Book Description
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) possessed arguably the greatest mind the world has ever known. Artist, draftsman, inventor, and philosopher, his contributions to modern society are profound and wide-reaching. Throughout his life, Leonardo kept dozens of notebooks, elegant studies on topics ranging from architecture to botany to philosophy—indeed nearly anything of which the human imagination could conceive.
Leonardo’s Notebooks collects a variety of the most fascinating of these studies and compiles them into one monumental volume that demystifies his insights and clearly illustrates his ideas, experiments, and observations with hundreds of his original sketches, line drawings, and paintings. Topics include Anatomy and the Movement of the Human Figure; Botany and Landscape; Engineering and Military Engineering; Physical Sciences; Aerodynamics and Flight; Geography—and more.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-09-16
This is a great book that I had been looking forward to getting for a while. The images and writting is good, although a bit hard to understand at times. The ONLY problem I have with this book that gets it a 4 out of 5 stars for me is the fact that it is so tall and wide. Granted it makes looking at the pictures much easier but it also makes storage of this book MUCH harder. The book is to tall to stand on any but the top shelf on all of my book shelfs and it is so wide that it protudes from the edge of the shelf.
Don't let this distract you from getting this book however. It's detailed pictures are wonderful considering the orginal size of the works and the translations help with the reading. There's a section for each catagory, such as anatomy and lighting, which really helps if you want to look at certain types of works. The greatness of these pictures will have you looking at each page for hours, just to see all the details.
I would suggest this book for anyone from an art lover to a history fanatic. I use it as a reference book for one of my drawing classes. It's a great buy for anyone and everyone.
Excellent.......2007-08-21
Not one single problem with this book, I would recomend buying it for anyone anytime
Just what I wanted.......2007-06-27
I have always wanted a book just with Leonardo's sketches and annotation. Printed on beautiful paper and in great detail. This is a wonderful book, that I will draw much inspiration from.
Noteworthy notebooks.......2007-02-23
If you enjoy researching from old documents, you will enjoy this book. It isn't an easy read, however, if you're looking for just an armchair novel. Leonardo had his opinions on many subjects, and wrote fairly technically. The drawings are wonderful, as you might expect, and the diversity of subjects gives the reader a glimpse into his wide range of interests.
Gift.......2007-01-15
This was a Christmas gift for my father. He liked the background detail and all the glossy pages of artwork.
Book Description
The artistic versatility of tattoo artists has frequently been overshadowed by the negativity that surrounds tattooing in general. Many tattoos are made by would-be artists who copy overused designs. A perfectly tattooed body requires the skills of a professional and talented artist, who creates a unique and personal design. These designs are often inspired by one or more of the various tattoo styles of Japanese, Maori or other tribal origin. The Sketchbook offers the reader a selection of 80 of these unique designs by well-known and less famous, but very promising, tattoo artists from around the world. Each artist was requested to create a sketch unrestrained by commercial demands and which reflects their own personal motivations.
The book is divided into two sections: the first comprises an explanation of how this collection was brought together, along with a brief illustrated overview of the history and various styles of tattooing. The second section is devoted to the artists, each sketch being accompanied by a biography and favourite quote.
The concept of this book was developed by Marco Bratt, a tattoo artist from The Netherlands, and his partner, Germanborn lifestyle photographer Nancy Heimburger, who also wrote the introductory chapter.
Customer Reviews:
Not as Expected, very disappointed!.......2006-08-31
Sadly I purchased this volume based upon other reader reviews. Although I have given it 3 stars- as the book production itself was very nice- oversize square small coffee table book, printed on high quality thick stock, with well printed art work- makes this volume attractive on the outside. The contents and sketchbook is rather a let down. 60% of the sketches are very crude and unattractive (even considering them just sketches from a sketchbook) and the remaining art being just okay, maybe there is 10-12 eye opening pieces. If your looking for inspiration or eye candy this is not your book
Ever feel like you've been swindled?.......2005-12-22
I'm not an artist, but I do have a few tattoos. Just over 100 hours of custom work all done at the Smilin' Buddha in Calgary, Alberta. I've even managed to get 3 pictures of my work (one full page) in Paul Jefferies' vanity press book celebrating his 25 years in the industry.
