Bodies The Exhibition
589843
I purchased this book because I went to the Bodies Exhibition and wanted to review all the things I saw there.  The book is a great  reference.  I am not in the health profession and found it very informative.
1939989
A good catalog of a groundbreaking show of outsider and self taught artists, as the first exhibit of the groundbreaking new museum of outsider, self taught and visionary artists. I wish i was able to visit the museum, but the catalog gives a good taste of the treasures within!
3860690
For any viewer of the wonderful exhibition at the AIC, the plentiful quality reproductions will bring back the experience.
For others, this incredibly readable book will reveal all one needs to know and understand of the relationship between artists and their patrons.  How marvelous it must have been for the elite to guarantee their places in heaven and forgive their excesses  by being immortalized in the company of holy family and saints.
This book is a delight.
1237759
The photographs helped illustrate the interesting story of the monuments men. The book is a monumental depiction of the activities of the people working on preserving the art and history in the war torn Europe.
4009962
This book has no text.  It is a collection of pictures of contemporary people posing outdoors with their bicycles. These are portraits instead of random photographs. All the bicycles are spottlessly clean. A number of the subjects are extremely well dressed and wearing wool. A few of them are wearing armbands that identify the "Tweed Run", an annual ride in London. While a number of men have waxed moustaches and vintage clothes there is no dress code and the posed nature of the portraits gives the subjects the appearance of dressing for a Vivienne Westwood parade documenting the diversity of what people think it means to "dress up" and look sharp in the year 2012. It is appropriate to anyone interested in society, fashion or bicycles. As a book of picture portrait photographs this book compliments the book-&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Bicycles-Vintage-People-on-Photo-Postcards-The-Bodleian-Library-Photo-Postcards-from-the-Tom-Phillips-Archive/dp/1851243682/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Bicycles: Vintage People on Photo Postcards (The Bodleian Library - Photo Postcards from the Tom Phillips Archive)</a>. As a set you can see the change in how people want to be seen and how riding a bicycle has always been both a personal and social statement as well as a means of transportation.  The pictures are extremely engaging and one cannot help but see oneself.
3067340
Gorgeous portraits, very moving subjects, and an interesting work of self exploration.  Timely subject matter.
975466
surely showing some of the greatest living artists in their fields. recommanded for galleries, art lovers, etc.. Good for exploring established and new artists from all around the world. good job by the curator and good quality print, also nice as a high quality present.
1294004
Wonderful collection of modern sculpture, sorry I did not see the show, but the catalog is almost like being there!
AAA+++
1200185
This book accompanies the exhibition 'The imaginary animal in the photograph, from 1850 to the present day', presented at the Palais Lumire in Evian from October 2010 to January 2011.

This exhibition brought together over one hundred photographs of real or imaginary animals taken by photographers of the nineteenth century major and international contemporary artists.

The animal is a very present figure in literature and popular culture, but also in artistic creation. An enigma, it fascinates and inspires the artists by becoming a model in its own right from the beginning of the invention of photography. The collected works are an invitation to dream and reflect on our complex relationship with the animal species, both so close and yet so far.

It is a visually stunning collection of images, as well as a thought-provoking chronicle of how animals have evolved in the artist's eye and our culture over the years.  A great coffee table book, and a must-have for serious connoisseurs of photography.
1643014
Hardcover, plain boards with illustrated DJ, 11.25" x 8.5" 324 pages, 130 objects in color, one to a page. Biblograsphy. Edited by Achim Sibeth, Photography by Stephan Beckers. Good quality presentation, photography, binding and paper. Published by Museum Der Weltculturen, 2009.

A fascinating catalogue of works from the Museum Of World Cultures, Frankfurt/Main, with some nice off-the-beaten-track artwork. The book is divided into sections on The Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania and East Asia. It features a wide and fascinating variety of cultural art including clothing, vessels, masks, figures, baskets, headdresses, adornments, plaques, daggers, shields and bowls. The weakest areas of the book are in the very poor "maps," and lack of field photos to put the artifacts in cultural context. The objects can be rated from 2-stars to 5-stars, each with a thorough description, and there are enough pleasant surprises to nearly make this a 5-star book.

