Book Description
Each card in this inspiring deck offers an idea to stretch your approach to observing and chronicling the daily events around you. You'll learn how to harness the power of words (what to write about, and what to write with), explore extreme photography techniques without having any previous photography experience, focus on the little things (like a two-inch section of a painted mural you drive by every day), and discover unusual ways to create a self-portrait (from plastic wrap and tree lights, to close-ups of your hands). Includes 50 cards and a creativity notebook to record your own art-journal explorations.
Customer Reviews:
Very Cool Concept.......2007-09-26
I love these creativity cards! The graphics on one side are unique, interesting, colorful, and eye catching. The prompts on the flipside are thought-provoking, meaningful, and different. The small journal is a great creative jumpstart in itself. I love the colors and techniques that were used to produce the backgrounds. Think I'll even attempt to create some of those myself. The box housing the creativity cards and journal is sturdy and pleasant to look at.
This is a fresh concept, and I am enjoying this package very much.
By the way, this is in no way a "how to" of any type. It is intended to make you think about doing old things in a fresh way or to help you attempt something new altogether.
Highly recommended.
Wow!.......2007-08-05
these cards are amazing. each one is a little piece of art in itself. you'll want to frame and hang them. except then you wouldn't be able to turn them over and get a shot in the arm of inspiration... yummy. i'm too afraid to work in the little workbook as yet, tho. i don't wanna mess it up. :)
if you're looking for cutesy, pretty art, tho, look somewhere else. this is real, gritty from-the-soul art. the kind that hits you "right there". and hopefully will help you make your own journal pages that do the same.
several of them are geared towards photography but lots of it is the kind that can be done with even an el cheapo camera. the author will also have you using tape, glue, spraypaint, and maybe a few things you never thought of as art supplies before. this is the kind of journaling that begs you to jump in and get messy.
if you do any kind of visual journaling, i highly recommend these cards and workbook.
So Much Fun.......2007-08-05
I got this after much thought. I figured it was just another "how to do a journal book". But, I found it to be much fun to do the exersizes and if you are an artist with a block, this will help to unblock you. It can give you ideas you never really thought of before on approaching your art work. Plus, as I said, it is a lot of fun to do the exersizes suggested on the individual cards. The kit also includes a fun little notebook/journal book to do as you please with. If you teach art, these are also fun ideas to inspire your students. I plan on doing that with my students this Fall.
This is a Gem.......2007-07-26
First of all, this will make a perfect gift for anyone crafty or involved in journaling, scrapbooking, altered books, ATCs, etc. It's a very affordable gift that keeps on giving.
The author opens your eyes to new ways to be creative in a way anyone, whether an "artist" or not, can use everyday observations to create real, unique, personal, fun, journal pages. She'll encourage you to take in all your surroundings and find a common element - she was able to find the common element while sitting in an Italian restaurant and watching war protesters: she, the waiter, the protesters were all waiting, caught up in a moment in time which was the theme she used for one one of her journal pages. She uses paint, photography and any object that she can use to express herself in her work -and makes no apologies. I LOVE this little gem. Just lovely and real. You won't be disappointed.
Great things come in little boxed sets..........2007-07-04
I noticed that there was a 1 star review of "Wide Open...". No offense, reviewer, but clearly you don't have a clue. Yes, the cards in the set are sort of vague -- if you are looking for step-by-step instructions for making something, don't waste your money on this. And, yes, you do need to own... and have some very basic knowledge of... art supplies (again, no offense, but if you've been within spitting distance of an art supply or craft store, then you'll know what gesso is).
[Ok, stepping off my soap box and done with the snarky comments.] Randi Feuerhelm-Watts is such an inspiration! I love her style and the ideas for inspiration that she presents on the cards go way beyond some of the tired, old suggestions that seem to always crop up in art/craft publications.
I read all the cards in one sitting (because I'm obsessive like that!) and I did notice that some of them related to each other. Not that they are dependent on each other or that you would be lost if you pick them at random... but I did observe some links between the individual ideas. I think this is great for continuing themes in your art work. Also, while she references photography quite a bit (she is a photographer after all), I definitely do not feel that any of the ideas are pigeonholed by the techniques. The author's basic ideas translate really well no matter what kind of visual artwork you might do.
The cards themselves each feature snippets of the author's artwork on the back. This alone is incredibly inspirational. You almost get double the bang for your buck - pull out one of the cards to interpret the visual side and then come back to it later for inspiration from the narrative side.