In the course of getting my work done, I've bought more than my share of tattoo books and have looked through dozens of books at the Buddha including the owner's private library and I'm sad to say that this book is tied for last place with one other book.
The previous reviewer, the one who's an artist with 35 years experience says it best.
The work in this book for the most part is sub-par. Except for a few, the work in this book looks like it was done by scratchers not artists. There's no way in the world I'd leave this book on my coffee table, let alone wear anything done by most of these "artists".
BTW, I'm pretty sure one reviewer here must have ties to this book. My guess is the publisher.
Save your money. I wish I had.
Crappy Bar napkin sketches.......2005-11-24
The following is an opinion for which we are all entitled: Although this book does tell you something about each artist and shows one sketch from each artist, it is more like a "Collection of bar napkin sketches". Most are of poor quality as if the artist could care less when he/she had drawn them and a very few are of some quality. As an award winning artist of over 35 years experience, I felt it was a complete waste of money as far as being helpful to further my talents or to "just plain enjoy". I would never show such "doodles" in a book to represent what I can do. For something to glance through to kill time, I would say fine, go nuts. Overall....I AM NOT IMPRESSED!
graphic gems from tattoo artists: a pathbreaking book.......2004-11-03
Rarely has the tattoo art form enjoyed a presentation in a volume as remarkable as Heimburger and Bratt's "The Sketchbook: 80 Unique Designs by the World's Finest Tattoo Artists." For starters, the "Sketchbook" does not feature photographs of tattooed bodies but rather brings together a set of original graphic designs produced by artists expressly for this collection. Then there is the beauty and quality of the book itself, which has been published by Hotei, the Leiden-based publisher best known for its first-class books on Japanese prints.
Most of the artists represented in the "Sketchbook" are fairly young and, with the exception of several members of the Leu Family of Lausanne, are not yet well-known. Their work is complex, however, and the short autobiographies provided by each artist provide insights into the special world and close relationships of the international community's best tattoo practitioners. Traditional Japanese tattoo themes dominate the graphic work, but fans of modern art in general will note and enjoy the resemblance of much of the work to that of the 20th-century surrealists and even to the specialized art genre known as exquisite corpses. Indeed, the artwork presented is so fascinating and potentially rich in symbolism that I wish it had been displayed at The Drawing Center in New York's Soho district and introduced by scholars of modern graphic art.
A very different kind of artbook.......2004-08-10
The Sketchbook is a large coffee-table compendium showcasing eighty unique designs by some of the world's finest body art tattoo experts. An introductory essay explores the history of body tattoos, and both Japanese and Western views of the art practice. The eighty designs themselves are showcased largely in black-and-white, in their original drawn concept form rather than a photograph of the tattoo on human skin. With a photograph of its artist along with a paragraph by the artist about his or her background and philosophy. A very different kind of artbook, in which East truly meets West.
Book Description
Creative souls want and need a special place for recording and decoding their interior world -- a place to download all their creative ideas, a place to remember the events of the day, or a place to doodle, to draw, and to dream. This book is for all these people -- it's an engaging and intimate glimpse into the personal pages of a wide variety of select artists and journal keepers whose works not only provide visual delight and inspiration but evidence the intensity and devotion that such personal journals invite.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome resource.......2007-09-13
This book is very practical, and I go back to it again and again. I'm fairly new to art journaling, and this book is great because there are a LOT of examples and easy-to-understand instructions for each one. I expect to be using this book as one of my main resources for a long time. It's a book I can grow into.
:).......2007-05-30
this book is so good. I've been journaling for 5 years now and this is a great idea book. Happy to add this to my colection.
my creative process.......2007-05-06
I make journals and I do collage artwork, but I have never put the two together. Lynne's book was the bridge between these two for me.
Beautiful pictures.......2007-03-10
I purchased this book as an "instruction" book; but there is not a lot of instructions in it. The pictures are beautiful though and if you have the creativity to make things from a picture, this book is fine.
A good learning book.......2007-01-12
I enjoy this book and find it encouraging to work in similar ways in my journal. I have showed it to many of my artist friends and they agree with me. I have been an artist in collage for 35 years and always enjoy others views on collage and color and this book fills the bill. Barbara R.