Also from Achim Sibeth :&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Batak-Sculpture/dp/9814155853/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Batak Sculpture</a>
3018680
This is a beautiful book, wonderful pictures of the different poses, interesting, highly readable text.  I personally would have liked more illustrations of modifications for the less physically fit
1949786
This small but extensive collection is a great showcase of Cartier-Bresson's work. These photographs exemplify his ability to find and present the unexpected. A theme of delightful surprise runs through the collection, of capturing the unique and fleeting moment. Two men, for some unknown reason, are standing before a fabric screen; one of them, eyes closed, leans forward and kisses it. Below a crowd of spectators at a coronation, a man sleeps on the ground. Children play in front of a large building with odd, small windows (a prison?), but one's eye is immediately drawn to an older man who, oblivious of his surroundings, walks purposefully to his destination. A view from above of women spreading out large nets or sheets in a vast plain. A large group of men exercising at a refugee center. Workers posing in front of what appear to be gigantic bundles of filthy rags. A gently curving road, flanked by a perfect line of trees. A woman is caught in a state of rage as she accidentally encounters another woman who denounced her to the authorities; the shame on the face of the denouncer is almost palpable. This scene, which may have degenerated into a melee a few seconds later, shows how observant Cartier-Bresson must have been - he not only observed the encounter; he managed to photograph it, while no one in the surrounding crowd of people was aware of the drama unfolding in their midst.

Cartier-Bresson excelled in so-called "street photography," using the best tool available at the time for the job, a Leica rangefinder. This allowed faster focusing than any other type of camera (rangefinders, nearly obsolete today in the digital era, focus by stereoscopic triangulation - the photographer adjusts until the two images line up with each other). Also, the Leica's viewfinder, unlike a SLR or any digital camera available today, includes the area outside the portion to be photographed, allowing the photographer to see what might be coming into his frame before it gets there. These features are extremely helpful in capturing images that may only be available for a fraction of a second.

The "gear," of course, is only of value as a tool to allow the artist to get to what he needs with a minimum of fuss, like a comfortable chair and desk for a writer. In photography, the most important component is the one right behind the eyepiece, not in front of it. The results speak for themselves - we are privileged to share in the photographer's sense of wonder at the endlessly interesting and varied world around him.
4235320
A lovely document for any lover of Abstract Art. An impressive, thoughtful collection. And very well photographed & documented by "THE MET".
4969397
An interesting accompaniement to a very interesting exhibition.  I actually think that the book is something that is very useful on its own about the period and the art associated with it.  My only issue is the title, as with the title of the exhibit.  It does not give the reader/viewer a realistic idea of the truly interesting aspects of this exhibit.  "dream of realities" is extracted from a quote that just doesn't hit it in the right place.  Not the first time with this museum.
2666496
This volume is the catalogue that accompanied the exhibition of the same name at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., from October 2011 to January 2012, and it is a welcome little addition to the literature on Degas and the dance.  I say "little" because the book is in small format (8"x10.8") and only 144 pages and obviously does not compare to (nor was it meant to) the much more comprehensive catalogues of Jill DeVonyar and Richard Kendall for the "Degas and the Dance" exhibition in Detroit and Philadelphia in 2002 and 2003, or for the "Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement" show from September to December 2011 at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. Instead, it concentrates on one of The Phillips's star attractions, Degas's "Dancers at the Barre" (ca. 1900) and some other works in that painting's immediate artistic environment.  A necessary course of conservation (the first since Duncan Phillips acquired the canvas in 1944) led to such insights into Degas's processes and methods--he worked and reworked the painting virtually obsessively over a period of more than fifteen years--that the curators decided to make it the centerpiece of a show and gathered about thirty other works in various media from other collections to put the "Dancers" into a wider context.  All these works and many comparison illustrations are excellently reproduced and make the book a visual delight.

