Book Description
Bulls, bears, and the price of shares-the daily tallies of the stock market are on everyone's mind. The contemporary investor usually measures ownership via a confirmation blip on the computer screen; nevertheless, since the eighteenth century, stock certificates have visually charted the evolution of American industry. Now highly collectible, these documents are the ultimate melding of art and commerce, and The Art of the Market 200 years' worth of stocks on their artistic rather than their financial merits.
In the days before advertising and annual reports, the stock certificate projected a company's image of quality to the world through artwork and embellishments that epitomized the times-from the bold engravings of locomotives stamped on the shares of nineteenth-century railroad tycoons, to the sleek Art Deco styling from the early automobile era, to the graphic images for today's high-tech media giants. The Art of the Market presents more than 200 certificates that collectively render America's social and economic history through wars and peace, panics and prosperity. Each certificate is fully analyzed in artistic terms, while the lively text offers a compelling historic background on the capitalist mosaic.
Customer Reviews:
A great coffee table book.......2000-07-18
This book is an excellent reminder of a time when stocks meant more; when stock was something tangible you held vice keystrokes gone in the blink of an eye or memory stored on your computer. In the era of online trading, art such as this is sorely missed. The commentary is not particularly deep, however the art and the history is, for lack of a better word, neat. I think this book is well suited for the coffee table and a nice reminder of how things were "back then."
Great business history.......2000-05-12
I received this book as a gift, and was struck at first by its amazing "look"--it has top-notch graphics. The individual stock certificates are remarkable, and the book's authors make these images come to life as symbols of American business. The engraving of the certificates is treated as a vanishing art form, and this collection offers a reminder of just what is being lost as the market becomes more and more "virtual." At a time when more Americans own stock than ever before--and almost none of them, as the authors point out, have ever seen a stock certificate--this book represents nothing less than a hidden history of an American institution. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the stock market, but also to anyone interested in the history of American business and its influence on our culture.
Fantastic book for scripophily!.......2000-04-23
Wonderfully illustrated book showing the true definition of financial art. Beautiful full-color illustrations of stock certificates. Best part of the book is the price. Very affordable (a bargain for the art!)
A book where research of companies is at a minimum.......1999-12-26
I received this book for Christmas and just spent ten minutes laughing at the history of Xerox. The authors called the company's beginnings as the Harold company, then changed its name to the Harold Xerox Company. The original company's name was the Haloid Company, not the Harold Company. In my ten minutes of reading there was 4 more errors of company names or historical facts of the stock certificates. I did not read the "history" portion but feel if the authors can't get the histories of Xerox, Exxon, Playboy, Admiral, etc correct, why bother....The stock certificates are admirable, though
Book Description
graphic novel, intro Thomas Mann
Customer Reviews:
A beautiful biography --.......2006-12-18
-- or is it? Masereel's remarkable little book declines to explain itself.
These 165 expressive woodcuts present snapshots from the life of one man, or so we assume. He's not all that special - he's not a great hero, leader, or lover, though he's each at one point or another. He doesn't rise above or sink below anyone else, except in the usual ways. As with Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," this book celebrates the ordinary. And, when seen in such detail, the ordinary becomes quite extraordinary.
The book opens with the un-named man's arrival by train. The crowd and surroundings excite him, as does the mechanism of the train itself. Then, he's off to his new life in the city. We see that life in an uneven, even surreal pace. Masereel's vivid, expressive images hopscotch through the years of his life. Sequences of unrelated images seem to compress years into just a few pages. Other times, long sequences examine individual stories in detail - the adoption of a daughter, his happiness in her, and her final illness and death may be the most moving. It's a life-changing event, and sets the anonymous man off on a lengthy voyage, perhaps to lose himself or to find himself again. He returns to the city life, and eventually retires. The imagery changes radically at this point. It suggests Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and "Starry Night," and also hints at Van Gogh's death.
Or maybe not. The imagery speaks volumes, but speaks a different volume to each viewer - and will probably speak differently to me when I read it again. Although it's an illustrated story, it's not for children. It is for anyone who wants to see the grandparents of today's illustrated fiction, or who appreciates woodcut in itself. This Dover edition is a beautiful reproduction, with richly saturated blacks but paper opaque enough to keep each page from bleeding through. It's easy to enjoy - so go ahead, enjoy it.