Book Description
All roads lead to Rome--and no one captures the journey in luminous watercolors quite as brillantly as Marlene McLoughlin. Leafing through Road to Rome is like relaxing on a slow train through Italy, with an artist at your side. By means of her watercolor sketchbooks, readers travel from Florence to Rome, and to the legendary hill towns of Arezzo, Siena, Montepulciano, Assisi, Todi, and Cortona, through breathtaking landscapes, unearthly light, and the rustic beauty of the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside. Exquisite watercolors, pen-and-ink sketches, and brief captions depict the land, the food, and the character of one of the most beautiful places on earth in all of its varied details--a shadowy, overgrown Renaissance villa, yellow fields of mustard, a dish of ripe lemons; the Tiber at dawn. Richly evocative, wonderfully inviting, and thoroughly charming. Road to Rome is both a traveler's and a dreamer's delight.
Customer Reviews:
Illustrations.......2007-02-12
The artist is so talented. I love the way this book is illustrated. I have the other book in the series "Across the Aegean" & "The Passionate Observer" All candy for the eye!
Joan Aikens
Simply Beautiful.......2000-06-28
This book takes me back to Italy every time I open it. Exquisite, thoughtful studies of the intimate details of this breathtaking landscape...vegetable stands, motor-scooters, doorknockers, espresso cups, and poppies! A wonderful gift book. Check out her other titles as well, especially "Across the Agean."
Road to Rome : An Artist's Year in Italy.......2000-03-28
there is nothing like opening a book that has a way of taking the viewer on a journey of color and visual exploration. the Road to Rome is a beautifully illustrated "story" in which the artist brings the rolling hills and tranquil villages of italy to life. her color palette exudes the warmth and charm of the country, and this book would highlight any watercolor enthusiasts collection. I came across Marlene McLoughlins work by chance, and have been a fan ever since!
Book Description
Sketchbooks are invaluable companions for artists and an essential part of today’s textile courses, and now, at last, there’s a book that shows embroiderers and textile students how to make the most of their sketchbook practice. Through fascinating glimpses into the sketchbooks of leading textile artists, this beautifully illustrated, first-of-its-kind guide shows—from first sketches to finished pieces—how to use a sketchbook to develop ideas, record personal observations, experiment with materials, and create sketchbooks that are works of art in themselves. Sketching in museums, coloring pages, mark-making, drawing and collage, 3-D work, e-sketchbooks, and more are covered. A must-have for students, embroiderers, and textile artists of all abilities.
Customer Reviews:
Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists.......2007-07-05
I was very disappointed with this book. The text was uninteresting. The examples were not how to build your sketch book, rather it was focused on completed work.
From Yael, a French reader.......2007-03-08
Wondeful photos, original and beautiful Art, but I'm still not sure to have completely understood the exact subject of this book. And I was waiting for something else when I ordered it, but I don't regret to have bought it, and it's more Art than Craft, I think. It's very, very original and very different from most books sold. It is very "avant-garde", and has nothing to do with the traditional Art & Craft books. If you like what is different and new, this book is for you,
Yael
A 'must' for any serious about their craft........2006-10-16
Sketchbooks are typically mentioned as part of a painter or sketcher's art, but they're also an invaluable tool for modern textile and embroidery artists - and finally here's a book for this audience. Leading textile artists contribute their works and techniques to a unique coverage which follows first sketches to finished works, showing textile artists how to develop ideas, record observations, use sketchbooks for rough drafts and technique experiments, and more. Creating Sketchbooks For Embroiderers and Textile Artists is a 'must' for any serious about their craft.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Ideas for the creative process.......2006-08-06
This book generated many ideas for my work in textile art; and allowed my own individual creative process to develop. Also, there are great visuals, particularly for mark making using "paint" or stitchery. Recommend for artists as well as serious hobbists.
Book Description
Sketching requires only the most basic tools to get started and is immediately accessible to anyone who has the desire. It is a simple yet rewarding exercise, serving as the foundation of all artistic pursuits. This illuminating guide draws on the vast experience of established artists to give readers a rich variety of working methods and topics that will guide and encourage their sketching ability. Artists of all skill levels will benefit from exercises that show them how to: * Sharpen powers of observation and analysis * Capture movement through line * Set up powerful compositions * Render tiny details that breathe life into a sketch * Use sketches as the basis of strong paintings
Customer Reviews:
Artists Sketchbook.......2005-07-28
This a well-round art technique and media book for any artist level. I have over 300 art tecnnique books. I considered this book exceptional. I would have given 5 stars, but the printing is too small. If you can read the ingredients on a tube of toothpaste, you will be able to read it. I had to purchase a plastic square magnifying sheet.
