Customer Reviews:
Looks like we got it all wrong.......2005-10-18
When I went through school the Maya were peace loving agriculturists that invented a lot of neat stuff, especially in astronomy and calendars. We even looked at some of the writing. To bad we did not look a little closer.
Look at the cover of the book ad you will see a Mayan pulling a rope with knots in it through his tongue. The also had plenty of blood thirsty rituals and rivalries with neighboring Mayans. Their underworld is a place full of farts.
I bought this book as part of an exhibit at Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth. I am still a member.
The book its self is oversized and has lots of glossy pictures. There are a lot of good references to other books and articles on the Myna.
After reading this book and getting a good overview of what Maya really is, you may want to find some of their writing "Popol Vuh : The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life And The Glories Of" by Dennis Tedlock.
Great articles and fabulous photographs and drawings.......2004-03-13
It is nearly twenty years since this book was published in 1986 as part of an exhibition at the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas during the Texas Sesquicentennial. This book was and remains a triumph. We still mourn the loss of Linda Schele and are grateful the Mary Ellen Miller continues her work and teaching at Yale.
The book makes clear the Mayan Kings were not Emperors. They were rulers of city-states that competed with one another. They also had a spiritual role in the life of those they ruled. This book discusses how one became a Mayan King, life in the court, the role of bloodletting and visions (hallucinations?), warfare and human sacrifice, the all-important ballgame, the Mayan concept of afterlife and Xibalba, and the Mayan view of the cosmos. All fascinating topics and the articles are written quite well. I find them to be a captivating read.
The selection of images for the book is fabulous. This book can make a wonderful coffee table book, they are that beautiful. However, the articles are far superior to most books you find on coffee tables. I remember seeing Maya Blue (the shade that the Mayans painted on a great many of the monuments and sculptures) for the first time in this book. Having seen it in person since then I can tell you the shade is captured very faithfully in the photographs in this book.
Much has been written since 1986 and new discoveries and new examinations of existing discoveries deepen our understanding of the Maya. But this book still stands strong and valuable. It is not too technical for the general reader and still has value for the student. I am glad to have my copy on a shelf of favorite books.
Required Reading for the Maya Enthusiast.......2001-11-06
Mary Ellen Miller and the late Linda Schele put this book together in 1986. The field of Mayan studies is a fast-moving arena, and Mayanists already know a lot more now than they did when this book came out, but in my opinion this book is still the place to start if you want to begin learning about the Maya.
For one thing, the photography of the artwork is fantastic - the book is worth acquiring for that alone. Secondly, the commentary is by the greatest names in the field, including an introduction by Michael Coe. Thirdly, the book never strays from academic discipline, unlike a great deal of New Agey-type material written about the Maya. In fact, the book studiously avoids making any observations that cannot be substantiated - perhaps a reaction in the field of Mayan studies against the sometimes too pat assumptions that Eric Thompson made when he dominated the subject. Fourthly, it covers all the major cultural features of the Maya, providing abundant commentary on each piece of art portrayed. Last but not least, it tackles the thorny subject of Maya iconography. This is a field about which we already know a great deal more about now than we knew in 1986, but in fact if the book were written today there is probably very little that would actually be changed.
The book was printed in Japan, for some reason. No harm in that - the Japanese have a tradition, and a reputation, of producing quality bindings and excellent photographic reproductions, both of which are evident in this edition and which add to the quality of the book. I can't recommend it too highly to anyone interested in the Maya.
Understanding the Ooze of LIfe.......2000-04-26
The Blood of Kings by Linda Schele and MAry Ellen Miller was written on the occasion of the Kimbell Art Mesuem's exhibition of Maya Art in 1986. The hope was to draw attention to the rich legacy of Maya art along with a book that would give texture to these artistic recordings of the singificant ritual events in the lives of the Maya. What better way, since art has been our keyhole to understanding the magnificance of there thought, language, science and culture? Schele and Miller do an incredble job of focusing on these artifacts to bring us inside the current understanding of what th experts perceive the maya ritual and life to be about-- including the deciperment of the syllables of the maya language.
