5 comments about A Primer on Postmodernism.

1. This book is a very strong introduction to the cultural shift of postmodernism. Grenz does a thorough job of giving an overview of the major post-Enlightenment trends in philosophy and epistemology. While some terms will be cumbersome to readers new to the subject (deconstructionalism, subject-object dualism, logocentrism, etc.), Grenz keeps things fairly palatable for a wide audience. One very strong aspect of the book is that it shows that postmodernism is NOT to be feared or lamented by Christians. While it certainly provides new challenges, Grenz does a remarkable job showing how the gospel can and should be contextualized to intersect the postmodern ethos. Highly recommended for those curious to do some philosophical digging.



2. After reading Stanley Grenz title: A Primer on Postmodernism, I was almost certain that sometime over the last 30 years I had seen a greater waste of paper. After six months of contemplating the problem I am still at a lost of coming up with a name.
   
   It seems there is another boogie man that has been set loose on society to make sure the masses are thoroughly convinced they are facing a problem which without taking head on now, will most certainly result, at the minimum, in a loss of their cherished way of life, but most likely will just go ahead and bring about the EOW. (End of the World)
   
   As if the evil and scourge of Islamofascism, what ever that is, wasn't enough, combined with the plot of liberals to destroy the country, kill G-d, and turn us over to aforementioned Islamofascist, (my spell checker doesn't even know what that is), I guess we just had to throw in postmodernism as a safety measure. Apparently, Mr. Grenz was most happily willing to help. Causes me to wonder if he was also being funding by President Bush's, and former Secretary of Defense (SecDef), Ministry of Information project.
   
   Call me a cynic but having lived through the cold war, where propaganda was an art form, till today's Axis of Evil, propaganda has now become a science. (Ever notice how Axis of Evil conjures up images of Nazi Germany and then guess what, we have the newly formed verbiage of "Islamofascism". Or to put it another way, America's new anti-Semitic whipping boy.
   
   The bottom line; this whole Postmodernism drivel that is making the rounds, of which no self respecting philosophy sophomore would buy, is just another ploy to keep people in fear. I would recommend finding books about real problems we have today and look to finding real solutions to them. If that is of course still possible.
   
   Heres a good book to consider. The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church



3. Grenz book is written in a very scholarly tone, but not so much as to render it useless to a person more accustomed to lay-speak. He omits nothing to make the read easier, but definitely write concisely, never diverging into redundant blabber.
   The only thing I would note about this book is that Grenz is a Christian Minister who openly rejects Postmodernism. The first chapter of the book and the last chapter focus on how Christians can minister and spread the gospel in the Postmodern era. Given this, he is amazingly neutral throughout the chapters between the first and the last. Essentially, if you are a Christian who is interested in spreading the gospel, you will find the entire book useful. If not, the middle chapters will be more interesting than the first and last.
   Nonetheless, Grenz's writing is phenomenal. If you want to know what Postmodernism is all about, this is the book for you.
   A final note: Grenz recommends that those completely unfamiliar with Postmodernism read the first chapter, then the last chapter, then go back to chapter 2 and read straight through from there. I would disagree extremely strongly. Just read the book from cover to cover, you will understand everything fine.



4. This book is a great introduction to a subject that can be hard to understand - postmodernism. Grenz writes from a Christian perspective as he highlights key points and the thinkers who paved the way for this emerging view of life.
   
   Toward the end of the book Grenz contemplates some similarities between the Christian faith and postmodernism. I recommend it.



5. I feel this is one of the better introductions to Postmodernism. It is a little clearer than say "Teach Yourself Postmodernism", which is also a very good introduction. If you want to understand the Postmodern idea, get both these books, they compliment each other very well IMHO.

No comments about The Everyday (Documents of Contemporary Art).

4 comments about My Brain is Hanging Upside Down.

1. The excruciating beauty of David Heatley's work lies in its truthfulness, both raw and tender, both harrowing and endearing. Like watching a Lars von Trier film in storyboard form, at times you'll wish you'd closed the book before it was too late -- but inevitably you won't. An astounding achievement.



2. We've watched David Heatley grow as an artist and as a person, and loved his work as he appeared in the NY Times, the New Yorker and numerous prestigious Comic Journals. His wonderful drawings - self and life-revealing - and his excellent prose invigorate and challenge, as they entertain and delight. This is Great work!! A must have book.
   