Not for beginners.......2004-06-02
This book provides excellent examples in a variety of media. It is the kind of book I look for to provide my students with good examples, things to try out, and the quality they should strive for. If you are an absolute beginner there are other books that will provide you with more basic how-to information than this one does, though I personally think this book is very good in this area as well. I would recommend this book to those people already aquainted with sketching, but wanting to explore visual journaling and using a variety of media.
for artists..........2002-04-02
This is a nice little book--very attractively designed and with lots of gorgeous sketches and samples. I think this book is for artists, though, not beginners. But beginners may find enough inspiration in the examples to want to investigate the techniques further.
A Great Book on How to Keep a Sketchbook!.......2001-11-27
This is a great book! It explains about keeping a sketchbook in various media, and how to use it to make finished drawings and paintings. Great for everyone, no matter how well you draw now.
Book Description
In Create Your Own Artist's Journal, Erin O'Toole helps artists capture those fleeting moments of inspiration and beauty that compel them to create. She begins by showing them how to observe and record what they see; composing images that come alive with color and movement.
O'Toole also discusses the materials involved in keeping a journal, and offers advice for finding interesting subjects, painting from memory and improvising sketches as a scene changes. Finally, she provides guidelines for compiling a portable journaling "kit" that artists can take with them anywhere!
Customer Reviews:
Lovely Nature-Sketching Guide.......2003-08-22
In Create Your Own Artist's Journal, Erin O'Toole opens her hand-made journals and tells how you can create one too. This North Light art book is packed with large format color illustrations (she uses pencil, pen, colored pencil, watercolor and gouache) and tips for drawing and painting, page layout and even establishing a routine of sketching. Mrs. O'Toole includes ideas for materials and suggestions for the kit to carry with you when you sketch away from home. There are recommendations for color; tips for drawing specific subjects: houses, people, animals, etc. and sections on sharing your artwork in print or over the internet (she gives scanner settings). This book reminds me of Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady which Mrs. O'Toole recommends. She also suggests other favorite titles.
Amazon.com
Jim Henson needs no introduction. For those of us who grew up with The Muppet Show and Sesame Street, Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles reveals how his art came alive over a period of almost 20 years before those shows even began. For those who saw his advertisements and appearances on late-night shows, it is a reminder that he changed television. His creations required the genius of both the visual and the performing arts, mixed with a rolling sense of humor, and all are present here: the early silk-screens show the sensibility of a great artist, the drawings show the thinking process of a powerful designer, and the stories are those of one of the greatest performance artists of our time. The book ends in 1976, when The Muppet Show began its first season, leaving the reader hungry for more, but this archaeological journey goes a long way toward uncovering Jim Henson's world. --Juliette Cezzar
Book Description
"These imaginative musings-the work of a man who made an impossible world seem completely plausible-show history in the making."-Booklist
Bert and Ernie were once just scribbles on notebook paper, and the original Oscar the Grouch was purple, not green. Before there were Muppets, there were Jim Henson's designs and doodles. This delightful collection of Henson's early drawings serves as a map to the imagination of an artist whose characters have enraptured generations of children and adults. Almost none of these drawings had been published before the original Abrams edition. From the most cursory of doodles to finished drawings, this whimsical volume of sketchbooks, posters, album covers, story boards, and set and puppet designs celebrates Henson's unique genius and his wild sense of humor. AUTHOR BIO: Alison Inches, a freelance writer living in Mill Valley, California, was a senior editor for Jim Henson Productions' publishing division.
Customer Reviews:
Love Jim Henson.......2006-03-03
I ordered this book for my daughter who loves Jim Henson & the Muppets as a birthday present, and is a professional puppeteer inspired by Jim Henson. She absolutely loves this book and I highly recommend anything Jim Henson related as he was a pioneer in this area and one of the most creative people on the planet.