My only complaint would be about the Creativity Notebook... I wouldn't really call it a complaint, persay. I guess I'm just ambivalent about it's inclusion in the set. On one hand she has provided some great backgrounds to help you combat "white page syndrome" as well as some random instructions to offer a jump start to someone who is new to visual journaling. But on the other hand, I don't see myself personally using it since I already have half a dozen journals and prefer to make my own backgrounds (once you get on a roll, its half the fun).
The ideas and techniques are presented in Randi's conversational style, along with her great little stories. While I have not had the pleasure of taking a class with her or meeting her, she comes across as the kind of person you'd love to have as an art friend because she'd always be inspiring and challenging. I think that's the greatest thing about this kit... she's managed to package a ton of her personality and a lot of what I imagine she teaches in her workshops into one cool product. This set definitely gets a front row spot on my art-bookshelf.
Book Description
With easy-to-follow instructions and detailed photo sequences showing how to arrange lights and lighting accessories, this carefully structured course teaches all the fundamentals of portraiture, as well as a host of other creative techniques. It sets out everything the amateur needs to know to create a wide range of styles, from choosing the right equipment to composing the background to placing and positioning the subject for maximum effect. The basics of color and black and white, digital capture and film, and studio and location shooting all receive detailed attention, and helpful tips on mood-enhancing lighting will help raise novices’ skills to professional levels.
Customer Reviews:
Great ideas for better portraits.......2007-09-19
Taking portraits is a hobby of mine. I have a studio set up in my house. The author has really good ideas for improving portraits. Although I already have about 6 other books on portraiture, I'm learning good things from this book. He shares simple tips from his years of experience. It's better than most of the other books I've already got. Many examples of poses are given which I am finding helpful.
Portrait Photography.......2007-04-02
This book contains some very useful advice on how to set up lighting and positioning your subject for good portrait shots. The writer does not list each shots camera settings which would be helpful to the beginner.
Good guide for aspiring pros.......2007-03-01
Mark Cleghorn's portrait photography book is one of the few that is both comprehensive and up to date. Too many books either focus on the dated "rose sniffer" picture, or stick to the lighting diagrams and studio work. This covers interior and exterior shots, posing and all with a contemporary feel.
It does have a strong European/UK slant. We tend not to bother too much with defining the differences between broad and short lighting, or whether loop, Paramount, Rembrandt or split lighting fits the bill, and often go for the simple softbox key, evenly lit white background approach. Cleghorn covers this stalwart of European commercial portraiture, but also covers more advanced and complex lighting arrangements, but perhaps doesn't cover what American portrait photographers would consider 'the basics' as thoroughly. This is more a problem of the language of portrait photography not being as universal as we might imagine, rather than any lack on Cleghorn's part. Usefully though, he uses real people, not models, so the final images are perhaps not as polished as some, but more attainable.
If there is a criticism, it's that the book starts with a strong four/five light portrait setting. This is for entirely good reasons (it acts as a benchmark for later lighting, and allows explanation of what the key, fill, rim and background lights actually do). However, it might prove daunting to those who are at the 'My First Softbox' level of studio lighting. I also think some aspects regarding the business end would be an advantage in a guide like this, although that would also make it even less appealing to those living outside of the UK, perhaps.
Secrets, what secrets?.......2007-01-09
Mark Cleghorn had a series of lighting set-ups in AP with another photographer (Kenny Martin) some years ago and I bought this book based on that series. This book offers nothing new for the photographer who has even the most basic of knowledge, save your money and look elsewhere.
Don't buy it........2007-01-08
Look, I'm sure this photographer is a nice guy and all. I mean, he looks like a real family man, an upstanding member of his community.
His book, however, is awful. There was little useful information. The lighting is boring and his posing ideas are atrocious. To top it off, it looks as though he asked his family and friends to volunteer as models. If one does that, at least take the money you've saved by not hiring beautiful people and hire a hair stylist/makeup artist to help make your homely subjects look a notch better. Jeeze, they look like they just got back from the church picnic.
I returned this book. Don't buy it.
Book Description
What role has photography played in shaping our ideas about race, nation, and selfhood? How has the camera been used to construct and contrast images of racial difference? To create or debunk stereotypes and romantic myths about specific ethnic groups? This groundbreaking book is the first to thoroughly investigate the impact that photography has had on race and racial identity in America-among the most profound and explosive issues in our nation's history and everyday life.