   MH



3. This graphic autobiography is a collection of David Heatley's comics that are darkly and explicitly funny. He leaves very little to the imagination as he takes us through his sex life (and eventually his love life), his relationships, good and bad, with people of other races, and his relationship with his parents and family.
   
   As an autobiography, the book gives us rare insight into the feelings and experience of another human being. It doesn't hold anything back, and doesn't let us as readers, either. You might put the book down in disgust after the first couple of pages, or read in mesmerized fascination as David alternately destroys and rebuilds his life. In neither case, will you be entirely comfortable. That is good. What David does brilliantly here is hold up the weakness and frailty of the human condition, then show us that it is possible to overcome it to be something more than what we were.
   
   The book is graphic in more than one sense. It is as much about the drawings as the text. They are simple but effective, but in many cases the subject matter is very sexually graphic-about what you would expect in a book in which one section is titled "Sex." He draws his characters as real human beings with or without their clothes. This is one comic book that you don't leave out for the children to see.
   
   As I read through My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down, a theme emerged of needing to ask ourselves the tough questions. What is sex? What is love? Why are they different? Am I a racist? Do I really know my Mom or Dad, or even myself?
   
   For those with an open mind, this book will help you ask these questions of yourself.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: Thought-provoking read.



4. 
   
   
   
   
   Biographies can be so interesting, and they run the full gamut from tragic to comic and everywhere inbetween. They can either move you, or bore you with their incessant, seemingly irrelevant details.
   
   
   That's how I find "My Brain is Upside Down". He divides the book into five sections, sex, race, mom, dad, and kin. Given the subject matter, it is probably the best way for Mr Heatley to chronicle his life. Each of the movements in the book are blunt, and to the point. However, as truthful as they are, they do not necessarily belong in a public forum.
   
   
   Graphically, the art teeters on the edge of underground. As a New York cartoonist, he is highly regarded, and his work draws raves from Dan Clowes, Chris Ware and Dan Painter. His op-ed pieces like "Thoughts on a Subway" are considered critical successes. As a long time comic/illustrated fiction reader, I would take issue with that. Largely, his panels are too small, and cluttered. Surprisingly, the clutered art matches the cluttered story telling, and that would be why this book works at the level it does.
   
   
   Mainstream comic readers will find this unappealing, while connossieurs of 'new york-underground' style will rave about it.
   
   
   Tim Lasiuta
   
   www.pantheonbooks.com
   
   

5 comments about Beautiful Losers.

1. ok- this book is pretty brilliant... despite the fact that the artwork included is a catalogue of some of the most important, interesting and (previously- time will tell??) underground /fringe dwelling artists and contemporary contributors in the last 25 or so years and that in itself is reason enough to love this book, you would be CRAZY not to read the essays... they are insane- so brilliant and you are not even touching the surface of this book unless you read them..
   if you have any interest in graf/ skating/ contempory artists / beautiful things / whats going down then youll love beautiful losers and regret very badly that you didnt get to see the exhibition...like i am now.



2. If you like street and pop art... I kindly raccomend this book to you!
   
   Peace and 420!



3. I ordered this book from Amazon as a graduation gift and it says that it will ship in 1-4 weeks. BEWARE! I placed my order in mid-May and received a third delay notice today saying that it will not ship until mid-August. BOLLOCKS!! I finally canceled my order, as my "happy graduation" note is no longer applicable and my guy will likely be in school for the fall semester by the time the book actually arrives.



4. Beautiful Losers exhibition is a document of an epoch centered on the twenty year history of street art and culture from the walls of urban landscapes across America to the walls of the dopest west and east coast galleries. Really great essays. Read the one by McCormick, its especially good. Well printed and designed. Everything in this book is imperative to know about if you are an artist, especially young artists in their formative years.



5. Its definately worth $25.17, or whatever price theyve stuck on it by now. Its includes pictures of, and interesting stories about a few of the Beautiful Losers aswell as full pages of artwork (in color). Its no picture book either, in addition to the stories, its got the histories of various subcultures that influenced the artists (skateboarding, graffiti, etc.) So it'll keep you busy for a minute.

4 comments about Christmas Decorations from Williamsburg.

