Book Description

Features articles on chamber pots, the Talbot Hotel Pit group, terracotta gravemarkers from New Jersey and New York, Staffordshire potters and their emigration to America in the 1840s, the pottery of Henry Piercy, the potters and pottery of Morgan's Town, Virginia, ceramic and porcelain representations of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Long Island Redware, and the ceramics of Lucio Fontana. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Great Place to Start
This is an excellent book for both the beginner or serious student of Southwestern Pottery. It gives examples of all styles, types, and designs, making it easy for anyone to understand what makes each Pueblo's pottery unique. Perhaps not as "in depth" as some others, this book is easily the best book out there today as far as explaining and illustrating the basics. It really is an indispensable guide and reference book. The authors are regular guys rather than scholars, so it is easy and enjoyable to read, and filled with great photos of their quite amazing collections. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a place to begin learning about Southwestern Pottery.

A must for pottery collectors and fans
An excellent introduction and reference on Southwestern pottery. The authors cover each of the major styles and pueblos, with history, anecdotes, and great color pictures.

They also have a delightful approach to collecting, emphasizing pieces that teach something or appeal to them, rather than perfect (and expensive!) museum-quality work.

Pueblo Pottery 101: Fun, Informative and Down-to-Earth
If you're new to collecting, or you want to buy just one book about Pueblo pottery, buy this book. Period.

This is the most down-to-earth treatment of this involved subject that you'll find. The authors stress simplicity while encouraging readers to buy what they like and not to overspend. More than that, the authors have practiced what they preach, and the pages of color photographs are a testament to the fact that their approach works. For me, the advice in this book made this beautiful art approachable and affordable.

This book will teach you about the history and basics of the art form and introduce you to the various pueblos and their pots and potters. On top of that, it's well indexed and a great reference book. Most of all, you will enjoy the authors' writing; their style is conversational and pleasant, rather than academic or haughty. It makes for a work that's not only informative, but fun to read. And whether you read this book front cover to back, pick out individual chapters of interest, or simply use it as a reference, it will be worth every penny you pay for it. It's my favorite (and most useful) book on the subject.

A great book for beginning collectors. Anyone can do it!
This is an outstanding book for the beginning collector. It's informative without being dry, and comprehensive without being boring. The authors show that you don't have to be expert or wealthy to collect SW pottery, and that it's okay to settle for the imperfect. I loved they way they bucked the "common wisdom". These authors convey with great feeling the true joy of collecting SW pottery.

This was my first book on SW pottery. Eleven pottery books later, it's still my best general reference book on the subject.

Indispensable guide to Southwestern Pottery
Easily the most accessible introduction to a vast subject. Collectors are masters of rationalization, and Al Hayes and John Blom have rationalized their passion for collecting Southwestern Pottery by writing this superb book for those who share their addiction. By far the best overview of prehistoric pottery available, this book also thoroughly surveys the contemporary state of this artform in what the authors claim is a new "golden age". This book is rarely in my bookcase, I refer to it so often! ... Read more

Book Description

Edited by Beatrix Ruf. Essays by Jan Avgikos, Beatrix Ruf, and Jan Winkelmann.

Echoing Rimbaud's "Je est un autre," Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone uses the question of identity as a main theme in his multimedia creations. His works are a balancing act of ambiguities--from art to commerce, the fashionably hip to melancholic withdrawal, seduction to rejection. Exemplifying these undercurrents are his photo montages, in which he places his face onto the bodies of famous models in sometimes elegant, sometimes lascivious poses. This book documents Rondinone's activity over the past six years, presenting a variety of works, diary entries in the style of underground comics, videos capturing the banality of everyday life, hypnotizing circle pictures, clowns, hermetic spatial installations, and monumental brush and ink landscape pictures. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive guide to mosaic techniques and design.

Mosaics enhance everyday objects, revive decors and can be long-lasting works of art. Versatile, strong and wonderfully expressive, one of the appeals of mosaic is its ability to defy time.