From Dorothea Lange's portrait of Mexican braceros brought to the United States as farm workers, to Anthony Aziz & Sammy Cucher's digitally manipulated, idealized nudes, Only Skin Deep presents historical and contemporary images and embraces a wide range of genres and movements, including portraiture, social documentary, ethnographic photography, fine-art photography, and photojournalism. Complementing the images are four original essays on race and photography, eight reprint essays that have served as foundational documents in the discussion of race, and five case studies that focus more narrowly on representations of specific cultural groups. The book will accompany a national touring exhibition prepared by the International Center of Photography in New York.
Customer Reviews:
GRAND VISION/HARD VIEWING.......2004-02-28
An enormous and fasinating series of discussions surrounding "raced looking" in America's history of photography is central to this group of essays by many of the cultural critics working today. A massive tome with outstanding visuals, some not seen in the exhibition, provide extensive background and analysis to the area of how race has intervened in American culture today. For museums who felt the race subject had been addressed in the 90s post-Quincentennary exhibition, it is obvious that much more in depth examination is necessary and relevant. An outstanding effort for a museum catalogue and exhibition. All should be commended. Required reading for anyone working and teaching in cultural studies, ethnic studies, humanities, and the arts.
Average customer rating:
- Fun through navel gazing
- A True Self Portrait
- WOW! Even better the 2nd time around!!!
- good book
- Amazing! Brilliant! Highly Useful!
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The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love and Act the Way You Do
John M. Oldham
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Big Book of Personality Tests: 90 Easy-To-Score Quizzes That Reveal the Real You
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Psychologist's Book Of Self-tests: 25 Love, Sex, Intelligence, Career, And Personality Tests Developed By Professionals To Reveal The Real You
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The 16 Personality Types, Descriptions for Self-Discovery
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The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life
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How Do You Compare? 12 Simple Tests to Discover Hidden Truths About Your Personality.
ASIN: 0553373935
Release Date: 1995-08-01 |
Book Description
The New Personality Self -portrait is the only guide to personality types based on the American Psychiatric Association's just-published official diagnostic system -- the DSM -IV -- and written by one of today's leading personality researchers. A long-time backlist bestseller in its previous edition, it has now been completely updated to include all the fascinating new information about how we become who we are-and how we can change. The self-test in The New Personality Self -portrait is already used extensively in mental health and business settings. It reveals a profile so personal, so accurate, that it's as individual as a fingerprint. Readers discover their unique mix of 14 distinct personality styles -- and learn how those traits impact their relationships, work and home life. Fascinating case histories show each style in action, with tips on how to live and work with every type, and exercises for turning vulnerabilities into strengths -- plus warnings about when individual differences develop into personality disorders.
Customer Reviews:
Fun through navel gazing.......2007-07-28
If you are a Baby Boomer, as I am, you will find books about knowing yourself endlessly fascinating. I didn't really learn anything new about myself but I enjoyed the narcissism of the whole process. This was a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.
A True Self Portrait.......2007-06-27
I love this assessment and the information it reveals. I would like it even better if it was on line. :-)
WOW! Even better the 2nd time around!!!.......2006-12-03
So I have had this book on my bookshelf for while. I am an avid collector of psychology books, fascinated by people and figuring out what makes us all tick.
So when I picked this book up AGAIN in my bookshelf and started the read the chapter on the Sensitive Style, something just clicked for me. It was one of those rare "AHA" moments where things just make sense.
I picked up this book to learn about other people but what I am learning about myself is incredible. I have decided to go back and cover the book slooooooooooowly....page by page....Highly Recommended Keeper!!!
good book.......2005-11-22
people can learn alot about a few different types of person's mentalities from reading this book and also can take a test to see what kind of person they are. i took the test and felt the results were accurate. it was a fun read
Amazing! Brilliant! Highly Useful!.......2005-07-02
WOW! At first I thought this would be a run-of-the-mill psych book, but it is actually outstanding! I've read about personality from some other sources, but this is by far the best I've seen. It is a goldmine of useful information. You will find out exactly what kind of person you really are. You will find the answers to the mysteries of your life. You will find out why you behaved the ways you did and why your life has turned out the way it has. You will find out how to get the best out of your particular set of personality traits. You will find out how to best deal with other people of different personalities. I found out why my parents were unnurturing - it's because that's just how the workaholic types are. This book describes 13 different personality styles which everyone has to varying degrees. This book shows you how they affect things like your work and love life. It shows you how to best cope with and minimize your weaknesses. This book enabled me to accept who I am and make the best of it. This book answered so many questions that have been a vexing mystery to me all my life. I think there are a few therapists here poo-pooing this book because it is very helpful and THEY are NOT! They're jealous! Truth is that most therapists and psychiatrists are incompetent and just waste your time. Many people like me know that from bitter experience. This book is VALID because it perfectly nailed down my personality traits and explained them like nothing else ever has and gave me tons of very helpful info and advice that I didn't even dream existed.