//wiredweird
Powerful Catalyst.......2000-05-23
Like the Tarot, the images here are universal and transformative. They have the additional benefit of a wry sense of humor and subtle undercurrents of a humanist sensibility.
A must have for any searcher or thinker.
Pure Inspiration.......1999-05-01
When my sister gave me this book for my birthday, it was one of the greatest presents I ever received. I was inspired, comforted, and emboldened by Masereel's wordless tale of a questing spirit. Despite the fact that I've read it literally hundreds of times (almost every night when I was working in Calcutta), I always see something new in the subtle, highly expressive woodcuts. Besides the brilliance of his technique, the story Maserel tells is exciting, complex, hilarious and moving. A treaure I wouldn't trade for practically anything.
reviewing the reviewer.......1998-08-24
I do not agree with the reviewer that wrote the following lines concerning Masereel's work: "We can no longer flip through it with the passion and mounting excitement which Mann describes in his introduction. For us, such journeys seem to end very close to where they began." This commentator seems to arrive at this statement from an overly-pessimistic outlook. Perhaps it would be better to comment merely on the genius of the work rather than make broad socialogical/philosophical judgements which are not well grounded, (or rather which are grounded in the reviewer's own pessimism). I suggest weekend outings as a alternative to staying home and reading a novel.
a transcendant, wordless novel.......1996-06-01
Frans Masereel made this "Novel in 165 Woodcuts" in 1919. With these 165 beautifully stark images, Masereel tells the story of a man's life - his love, his grief, his awe, his despair - without using a single word. "Passionate Journey" unfolds like a silent film; its attempt to communicate the reality of a lived life across boundaries of language (and literacy) gives it a quality of spiritual striving and - ultimately - transcendence. A small, luminous masterpiece.
"Look at these powerful black-and-white figures, their features etched in light and shadow. You will be captivated from beginning to end..." - Thomas Mann
Average customer rating:
- Excellent academic text on Picasso's Prints of 1930s
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Myth and Metamorphosis: Picasso's Classical Prints of the 1930s
Lisa Florman
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
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Picasso's Vollard Suite (Painters & Sculptors)
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Picasso Line Drawings and Prints (Dover Art Library)
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The Burial of the Count of Orgaz & Other Poems
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Picasso: The Man and His Work - Part 1 (1881-1937)
ASIN: 0262062135 |
Book Description
Previous studies of Picasso's involvement with the classical have tended to concentrate on the period immediately following the First World War, and to attribute that involvement to both the rise of political conservatism in France and the domesticating influence of the artist's marriage to Olga Koklova. Focusing instead on the later, classicizing prints of the 1930s, this book offers a radically different view of Picasso and the "classical" -- a view that aligns his work much more closely with Surrealist, and specifically Bataillean, revisions of antiquity.
The book's argument is built around detailed analyses of several separate print series: Picasso's illustrations for Ovid's Metamorphoses, the etchings of the Vollard Suite, and The Minotauromachy. Common to all of them, the book shows, is a strong engagement not only with the classical, but with the viewer. In the latter, Picasso's prints are clearly at odds with the understanding of the relationship between classical art and its audience that prevailed throughout most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries -- an understanding that held the work's purported autonomy to mirror the viewer's own. By exposing that autonomy as a fantasy, Picasso opens the "classical" work and its viewer alike to the entanglements of desire and the dissolution of boundaries it inevitably brings.
Much of the argument turns on close readings of key Surrealist texts by Georges Bataille, Michel Leiris, and Roger Caillois. Even more important, however, are the prints' numerous references, heretofore unnoticed, to specific works by, among others, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Goya. These references effectively create an alternative "classical" tradition out of which Picasso's etchings can be seen to have emerged.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent academic text on Picasso's Prints of 1930s.......2007-03-24
Academic but laid out so well that it is a pleasant and informative read for non-academics. Well researched and illustrated, in easy-to-follow chapters. The notes and references are excellent too, but it is the layout that is exceptional.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding introduction.......2006-08-11
If you're going to have just one book on the wide world of printmaking, make it this one. Despite its heft, over 400 pages in large format, it almost comes across as rushed. I don't mean sloppily done, quite the opposite, but with just so much to say that the pages can barely hold it all.