The book begins with a history of the road to understanding the Maya culture, complete with its meadering and diversions. This "age" delights in knowing that the Maya are filled with blood, both their own in bloodletting and those of captives that they sacrifice, unlike previous interpretations of a more peaceful existence. Blood, the ooze of life, was offered to eh gods in hopres that they would continue to give their ooze of sap, rain and other life-sustaining things. The book is based on 8 sections of art and interpretation: person, accession rites, courtly life, bloodletting, captives, the ballgame, and death, and the kingship of the Maya Cosmos. Of note as weel is the colors on p.158 where one can get an interpration of what the colors might have been in the Classic period.
In this book Coe prefaces the book commenting on the profound understandng that the world of the Maya is filled with notions of death. But the myth of the Mayas is that the hero twins went to the underworld and by trickery defeated death and those rose to take their place in the Mayan night sky. Perhaps these indiscernible Maya have continued to trick us as well in our attempts to traverse the road of their culture-- and their greatest preoccupation, enscribed on their ceramics and reliefs ---is not death, but life, in all its oozing forms.
Book Description
Mary Miller vividly takes the reader into the art of one of the world's most enigmatic ancient civilizations. From temple to tomb, she explains how and why the Maya made their greatest works. New archaeological discoveries at Copan, Tikal, and Palenque--to name but a few--are included, and the author draws on recent decipherments in Maya writing to provide fresh interpretations of Maya sculpture and ceramics. For the art historian, student, and traveler, Maya Art and Architecture will prove indispensable. Chapters on Maya architecture and the materials of Maya art set the stage for discussions of the sculpture of different time periods and regions, the famous murals at Bonampak, the dramatic new findings at Cacaxtla, and the painted Maya ceramics of the first millennium a.d. The author has organized the material in new ways, considering the nature of the human form in Maya art, for example, and the role of the hand-held object.
Customer Reviews:
Maya ruins.......2007-04-10
I just returned from a vacation trip to Quintana Roo, Mexico , where Maya ruins are everywhere so i became interested in learning more about these Central American Indians that create an incredible architecture, a ieroglifica language and an excellent calendar after centuries of observing the skies.
The book is a good primer for those who had an education in Art History (two semesters) but know little about the Maya except the lecture of their sacred book Popol Vuh, and a few photos of their pyramids. I recommend this book as well as a week on the Maya Riviera in Mexico.
Book Description
"Art historian Carolyn Tate presents, in a well-organized and amply illustrated two-part format, a holistic treatment of a single archaeological site--the great ancient Maya city of Yaxchilan. . . . This is the most successful attempt to relate [art and architecture] within a Maya site that I have seen." --Ethnohistory
Amazon.com
After designing the starkly symbolic Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., when she was still an undergraduate, Maya Lin might have been doomed to spend the rest of her architecture career vainly trying to top herself. But 18 years later, her concerns clearly have nothing to do with self-aggrandizement. In Boundaries, Lin's lucid, soft-spoken collection of writings, she discusses how her work evolves, after a lengthy gestation, as a way of heightening viewers' awareness of a specific environment and perception of the passage of time. This temporal aspect can be a sequence of historical events (as in the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama) or a purely aesthetic quality, like the shifting play of light over a grassy field of sculpted earth (Wave Field at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor). "I like to think of my work as creating a private conversation with each person," Lin writes, "no matter how public each work is and no matter how many people are present."