The Complete Mosaic Handbook is a comprehensive guide to basic and advanced techniques and design of mosaic art. The book includes step-by-step instructions for thirty practical projects for mosaic artists at every level of experience. Each project is conveniently rated by cost, time and difficulty.

Projects range from the simple to the sophisticated and include: - Place mats and coasters - Beaded picture frame - Outdoor planter - Garden path - Fruit platter - Portrait- Jewelry box - Glass vase- House numbers

The projects employ a wide variety of materials from traditional tile, glass and stone to found objects. The text is concise and jargon-free with full color photographs explaining each step. Valuable advice includes tricks of the trade and design tips for avoiding common mistakes.

Also featured is an extensive gallery of mosaic art styles throughout history: Ancient Greece, Byzantium, Renaissance, then on to contemporary styles such as Arts and Crafts.

Easy-to-follow, foolproof and beautifully illustrated, The Complete Mosaic Handbook is as inspiring as it is instructive. ... Read more

Book Description

Using the author's luminous work as an inspiring point of departure, participants in this master class learn to work with a broad range of watermedia, pushing beyond realism to build images that have urgency and power.

Readers are encouraged to take risks that will help them abandon usual methods and embrace fresh ways of painting with watercolor, gouache, casein, acrylic, and mixed media, using collage, brushless methods, and many other techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A must have....
What a wonderful book.
Better than a class.
Not a step by step kind of book, but one to give you good solid art
methods so you can explore in your own style.
It opened my mind.
I haven't been this excited about my work in ages.
Thank you Edward Betts for sharing your wisdom.

Master Class in watermedia
This book is an inspiration for any artists interested in mixed media and developing their skills towards non-representational painting. It is very well written and aimed at the more advanced painters in water media. Edward Betts uses his own paintings for illustrating and inspiration. This is one book that is a must for your studio bookshelf - borrowing it from the library for a quick read will not satisfy the need to return again and again to its inspirational pages. ... Read more

Book Description

Twentieth-century art has often been characterized as a sweeping break from the tradition of painting. All the major art movements, from Cubism and Dada to Performance and Installation, were initiated as reactions to the centuries-old tradition of representing the world visually in recognizable ways. New definitions of art and the countless ways in which art can be made and experienced now place the artist firmly at the center of the artistic enterprise. This intelligent survey traces the history of new media in art and includes discussions of video art, digital art, and media and performance by artists such as Nam June Paik, Vito Acconci, Marina Abramowic, Pipilotti Rist, and Bill Viola. Initiated by advances and inventions outside the world of art, technology-based art (which encompasses a wide range of practices from photography to film to video to virtual reality) has directed artists into areas once dominated by engineers and technicians. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

enjoyed the learning experience
This book was informative and enjoyable to read. As a visual artist working more and more new media and in desperate need of knowledge on this subject it gave me a basic background and encouraged me to jump in and explore the medium. I would like to contact Michael Rush if someone can supply an address.

this book was necessary but bored me
Even when I don't know a lot about the subject, I like books that say a lot to me through their format, their content, text layout, photographs quality. Nothing such with this ordinary treaty considered as an exam composition. Disappointing for such an explosive topics. Would "new media" be already out of fashion at the beginning of this century? ... Read more

Amazon.com

Each day, the average Western citizen sees, assimilates, and recognizes16,000 logos. Chances are that Bruce Mau has been involved in the creation,evolution, and/or devolution of many of them. But calling Bruce Mau a graphicdesigner would be akin to calling Mae West a playwright--technically correct,but oh-so-limiting.

This mammoth catalogue raisonné of Mau's graphic work (which only PhaidonPress has the resources, and the patience, to produce) is the much-anticipatedfollow-up to the 1995 sensation S, M, L, XL that Mau coauthored withrenowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Nearly as big, but much more colorful,Life Style offers a compendium of thoughts on the conflicts andconundrums that so perplex concerned aesthetes in Western civilization,including suburban sprawl, ecological threats, the implications of identitycreation, and the role of the graphic arts in architecture and design.