Saff and Sacilotto start with relief techniques, the processes that are easiest to intuit and that have the longest histories. This isn't just a history book, though, it includes modern materials and techniques, all in enough detail for a beginner to get going on. The next section, on the many kinds of intaglio printing, is equally thorough. It covers the whole range of ways that people can create images on printing plates. That includes familiar etching, engraving, and drypoint techniques, but also lift, aquatint, mezzotint, mixed technique, and more. The discussion covers every step, from preparing a plate to take the ground on through to printing the edition and cancelling the plate.
The section on litho, though, is where this really comes into its own. It's an exhaustive discussion of everything about the process, from the chemistry of stone or metal, to creating multiple lithographic stones in good registration, to surfacing the stone, to drying the finished prints. And, unlike many other discussions of printmaking, these authors never shy from photographic techniques and technological support. I really appreciate the fact that they see the artistic potential in everything, not just some purist list of historical techniques. The last section on printmaking covers serigraphy, and does just as complete a job as the other sections did. Final chapters cover papermaking, blind impressions, framing, and curatorial care.
There's not a lot to object to here. The authors often recommend formaldehyde as a preservative, something that only the best-equipped shops would attempt to handle today. Likewise some of the more aggressive etchants - HF is so hazardous that its use seems hard to justify for most purposes. Well, in the nearly 30 years since this was written, attitudes toward work place hazards have changed a lot. On the positive side, though, it's illustrated with 675 black and white figures and forty color plates, another reason this book seems so dense. There's more information per page in this book than in any other I can think of, and far more pages than in most other books. It has my highest recommendation.
//wiredweird
Printmaking: A History and Process.......2000-06-22
Excellent!Printmaking along with The Complete Printmaker and The Tamarind Book of Lithography are the shop manuals for Parsons School of Design and New School University Printmaking Studio.
A must have for printmakers.......2000-04-26
This book is an absolute must-have for printmakers, professionals as well as amatuers and students. I'm an art student whose focus is in printmaking and this book was strongly recommended to me by my professor. It is an encyclopedia of information on printmaking, including not only the "how-to" but the history and development as well.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent overview of Rothko
- there IS a problem with the color
- a beautiful exhibition
- Great book for moder art students and personal enjoyment
- Mark Rothko by Jeffrey Weiss
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Mark Rothko
Jeffrey Weiss
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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The Essential Mark Rothko
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The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art
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Writings on Art
ASIN: 0300075057 |
Book Description
This richly illustrated book reproduces in full color more than one hundred of Mark Rothko`s paintings, prints, and drawings, including some of the stunningly simple yet enthralling rectangle paintings for which he is famous. The volume provides commentary on various formal aspects of Rothko`s work, interviews with contemporary artists who reflect on Rothko`s artistic legacy, and a chronology of the Russian-born artist`s life (1903-1970).
Customer Reviews:
Excellent overview of Rothko.......2007-08-07
I saw the original show that went with this book. While the book cannot do justice to the works one can still appreciate the greatness of Rothko by reading/viewing it.
there IS a problem with the color.......2007-08-04
I recently bought this book, and I want to comment on the discussion regarding the color - the color is NOT great, and it does NOT show Rothko's work in its best light. Anyone who says differently should get their eyes checked. That being said, other than that it seems to be a very nice book, and I'll still be glad to have it in my library. I just need another book for better color reference.
a beautiful exhibition.......2007-04-07
This is the catalogue for a beautiful exhibition that was held at the Beyeler Foundation. Many of the works reproduced are hidden in private collections (e.g. a huge 1958 canvas in black, white and red) and it is great to be able to admire them. Nothing replaces the live experience of being engulfed in a Rothko, standing a short distance from the canvas itself, but this book is undoubtedly a valuable addition in any art library.
Great book for moder art students and personal enjoyment.......2007-02-06
It was nice to see the transition that Rothko made throughout the years from complex modern art (ala Picasso and Dali) to more simplistic yet rich in colors.
Mark Rothko by Jeffrey Weiss.......2006-11-22
As an artist, I am known for my color, and this book is bursting with color.