Understandably, Lin writes in greatest detail about the Vietnam memorial, a high-profile commission fraught with controversy because of its unusual form as well as the age, gender, and ethnicity of its American-born architect. But this engrossing, amply illustrated book also details the thinking and experimentation behind myriad other projects, including elemental sculptures, interiors, and furniture designed with an unusual degree of consideration for the user's needs. Influenced by her ceramist father, Lin always gravitated toward working directly with malleable materials--an experience that complements the rational precision of plans and blueprints (the Vietnam memorial first took shape as a mound of mashed potatoes). Boundaries reflects the same blend of close analysis, intuition, and quiet humility that marks Lin's public projects. --Cathy Curtis
Book Description
Walking through this park-like area, the memorial appears as a rift in the earth -- a long, polished black stone wall, emerging from and receding into the earth. Approaching the memorial, the ground slopes gently downward, and the low walls emerging on either side, growing out of the earth, extend and converge at a point below and ahead. Walking into the grassy site contained by the walls of this memorial, we can barely make out the carved names upon the memorial's walls. These names, seemingly infinite in number, convey the sense of overwhelming numbers, while unifying these individuals into a whole...
So begins the competition entry submitted in 1981 by a Yale undergraduate for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. -- subsequently called "as moving and awesome and popular a piece of memorial architecture as exists anywhere in the world." Its creator, Maya Lin, has been nothing less than world famous ever since. From the explicitly political to the unashamedly literary to the completely abstract, her simple and powerful sculpture -- the Rockefeller Foundation sculpture, the Southern Poverty Law Center Civil Rights Memorial, the Yale Women's Table, Wave Field -- her architechture, including The Museum for African Art and the Norton residence, and her protean design talents have defined her as one of the most gifted creative geniuses of the age.
Boundaries is her first book; an eloquent visual/verbal sketchbook produced with the same inspiration and attention to detail as any of her other artworks. Like her environmental sculptures, it is a site, but one which exists at a remove so that it may comment on the personal and artistic elements that make up those works. In it, sketches, photographs, workbook entries, and original design are held together by a deeply personal text. Boundaries is a powerful literary and visual statement by "a leading public artist." (Holland Carter). It is itself a unique work of art.
Customer Reviews:
'Wells of Knowledge'.......2007-07-08
This book accomplishes for me what Maya Lin set out to do - it provides a well of knowledge that I keep coming back to. I have shared her philosophy with friends and family providing a direct and intimate dialogue with her work.
I first came across 'Boundaries' while doing research on public controversy and sculpture. I felt that I was listening to Lin's voice and began to understand why she depicted the works as she did. I was drawn to the simplicity of her designs that left space for human participation. When the book had to be returned to the library I had to have a copy for myself to continue my understanding of her works.
The aesthetic set-out of the book draws the viewer into the designs with more understanding. It is not just a coffee table book, but one that encourages one to rethink and revalue ideas.
Just what the architecture soul needs.......2007-05-20
After days of a dry spell, in trying to figure out a design problem; I started to flip through this fabulous book. Maya Lin's Boundaries; is a book that is food for the soul of an architect. Ironically, the title of the book is Boundaries, but the whole essence and poetic journey allows for one to see the world with out "Boundaries".
Traveling through each project, Lin is able to take us from her thought process through a complete execution on each project. She is so delicate in describing each event, from growing up, the Vietnam memorial, to her goals in the future. The reader can travel with her, through each process, struggle, and creating architecture that is able to resonate within it's setting.
Thinking with her hands, Lin describes each event, each challenge, and solution, allowing for the the reader to gain an inside, touching the souls of what every architect and designer needs.
Truly unique and inspiring.......2005-03-10
Maya Lin's "Boundaries" is both creative and stimulating.
This book is not an autobiography and it is not an art book, but rather an extension of Lin's work. Many know Lin for creating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and like the memorial "Boundaries" provides a medium-both public and private-to observe and interpret what we sometimes don't even consider.
If you like photography, architecture, or simply wish to know more about an idea behind one of Lin's works then this book is for you. I love the format. It is easy to read and the pictures are of high quality. The pages are numbered from 1:00 to 12:00 and each chapter starts with a new hour. "Boundaries" is refreshing- it's truly unique and inspiring.
Beautiful.......2004-05-17
There are two ways to read this book, as Lin points out in the preface. First is just as a coffee table picture book. In that role, "Boundaries" gives a photographic tour of many varied monuments and installations. Lin is best known for the Vietnam Veteran's memorial. At the time, it was an unprecendented look and a deep controversy. Since then, I think it has become what Lin had hoped: one of the most personally involving war memorials ever. Lin has moved on since then, and this book shows many of her more recent works.