Eliza Rathbone, Chief Curator at the Collection, writes (in an essay aptly subtitled "Years in the Making") about the evolution of the painting as it was changed and varied, conforming always to Degas's evolving aesthetic concerns and preoccupations until, in its final form, it epitomized some thirty years of work on the subject of dancers in oil, printmaking, sculpture and, increasingly, pastel.  This is followed by Elizabeth Steele's report on the examination of the painting through stereomicroscopy, x-radiography and infrared reflectology, i.e., the various technical tools the conservator has at her hands to peer beneath the surface and reveal all the changes in attitude, position, posture, etc. that Degas made in his quest for the perfect expression.  There is an essay on "Degas as Sculptor," with special reference to the dance sculptures in the exhibition, and an interview conducted by the ballet critic Robert Grescovic with the renowned dancer and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon on the latter's reactions to Degas's ballet paintings.  The volume concludes with a short consideration of the other Degas pieces in the Phillips collection and the results of their technical analysis, a handy chronology of the artist's life, a checklist with specifications of all the exhibited works and catalogue illustrations, and a selected bibliography.  All of this makes for a special celebration of a very special painting, and I can recommend this volume warmly to all aficionados of Degas and anyone with an interest in dance and its portrayal.
3512822
The authors and other contributors to this remarkable "museum" of side show art and history know of what they speak. It was, and in some cases still is, their  world. Don Ed Hardy is a tattoo artist of note, Lisa Stone a free lance snake handler, Jim Secreto a long time collector of fairground art, Johnny Meah  a banner painter, a sword swallower, fire eater and circus clown, Randy Johnson created two sideshow banner exhibitions. This book grew out of their institutional memory of, participation in,  and love and respect for the carnival life.

Here see in full color Otis the Frog Boy, Nuba The Ferocious Black Leopard, Chief Roongwa, Formerly Witch Doctor of the Ubangi[s], the Only 3 Legged Football Player in the World and Roberta-Ray, Two Bodies and One Head Alive [and topless]. Human oddities galore, acts demonstrating  amazing strength,  contortionists of superhuman powers, snake charmers, human pin-cushions, the world's smallest mother and largest woman.

The black and white photographs are as captivating as the oddities portrayed in the banners. The frontispiece is  a photograph of the entire troupe of Ackley's Independent Shows posed against a background of banners for three of their features. Significantly none of the 75 people in the photo look at all like those one might expect to find in a freak show.

The press release photo of a smiling Gene Tunney holding Ike & Mike, the carnival midget twins of  great renown,  is among my favorites. It demonstrates the difference between what was real on the midway (e.g. Ike & Mike) and what was fantasy (e.g. the Fee Gee Mermaid).  Photographs, including those of the fabulously tattooed men and women that introduce the chapter titled "Totally Tattooed - Self-Made Freaks of the Circus and Sideshow" are pictures of living, breathing human beings. If you entered the tent of a  glamorous tattooed woman, she might be coy about it, but she wouldn't be wearing any clothes, and you could judge (ogle) for yourself whether the tattoos were authentic.

The text that accompanies the introduction and each of the book's eight chapters is useful and authoritative, bringing life to the accompanying illustrations of the banners, the midways  and the sideshow actors and actresses discussed. There are four two-page  pull outs including one that  provides a thirty-three inch long panoramic daytime view  of a  carnival lot during the heyday of the midway. Regrettably, these shows no longer exist despite recent efforts to bring them back. For now then,  this splendid book will have to do.

Endnote. Originally published in Honolulu by Hardy Marks publications in both a cloth bound (1994 or 1995) and the trade paperback edition (reviewed here) (1996), the rights to the book were subsequently  acquired by Last Gasp Books. That company  reissued the book with a new ISBN number in 2004. Judging by the cover photographs, it is identical to the original and still available from Last Gasp for $20.00. Click on its book list and enter the title in the search box.(FYI, "Carnival Strippers" by Susan Meiselas deals with another bygone aspect of midway life. For more information about it, see my Amazon review dated August 29, 2012.)
1902474
This collection was better than I expected it to be. It is a true photographic collection of a woman and cultural icon.