I was able to view three of his pieces at the Chicago Art Institute. One of
the paintings at the Institute was a transitional piece that I had just been
studying, so to my surprise I was delighted. When I receive a book I rarely
know if it will have color plates. This book and all of the research is the
best I have found on Rothko. After twenty years of reprentational art, it
will be a focus of the colors of Rothko that I may be using in my workings
back to abstract. This is a large book, it is a heavy paperback and has
many, many pages to puruse. I have enjoyed it abundantly. Also the history
is useful in the tranistion of his work. A+ joe Coon A.K.A. artist joemonroe
Book Description
The Print is the third and final book in The Ansel Adams Photography Series--the seminal guides fully revised by Ansel Adams shortly before his death in 1984. The Print, now available in paperback like the other volumes in the series, belongs on every photographer's shelf. It covers the entire printmaking process, from designing and furnishing a darkroom and experimenting with your first print, to mastering advanced techniques such as developer modifications, toning, and bleaching, and burning and dodging. This thorough guide is filled with indispensable darkroom techniques and tips, and amply illustrated with photographs and technical drawings. It is an indispensable tool for mastering the complex art of photographic printmaking.
Customer Reviews:
with great knowledge comes great responsibility.......2007-06-27
Ansel Adams is the master of photography, black and white, but still photographic principles and concepts have been throughly tried and tested by him and he teaches you so much in his series starting with "The Camera" and ending up with this book which focuses more on the final piece. The 2nd book in the series is also so very crucial because it outlines and describes his "Zone System" in great detail. A must have for any avid photographer and a great shelf reference for any professional. Now go out and shoot.. waste some film for crying out loud and get some awesome shots :)
A great reference book for almost any photographer.......2007-06-19
In this third part of Adams' technical writings, you'll find a guide to go from what a camera recorded (it talks about a negative, but can be well applied to a digital raw file) to a fine print delivering "what you saw and felt" to the viewer.
Even if it applies to B&W, I find that much of the content can be applied to color work if you think a bit more about it - mostly now, in the digital age with separated luminance and chrominance controls.
You'll also read some good ol' kitchen recipes about developers and toning... These will be less and less useful, but can bring back the smell of the darkroom to your memory ;o)... And quite often, the principle that based the recipe can be applied to another media.
A reference, whether shooting film, digital or glass plates (and of invaluable interest for the two former).
content excellent, one little remark for the publisher........2007-04-24
The book is excellent. Although these techniques are not widely applied today, with appropriate experience and thinking this knowledge can be applied and transferred to modern software like Adobe Photoshop. It can help relate modern and classic photography printing processes (traditional vs computerized).
One little remark would be for the publisher. The paper the book is printed is gloss with quite a high reflectance index. This results in making reading the book at certain angles quite impossible for your eyes.
This is great book.......2004-06-14
In this book, Adams said Expression is more important than reality, idea more important than fact, the print more important than its subject. For it is only in the print that such magnificence can be unfailingly orchestrated. Those words made me think that what is good photograph. The book opens with a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit brief, history of photography before getting down to explain printing techniques.
The majority of the text concentrates it's efforts in educating the reader in the art of B&W photography. This book tells readers that what are good prints making techniques. After reading this book you will feel like that your printing skills are very improved. The reader will see many wonderful pictures as examples, that will surely create a better impression as to what type of pictures Adams takes.
Excellent Book for any Serious B&W Photographer.......2003-12-25
This is one of a few books in this Ansel Adams series. He discusses a number of aspects of the print, it's limitations, and many techniques that can be used to exploit print characteristics. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is at all serious about B&W photography whether developing your own prints or not.
Customer Reviews:
The best collectionI've seen.......2005-06-05
It's a wonderful collection for a variety of reasons: the beautiful reproduction, the many poses and practices it shows, the many artists and styles, the scholarly but interesting commentary, and attention to a print-lover's details.
The depictions cover the whole range of possible couplings, plus a number of impossible ones. Most of the pictures focus on coupling of one man and one woman, but men together, women singly or together, multiples of each, and even mythical beasts appear in various samples. At least a few pictures show use of toys, genital kisses and caresses, and even cleanup tissues - a little touch that lends familiarity to this unfamiliar culture. Another point appealed to me as well, that all or nearly all scenes show happy, consenting partners.
The historical notes are what such notes should be. They explain the unfamiliar or point out details, without belaboring the obvious. Descriptions of the prints themselves could have been a bit better, especially regarding foxing, fading, and other signs of age. I was glad to see the damaged images, though. It gives viewers a more realistic idea of what to expect when the see prints in galleries or stores, and I'd rather see the image damaged that never see it at all.