Trying to pin down this huge undertaking to only a few highlights would be adisservice to a man who counts such luminaries as Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, JohnCage, Michael Snow, Meg Stuart, and Chris Marker as friends and colleagues. Thecenter section alone, which recounts and reprints the celebrated spreads fromhis publishing venture Zone Books, would be worth the price: "The times wereextraordinary--the middle 1980s, the height of American yuppie culture gorgingitself on wealth. The Macintosh computer had only just been introduced and wasmaking itself felt in the world of typography by virtue of its capacity todistort fonts. It would eventually transform the field of design, disseminatingexpertise and clustering capacities vertically. Faxes and FedEx were makingpossible a new level of international collaboration that would soon put aToronto designer at the center of a transatlantic project. That project wasZone."

The collaboration at Zone Books enabled some of the most provocative bookprojects ever seen, and they are reproduced faithfully in Life Style(although one might need a magnifying glass to get the most out of them). Zonewas the first and most satisfying of Mau's team projects, and the pleasure ofits success is apparent in the book. But readers will find much more of interestdocumented here, including his revolutionary stint at I.D. Magazine; hisbrilliant realization of a book version of the underground, classic sci-fithriller "La Jetée"; and his ideas for information interchange at severalmajor architectural projects, including right here in Seattle, working with hisfriend Koolhaas in building the controversial new Seattle Public Library.

All things considered, this major book will leave some readers furious at BruceMau's audacity and others aghast at his cross-disciplinary influences. I doubtthat there's anyone working in design today who has had quite his impact. Thisbook is a beautifully realized celebration of that impact, and very much worththe wait.

By the way, Phaidon has produced this book with eight different and gorgeousfabric covers. Yours might differ from our rather inadequate representation onthe site. As with S, M, L, XL, I predict that some day all of them willbe (ahem) "coollectors'" items. --Charles Decker ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Overrated, overrated, overrated.
This is a good example of a well marketed product. It seem like every "modern" person got to have his copy of this book, called sometimes "the bible of style". I think is more a "pastiche" of interesting things, sometimes good things, but pointless and looong. And my version (uk) is so bad printed it makes me wonder for what have I paid 40 pounds on it.
Just like the other "S,M,L,XL" with the also overrated work of the overrated "modern" architect Rem Koolhaas, this is just a beautiful object. But hey, I wanted a book!

Ideas and images
Whenever you may have thought of the world as image, as customer economy, as something that you probably may have to digest visually, this is the book which will give you an idea of the weight of the image.
We're exposed and there's no shelter. If we want to survive sanely, we better learn to differentiate between the sublime and the ridiculous.
What BMD does, is serious. They know what they're doing and, most probably, they are among the very best in visual/conceptual design in the world. This book is a huge pleasure to go through, just peeping at the pages. But then, once you start reading, it becomes clear that this is not Disney or any sort of escapism - rather, it's anti-consumer, in the sense that the text URGES you to reconsider your comfortable stance of the by-looker and go out and get real about the stuff that goes into your head by way of your eyes.
We have to become active in creating a more responsible graphic/architectural/sensual surrounding; otherwise we'll all be homoequals soon.
Thank you, Bruce - and team, of course, for an insightful tome of words and pictures and simply great design which I'll never forget.

Thoughtful and imaginative
Working as a management consultant I'm often turned off by the staleness of much of the current management literature. The design community is a much more sensitive antenna as to what is happening in the world today.

Bruce Mau's Life Style is an imaginative survey of how the world is being transformed under the inexorable impetus of global capitalism. It is not a dispassionate account: basically Mau is trying to show us how he is dealing with a very fundamental existential dilemma. Because, as a successful designer, Mau is part of the system - developing and spreading the lingua franca of a global economy. At the same time he is rebelling against the pervasive homogenisation of our image culture: "We should not forget that the com after the dot is short for commercial. Must we define every gesture and possibility within this envelope? Is it not our role to imagine new futures more rich and complex and wild in their style than any single framework can accomodate?"