1. Creative projects for homemade Christmas decorations make this book a great gift.. If you can part with it!



2. I bought this book for my neighbor and when it came I wanted to keep it! She had recently visited Williamsburg and came back with stories of how she loved the Christmas decorating and wanted to emulate things for her own home.
   I've never been to Williamsburg myself, but this book was beautiful! The pictures were professional (I've seen books where they were not) and there were instructions on how to make the decor yourself. Well worth it! I will probaly get one for myself for next season!



3. Since I love boxwood growing in the yard and using the beautiful greens at Christmas, I found this book to be one of the most informative books I own about Christmas greens. The instructions on how to create many decorations for the inside and outside the home are very clear. The pictures are gorgeous. I have learned to make garlands, wreaths, centerpieces, swags, boxwood trees, and other lovely items. The book features many different types of greens to use for creating holiday decorations. I have taught many others how to make holiday decorations that are featured in this book.



4. This book has lovely ideas for decoarting using natural materials. I found many of the ideas could be done very inexpensively.

5 comments about The Paintings of Joan Mitchell.

1. This week we mark the anniversary of Joan Mitchell's death to oropharyngeal/pulmonary cancer (10/30/1992). We turn to a splendid book put together & written by three impressive ladies.
   Joan Mitchell, not often found in general art books, none-the-less imposes a powerful presence in the tapestry of american art. Overshadowed by masculine icons the likes of Pollack, de Kooning, Kline. Mitchell brought a strong feminine bravura to the abstract expressionist genre.
   This lovely book celebrates the Whitney museum's 2002 - 2004 exhibtion. The paintings presented here sweep through the decades from her establishing herself during the 1950's - 60's through her mature visual paraphrasing of the 80's.
   Delicate energetic masterpieces are beautifully brought forth in 88 full page color plates. An embodying text follows her life from marginalized artist to a forefront figure strong in both expression and lifestyle.



2. If you're looking for a book on Joan Mitchell's vivacious abstracts, this is as good a place to start as any. In 2002, ten year after Mitchell's death, the Whitney staged a comprehensive exhibition of her work. This book was published to coincide with that exhibition. The colour quality of the illustrations aren't bad; although the description and bioblurb are pitched to a ubiquitous audience, they're nonetheless grounded in reality, intelligently written, and thus painless to read. All in all, you can't go wrong. If you can afford it, go for it!



3. text isnt that good.....way too many plates from when her paintings werent so good...1950 to 1964



4. I went to this amazing show at the Whitney. I stood for hours with her huge paintings. Even though a book cannot compare to the artwork in person, this book does a good job presenting Mitchell's stunning work. The only other book I have seen that might compare is Joan Mitchell by Klaus Kertess, but this book is hard to find.
   
   I recommend buying the Whitney Museum book. It is inexpensive and is comprehensive.



5. The painting of Joan Mitchell was for me a discover of an tremendous and excellent painter, almost unknow in my country Argentina. The quality of images, photographs and texts includes on this catalogue dont dissapoint me, in fact, it gave me hope in contemporary paint and help me as a painter.
   I recommended this book for any person who love the beauty of color, life and paint, and for painters who want to learn what means the freedom of action and think.
   Thank you and excuse my english.

4 comments about The World's Columbian Exposition: The Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

1. I purchased this book after watching a two hour PBS special on the Columbian Exposition. My imagination was captured, and I wanted more. I purchased the excellent The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson (which I also recommend) and this book at the same time. They compliment one another quite well. I believe I enjoyed both more by pairing them than I would have enjoyed them individually.
   
   The photos contained in this book are astounding. Even living near Chicago, and having been to the location of the Midway Plaisance and having seen the few architectural remnants of the fair (most notably the Science and Industry Museum), it is hard to imagine the scale and overall aesthetic of so many Greco-Roman buildings in one place. The book was very useful for making the fair come alive in my imagination, and for giving a general sense of scale.
   
   As an aside, if you ever visit Chicago, take the time to visit the location of the fair. You can take a walking tour of the area, and begin to create your own internal map of where the buildings stood. Finish up at the Museum of Science and Industry (which remarkably doesn't have an exhibit on the fair, one of the most important events in Chicago's history!) You will not be disappointed.



2. this book is great and gives wonderful information and facts....worth the money and is a great buy.