Average customer rating:
- I adore her even more.
- a MUST
- Exceptional reproduction of actual diary pages, in full
- diary of Frida Khalo
- The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait , A Review by Cheryl Millard
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The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait
Frida Kahlo
Manufacturer: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc."
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Frida Kahlo: The Paintings
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Frida A Biography of Frida Kahlo
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Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo
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The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
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Frida
ASIN: 0810959542 |
Amazon.com
Frida Kahlo's diary, like her art, is painted in breathtakingly vivid colors. It covers her tumultuous last decade and encompasses love letters, political musings on Communism, and resplendent paintings. The paintings, peopled with mythic figures, self-portraits, and monsters, articulate Kahlo's fantastic visions. One drawing melds a procession of crying faces onto an intertwined couple surrounded by body parts, only to dissolve into a mass of roots and dendrites.
In the introduction, Carlos Fuentes writes, "...a streetcar crashed into the fragile bus she was riding, broke her spinal column, her collarbone, her ribs, her pelvis.... The impact of the crash left Frida naked and bloodied, but covered with gold dust." Her paintings depict her bodily experience, from anguish to sensuality. Kahlo said, "I never painted dreams, I painted my own reality." This visionary ability earned her a place among the surrealists.
Kahlo's prose delves into the associations between images and words, feelings and thought. Her writings shed welcome light on her active intelligence and provide an outline of the events of her life. This Abradale edition features plates reproducing the pages of the diary, and essays by Carlos Fuentes and Sarah Lowe that place it in the context of Mexican art, politics, and history. It is a magical work that adds to an understanding not only of Kahlo's work, but of her interior world as well. --Madeline Crowley
Book Description
Published in its entirety, Frida Kahlo's amazing illustrated journal documents the last ten years of her turbulent life. These passionate, often surprising, intimate records, kept under lock and key for some 40 years in Mexico, reveal many new dimensions in the complex personal life of this remarkable Mexican artist. The 170-page journal contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams-many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera-along with 70 mesmerizing watercolor illustrations.
The text entries, written in Frida's round, full script in brightly colored inks, make the journal as captivating to look at as it is to read. Her writing reveals the artist's political sensibilities, recollections of her childhood, and her enormous courage in the face of more than 35 operations to correct injuries she had sustained in an accident at the age of 18. This intimate portal into her life is sure to fascinate fans of the artist, art historians, and women's culturalists alike.
Customer Reviews:
I adore her even more........2007-08-19
Frida Kahlo's diary has amplified my admiration for her. Her beautifully disturbing drawings and poetic words in this book are more than what I had expected. Though her handwriting is hard to read at times, the translations in the back are a big help. I shall cherish this book for a long time.
a MUST.......2007-05-05
When I find out there was a book of all of Frida's actual writings and drawings from her diary, I was amazed! And this book totally fit all my expectations. It includes everything from her infamous red leather bound journal that she sought refuge in until the final moments of her life. You can actually see the ink from the next page leaking through the page before it, so you feel like your reading the actual thing. Its in big, bold, deep colors just how Frida liked it, and it translates and explains everything in english in a detailed and sufficient way. Definitely a MUST for all fans of the AWESOME Frida Kahlo =)
Exceptional reproduction of actual diary pages, in full.......2007-04-19
Enrique Torres' review is 100% accurate, so I just want to add a few additional comments.
The reproduction of the diary pages is nothing short of amazing - apparently scanned with a high quality scanner, or perhaps photographed digitally or with film and then digitized. The colors of both the writing and the images appear exceptionally accurate - Frida used many different colored pencils in her diary. Even penciled notations look like pencil, ballpoint ink looks like ink, and all pages are printed on high-quality semi-gloss paper.