Yhe book is a captivating mix of artwork and short insightful essays. Sanford Kwinter's introductory three-page essay alone is worth the price of the book. I gather this book will be very influential in the years to come.

oma envy, or bruce erases rem's name (again)
Here's the thing: Bruce Mau is a very good designer. His office turns out a lot of very refined objects, this monograph included. That said, this book is probably twice as big as it ought to be. It seems to me as though BMD wants to be more like OMA; "S,M,L,XL" was one of the best architectural books ever, and its heft reinforced the work being shown within it. "Life Style" is just big for the sake of being big. Well, as well as being self-indulgent. Because graphic designers are not asked to be deep thinkers, and most of their attempts at same do not fare very well. Bruce Mau really wants to be considered as an equal to the deep thinkers, and he just isn't. He's just a (very) good designer.

Buy it anyway. It's got too much good work inside to ignore, but keep some salt handy.

(p.s. indigo.ca was allowing people to choose their cover; they may still be doing that)

Overproduced
The Bruce Mau Life Style clearly intends to brand the man behind the firm, thought the work is a corporate product. The Romantic artis-genius may be dead, but the irony of the book is its insistence on Bruce Mau as just that.

The inspirational tome (or semi-manifesto) is a beautiful object on par with the Tolleson book (Soak Wash Rinse Spin) and leagues beyond Cahan's I Am Almost Always Hungry.

In all, this is an overhyped, well-made product, worth seeing/having as an object of production. ... Read more

Book Description

Outsider Art is work produced outside the mainstream of modern art by self-taught, untrained visionaries, spiritualists, eccentric recluses, folk artists, psychiatric patients, criminals, and others beyond the imposed margins of society and the art market. Coined by Roger Cardinal in 1972, the term in English derived from Jean Dubuffet's "art brut"--literally "raw art," "uncooked" by culture, unaffected by fashion, unmoved by artistic standards. In this indispensable book Colin Rhodes surveys the history and reception of Outsider Art--first championed by Dubuffet and the Surrealists, now appreciated by a wide public--while providing insight into the achievements of both major figures and newly discovered artists. From spirit-guided Madge Gill to schizophrenic Adolf Wlfli, these individuals passionately and obsessively pursue the pictorial expression of their vision. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Expand your definition of quality in art
This examination of outsider art begins with artist Jean Duboffet and his formation of the Art Brut movement in the mid-1940s. Duboffet's primary criterion for inclusion in the outsider category was that the artist had to exist outside of the prevalent culture of society. He amassed a huge collection of art that he culled initially from the works of children, and eventually from psychiatric patients. Colin Rhodes goes on to trace the pre-Art Brut history of appreciating the works of the "insane", and proceeds to document representative examples as well as the forces in society that brought attention to them. Rhodes also examines additional sources for outside art including artists working through spiritual mediums, self-taught visionaries creating obsessive environments, and people working outside the mainstream currents of power and culture.

Rhodes is even-handed while presenting the various schools of thought as well as their rationales concerning outsider art definitions. His writing is academic, and lacks any sense of humor, but is incredibly informative and representative. The book is beautifully crafted, with copious plates reproducing samples from various artists. Together with his academic pontifications, they are very illuminating and convey a full understanding of this broad subject. He also includes anecdotes about the lives of these artists that serve to enliven the experience of reading the book. If you are interested in 20th century art and beyond, and will resolve to be patient with the author's academic tone, I think you will really enjoy this.

Great Introduction to the subject...comprehensive!
As a collector of thrift store paintings, I was completely enthralled with this book! I couldn't put it down. I now look at my paintings with a new perspective. This book was able to validate many of my intuitive feelings about the creative process. Thank-you Colin Rhodes for this insightful look at some of the least understood of paintings!