3. A thorough history, interestingly written and beautifully illustrated. A good follow-up to "Devil in the White City".



4. I found this book quite fascinating. I have been reading Erik Larson's wonderful "The Devil in the White City" but since that comes with virtually no illustrations, I bought this book primarily for the photographs, of which it has a great many and which go a long way to conveying just how huge this fair was (there were 735,000+ visitors on the day that had the highest attendance rate).
   
   It also fills in information Larson's book lacks about the exhibits themselves, the individual state and country buildings and the Midway as well as statistics on how much food was served every day and how many bathrooms were available plus it shows pictures of the moving sidewalk that took visitors who arrived by boat to the fair itself; the Xerxes telescope; many displays and decorations made out of corn and oranges; the foreigners who were part of the Midway attractions; the Wooded Island; the first automated paint sprayer (with which a crew of three was able to paint the interior of the entire Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building in only six weeks); a lifesize statue of a wooly mammoth, then thought to have been the largest animal to have ever walked the earth; and several pictures of the Ferris Wheel under construction. It also has a table showing what attractions were available and how much they cost and one indicating which architect designed which building (something Larson's readers will appreciate).
   
   The only real problem I had with the book (and the reason for four stars instead of five) is that it's printed on regular paper stock and not on glossy paper so the photographs are somewhat blurry and grainy and not as crisp as they would have been had the publisher used different paper. Also the book provides a copy of the map of the fairgrounds given by Montgomery Ward to it's customers but this map is too small plus it's printed so that part of it lies in the book's center crease. I think it would have been better if the publisher had had a map drawn and used that or had found one that provided more information. There is a three dimensional map of the Exposition available on the Web -- it would have been nice if something like that had been included as well since it's impossible to get a comprehensive, birdseye view of the Fair (nevermind one in relation to Chicago and the surrounding community) from just the photographs. There is also a bibliography and a somewhat incomplete index. I don't know how this book compares to other pictorial books on the Exposition but it was fine for what I needed and had lots of bits of interesting trivia besides.

5 comments about American Art Deco: Modernistic Architecture and Regionalism.

1. This book is all I'd hoped it to be! A great selection of structures and fine images to wow the imagination. If you love Art Deco this is a fine piece to own.



2. This is quite simply a fantastic book, the images ara crisp and well presented and the text is easy to navigate. Every major Art Deco building in American is chronicled and presented in its best light. It is such a relief that so many of these great buildings have survived, unlike many other architectural styles, Art Deco has always had a huge throng of admirors, people who loved the style and fought very hard to help preserve it. Everytime I set foot in one of these great buildings, like the Louisiana State Capitol or Radio City Music Hall or the Chrysler Building I am reminded of the shear artistry that went into these buildings and am disappointed at the austere, crass styles that have followed. I highly recommend this wonderful book, frankly it is the best I have seen on American Art Deco.



3. For many, a trip to downtown is a visit to something and for something. It is seldom seen as a time of reflection, to see the "what and why" of the great boundaries of concrete, glass and steel. Even our great structures specifically designed to create a feeling of wonder or awe appear to be less a creation for humans than a mere sidelight of structural shrugs, a busy nod to a slight deviation in the casting of the concrete, and, "This won't cost too much more to add this, this *thing* to the design, will it?"
   It didn't always work this way.
   This is a completely beautiful book. Criticisms are few and far between and are of the "Why didn't she make this a bigger book" variety. This is a big book.
   Art Deco was, and is, one of the highest achievements of architecture ever - ever! One look at the Niagara - Mohawk building should convince just about anyone. This book is a required review of the remaining Art Deco buildings with the most integrity.
   I only wish that there was more in the way of, say, South Miami Art Deco and more southern works extant but that is the point: You come away from this book looking for the momentous in your own city or area. when you find a (usually restored) specimen, you simply must stop and gawk for great periods of time.
   What a great book!



4. This is the finest book presently available on American Art Deco Architecture, in my opinion. Beautifully photographed and printed in Italy (288 oversize pages in full color), it's a must have if you have an interest in Art Deco and/or Architecture.
   
   All the finest American examples are here, the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation Building in Syracuse, the Chrysler Building in New York, the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, and the Eastern Columbia, Wiltern Theatre/Pellissier and Bullocks Wilshire Buildings in Los Angeles, just to name a few. Most of the buildings are photographed from the outside as well as inside, with numerous detail photographs of doors and moldings.
   