Although her family heritage is Chinese, Lin identifies herself as American. That gives her the freedom to use concepts from many Asian traditions. Many of her later works show a sense that I see as Zen-like. They are centered on stone, water, earth, and light. Like that first memorial, they invite the viewer to touch and become involved in the work. "Waves", for example, is a large-scale earthwork to be explored, offering surprising privacy in an open, sunlit lawn.
The second reading of this book comes from its text. It explains Lin's approach to her work. I was quite surprised to fined out how important collaboration is for her. Most of her installations are undertaken with archtitects, writers, or preparators of various kinds, quite opposite the 'lonely artist' stereotype. I was also surprised to learn that her first conception of most pieces is narrative, not pictorial. To me, translating word into image and structure is a complete mystery. My own thoughts work in the other direction. That difference intrigues me.
The book itself is a pleasant artifact. It's well printed, well organized, and displays some thoughtful, unusual typography. It's a vehicle well suited to the material it carries.
"Boundaries" was printed in 2000. That means that the catalog of Lin's work has developed since then. More of her work surely exists that was locked out by the publication date. I look forward to the next book documenting her work, and I look forward to her future development as an artist.
the most famous female architect with Chinese background.......2004-02-16
Sometimes I felt really sad that I don't have enough money to bring this book home.Maya lin should be an architect who can be also known as a good writter.Her writting had combined both beauty architecturally and verbally,like a stream of purity norished readers'heart,explained her designs with pleasure of sights.She got similar passion as her famous aunt lin huiyin,composed a melody of life,mastered the way a human being might uneasy to see.I am appreciated her way of representation.That she inheritaged from Lin's family.She absolutely knew that poetics in their family traditions,a symbol of very special abilities.
Book Description
Li'l Dan, a slave on a Southern plantation, loves to play his drum. When a company of Union soldiers announce that the slaves have been set free, Dan has no place to go, so he follows the soldiers, who make him their mascot. But Confederate soldiers attack, and Dan discovers that he is the only one who can save his friends.
The only children's book ever written and illustrated by legendary American artist Romare Bearden, Li'l Dan, the Drummer Boy was just recently discovered. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. has written a personal introduction to the book, describing his own memories of the artist while Bearden created this memorable tale.
On an accompanying CD, Dr. Maya Angelou, three-time Grammy Award winner for spoken word recordings, reads the text.
Customer Reviews:
Power of the Drum.......2005-01-15
LI'L DAN, THE DRUMMER BOY is a story about a young boy who uses his special talents to save a company of Union soldiers. Dan learned to play the drum as a result of a lot of perseverance and lessons from a slave who lived on the same plantation. One day, he runs into a group of Union soldiers who explain that he and all other slaves are now free. Later, when the company runs into some Confederate soldiers, Dan uses quick thinking and his drum to try and save the day.
LI'L DAN, THE DRUMMER BOY is not just a pleasant and educational children's book, but also an important addition to African-American literary history. The book is the only children's book written and illustrated by the renowned artist, Romare Bearden. The illustrations in the book reflect his trademark artistic style, and as a result, the book not only sheds light on the Civil War era but is an excellent introduction to an important African-American artist.
The book also includes an audio CD which features Maya Angelou reading the story aloud. While her performance is not breathtaking, it does allow children to either read along or follow along with the illustrations as she reads. Overall, this is a wonderfully packaged piece of children's literature.
Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers
Brilliant Artwork, Important Story.......2003-10-14
My 7 year old daughter wants to be both a drummer, like her father and an artist like her aunt. Her two favorite books this year are Lil Dan and DRUM, CHAVI, DRUM! This book is about a slave who learns to make and play drum sounds and when he is freed, through his drumming, he saves others. DRUM, CHAVI, DRUM! is about a little Cuban barrio working-class girl who is not allowed to play Conga drums becasue she is a girl. She and her best friend sneak to the largest Latino festival in the United States: Little Havana Calle Ocho Festival and she finds a way to show everyone that she was born to be a drummer. Both tales moved my daughter (and me). If you have a creative child that loves art and music, these are the two books to get not only for their inspiring tales, but also for the lively writing and the beautiful illustrations.
