1 comments about Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology.

1. The introduction says "This is a book about the things people say about images". As a person who buys a lot of instructional books which I hope are insightful and succinct I found this overwritten. Someone liking miles of wordy literary type criticism might find it appealing.

No comments about The Sacred Gaze: Religious Visual Culture in Theory and Practice.

2 comments about Byzantine Art (Oxford History of Art).

1. I was in search of an affordable book that featured color plates of the greatest art of the Byzantine world, running the gamut from late Roman times through the fall of Constantinople and Robin Cormack's excellent work more than fit the bill. Indeed, this may be the perfect introductory work on Byzantine art. Magnificently produced, the book is positively littered with high-resolution color and black-and-white photos which show amazing amounts of detail. Particularly stunning are the reproductions of the various mosaics from inside the great church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and from San Vitale in Ravenna.
   
   The text of the book is descriptive and analytical. Though somewhat scholarly in content, the writing is clear and the style is brisk. Enough historical background is provided to make the book suitable for a reader with little or no knowledge of Byzantine history. The devotional aspects of Byzantine Art were handled dispassionately with no trace of secular conceit--not always a given these days--and the Iconoclastic controversy was well covered in commendable detail. My only minor quibble was that the endnotes were buried amidst the back-matter and were somewhat difficult to find.
   
   Over all, Cormack's book will make an excellent textbook for courses in Christian and Medieval Art, and a perfect supplemental text for general Byzantine Studies courses. The lovely cover art and stunning interior photos will also make it the kind of book that will be picked up and perused by friends and family if left around the house.



2. Having had the chance to listen to Robin Cormack speak, and always having had an interest in Byzantine art, I look forward to reading this. I was not disappointed in the least. As Cormack rightly points out both in his introduction and his bibliographic essay, the art of Byzantium is presented either in an homongenous manner, linking all stylistic periods and developments into a monolithic, unchanging facade, or as a realm only the specialist would be willing to engage in. Cormack deftly navigates through the subject in such a manner that is both introductary as well as substantial enough for those already familiar with the subject. Where controverserial arguments are needed, Cormack enthusiastically dives in; where basic explanation is necessary, Cormack elucidates without dumbing-down; where a style of writing is called for to atmospherically render the majesty of the art, Cormack's writing never fails.

   For those of us teaching art history classes, finding a textbook devoted to Byzantine art is especially difficult. We now have the classic that will be more than sufficient for years to come.

5 comments about Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts.

1. This book is a collection of short reflections for major feasts throughout the Church's calendar. In each of them the Pope (then Cardinal Ratzinger), highlights a theme or two in order to draw the deeper significance of the feast into greater focus. He provides theological, and historical background, and rich mediations on how these holy days impact the lives of each believer. These reflections are easy to read but they are profound in what they draw forth. This book certainly provides an impetus for a fresh look at many days like Christmas or Easter which are rich in their spiritual treasures, but which may have become commonplace in our eyes because the world has run amok with them.



2. This is really a very beautiful and elegant work. His observations and understanding of these Christian images and symbols is so moving that I was often overwhelmed with good feelings. Wonderful!
   
   -Jeremy



3. This is a series of reflections that can each be read in a brief sitting, yet each conveys the remarkable breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding that Pope Benedict has developed. His writing is perhaps the most concise among modern theologians.



4. Pope Benedict's longer theological works can be difficult to follow, not because the Pope is trying to be obscure but because he deals with realities (not opinions or moods) and never patronizes the reader. Images of Hope is more accessible because it is a collection of short essays, moving and even entertaining meditations on the Feasts of the Church. A great little book for the thinking Christian.



5. These thirteen short talks originated as occasional broadcasts on Bavarian Radio when the then-Cardinal Ratzinger offered meditations on the major feasts of the Church usually with reference to some work of art. About half had been published separately, and the book, first issued 9 years ago, has been translated and reissued following his election as Pope. Ratzinger is scholarly in his approach and sources, but offers his general audience a message that is both simple and profound. That will not surprise those who have listened to his recent talks. His reflections are mostly prompted and illustrated by images--artistic, poetic or symbolic--to touch the senses and heart as well as the mind. Developing the images and ideas with poetic fancy, professorial depth and patristic playfulness, he invites us to go beyond the merely aesthetic to the level of faith.
   
