Insight into the Art World
932703
As I read Steve Martin's latest novel and social commentary, I wondered,"Is there anything this man can't do ... and can't do well?"  Martin's engaging - slyly satirical - dramatic look at the New York art world of the late 90's through the early part of the next decade offers readers a view of the world most will never truly know or understand.  Using a complex first person narration, Martin offers commentary on the scene through the life and career of one Lacy Yeager, a young woman destined to make her mark on the scene that is much about style as it is about substance.  What is particularly interesting is the manner in which Martin - one of contemporary America's most astute art collectors - uses various artworks to introduce readers to the scene and provide the foundation of the plot of how art comes to be traded and collected at the upper echelons.  Martin even includes picture representations in the text - a nice almost post-modern bit of flair - to add to the narrative.  Additionally, writing at the end of a decade gone bust, Martin provides biting social commentary on an era of excess gone bust.  Altogether, an engaging read
3774567
If you've ever wondered why artists create - and why their vision and drive is unique, here's an eye opener. Gompentz, an experienced critic and art writer, examines the traits of successful artists - past and present.

The 10 chapters kept my attention and gave new understanding on diverse subjects like: understanding failure as experiment, enterprise and entrepreneurship, curiosity and invention, and more.

I found his views fascinating and educational. Is every artist an enterpreneur? A go-getter? Disciplined? No, obviously there's a lot of luck in being at the right place at the right time with your voice or paintbrush ...

but the broad ideas of success in the arts will be an inspiration and perhaps motivator for those seeking expressing (or a career) in the arts.

Worth reading and exploring.
3807737
This nice little book (about 5 1/2" x 6") contains an essay written by Mark Doty. He has done a nice job of looking closely at this beautiful painting and writing about different things within the picture. The pictures within the book are very nice, and the dust jacket unfolds to become a complete picture of the famous painting. This would be a great coffee/end table book, as well as a nice office or hostess gift. This would also be great for the art enthusiast!

Extended:
The book is made up of a nice essay that follows the progression of pieces of the painting View of the Grand Canal by Bernardo Bellotto. I enjoyed viewing the pictures as I read the essay.

Content: The essay and included pictures take a closer look at this famous painting.

Format: The book starts with an essay by Mark Doty, then spotlights different parts of the painting in over 40 pictures. The book ends with a page about the artist. Special Note: The dust jacket unfolds to become a picture of the entire painting.

Readability: Very easy to read, with clear pictures that help the reader to focus on different parts of the painting.

Overall: A great book for an art enthusiast. Also great for the coffee table or office end-table.
943241
loved the brief description of masterpieces in art.at the beginning of chapters.  She associates the art with the story.  I discovered a fantastic villa in Rome because of this book.  I want to go back to Rome now to tour this villa.
3653738
An allure of this book is the many (206) illustrations of art from the kingdoms of west and central Africa. Of these, some 140 are in full colour and show the impressive skill of the court artists.

In Benin, Dahomey, Yoruba and other kingdoms, there were flourishing scenes. Each distinctive and fascinating. Readers may be familiar with the centuries of European artwork and how these varied between those countries. One thing this book makes clear is that central Africa had an equally rich and diverse history that, sadly, has not been often recognised by outsiders.

The book can be read at several levels. The first and most immediate is simply an appreciation of the illustrations. A deeper level is to integrate that visual appreciation with an understanding of the cultures from which they derived.
1157392
Being an amateur/novice art lover this was very interesting! The story takes place in modern Boston and is based on the true unsolved art heist of the Gardner museum pieces in the early 1990's. The novel is fictional as far as the characters go, but very informative as to art techniques and how the famous art forgers did their things: there are several back stories of famous (infamous?) examples within this text. Decent story, I did like it more than expected. One of the main story lines is a painting by Edgar Degas, who happens to be one of my favorite artists, so I'm sure that helped in my rating.
4843189
Sam Hilt's, "The Uffizi Gallery" is a wonderful guide through his thoughts on what he considers to be the the top 30 paintings in this Florence treasure of a gallery.  My wife and I had the pleasure of being with him a couple of years ago when he led a small group through the Uffizi and we could hear his voice coming through his descriptive writing.  Sam's comparisons and contrasts of Leonardo's and Botticelli's 'Annunciation' clearly displays his artistic and intellectual approach to art.  Would like to put a bee in Sam's bonnet to write about the Louvre and The Met.
3053226
Covers a somewhat obscure bit of art history.
1108249
This book gives one a glimpse of a painters genius as seen through the eyes of a poet.  Rilke possesses the poetic sensitivity to shed some light on Cezannes paintings.  This along with Delacroixs Journal and Van Goghs  Letters to Theo really afford one a literary appreciation of the great  European artists.
762645
This book offers a variety of paintings done by unknown artists and also includes lots of background information about the artists and their work habits and materials. I found it interesting, but not illuminating.
2402567
Following an afternoon at our Modern Art Museum, I picked up Robert Hughes' _Shock of the New_.  Based off his 8 part BBC series of the same name, Hughes chronicles the history of modern art from the Impressionists to the Op and Pop art movements of the late 1960s.  A former art critic for the New York Times, Hughes has an encyclopedic knowledge of modern art. His explaination of the influence of science, technology and events on art was lucid and brilliant, and gave me a much deeper and profound understanding of both broader artistic movements, but also individual artists and pieces.  I was particularly pleased at being introduced to new artists: Bonnard, Boccioni, Kirchner, Stella and Hamilton.