In terms of printing and image-making techniques, this book spans a very wide range. The collection is dominated by 17-19th century woodcuts, in the familiar colored style or simple linear images. The authors have also included some of the cartoons that would have been used to guide the artisan cutting the blocks, as well as pencil drawings made for their own sake. There are a few clever fold-outs, including one where, upon lifting the tablecloth on the print, we see lovers playing footsie under the table. Another series (cat. 87) shows a lovely set of prints in a style new to me, one that imitates traditional ink drawings. Others (cat. 84) use "blind impressions" to emboss patterns into the print. Careful photography shows how the indentations enhance the patterns of the fabric, or (in a second print) describe the modeling of the figures and their musculature. In a few cases, the authors show multiple impressions of a given image, to show how instances of the "same" image may differ.
If you have just one book of Edo-era erotica, make it this one. It's beautiful, broad, and informative in many ways. Best of all, it gives a very happy impression of the players and their play.
//wiredweird
Average customer rating:
- Young man crazy about this book
- excellent
- The definitive collection
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Hokusai
Gian Carlo Calza
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
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ASIN: 0714844578 |
Book Description
Katsushika Hokusai (1769-1849) was one of the greatest of the Japanese printmakers, painters and book illustrators. This richly illustrated monograph provides an overview of the master's life and works. Comprising introductory essays, seven chapters embracing Hokusai's entire career and some 700 illustrations, it presents and analyses a large selection of Hokusai's finest works in all media, covering his whole career and giving a scholarly and up-to-date interpretation of the artist and his significance.Gian Carlo Calza is Professor of East Asian Art History at the University of Ca' Foscari, Venice, and Director of the International Hokusai Research Centre in Milan. A distinguished authority on Hokusai and Japanese art, he has published many books, exhibition catalogues and articles on Hokusai, and is currently preparing a catalogue raisonn+ of Hokusai's paintings.In addition to Calza's eight introductory essays and his catalogue of the artist's works, the book includes discussions of various aspects of Hokusai's art by inter-nationally respected authorities in the field, namely Roger S. Keyes, Visiting Professor in the History of Art at Brown University; Matthi Forrer, Curator at the National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden; John M. Rosen-field, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Art at Harvard University; Richard Lane, independent scholar; Asano Shugo, Curator of the Municipal Museum of Art, Chiba; Tsuji Nobuo, Rector of Tama University of Fine Arts, Tokyo; and Kobayashi Tadashi, Director of the Muni-cipal Museum of Art, Chiba, and Professor of East Asian Art History at the University Gakushuin of Tokyo.
Customer Reviews:
Young man crazy about this book.......2006-09-28
Looking at this collection really shows the diversity in Hokusai's long career. In one of the essays, the writter comments that Hokusai changes his style so much that his work looks like the work of a different artist. The breath of this volume helps the viewer see how creative and inventive this master is. What I like about Hokusai is that his personal life is just as interesting as his work. The essays included do a good job placing the differnent periods in context with the times and Hokusai's own massive body of work.
excellent.......2004-06-17
Excellent printing and selection, a great book for art reference or read.
The definitive collection.......2003-12-05
There are two or three different collections of Hokusai's works in print this Fall (2003), and of them this is the best. The others are good, solid selections of his material, but this combines an encyclopedic sweep of nearly all of his available prints (including ones rarely seen, such as his erotic prints) with a superb color printing. I'd recommend this above all of the others, if you're looking for a complete catalog of his works.
Average customer rating:
- Ukiyo-E
- Dont drop this book on your foot--OUCH!
- The Book as Art
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Ukiyo-e (Themes)
Gian Carlo Calza
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
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Japonisme: Cultural Crossings Between Japan and the West
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Hokusai
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Japanese Erotic Fantasies: Sexual Imagery of the Edo Period
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Japanese Prints: The Art Institute of Chicago
ASIN: 0714845388 |
Book Description
The art of ukiyo-e (the floating world) originated in the city of Edo (1603-1867, now Tokyo), when the political and military power of Japan was in the hands of the shoguns. Comprising six essays, six plate sections and over 600 illustrations this beautiful book provides a perfect introduction to the art of this period. The paintings, scrolls and prints reproduced here demonstrate not only the new urban pleasures of the theatre, restaurants, teahouses and geisha, but also Japan's love of nature and tradition. Professor Calza's accessible style provides a fascinating yet scholarly study of such masters as Hokusai, Hiroshige and Utamaro.