Facinating collection of work from Jim Henson.......2005-03-20
I have always been a Jim Henson fan. After all, I grew up with Sesame Street and the Muppet Show. I was always fascinated with the strange and creative creatures that he came up with. This book is a gold mine of his ideas and sketches - some that you will recognize and some that you have probably never seen.
This is sort of an odd book for me to have. I don't collect books based on movies or TV shows. But this one doesn't really fall into that category at all. It's more of an artist's diary and sketchbook. I enjoy just paging through it to look at all of the wonderous things Jim Henson imagined. His work seems to have something "odd" to it that I can somehow connect with and be fascinated by it.
I think anyone who has enjoyed Jim Henson's productions will probably enjoy looking through this book. It's an adventure to page through time after time.
Spot on Mr Henson..... Spot on!!.......2001-07-31
Jim Henson was a man who managed to sum up the whole intire feeling of what it was to be young, and full of energy in his fantastic creations. His work, from Mupets to films such as 'Labyrinth' and 'The Dark Crystal', showed us that he could tap that part of our minds that wanted to let go, and be free to live in our fantasies. This book, unlocks the back door to the mind that created our most cherished characters from the Henson world. It shows us where these characters came from, and also gives us an insight to the man who made it all happen. I found this book to be a real Gem, and an adventure. Just seeing the doodles Jim did as a child, or a teen, and some of his non character based art work, was fascinating. Buy this book If you are a fan of Mr hensons work. It is not the most complete book, as far as his other projects go, and some people may wish that some of his film work had got into the book. But for those that like to get closer to their idols, and want to feel like a close friend looking through his old scrapbooks, get this book. You won't be dissapointed.
Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles is the #1 Henson book!.......2001-04-07
This is a must for all you muppet fans!
The wonderful new long awaited book, Jim Henson's Desings and Doodles is almost a museum on paper. It shows Jim's best artwork, from storyboards, to puppet desingns, even a very early Kermit sketch. The book also features a never before seen look at the never produced special, "Johnny Carson and The Muppet Machine" which was to be a physcedelic trip into the 1960's. The artwork is very detailed, and even has a stone carving of Ed Macmahon! The book also shows some of his early work, including silkscreen images of meloncholy (which was inspired by the death of his brother , Paul) and concert posters and crazy characters who were soon to be Frackles!
One of the best parts of the book is Henson 's early commercial storyboards, which feature the two popular commercial Muppets ,Wilkins and Wontkins, Hansel and Gretel Muppets, and Kermit, The Snerfs and Rowlf (the IDEAL doll ad where Kermit sings the unfamilliar jingle"Oh buy us, oh buy us, oh buy us we beg! If you do not buy us, we'll bite you in the leg!!!) . Early drawings of the La Choy Dragon, and Nutty Bird(Royal Crown soda ads, precursor to Big Bird) are also featured.
The book brings us for the first time many illustrations of show ideas that never made it to the small screen. The Zoocus (The Zoo Circus), The Entertainers, and Martian Landing are all examples shown by illustrations from Jim's fertile imagination. The Zoocus was to be a show full of new Muppets such as Mr. Ripple and Carbourator Jones and had a guest star on each show (Sound like TMS to you?). The show would be a variety but would mostly ,as shown in Henson's drawings,be a talk show with the guest, where the Muppets would lounge behind large alters and other sets. The Entertainer was to be a show about a travelling vaudevillian show where Muppet men (and a can can girl) would sing popular songs at the time. This was also to be a Variety type show. Martian Landing would feature Muppet Koosebaine like creatures that would swap jokes and do skits on another planet. It was to be a Live variety show. It ashame these didn't get aired.
This book has so much I haven't mentioned yet, (I don't want to spoil it!) and it is definetly worth every penny. By far, one of my favs. among a long line of Muppet Books. Enjoy!
A rare glimpse into the mind of a genius........2001-04-06
Jim Henson was one of the most imaginative people of this past century and this book beautifully captures some of his brilliance in the form of sketches, doodles and small art pieces. If you've ever marveled at his artistry, or wondered at his talent, then this is the book for you.