The second half, which contains the English translations, also contains small black & white reproductions of each page translated and of each image described/explicated. Makes it easy to return to the first half and look at the original full-color page.
CAVEAT & RECOMMENDATION: The book I have is the 2005 hardback ed. published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc. I have not seen nor can I speak of any other published editions. I would buy this edition - the price is more than reasonable and the quality top-notch.
diary of Frida Khalo.......2007-03-09
Fantastic illustrated diary, in her own handwriting an absolute must for all Khalo/Diego fans.
The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait , A Review by Cheryl Millard.......2006-06-20
Owning this book is really the closest you will become in owning an actual piece of kahlos intimate belongings even if it is only a reproduction.The books cover is a faithful reproduction of the diarys cover, you feel as if you are holding in your hands the actual diary,The pages are reproduced in a way that shows where the writing on the other side of the page has started to come through or where the paint,ink and marker has bled .You get a direct insight into the inner thoughts of this tormented,but highly talented person, tormented by the chronic pain from a life altering injury at such a young age as well as tormented by her love for Diego Rivera,miscarriages,opperations to alieviate the constant pain ,Frida weaves her art into words.The diary also shows her humorous side in making do with what life has dealt her with her dark sense of brash humor in a poetic yet sad way, we cannot help feeling as if we are looking into something forbidden expecting her to appear behind us as we look into the most fragile part of her life. In the back is a page by page translation for those of us who cannot read spanish, you will find this very helpful.This is another book that anyone who loves Kahlo should not be without,it is really well done in all aspects.
Average customer rating:
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Motor Cognition: What Actions Tell to the Self (Oxford Portraits in Science)
Marc Jeannerod
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Disorders of Volition (Bradford Books)
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Does Consciousness Cause Behavior?
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Being No One: The Self-Model Theory of Subjectivity (Bradford Books)
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Action in Perception (Representation and Mind)
ASIN: 0198569653 |
Book Description
Our ability to acknowledge and recognise our own identity - our 'self' - is a characteristic doubtless unique to humans. Where does this feeling come from? How does the combination of neurophysiological processes coupled with our interaction with the outside world construct this coherent identity? We know that our social interactions contribute via the eyes, ears etc. However, our self is not only influenced by our senses. It is also influenced by the actions we perform and those we see others perform. Our brain anticipates the effects of our own actions and simulates the actions of others. In this way, we become able to understand ourselves and to understand the actions and emotions of others. This book is the first to describe the new field of 'Motor Cognition' - one to which the author's contribution has been seminal. Though motor actions have long been studied by neuroscientists and physiologists, it is only recently that scientists have considered the role of actions in building the self. How consciousness of action is part of self-consciousness, how one's own actions determine the sense of being an agent, how actions performed by others impact on ourselves for understanding others, differentiating ourselves from them and learning from them: these questions are raised and discussed throughout the book, drawing on experimental, clinical, and theoretical bases. The advent of new neuroscience techniques, like neuroimaging and direct electrical brain stimulation, together with a renewal of behavioral methods in cognitive psychology, provide new insights into this area. Mental imagery of action, self-recognition, consciousness of actions, imitation can be objectively studied using these new tools. The results of these investigations shed light on clinical disorders in neurology, psychiatry and in neuro-development. This is a major new work that will lay down the foundations for the field of motor cognition.
Book Description
Sixty of the world's most famous artists' self-portraits are shown in full-page reproductions. Each includes a biography of the artist; an in-depth examination of the portrait details; and how it reflects the artist's personality, ideas, and place in the history of art. These 180 color images offer the most intimate glimpses of these great artists' personalities and how they saw themselves.
Book Description
This accessible supplement makes Descartes’ text come alive for students by showing them how to read, think critically, and write about this key, classic work. Engaging interactive devices draw students into an intimate philosophical encounter that they can model in later work in philosophy.
Customer Reviews:
More than Descartes' text.......2003-10-06
I am the instructor of a college course in which we read Descartes' Meditations. I ordered this edition because I wanted to use the Rubin translation that also appears in the Perry/Bratman anthology Introduction to Philosophy 3rd ed., and because the bookstore could not obtain the Arete Press edition of Rubin's translation.
For the purpose of a college course text I do not find this edition ideal. The commentary is much too intrusive and distracting. Moreover, this is *not* the same translation as found in Perry/Bratman! Instructors, beware.
For the general reader looking for a guide, however, this might be useful ...