Average customer rating:
- Maya Lin, Amazing Architect and Artist
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Maya Lin: Architect and Artist (People to Know)
Mary Malone
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
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ASIN: 089490499X |
Customer Reviews:
Maya Lin, Amazing Architect and Artist.......2006-05-31
Maya Lin by Mary Malone is about twenty-one year old Maya deciding her future career. Maya Lin was a developing architect who didn't favor war but she is significant because she designed the Veteran's Memorial, the Civil Rights memorial, and the Peace Chapel.
Maya Lin was organized into sequential chapters with a Chronology at the end. Her most well-known achievement still lingers in mind because it was detailed and descriptive. Quotes, chapter notes, index, and a `Further Reading' section were also inserted. The book doesn't have a glossary and that's the weakness. Some words were complicated which made them difficult to comprehend. People who like art/sculpting will desire reading this book because Maya Lin was an architect. I thought that this book was awesome!
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- The splendour of the Maya
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Maya Monuments
Nigel Hughes
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Customer Reviews:
The splendour of the Maya.......2003-12-27
This beautiful book contains 41 full-colour paintings of Maya buildings (many now in danger) to demonstrate the Classic and Post-Classic periods of this civilization. There are also lots of minor drawings scattered throughout the text.
The text consists of an introduction, thirty essays on various aspects of the government, religion, economy and culture of the ancient Mayas, and an epilogue.
The map of the region covered includes Mexico's Yucatan and Chiapas provinces, Guatemala and Belize. The sites covered include Copan, Palenque, Topoxte, Tikal, Chicanna, Becan, Uxmal, Tulum and Chichen Itza.
Maya Monuments is a major achievement of art, archaeology and history, vividly bringing this ancient culture to life again. It concludes with a selected bibliography and index.
Book Description
This unique and extraordinary guide to seven major sites of Maya civilization highlights the pioneering work of two great scholars of ancient America. For readers at every level -- from the casual tourist to the serious student -- The Code of Kings relies on Linda Schele and Peter Mathews's revolutionary work in the decipherment of the hieroglyphs that cover the surfaces of Maya ruins to give us a far clearer picture of Maya culture than we have ever had.
Richly illustrated with line art and the incomparable photography of Justin Kerr and Macduff Everton, The Code of Kings is a landmark contribution to our understanding of the Maya and a phenomenal guided tour of seven of the most awesome and magical spots on Earth.
Customer Reviews:
code of kings travel adjunct, not strictly epigraphy.......2007-06-01
I have only had time to browse through and start this book I recently purchased, but if it will stop the flow of e-mail mails from amazon asking me to review it, I will review it anyway. It is one of Linda Schele's last collaborations and for that reason alone it would be interesting. The only thing I can say so far is that it seems to be an interesting book aimed at the educated amateur. Although the title would lead the unwary to think it was strictly a book on Maya epigraphy and although it does contain a lot of epigrapical and linguistic information, it is really a tour of several Maya sites with in depth explanations, floor plans, and charts, all by leading experts. Though I am not in good enough health to travel, still it looks like a very useful book to any Maya scholar amateur or otherwise. I am over the age of two (katuns)
A field guide to seven great Mayan sites- magnificently done.......2004-06-28
What a magnificent book for any general reader, like me, who loves to read about the cultures of Mesoamerica. The authors take us on a tour of seven of the best known and most visited sites: Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Seibal, Chich'en Itza, Uxmal, and Iximche'. The book opens with a most helpful introduction to the archaeology of Mayan culture and the cultural elements that are common to all the city-states / regions that we call Mayan.