As critic, Hughes can be a bit sharp-tongued.  An excerpt from the chapter on modern architecture: "Brasilia ... is an expansive and ugly testimony to the fact that when men think in terms of abstract space rather than real space ... they tend to produce miles of jerry-built nowhere, infested with Volkswagens."  Similar scathing remarks abound, although to his credit, his strong opinions are all supported.  In fact, I was often suprised at his statements, especially when he writes, "The modernist achievement's  ... dynamic is gone, our relationship to it becoming history" - in otherwords, "modernism is dead."

Admittedly we are in a "post-modernist" society, a world in which (to borrow from Hughes again), "we ourselves made .. the problem for art, then, is how to survive here."  In this respect, the book is showing its age (it was first published in 1980).  While I agree with Hughes that the political message of art has been destroyed and usurped by mass production, art remains avant garde, continues to push the social enevelope, and does what art should do: hold a mirror up to society's face and force us to look at ourselves, warts and all.  Hyper-realism and performance art are only two of many examples of how art is evolving and surviving in the world we have made.  All in all, though, an informative,  insightful and enjoyable read.
2541092
Dazzled by Darkness transported me across time and space to Brooklyn of the late 1960s and early 1970s where I experienced the year-long relationship between Sara and Gaviln.  Sara is a hopeful writer working as a secretary at an art museum where she meets Gaviln, known as G, who is an art student.

Through the course of the romantic relationship, author Erica Miles explores the racial tensions of the period.  Sara is a middle-class Jewish woman and G is a poor black Latino just coming to his own as a man.  We see both Sara and Gs families and friends through each others' perspectives and find both moments of understanding and the barriers people throw up to retain comfortable familiarity.

One of the most fascinating elements of the novel for me was Gs artistic journey.  Over the course of the novel, G visits such famous artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol.  His imagined interactions with the artists provided insight both into Gs character and the artists visited.

Both Sara and G are strong-willed and not entirely sympathetic, but they are all the more realistic for it. Both their personal and cultural biases are revealed in stark, honest fashion.  The novel is illustrated by a series of beautiful charcoal sketches by Selma Eisenstadt.  These helped to enhance both the emotional gravity of the novel and bolstered the sense of an artistic journey.

In looking back at the racial, sexual, and artistic scene of the past, Dazzled by Darkness gave me the opportunity to look around at the present and consider where we might be going in the future.
3949501
While I didn't like all of the paintings, I did find it an interesting book to look through.  The influence of DeKoinig and the other Abstract Expressionists is clear and interesting (if not on the cutting edge of today's art scene.)
All in all, it adds another dimention to this very complex man.  I look forward to reading his book of poetry for the same reason.
I am a dancer who is also a writer, so I understand the desire to expand disciplines, and I applaud it.
1466364
For passionate art collectors, for students of all stages, and for art book afficianados this new volume of Still Life is about as fine as they come.  The author introduces us into this historically significant genre in  a way that encourages us to actually READ the book rather than the too  frequent tendency to browse through the pictures alone.  In presenting some  of the finest examples of 16th, 17th, and 18th century paintings he opens  our eyes to the symbolism, allegories, spiritual icons, and social history  that lies heretofore hiddden within the complex and elegant depictions of  fruit, flowers, game, weapons - scenes in and out of the home.  But more  important to the service of arts education, Schneider lays the groundwork  for looking at  subsequent versions of still life, especially the current  resurgence of the genre in today's artists.  Beautifully illustrated and  scholarly presented, this new volume belongs in libraries of Art Academies  and homes alike.  A generous introduction to a endlessly fascinating  medium.
2351197
Note: I read this book to better understand the techniques and how they're applied, not to use them myself as an artist.

Ridgway's book goes over the main characteristics of Renaissance painting, from perspective to geometry to color, with examples drawn from familiar paintings. Some of what he describes is likely going to be familiar to readers who are already artists or know general art principles, but it still provides a background. He also covers Renaissance aesthetics, the principles of what made a painting be considered beautiful or well-done.

Overall, it's very interesting indeed for an art lover, and probably useful to a painter who's looking to recreate elements of Renaissance art.
2951497
As a hobby artist and a travel-lover I highly appreciated the book, its insight and the colorful description of paintings and scenes in general. The path of the antagonist is not so much surprising as is the final step towards a new way to interact with art as a blind person towards the seeing world is.
If it hadn't been for the many typos I would have said it's an altogether congenial and enjoyable book.
4515131
This book cleverly linked how different  life experiences reflect  the way we view art.  Does the artist always have a message to send, or is it the viewers need to be introspective?