Excellent Introduction To Philosophy.......1999-03-04
This is probably the best introduction to philosophy that anyone could hope for. Descartes is not hard to read or comprehend but this particular book is unusually helpful to the newcomer. The author tries to give the reader a good idea of what philosophy is about and how to read philsophical works. There are detailed questions that instruct the reader on how to "think like Descartes" and to construct logically sound arguments based upon minimal assumptions. An excellent introduction to philosophy and to critical thinking.
Amazon.com
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) may not have been a handsome man, but he was an exceptional painter of himself. This sumptuous catalog, published to coincide with the exhibition of his self-portraits at the National Gallery in London, has glossy reproductions of all the paintings and etchings from the show, plus copies of works that are long lost and some not released by the galleries or private collectors who own them. The images are all thoroughly annotated to elucidate their history, and the scholarship is impressive, being mostly drawn from the Rembrandt Research Project, which for years has been working with a combination of x-ray technology and patient research to ascertain the age of the pictures and confirm the identity of their painter. This is not easy work: Rembrandt had many pupils, and he encouraged them to copy his own self-portraits as practice, leading to the unusual situation of a host of Rembrandt self-portraits not actually painted by the master himself. The findings of the project have been contentious, with paintings unexpectedly relegated or elevated through reappraisal. What shines through, though, is the sheer diversity of Rembrandt's genius: the early paintings and etchings in which he turns to a mirror to study expression; the periods of dressing up variously as an Oriental potentate, a soldier, an artisan, and St. Paul; and the famous trilogy of self-portraits painted in his final year that seem to show a man old beyond his years. The catalog also contains a selection of works by his pupils Gerrit Dou and Samuel van Hoogstraten and essays by Rembrandt scholars that seek to revise the somewhat romantic conceit that the series is some sort of spiritual autobiography. Rembrandt by Himself, an intelligent and resourceful accompaniment to the exhibition, will continue to transport the reader long after the portraits in the exhibition have returned to their respective homes. --David Vincent, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Scrutinizing his own features time and time again, Rembrandt left an extensive pictorial autobiography-his surviving self-portraits include 45 oil paintings, scores of drawings, and over 30 etchings. This absorbing book explores how Rembrandt`s self-portraits developed over his life span, why the genre was so important in his work, and how his innovative style influenced his contemporaries.
Customer Reviews:
The autobiography as a series of masterpieces.......2005-01-10
Rembrandt tells his own story as a series of self- portraits. He traces his life from early youth to sad old age. He presents himself posing as if he understands the self can be a social construct. He creates great masterpieces including the Frick self- portrait where he sits as master and ruler , king of the world of art. He in telling his story looks deeply into his soul and traces a single life as no other painter before or since has. Even his great countryman Van Gogh cannot in his hair and soul raising self- portraits touch the depth and broad humanity of the Rembrandt self - portrait and soul .This is human art at its highest, and most inspiring. Who reads this book reads a great painter and great soul, one of mankind's greatest gifts to itself.
The Master.......2000-04-03
It's about time that I found a (good) book on this subject. Rembrandts self-portraits (I feel) are of his most important work. The quality of the prints are wonderful...unlike 90% of the art related books floating around. The color reproduction is more accurate than most. This is a must have for any fan of Rembrandt...or for any true lover of painting.
Wonderful book on the self portraits of the master........1999-11-23
This book is facinating. It includes three good and fairly dry essays on the topic of Rembrandt's self portraits. More interesting are the prints of all the works that are considered his self portraits, and the detailed commentary on these works. The prints are very good and quite useful for the lover of Rembrandt.
Customer Reviews:
An amazing account of an amazing people.......2006-03-21
All of the history buffs and Native American descendants and people in general should buy this book to have a bigger and brighter outlook on the "indians" that our country so badly abused and misunderstood.
Amazing book.
My soul sings.......2005-08-30
In a nutshell this book is a compilation of quotations from many Native Americans.
However this book expands far beyond that nutshell. It shows many sides of Indian thought and belief interweaving both spirituality and history. The book is organised in an affective way, first having quotations showing the Indians willingness to co-exist with the white man and slowly that willingness fading into bitterness and anger as the settlers destroyed the land and displaced the Indians from their ancestral homes.
Even though 'Touch the Earth' might seem like an potentially depressing book it is very far from that. I found it very uplifting. Many of the quotations spoke to some deep part of my heart that made my soul smile. The archive pictures through out the book alone make me love it. It is a book full of words from wise men, so inspiring yet at other moments so anguished.