   While the themes are random because of the disparate occasions on which the talks were given, there is an inner harmony among them, and since all sacred images are images of the resurrection, the harmony involves hope and resurrection joy. The art is often an illustration of the material rather than its source, and hence is not in general as essential to the presentation as it is, for example, in the Archbishop of Canterbury's Ponder These Things or Henri Nouwen's Behold the Beauty of the Lord. But Ratzinger's historical facts and theological insights are striking, and those dealing with Rome and the papacy all the more interesting in view of his later election to the see of Rome. Beyond this the text opens the riches of the Christian faith in a learned but very personable way. It's a quick read, and would repay a prayerful rereading of each chapter on its corresponding feast.

5 comments about Holy Image, Hallowed Ground (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum).

1. This is a good book no doubt, but...In this holy monastery there is much more valuable holy icons and should be presented in much more numbers.Maybe I`m asking to much, but with this treasure unpublished at all, it`s kinda sad to said. Quality of paper and photos are great and text with it. Good choice for meeting with this holy spot on the earth.



2. The reproductions in this book are beautiful, the discussion intelligent and thorough. I bought and read it prior to visiting the exhibit, and thought that it provided 95% of the experience of actually being there.
   
   The Getty, which has had an uneven history in its prior exhibits, really did a superb job on this one. The Getty website retains an excellent interactive description of the exhibition.
   
   I had the impression that St. Catherine's was an isolated outpost at the base of Mt. Sinai. It is at the base of Mt. Sinai, but about an hour's drive from Sharm-El-Sheikh, a popular Egyptian resort town. Apparently tour buses make daily runs between the two places.



3. Great book full of pictures and explanatory text. The purchase was prompted by a visit to the Getty Museum to view the exhibit. I was familiar with the monastary beforehand from a VHS tape and the exhibit provided a sense of being there and walking its holy and hallowed grounds. A time capsule of religious art and activity. The detail was very intricate and I marveled at the detail in the icons for those using crude and self-made art supplies. These icons are indeed a labor of love. They go back some 1400 years and have a span of 600.
   
   The book serves to recollect my feelings at the exhibit, the next best thing to being at the monastary itself.



4. This volume is the companion to the recent Getty exhibition of original icons from the St. Catherine Monastery in the Sinai Desert, the presumed site of the Old Testament burning bush. The book provides the scholarly background on the ancient images, some going back to the 6th century and showing stylistic features common to Roman portraiture. The color illustrations are especially well done and true to the tones of the originals that I saw in Los Angeles. The book can be enjoyed simply for the aesthetics for the mesmerizing pictures, or for religious meditation, but also for insight into the historical development of early Christian practices. Given the lavish color printing in a large format, the price is quite reasonable.



5. Wonderful book on good heavy paper. . . .photo quality excellent. . .very very informative. . .

5 comments about Celestial Gallery.

1. I have a modest collection of new, good-quality Thangka ($150 to $400, up to 25"), but the quality of the Thangka displayed in this collection are beyond my price and size range. If you are considering buying a Thangka, get this book first to see how high the bar can go. No faded antiques here. For the most part the book's format is one page text, one page painting, but some intricate Thangka such as the "Wheel of Life" are broken down and explained in more detail.



2. I've owned this book for 7 years. I admit that I love the art --the mandalas are beautiful. Romio Shrestha is a good MANAGER of good artists (I've never seen him actually PAINT a mandala HIMSELF, and even he admits that the mandalas are painted by monks he has "commissioned.")
   
   And Ian Baker's text to this book is extraordinary.
   
   BUT -- and these are some BIG concerns:
   
   INACCURACY: The mandalas contain numerous inaccuracies in them, and do not reflect deity or yogic practices as accurately, precisely or in as much detail as do the works of many others who actually PRACTICE the Dharma (which Romio does not) -- day in and day out -- see, for example, thangkas painted by His Holiness the Dalai Lama's personal thangka artist in Dharamsala, or even more Western-accessible Andy Weber.
   
   AS IMPORTANTLY: I've met Romio Shrestha. He is a player, a wanna-be playboy, and a charlatan -- a cheap imitation of what non-discerning and gullible Westerners will believe a tantric master to be, or a self-appointed swamiji or yogi. When I met Romio the first time, he was at an international WOMEN's peace conference, lurking about, pretending to be a yogi or swami, chanting mantras and "casting spells" on sacred pendants -- all a pretext for the fact that he was stoned out of his gourd.
   
   All he was doing (I saw this, first-hand) was smoking pot in a hotel room designated for the media production team -- trying to pick up women!!!
   