What I most enjoyed about this collection are the sketches and stories from Jim Henson's earliest years and most obscure projects. Alison Inches has included Jim's cartoons from college, High School program designs, album covers, advertisment ideas and story boards, as well as characters like, Taminella Grinderfall, Thog, Chicken Liver and Baskerville. Have no fear though, plenty of more widely known projects and characters are featured as well. We're taken through the steps from Sam and Friends, to the Muppet's succesful commercials, to Rowlf the Dog's appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show, through The Muppet Show and Sesame Street. Along the way we're also treated to many unrealized puppets and projects. It's a facinating journey and one that you're sure to revisit many times over.
Any designer, puppeteer, artist or Muppet fan will be fasinated by this book. But don't think you'll be geting a comprehensive career retrospective. I'd recomend "Jim Henson: The Works" for that. The focus here is squarely on the creation and design, which is right where it should be and it makes Designs and Doodles the perfect companion piece to Jim Henson: The Works. One giving you a look at his projects and the other a glimpse into his mind. And oh, what a marvelous glimpse it is!
Book Description
"Two years before I started drawing, my wife was run over by a subway train. Sounds really terrible, I know. But, well, this book is about how art and New York City saved my life."
When Danny Gregory's wife was severely injured, his life was changed in an instant. Searching about for meaning for what had happened to his little family, he began to create a richly illustrated journal of his life. Gregory as driven to record and comment on every aspect of his life, from dirty dishes to cathedrals, from hospital wards to life-drawing classes, from brunch with Hell's Angels to book shopping at the Strand.
This unique book chronicles his discovery of drawing, his wife's rehabilitation, his son's infancy, and the life of the city he loves. Funny, bittersweet, romantic, and perverse, Everyday Matters is an inspiration, an invitation to look for the beauty and significance in the details of our daily lives.
Customer Reviews:
great little gem of a book.......2007-09-23
love it, love it, love it !!!!
a wonderful inspiring little book.
perfect smaller size (6"x8") to carry along with your sketchbook to keep you encouraged in your drawing.
I expected more.......2007-04-08
I suppose I had some misperceptions of this book. I was assuming there would be more inspiration that would cajole me into journaling and artwork. I also thought is was he who was disabled - it was his wife. There was little mention of how his wife's diability figured into the whole pictue of his life. As a disabled person, I thought there would be some insight into overcoming disability to do what you want. I do however, love the way he draws and journals. In the end I saw this as a simple journal that anyone might have done. I still have his other book and I have higher hopes for that.
loved it!!.......2007-02-27
i loved it! i recived the book for valentines day and finished in a day...its very intresting to examine dannys drawing and learn about his life in nyc..
Interesting and sort of sad.......2007-01-30
Interesting story about the author's evolution into an artist. The entire book is made up of his sketches and writings during a particularly challenging time in his life. It is essentially his private art journal copied and put in a book.
Couldn't put it down! Great Book!.......2006-09-16
This book is actually the "textbook" for the pen and ink drawing class that I am taking. I bought it ahead of time and read it in 2 days! I had a hard time putting it down and now that I am finished I keep going back to it to discover the clever ways Mr. Gregory depicts life in the big city and abroad. What he has to say ranges from being dramatic to funny and interesting. He takes the every day things we take for granted and makes them into something worth taking a second look at. I am thinking of buying all of the books he writes.....This is good stuff!
Book Description
"Just as Leonardo da Vinci studied the recesses of the human body and dissected cadavers, I try to dissect souls." said Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Norway's greatest artist and tortured genius. In this groundbreaking new study, Munch's own soul is laid bare through the first English translation and analysis of diaries, literary sketches, and letters, presented together with his most artistic works.
Customer Reviews:
Munch more than a scream..........2007-05-05
*Munch In His Own Words* is worth five stars just for the generous reproductions of the paintings, drawings, lithographs, and woodcuts that illustrate the text, as well as the selection of photographs taken by/and of Munch himself. These reproductions give one an idea of the stunning range and variety of Munch's complete life work, which goes well beyond his reputation primarily as the guy who painted `The Scream.' Nevertheless, in spite of this variety, one can still trace the red thread that runs through virtually everything he ever produced in his long career: a violently passionate and often antagonistic engagement with life and the world around him.
So it is that the actual text of *Munch In His Own Words* can only be a bonus--and in this book we get extracts from Munch's personal journals and letters that offer first-hand insights into his complex psyche from which his extraordinary art emerged. Some of these texts are brilliant evocations of the artist's role as rebel and savior, others repetitive and obsessive, still others read like the ravings of a paranoid schizophrenic. Not having access to the complete texts, one wonders if they might have been edited and selected with an eye to a little more variety and little less repetition, but it's hard to complain. Munch is almost as explosive and idiosyncratic a writer as he is a painter and, on the whole, the texts provide a rewarding counterpoint and context to the art.