Outsider Art - Spontaneous Alternatives
A clear concise and thoughroughly interesting view of "Art Brut" in the 20th Century. The representation of work produced outside the mainstream, provides clues and understanding of contemporary art. A must have for a complete art book collection. ... Read more

Book Description

introduces a new universe of mathematical images, forms, and shapes in media ranging from drawings to computer graphics, as well as discussion of the methods used to create these works ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Magic Eye for my Magic I
This book is absolutely amazing. My first experience with these kind of prints was framed hanging on a friend's wall. I was thoroughly captivated by it. By this time, the fad of Magic Eye had worn off, but to me it was fresh and exciting. So I began searching for more. Low and behold, here it is. And for a dollar if used!!! This is an extremely addictive and entertaining type of art that I wish I could a computer program for to create my own. If you are as fortunate as I am to be able to catch sight of these images, then this book is a must have. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!! ... Read more

Book Description

This lavishly-illustrated creativity annual has emerged as one of the premier sources for outstanding design from around the globe. The 32nd edition displays creative and innovative work, covering dozens of categories -- from consumer ads, calendars, and annual reports to book jackets, web design, and CD packaging. Creative professionals looking for inspiration, or anyone with an interest in quality graphic design will find this reference to be an invaluable resource.

Book Description

Tuymans' monochromatic palette and choice of subject matter - domestic interiors, commonplace objects or family portraits - link painting with post-war filmmaking and amateur photography. The sources of other images on his canvases give his work a brooding violence. Although modest in scale and sensitive in execution, this work is powerful in its haunting evocation of lost lives and repressed histories. In general Tuymans' works are painted in groups for each show and with the venue and the exhibition space in mind. For example, when he represented his country in the Belgian Pavilion at the 2001 Venice Biennial, Tuymans produced a cycle of works based on the murder of the first post-independence Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Other works in the cycle show images of African sculpture copies from a statue in a Belgian restaurant and images from the Belgian Royal Museum's African collection. These works raised issues about colonialism and post-colonialism, but also came at a time when a parliamentary commission was investigating the links between the Belgian government and royal family's policies and the death of Lumumba ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Psychoanalytical Illuminations of Luc Tuymans
This book on Luc Tuymans is an excellent introduction to the strange world of this internationally reknowned Belgian Painter. What is it that stirs up the bizarre fascination of cognoscenti for this artist? At the very least, it is attributable to the deeply psychological expression that this artist conjures from his sometimes murky palatte, as well as his subject matter. He addresses these ideas in relation to living as an artist in this modern world and a Freudian psychoanalysis of history that seems all to prevalent in this information age; including, everything from the New York art world as evidenced in his painting "Heritage", which alludes to Jasper Johns flag painting and the Holocaust in paintings like "Our New Quarters". This artist also takes these issues to subjects like the body, which through his investigation and isolation of its various parts he formulates the queerness that follows a banal rendition of the functions of that space. In addtion, as a psychoanalytical historian this artist attempts to fuse the mundanity of the conscious world with the fanatsy of the world of dream, which always seems to be off center, and could be related to the work of Alex Katz and Robert Gober. At any rate, this book provides an excellent insight into the world created by Luc Tuymans, and comes highly recommneded by art lovers and aficianados alike.

VERY USEFUL.
The illustrations in the book are very fine. The interview with the artist gives more insight into his work than any of the writings in the book including his own. There is a good deal of critical double talk and bullshit, but biographical information, and useful details seem to slip through as well. ... Read more

Book Description

Compared to other avant-garde movements that emerged in the 1960s, conceptual art has received relatively little serious attention by art historians and critics of the past twenty-five years--in part because of the difficult, intellectual nature of the art. This lack of attention is particularly striking given the tremendous influence of conceptual art on the art of the last fifteen years, on critical discussion surrounding postmodernism, and on the use of theory by artists, curators, critics, and historians.

This landmark anthology collects for the first time the key historical documents that helped give definition and purpose to the movement. It also contains more recent memoirs by participants, as well as critical histories of the period by some of today's leading artists and art historians. Many of the essays and artists' statements have been translated into English specifically for this volume. A good portion of the exchange between artists, critics, and theorists took place in difficult-to-find limited-edition catalogs, small journals, and private correspondence. These influential documents are gathered here for the first time, along with a number of previously unpublished essays and interviews.