   Romio tried to come on to me by chanting the Ganesha mantra while holding and offering to me a cheap fake silver Ganesh pendant. I recognized the pendant instantly as identical to the handfuls of pendants I had picked up on my many trips to India, dozens of years previously. The main problem for Romio was twofold: (1) I am intimately familiar with the Ganesh mantra -- Ganesh is one of my protector deities!; and (2) as a longtime practitioner of a Kriya Pranayam meditation practice, a longtime Tibetan Tantric practitioner (I keep my samaya), and with live-wire activated Kundalini, I am INTIMATELY familiar with energy player PRETENDERS.
   
   As soon as I chanted the Ganesha mantra back to him, Heart wide-open, staring him directly in the eyes the whole time -- he scurried away, like a cockroach does when the light is turned on.
   
   I bear Romio no ill will. Romio is, ultimately, pretty harmless to most people (except pretty young things, whom he will try to pick up by his pretense of being a "tantric master.") He's got trickster energy -- which can actually be quite fun, when it's recognized and acknowledged as such by the person who is the container for it (rather than some kind of "high teacher" egoic pretense). The bottom line is that he has NO genuine spiritual juice, NO genuine foundation in Tibetan tantric practices, and he is FAR from being a genuine spiritual master, of any kind.
   
   The art he helps bring into the world is beautiful. But his schtick? Kindly stated, it's mundane at best.
   
   Things are never as they seem . . . especially where spiritual materialism is concerned.
   
   Thanks for listening -- to my humble opinion, of course! :)



3. The near poster sized book of mandalas is truly perfect for the subject. Traditionally done in sand to mirror the transcient nature of life and beauty, this book is wonderful to behold. One can easily frame the individual plates but it's not merely a bound poster book. The text is nicely written and informative. The mandalas are really first rate, so intricate and detailed, that they transcend even beauty. It's surprisingly heavy (nice glossy paper) for a book that is the thickness of a children's book. Best displayed open to your favorite page.



4. What a beautiful, sacred and incredible collection of artwork. The book is absolutely stunning!



5. incredible stories and amazing pics...bigger than any 'coffee table' book we've ever owned!...a bargain at 1/2 the price

No comments about Twenty-five Years of Thomas Kinkade: Special Collector's Edition 2009 Wall Calendar.

4 comments about With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life.

1. Henri Nouwen introduces a new and life-changing idea: living losses Eucharistically. He starts by acknowledging that life is full of "dark" and "agonizing" losses: "It is a world of endless losses, and many, if not most, of our fellow human beings walk with faces downcast on the surface of this planet." We go through life mourning...just like the two disciples walking to Emmaus, ruminating on their loss of Jesus.
   
   Nouwen says that must mourn for our losses. We must "shed tears over them and allow ourselves to grieve deeply," acknowledge "the painful truth of our brokenness," and "experience the abyss of our own life" where "everything is constantly shifting and changing." In doing this, we realize that we are not the only ones with losses: in fact, all of humanity is "moaning and groaning" with the pain of losses.
   
   Then Nouwen reveals that "there is a blessing hidden in our grief" - a gift is hidden in our tears. He says that suffering can actually lead us to gratitude. But what is the gift, and how do we recognize it? Nouwen says that "through mourning our losses we come to know life as a gift."
   
   We need to gain a contrite heart, by realizing that our losses are connected with evil, and that there is evil in our own hearts - and so, "we are willing to take responsibility, even for the pain we didn't cause directly: blaming is converted into an acknowledgment of our own role in human brokenness." We begin to cry: "Lord have mercy". We cry out for the "healing of our cynical hearts", and we "dare to believe" that there may be a gift hidden in our pain.
   
   We come to the Eucharistic celebration. We meet Jesus in the sacred Scriptures, though which he speaks to us. And we realize that we have a role to play in the salvation of the world: "The great temptation of our lives it to deny our role as chosen people and so allow ourselves to be trapped in the worries of our daily lives." Jesus makes our hearts burn. He encourages us to "let go of our hardened hearts and become grateful." We learn that our losses were not an end, but a "necessary way to freedom" and a "suffering leading to glory."
   
   We receive the Eucharist, and enter into communion with Christ. "It is at that place of communion that we cry out: `God, my God, why have you abandoned me?` It is at that place, too, that our emptiness gives us the prayer: `Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.'" Because, as Nouwen explains, "Communion with Jesus means becoming like him. With him we are nailed on the cross, with him we are laid in the tomb, with him we are raised up to accompany lost travelers on their journey." We no longer belong to the world that brings us so many losses, so much pain: "There we belong to Christ and Christ to us, and with Christ we belong to God."
   
   We are then called to bring the good news to others - we have a mission. We must learn to listen to their losses, and then to tell them: "Didn't you know that what you are complaining about can also be lived as a way to something new? Maybe it is impossible to change what has happened to you, but you are still free to choose how to live it." We can lead them "from despair to hope, and from bitterness to gratitude...breaking through the boundaries of death." There is a light that shines in the darkness.
   
