No comments about Wherever He Leads Me: The Greg Olsen Collection.

1 comments about The Eye (Art and Imagination Series).

1. Ironically, one of most potent and multifaceted visual metaphors is the eye itself. In this book, Francis Huxley blends science, art, mythology, and religion to demonstrate the layers of meaning in the image of the eye. The text is interspersed with drawing, diagrams, and color plates throughout, so the entire book is quite visually engaging. Huxley explores the eye as a symbol of the Sacred, as a praeternatural attribute of monsters, as a weapon (e.g. "the evil eye"), and as an emblem of what is highest in human nature. The images in the book draw from ancient and modern sources worldwide. This is a wonderful and thought-provoking book about this ubiquitous symbol.

1 comments about Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion (Perfect Illustration Series).

1. This has been an indispensable part of my preaching preparation for over a year. The illustrations vary: some are jokes but more are serious, some are parables but more are life anecdotes. The majority of the illustrations are fresh and relevant. All include full citation info - who said it, when, and where it was previously published.
   
   What makes this volume so useful is the indexing. All illustrations are categorized by their major theme. Two indexes at the back list (a) illustrations by related scripture, and (b) illustrations categorized by alternate themes. It is actually easier for me to find things in the paper edition than using the included computer program on CD.
   
   Sprinkling one of these anecdotes into my sermons every week or two has improved the quality of my message. My congregation often uses the story as a hook to remember what I say.

2 comments about The Faces of Christ in Sonora: Los Rostros del Senor en Sonora.

1. The Life of Christ is celebrated throughout the world, but no two regions do it the same. "The Face of Christ in Sonora" shows that we can even learn about the culture around it in observing the way that they worship, as shown with the turbulent, yet rich history and culture of the Mexican state of Sonora. Written in both English and Spanish for maximum accessibility, "The Face of Christ in Sonora" is highly recommended for both religious and world history community library shelves- and for anyone who wants to see pictures of how another culture celebrates something so familiar to us.



2. This is a book written by two sensitive and knowledgeable individuals who have spent their lives in the Sonoran Desert, deeply immersed in the life of the region.
   
   A gem!
   It is a good way to have a snapshot of a region with a shared history at a time when the lives of millions of folks are being shredded in the political struggles that have been generated a long distance from here.

1 comments about Marc Chagall: The Lost Jewish World.

1. This wonderful and richly illustrated book is an in-depth study of the Jewish roots of Chagall's art. Divided into nine chapters, it explains the cultural context in which Chagall's paintings were created, the outside influences (Leon Bakst, Picasso...), the themes (death, life, wedding, pregnancy...), the early masterpieces of the 1910's and 1920's, the influence of Yiddish culture and the schtetl (the lost Jewish world...), of the theater, in a nutshell what made Chagall one of the greatest artists of the first half of the XXth century (in this respect, one should forget about his later years, the 1960's and 70's, which the book barely studies and when he himself admitted to becoming repetitive if not merely commercial). An indispensable addition to the literature on the artist.

1 comments about Theological Aesthetics: God in Imagination, Beauty, and Art.

1. This book, along with Thiessen's, provides an excellent resource for those studying about the church and the visual arts. This is a little easier to read than Thiessen's.

5 comments about Searching for Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art and Literature.

1. Lahr's book is a real treat. Not only are there dozens of full page reproductions of some of the most famous art works containing images of Mary Magdalene, the text itself is well written and, for the most part, historically correct. Then there are the occasional gems - an 11th century mosaic portraying Mary and the angel more like aliens. Moreover, Lahr offers large selections of text from just about every major document dealing with Mary Magdalene, from the 1st century through the 20th century.
   
   One criticism of this extremely valuable book is that a lot of the artistic analysis seems to be based on Lahr's own impressions, rather than giving us the painter's perspective. While Lahr's opinion is obviously of interest, I'd also like to know what the artists' intentions were.
   
   Another shortcoming is that there are many paintings of Magdalene that are not covered (I'm thinking, for example, of Rosetti's 1877 stunning portrait of the curly haired woman, or Da Vinci's sketches, or his very sexual Mary with breasts exposed). Instead, she has many paintings that do not include Mary, but focus instead on Jesus or the disciples. While this makes for a well rounded book, the title suggests that we'll focus on Mary.
   
   Another problem is that Lahr sometimes gives us a painting with no explanation, and often it's difficult to understand what's going on and to distinguish Mary Magdalene from the other characters. This problem happens, for example, in Ruben's "Resurrection of Lazarus."
   
   None of these minor criticisms should stop any serious student of Mary Magdalene from buying this book. It is a one-of-a-kind and very well done.



2. Mary Magdalene rules! I had no idea she is told in so many different stories-not only in the canonical gospels, the apocrypha, but also in poetry, stories, and songs. You don't need to look to the traditional bible to find her-she is everywhere. And these writers and poets knew this; all these years, all these centuries, they all knew. Her story is told everywhere. The church tried to suppress her and keep her hidden-in your dreams, jerks! The Magdalene was never quiet, nor will she ever keep quiet. Long may the Magdalene reign!



3. In accepting Jane Lahr's invitation to time travel through centuries of artists and writers whose attention to Mary Magdalene illuminates profound truths, this is a transforming read, a moment in which to reflect on beauty and truth and really what it is that we do need to know in life. Exquisitely rendered by Lahr's finely tuned sensibility and scholarship, this book is a blessing and a great gift.



4. A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.



5. A beautifully illustrated work of original scholarship, Searching For Mary Magdalene: A Journey Through Art And Literature by author and editor Jane Lahr is an in-depth and comprehensive detailing of the modern and historical history of the enigmatic Mary Magdalene as reflected through the literature and art of the last two millennia. Introducing readers to a collective survey study drawn from historical writers, philosophers, artists, and scholars, Searching For Mary Magdalene accessibly presents a concise and intricate descriptive analysis of Magdalene based upon the many known resources. Searching For Mary Magdalene is very highly recommended to non-specialist general readers with an interest in a life and history of Mary Magdalene.

1 comments about 100 Artists See Satan.

1. Mostly shallow pop art from the Robert Williams "Juxtapoz school of painters". Having started off with a negative due to the shallow gene pool and inbreed protectionism of agrophobic american artists, I really have to say that some of the work (but not as much as their ought to be) is stimulating and or well executed.
   
   I don't think that it breaks any new ground and in many respects hashes over the same tired cliches... Shame really as art does have the power to expend conciousness, this is mostly commercial art in that it feels like most of the contributors are knocking the work out for a deadline rather than a heartfelt examination of the subject.

No comments about Angels: A Joyous Celebration (Miniature Editions).

No comments about Sacred Art in East and West (Wisdom Foundation series).