Contributors: Alexander Alberro, Art & Language, Terry Atkinson, Michael Baldwin, Robert Barry, Gregory Battcock, Mel Bochner, Sigmund Bode, Georges Boudaille, Marcel Broodthaers, Benjamin Buchloh, Daniel Buren, Victor Burgin, Ian Burn, Jack Burnham, Luis Camnitzer, John Chandler, Sarah Charlesworth, Michel Claura, Jean Clay, Michael Corris, Eduardo Costa, Thomas Crow, Hanne Darboven, Ral Escari, Piero Gilardi, Dan Graham, Maria Teresa Gramuglio, Hans Haacke, Charles Harrison, Roberto Jacoby, Mary Kelly, Joseph Kosuth, Max Kozloff, Christine Kozlov, Sol LeWitt, Lucy Lippard, Lee Lozano, Kynaston McShine, Cildo Meireles, Catherine Millet, Olivier Mosset, John Murphy, Hlio Oiticica, Michel Parmentier, Adrian Piper, Yvonne Rainer, Mari Carmen Ramirez, Nicolas Rosa, Harold Rosenberg, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, Jeanne Siegel, Seth Siegelaub, Terry Smith, Robert Smithson, Athena Tacha Spear, Blake Stimson, Niele Toroni, Mierle Ukeles, Jeff Wall, Rolf Wedewer, Ian Wilson. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

comprehensive
this is hands down one of the most comprehensive conceptual art books i've ever seen. highlights from Piper, Lewitt, Smithson, etc. ... Read more

Book Description

Is it a crone or a lovely lady?A dapper man with a ascot or a toothless old geezer?Things are not always what they seem at first glance...or even at second or third.The Playful Eye is a virtual feast of games and visual tricks gathered from around the world.With a full-color puzzle or conundrum to tease the eye and intrigue the mind on every page, this generously sized volume goes far beyond other optical illusions books.There's no straining to see garishly colored 3-D images that rarely materialize like those other books of eye candy.These original, antique illustrations garnered from exquisite European and Asian art and ephemera of centuries past are as delightful to look at as they are to play with.A phantasmagoria of hidden images, multiple figures, upside-downs, rebuses, and good old fashioned illusions, this book brings the mysteries of perception into plain sight.Perfect for the artistically inclined and anyone who enjoys visual diversion off the beaten path, The Playful Eye weaves the comic, charming, ingenious, and sinister together in one bustling compendium of optical tricks and games--bringing far more than just beauty to its beholder. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent resource for classic illusions
It is rare when you come across a book on optical illusions that has something new to offer, but this is what sets The Playful Eye apart from many of the other optical illusion books currently on the market.

The Playful Eye is a wonderful collection of classic illusions that were printed on obscure puzzle cards, postcards, trading cards, advertisements, and the like during the late 19th to mid 20th century. The editors have done a remarkable job in collecting these illusions from obscure source material and private collections. What is even more remarkable, and in my mind, one of the best aspects of this charming collection, is the amount of research that they put in labeling the sources for each image. This is a real reference tool for an illusion collector like myself.

The illustrations are wonderful and you are bound to see images that are not seen elsewhere. Lots and lots of fun!

a multi-layered visual treat
I love books that make you view things in ways that are unexpected--this book was a treat for my eyes and my brain. I enjoyed the compilation of vivid illustrations from various cultures and periods. I went through the book once to enjoy all of the wonderfully detailed illustrations, then I went back through the book again to tease my mind with the visual play in each one of those colorful pictures. This book is fun and can be enjoyed over and over again. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

great thematic survey
This is like a catalog for an exhibition that could never be mounted (at least not with the actual works). It is a collection of documents of various performance artists whose works deal with the human body as both the subject and object of their art. The book divides the works into various categories and creates some very interesting and surprising comparisons. By grouping such 'painterly' aritists as Gunter Brus, Paul McCarthy and Karen Finley, the authors present new avenues of interpretation for each. The captions function in much the same way as wall labels for a gallery show would and encourage the reader to think about the complex meanings of works that are not often discussed beyond their sensational surface. The introductory essay is good but it is the captions, photographs and the artist statements at the end where the real action takes place. The book also includes works by sculptors and photographers whose works are performative in nature. I was happy to see that Brazilian artist Lygia Clark is included. Her imaginative and playful objects are often overlooked because their gentle qualities are usually overshadowed by the more sexually explicit works of other artists. ... Read more