   This very basic summary, leaving much out, only scratches the surface. Nouwen proposes a truly radical and profound way of living life with joy and gratitude rather than resentment, anger, bitterness and disillusionment. What Nouwen proposes takes much thought and much effort, and it is not necessarily immediately easy to understand. But for those who want to try, his book offers a way out of pain and suffering through the only means that can truly liberate us: Christ.



2. Enjoyed the graphics and the book was a quick read. It had good insights!



3. Recently I heard a priest from Opus Dei state that Henri Nouwen's books are not spiritual writing, that all of Nouwen's books are about Nouwen. After finishing this volume I would have to disagree lately, but not completely, this book like many of Nouwen's draws from Henri's personal experience, but all writers write from the lense that filters all we see and do. How could our life experience not affect how we see the world.
   
   Nouwen states in the introduction: "Every day I celebrate the Eucharist. Sometimes in my parish church with hundreds of people present, sometimes in the Daybreak chapel with members of my community, sometimes in my father's living room with just him and me. Very few days pass without my saying, `Lord, have Mercy,' without the daily readings and a few reflections." p.9 The rest of the book is a series of reflections on the Christian life through the filter of the Eucharist and through the eyes of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The five sections in the book are:
   
   1. Mourning Our Losses: "Lord Have Mercy"
   
   2. Discerning the Presence: "This is the Word of God"
   
   3. Inviting the Stranger: "I Believe"
   
   4. Entering into Communion: "Take and Eat"
   
   5. Going on a Mission: "Go and Tell"
   
   Each section draws us into a deeper understanding of our life, and our life as a people of the word and of the Eucharist.
   
   The first section focuses on loss, our loss of what we believe in, what we hope for and what we sometimes dream of. After loss the disciples questioned their following Jesus, and if we are honest sometimes we doubt as well. "We remember the time that Jesus was so real for us that we had no question about his presence in our lives. He was our most intimate friend our counselor and guide. He gave us comfort, courage, and confidence. We could feel him, yes, taste and touch him. And now? We no longer think of him very much, we no longer desire to spend long hours in his presence. We no longer have that special feeling about him." p. 27,28. through the losses we have in our life we have come to have periods of doubt and struggle with our faith, we come bruised and broken by this world. "We come to the Eucharist with hearts broken by many losses, our own as well as those of the world." p. 31 but Nouwen goes on to give us hope, our hearts are broken and we experience loss so that we can also be healed and restored, so that through the Eucharist we can receive the water of God's grace.
   
   After we have a renewed hope and have begun healing we must discern the presence of God in our lives. He declares "We cannot live without words that come from God, words to pull us out of our sadness and lift us up to a place from where we can discover what we are truly living." p.51 In this section we are reminded that God's words give life, we are nourished by them, challenged, encouraged and admonished. "Without the word, our life has little meaning." p.60 As Catholics as Christians how could we not live immersed in the Word, in the guidebook God has given to us.
   
   Inviting the Stranger, "Interesting, stimulating, and inspiring as all these strangers may be, when I do not invite them into my home, nothing truly happens." p.69 Jesus stated that he stands at the door and knocks, the question is do we invite him in? Do we want him to permeate our whole life? Do we want to have Jesus be a part of our everyday life? This section asks many good questions that if we are honest will challenge us.
   
   Communion is central to the Catholic faith. It is what unites Catholics around the world, we are a people who share a common table, and Nouwen focuses on what that means to us. "We can't really live without bread that is taken, blessed and broken, and given. Without it there is no fellowship, no community, no bond of friendship, no peace, no love, no hope. Yet, with it, all can become new!" p.80,91 Later he states: "God desires communion; a unity that is vital and alive, an intimacy that comes from both sides, a bond that is truly mutual. Nothing forced or `willed,' but a communion freely offered and received. God goes all the way to make communion possible." p.87 Through the Eucharist we can have communion with God and through that communion with each other.
   
   Finally our life as people of the word and of the table we are given a mission. Nouwen tells us "It is not just the Eucharist, but the Eucharistic life that makes the difference." p.106 Through those two things we are prepared and called to mission, the mission to live as Catholics, as people who make a positive difference in the lives of those we impact and those who cross our path. "We have a mission to fulfill and it is good that we are excited about it, but first we have to listen to what others have to say. Then our stories can be told and bring joy." p.109 Nouwen also sows us a vision of what that life would look like: "In the Eucharist we are asked to leave the table and go to our friends to discover with them that Jesus is truly alive and calls us together to become a new people - a people of the resurrection." p.110
   
   The meditations and reflections in this book, will draw you closer to the Lord's supper, and through that to the people in your life. It is beautifully illustrated with artwork by Duccio Di Buoninsegna, the combination of words and pictures will feed your soul and challenge your mind.