   Carla Breeze is an architectural photographer by trade and she does a superb job with this book, I especially like the fact that perspective control has been used in the photographs (all the vertical lines are parallel) which makes for a much more pleasing look. The sleek and modernistic style of Art Deco, popular during the 1920's and 1930's, has yet to be matched, in my opinion, and Ms. Breeze captures the essence of it skillfully.



5. Architectural photographer Carla Breeze has focussed her camera on the best seventy-five Art Deco buildings across the Nation and produced a glorious book of color photos that perfectly captures the style. I really liked this book because she concentrates on the architectural detail of each building (with 450 photos) and in many cases, when this detail is on the outside, it is just not viewable from the ground.
   
   The introduction has an interesting eighteen-page photo section dealing with materials: metal, concrete, terra cotta, mosaic, glass, wood and stone. I found this very useful when looking at the images. Each building starts on the spread (though some have more pages) with a street address and some background text and captions for the photos. The elegant layout does not interfere with the wonderful buildings (a tip of the hat to book designer Robert Wiser). Could anyone do anything to improve the photo of the stunning Niagara Mohawk Power headquarters in Syracuse on page seventy-three.
   
   To complement this lovely book have a look at Rediscovering Art Deco USA: A Nationwide Tour of Architectural Delights by Barbara Capitman, Michael Kinerk and Dennis Wilhelm, a methodical nationwide survey, though it concentrates on commercial buildings rather than houses. If you are Deco spotting on the road leave a space in the glove compartment for David Gebhard's excellent The National Trust Guide to Art Deco in America (Preservation Press) if it's not in this book then most likely it's not worth looking at.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

5 comments about Ready-to-Use North American Indian Motifs: 391 Different Permission-Free Designs Printed One Side (Clip Art Series).

1. This book is wonderful because the motifs are available for you to use as you wish! I bought this after reading a review of another book that everything was copyrighted and I wanted non-copyrighted motifs. All the pages are black and white, loaded with Native American Motifs. Each motif has the name and tribe so if you make something to sell, you will know which tribe to use on your labels/ads. Reminds me of the art books we used in the 1980's for newspaper ad clip-art before the use of computers. No problem about the sizes if you have access to a copier. Happy to add this to my collection of art books!



2. The product was promptly delivered in excellent condition. I am impressed with the number of different Native American tribes that were represented in the motifs.



3. I was expecting full size patterns. However there are good
   patterns, but will have to be enlarged to use them.



4. I bought this for my son who loves drawing and he really has enjoyed it. The illustrations are great and theres good information along with the illustartions.



5. As a descendant of the Native American Choctaw tribe, I was VERY pleased with this book. The illustrations are clear and precisely drawn. The reader receives a lot of inspiration for Native American art and designs. However, of far more value to the reader, the author identifies the designs with various tribes. Naturally, I was particularly pleased to find the highly modernistic looking designs of the Choctaws. I strongly recommend this book to any students of Native Americans or students of art.
   
   Robert J. Deffeyes

2 comments about Color Your Own Impressionist Paintings (Dover Pictorial Archives).

1. I greatly enjoyed this coloring book. The paintings selected for illustrating were quite interesting and varied with many different subjects and styles of impressionist artwork represented.
   
   Two or three pieces of artwork by each artist were generally illustrated, along with the name of the artist, the title of the artwork, the year it was painted, size of the artwork and medium in which it was done.
   
   Mr. Marty Noble, the illustrator, did an excellent job in representing the various paintings.
   
   Occasionally, as is Mr. Noble's style, (I've done several of his coloring books), the drawing will have a great many lines in it. In my opinion, the best thing to do when this occurs is decide what is the main thing being represented - be it a wall, a piece of furniture or trees and go with the main outline of that.
   
   In the case of walls of rooms, banks of flowers or other landscape type backgrounds, I used block-style pastel, decorating chalks, and applied them over the entire area with a Q-tip, then used a non-bleed thru marker to highlight details I wanted shown.
   
   These are intricate drawings, beyond the skill level of a child to color them.
   
   Highly recommended for adults who enjoy coloring and aren't put-off by a bit of a challenge.



2. I thoroughly enjoy this book. It was just as described and came in a timely fashion.