Look at page 21 at the photo from 1891 that shows us what the Temple of the Inscriptions looked like before excavation and restoration. Obviously, all the trees that are cleared in the picture would have hidden them even more, but the photo could not have been taken with them there. As you read through the lessons on Mayan architecture, housing, writing, religion, and warfare, the Maya become life and blood people who existed at a time and place that becomes nearer to us through this great book.
If you are planning to visit one or more of these sites, then this book is a must read as well as a field guide to take with you on the trip. The authors take key features and each site and explain them in detail. What a great experience it would be to stand in front of these monuments, murals, and temples with this most helpful text helping you understand what you are seeing.
The book is richly illustrated with many drawings of important inscriptions, buildings, monuments, and architectural details. There are also many black and white photographs, and a section of wonderful color plates to help us understand the beauty of the natural setting that provides the context for these cultures.
After the visits to the cities there are many helpful features that comprise another hundred pages of the book. First, a concordance of Maya personal names provides the spelling used in this book, alternative and common anglicized versions of that name, and a brief description of who that person was. There is also a key to pronunciation and orthography that I found to be most helpful. It is always intimidating to see words without having any idea how they would be said.
The notes section is full of very helpful information for those readers who want to dig a little deeper as is the list of references (really, a bibliography). The Glossary of Gods and Supernaturals is amazingly interesting and helpful and the index is a handy way to get back to certain topics in each section when you are trying to tie the cultural elements together across time and geography.
As I said at the beginning, this is a fantastic and wonderful achievement that I am very grateful for and it is a final example of why we miss Linda Schele so much. The other authors are also fine and will continue to bring us much, but Prof. Schele had a special eye for the aesthetic achievements of the Maya and the ability to help us see things her way and enriched all of us who are fortunate enough to read her words.
A great achivement in art/history commentary.......2001-11-11
"The Code of Kings" suffers from too much seriousness. The structure of the book relies on interpreting some main architectural achievements of the Mayan kings who commissioned them. That is, for most chapters a brief historical narrative is followed by a detailed description of the monumental group of interest and ends with an interpretation as to its relevance. The interpretations are good, and we can appreciate the great scholarly gifts of Linda Schele (in particular when the authors dispose of the Toltec Maya myths of Chichen Itza). We can even be moved at times such as when the authors talk of the Great Plaza of Waxaklahun-Ubah-K'Awil (this reviewer was happy to have read it a few days before going to Copan). However, this dense package might scare away a more casual reader of the Maya history. It also makes this book pretty useless to take along in your trip to Guatemala and Yucatan, unless you will have plenty of time to sit down under some trees and read while you visit. But if you have plenty of time to prepare for your trip, you definitely need to read it. And of course, it is a must in any serious book collection on the Maya.
The Code of Kings.......2001-08-29
This is not just an archeological study of some of the most important sites of the Maya world, it is an inmersion into Maya philosophy and art. I found it exciting how the book relates stories about the conflicts and conquests between the city states and their kings. Some of the new theories into the Toltec migration to Maya land are also very interesting and refreshing to read. I don't think this is a beginner book, at times it digs deep into Maya symbology and thinking, this could make it hard to follow if you're not familiar with some Maya history. Overall, like all of Schele's work, this is an excellent book.
A very nice and unexpected surprise.......2001-08-07
As soon as I started reading "The Code Of The Kings" I knew that one thing was wrong with the book ...the title!. The title had make believe the book had something to do with glyphs in detail, Maya writing system description, the deciphering of such a system, etc. Instead I faced with ... Linda Schele's "A Forrest Of Kings", Part Two!. I loved "The Code Of The Kings" ... even when it wasn't what I had expected!
Books:
- Boundaries
- Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
- Burnt Offerings (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 7)
- Cartier Collection: Collective Work (Collection)
- Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 (Chip Kidd)
- Columbia River Basketry: Gift of the Ancestors, Gift of the Earth (Samuel and Althea Stroum Book)
- Creative Activities for Young Children
- CREATIVE LICENSE, THE: GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION TO BE THE ARTIST YOU TRULY ARE
- Different Views in Hudson River School Painting
- Don't Look Back : Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball
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