4. Henri Nouwen explains the Lord's Supper in the context of the two disciples' walk with Jesus down the road to Emmaus at the end of Luke's gospel. He sees five interrelating movements in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, each movement corresponding to an event along the disciples' walk. This is a meditation, not a theological treatise, so the soul and the mind share the road. Nouwen's meditations are challenging and joyous, and this is one of the best I've read. Going on any trip with Henri Nouwen brings joy, whether it's into a painting ("Return of the Prodigal Son"), into the desert ("Way of the Heart"), across a calendar ("Bread for the Journey"), or into his own anguish ("Inner Voice of Love"). I was so taken with Nouwen challenge to a "eucharistic life" in this book that I have celebrated the Lord's Supper by myself several times.

4 comments about Goddesses of the Celestial Gallery.

1. In this case size doesnt matter, there is none of the range or diversity of the first version....not much variation.
   
   Assuming you make it through to the end without being TARA-fried!!!!..you will find the size and color ends up being themes of Tara in what amounts to redundant tantric victorian wallpaper.
   
   It leaves the realm of art and takes on a Buddhism gone Peter Max type of pop commercialism..... oh look another swirly over stylized Tara.
   
   This must have been a very rushed commercial decision as we know the exceptional skill range of the artist involved.
   
   Page after page of stylized designs...and not enough range or coverage of the complete pantheon .....a few gratuitous goddess tossed in, but none of the exceptional diversity of the first in this series.
   
   Color quality has a waxy look so dont really know if this is a pure digital ink printing process....can have an almost over saturated waxy color at times.
   
   If on the other hand Tara is your girl, then these will provide you with an endless supply of Taramate of the month glossy pinups....just a tad too slick leaving the realm of religion and entering the domain of victoriam tea room wallpaper. It almost has a calculated contrived aesthetic based on formula art and design.
   
   Only two steps away from using paisley step and repeat patterns.
   
   I am sure there will be an enormous amount of people who will love the huge size and over the top color.....so for that group it is a great book you wont be disappointed if you are a pop Buddhist.
   
   I would not have misused a great artist this way.
   
   But lets keep going as the great art skill is there and the concept is great.
   
   So lets try this next time:
   
   1) Do the complete Tibetan book of the Dead, all stages, all days, and focus more on the vast range of deities and not so much on ornamental stylization. Cut the size in half but increase the range, number, and diverstiy of images.
   
   2) Tackle the complexity of the variation of zoomorphic deities in the Heruka late stages....communicate the energy of the theme not the cliche of tha artistic style.
   
   3) Tone down the splash color and pick up more details and compositional variation.
   
   4) Follow that up with the Kalachakra but break that down to the deities and symbols at all the layers.....and take a walk through the cemetaries.
   
   The first book was great, this book is just too narrow and redundant.and over commercially stylized.
   
   The first book seemed a more authentic attempt....
   
   Actually my criticism is complimentary, I know there is greatness here....I think things like the book of the dead would push this into an area of a broader range of creativity.



2. Beautiful book more than two feet tall! The pages can be detached for posters, although the opposite page has wonderful information about each Goddess.
   
   This book is the same as ISBN 1932771972, although the cover art is a slightly different picture of White Tara. The version 1932771972 has 12 large, full-color Goddess cards included.



3. I am really disappointed to see the poor edition of this book the images are not complete and they cut the buddhas over the head of the Goddesses, I have bought Celestial Gallery before and thought "Goddesses" will be of the same quality but it is very far from it.
   The editors must take care that all the paintings' details appear correctly.



4. it is an art piece that inspires, open our vision toward another dimension. It invites us to feel the Beauty within and around us..

1 comments about Beholding the Glory: Incarnation through the Arts.

1. This is a fantastic application of 'Theology Through The Arts' to the doctrine of the incarnation. If you are looking for a theology of the arts, look elsewhere. Within these few pages you will find artists and scholars using art as a medium to make observations on the doctrine of the incarnation. Trevor Hart's opening chapter on theology through the arts alone makes the purchase worthwhile. Jeremy Begbie's insights in his chapter on music will change the way ministers preach on Trinity Sunday. It's an introductory level work, so I strongly encourage you to pick it up and discover how the arts can change the way you think about theology.