would correct me and show me the real image. It got to be more fun than the book to see what I thought I saw. I swear sometimes I just never saw what I was supposed to see. Luckily they give you the "answers" on another page so you can cheat and look for what is supposed to just jump out at you. Maybe my eye was untrainable? This book is sort of fun for a break in activities with children but watch out for the dots before your eyes, you just might see them after the pages are removed from your vision. Fun at a certain level(and frustrating) but there are many more entertaining books out there.

1 comments about Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise History (with ArtStudy CD-ROM 2.1) (Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Concise History).

1. It's a good book with plenty of definitions and references. If you want to know about the History of Art and the Cultures that go along with it, I suggest this book.
   
   Of course, I am a college student at an Art school and so I didn't have much of a choice as it is a required reading for one of my classes.

5 comments about Complete Printmaker.

1. A very intense book on print making. A must have book for serious artists, who want to expand in their field. Lots and lots of contacts in back of book maiking it easy to find anyone you need for print making! A+



2. I am taking a class at the local community college. The professor of my printmaking class recommended this book highly and said it was the best on the market, so I purchased it and am totally happy and satisfied. It explains the different processes very well and the illustrations accompanying the text help visualize the different methods of printmaking. I am totally satisfied and will use it as a reference book throughout my printmaking activities.
   Susy Moesch



3. Very lengthy but i did learn from it



4. Delivery time was as promised. The book came securely packaged and the book itself was in pristine condition. I save $25 under the cost as charged in my college bookstore.



5. This book is almost a catalog of every printmaking process around. It covers all the basics: intaglio, relief, screen prints, litho, and monoprint. It covers related technique, including embossed "dimensional" prints (aka "blind" prints), molded paper, and more. It devotes special attention to collographs, prints from textured or collage surface, and much too much more to describe.
   
   Best, the tools, materials, and how-to of every process are described in a fair bit of detail. Because so many processes are listed, each one gets just a short section, nowhere near what a printmaker would need in practice. Still, the descriptions serve at least two purposes. First, they may entice an artist into learning more about a process.
   
   Second, and more importantly for me, is that you don't have to be a printmaker to read this book and benefit from it. I'm a fan of fine prints, even though I don't make prints myself. I like to know what I'm looking at. I like to see a mark in a print and understand where it came from, how the artist's hand created it. By explaining each process, this book helps me understand the result of the process, and understand its effect on the finished product. Not everyone sees art that way, but it makes me feel somehow closer to the creator.
   
   I recommend this to anyone who loves fine prints. Perhaps it's helpful to the printmaker looking for new techniques to try. It is certainly useful for the viewer, in understanding how the artist makes a vision come alive on paper.
   
   //wiredweird