Customer Reviews:
Ukiyo-E.......2007-10-02
A sumptuous and diverse collection of these Japanese prints that have been so significant in Asian culture and Western art.
Dont drop this book on your foot--OUCH!.......2006-01-29
The eternal search for the perfect art book. Lots of high quality, large images. The book is predominantly images, with little supporting text. Which is just fine by me. The bredth of this book is its selling point. Its huge and covers a large span of time. My only issue is the size of the images. NOt all, but some are just to small. But, thats why I have a magnifying glass at hand. If you want to own one really good book on Ukiyo-e, this just might be your best bet.
The Book as Art.......2005-12-23
One of the most frequently referenced periods of Eastern art is the Edo Period in Japan, a time when woodcuts, scrolls, prints, and ink drawings literally flowed from the brushes and hands of craftsmen such as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige. The depiction of ocean waves is still informing the art of many artists - Pat Steir comes to mind first. This is the period of ukiyo-e, a time of emperors and grandeur and shoguns and power, all captured in the enormously imaginative art. It was also a period when artists turned their attention to the honor of the geisha life, the teahouses, and the palaces of pleasure with graphic sexual depictions, a time when the rest of the outside world seemed to matter little to the level of culture in Edo (now Tokyo) for over 200 years.
This splendid book is in a very large format that allows the reproductions of the plates to resemble life size! Intertwined with the well written history of art and techniques as well as erudite essays on the Japanese sociopolitical, cultural, the all important Japanese tradition of the time are placed generous examples of the finest works by the finest artists. The art is flat dimensionally but hardly communicatively. Elegant portraits of geishas reveal the traditional garb and makeup and represent a history lesson for these women of pleasure. The pure landscapes and seascapes and views mountains and volcanoes are representative of the fact that Japan is an island and never far from the influence of water.
Though the book is expensive the investment is well worth the cost as only the finest paper, printing techniques, and design have been extravagantly lavished on this very beautiful and informative volume. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05
Average customer rating:
- Art in China (Oxford History of Art Series)
- Good introduction to the arts of China
- Currently the best short introduction to art in China
- BRILLIANT!!
- challenging book
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Art in China (Oxford History of Art)
Craig Clunas
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0192842072 |
Book Description
China can boast a history of art lasting 5,000 years and embracing a huge diversity of images and objects - jade tablets, painted silk handscrolls and fans, ink and lacquer painting, porcelain-ware, sculptures, and calligraphy. They range in scale from the vast `terracotta army' with its 7,000 or so life-size figures, to the exquisitely delicate writing of fourth-century masters such as Wang Xizhin and his teacher, `Lady Wei'. But this rich tradition has not, until now, been fully appreciated in the West where scholars have focused their attention on sculpture, downplaying art more highly prized by the Chinese themselves such as calligraphy. Art in China marks a breakthrough in the study of the subject. Drawing on recent innovative scholarship and on newly-accessible studies in China itself Craig Clunas surveys the full spectrum of the visual arts in China. He ranges from the Neolithic period to the art scene of the 1980s and 1990s, examining art in a variety of contexts as it has been designed for tombs, commissioned by rulers, displayed in temples, created for the men and women of the educated ilite, and bought and sold in the marketplace. Many of the objects illustrated in this book have previously been known only to a few specialists, and will be totally new to a general audience.
Customer Reviews:
Art in China (Oxford History of Art Series).......2005-09-24
Beautifully illustrated, delightful and extremely informative. This book is a marvelous supplement to the typical art history text books.
Good introduction to the arts of China.......2005-03-08
I like the author's approach to writing an introduction to the arts of China. Instead of trying to touch at least all of the major artists/works from all of the major periods (which in the case of China would mean touching very many things in a very cursory way), the author focuses on the context for which works were produced. Some of them were meant to be "art" from the start, some were not. This offers ample opportunities to examine how some works influenced other later in history. Overall, I think the ideas presented are some of the most gripping I have found in Chinese art history books. The book includes recent discoveries and scholarship and uses Pinyin romanization (two great features - not all recently-published books do).
Currently the best short introduction to art in China.......2002-01-20
While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.
For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.
Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).
My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.
BRILLIANT!!.......2002-01-15
In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!
challenging book.......2000-05-15
This is a challenging work.
He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.
Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place
Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.
Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.
As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.
Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.
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