Another bonus is the introduction and chapter openings by the book's editor Poul Erik Tojner. Sometimes elliptical to the point of incomprehensibility, studded with fancifully pretentious interpretations, Tojner does manage to provide some genuinely enlightening and provocative observations, perhaps none moreso than his suggestion that one can find striking parallels between the work of Munch and--of all people--Andy Warhol! Outrageous at first--and yet Tojner makes a wholly compelling and convincing argument for this unlikeliest of pairings.
A rich and compulsively readable--not to mention eye-catching--volume, *Munch In His Own Words* is a great overall look at an artist who painted, in his own words, the only way he knew how: with his heart's blood.
Munch, the monastic.......2006-06-01
Edvard Munch painted "The Scream." (BTW, his name is said like "monk", not like "bunch.") That was just one work from a long and dedicated life in art, and arguably not his defining work. Look at his "Sick Child" (p.15), and at the mother. Does she really have anything more in her than the Screamer, except just that little more strength a woman has than a man does? Only quietly enough for others to bear?
I never thought much of Munch until I saw a display of his graphic work, largely woodcuts and some lithos. Then, I realized just how literal his painting style is. "As long as cameras can not be used in Hell or in Heaven, painters have no fear of competition." His paintings, and even more his prints, are about heaven and hell. Together, in the same picture, as his fevered mind saw them.
Many of his painted and graphic works center on two monopoles: light and dark. Become aware of this frequent pattern, and you'll have almost the visual experience of seeing a magnetic field. His visual field contains a North and South pole, a source and a sink, a plus and a minus. In those, composition consists of defining the two, filling the space between the two, and emptying the space around the two. I recommend his work most highly to any student, at any level, who wants to learn composition by being kicked in the gut with it. Much of Munch's work is about stark, polar power.
He also eliminates the placement of figure and ground, and creates the dichotomy of figure and ground. Half or more of his paintings show it: that aura emanating from the human being that sets it off from the material world around it. The background has no chance to interact with that force of person that emanates from each figure, so there must be a buffer zone between them. That, I think, explains the brushwork halo around so many of his human renderings: an attempt to define their visual limit, at the expense of any relationship to the world around them.
Munch is good, if emotional truth means more to you than optical literality. He's also hard to take, and becomes harder to take as you learn more. I really think he put it all out there for us to see, whether or not we can take it all in.
//wiredweird
If you want to know Munch.......2004-01-15
I could not put this book down and when I finished, I felt as though I finally had some insight into Munch as a person as well as an artist. If you would like to have a better understanding of both the man and his paintings this book is for you.
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- Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work
- Making Polymer Clay Beads: Step-by-Step Techniques for Creating Beautiful Ornamental Beads
- Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years
- Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History)
- Mountain Bike Magazine's Complete Guide To Mountain Biking Skills: Expert Tips On Conquering Curves, Corners, Dips, Descents, Hills, Water Hazards, And Other All-Terrain Challenges
- New Millennium Reader, The (4th Edition)
- Oil Pastel: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist
- Oil Pastel: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist
- Painting Acrylics (First Step Series)
- Painting Beautiful Watercolors from Photographs
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy
- Dancing in the Shadows of the Moon
- The Viologens: Physicochemical Properties, Synthesis and Applications of the Salts of 4,4'-Bipyridin
- Ways of Dying: A Novel
- Acrylic Revolution: New Tricks & Techniques for Working With the World's Most Versatile Medium
- Astrophotography for the Amateur
- American Cancer Society: Women and Cancer: A Thorough and Compassionate Resource for Patients and Th
- Fashinonable Clothing From the Sears Catalogs Early 1960s
- Unseen Warhol
- Growing Native Hawaiian Plants: A How to Guide for the Gardner
General
| History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Leonardo da Vinci : Flights of the Mind: A Biography
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Oxford World's Classics)
Leonardo's Machines: Da Vinci's Inventions Revealed
Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion
Leonardo Drawings (Dover Art Library)