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of the buffalo in the winter time. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the Sunset." -- Crowfoot
"I hear no longer the songs of the women as they prepare the meal. The antelope have gone; the buffalo wallos are empty. [...] We are like birds with a broken wing. My heart is cold within me. My eyes are growing dim - I am old..." -- Chief Plenty-Coups
The one thing I will say about "Touch the Earth" is that you have to be in the right mood to read it. Most people cannot sit down and read a book cover to cover that is filled with quotation after quotation. Also some things that are said are so deep that I just had to sit for awhile and think about them. If you are not the type of person who liked history this is not the kind of book for you. However if the history of the Native American's fascinated you, as it does me, I would definitely recommend this gem.
Big lessons from the Great Spirit.......2005-08-09
Have you ever at any time in your life truly felt connected to the earth, all its inhabitants, the plants, the rocks, the wind? Touch the Earth is almost like a Native American prayer book and it examines this direct connection between our land's original inhabitants and their world around them. Not only did they feel this connection, but they lived it every day. Consequently they did not understand the White Man and his only going to church on Sundays.
As I've read and reread my copy, I often wonder what it would be like if we had respect for all the things created by God's hand instead of for only the ones we pick and choose to respect and honor. By favoring one species over another, we have dangerously tipped the ecological balance and not in a good way. By failing to understand the links between all the elements that make up the earth, we humans are well on our way to fouling our own nest.
I recommend reading this book late at night just before bedtime. Read only one or two essays at a time and allow the words to touch you. Perhaps you will remember why it is important to Touch the Earth, our Mother.
Native American philosophy has much to teach us.......2004-02-29
The letter from Chief Seattle to the US President.. "How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? ..." and the vision of Black Elk ..."The sacred hoop of his people was only one of many hoops, all joined together to make one great circle, the great hoop of all peoples.." brought home to me the fact that the Native American philosophy of living has so much to teach us. They were closely connected to the earth, loved and respected it, while we treat it with violence; they were closely connected to our universal Mother and seemed to truly understand humankind's place in the universe while we trust in our technology and the wealth it brings us. The Native Americans appeared to have lived their lives with their two natures - materialistic and spiritual - in harmony while we have over emphasized the material and neglected the spiritual. While we cannot turn the clock back and ride horses and live in tents - nor would we want to - but surely there must be some principles that they incorporated into their lives which we can discover and build into our lives to help redress the balance of our two natures. So I turned to this book to see if there is some Native American wisdom which would enrich my life. I was certainly encouraged by the Book of-the-Month Club comment on the back cover "Simply but eloquently, the selections tell of the Indians' relationship with the earth, their kinship with all of nature's creatures, and their unity with the elements. They speak of the harmony that existed between the Indian and the land, a harmony that was disrupted as 'the hairy man from the east' encroached still further into their territory." and ".. one cannot help but be struck anew by their wisdom and their prophetic vision..."
I read this passage in the introduction: "In this book, the Indians speak for themselves, of the quality of their life. The passages that make up the book have been taken from speeches of Indians living in all parts of the North American continent, between the 16th and 20th centuries. They speak with courtesy and respect of the land, of animals, of the objects which made up the territory in which they lived. They saw no virtue in imposing their will over their environment: private acquisition, almost without exception, was to them a way to poverty, not to riches. The meaning of their life was identified through their relationships with each other and their homelands - all of which was given depth and resonance by memory" and understood that here in this volume I would find what I was looking for. Many of the passages reflect attempts by the Indians to offer their ideas to the whiteman but we responded by destroying their way of life and with it much of the wisdom we need today. We are indeed fortunate to have this collection to refer to. We cannot turn the clock back; we cannot undo the deeds of prior generations. But perhaps we can at least take the trouble to reflect on what these wise people were trying to teach our forebears and perhaps we will find some words of wisdom that will help us to live our lives with our two natures - materialistic and spiritual - more closely in balance.
If we fail to do this I fear that the prophecy in the introduction will come true. "It is well understood that the only decent future for us who live in America now is through a rediscovery of our environment. We need to establish a right relationship with the land and its resources; otherwise, the destruction of the Indian will be followed by the destruction of nature; and in the destruction of nature will follow the destruction of ourselves."
An uplifting glimpse into the Native American heart & mind........1997-10-14
I purchased this precious compendium of wisdom expecting to find some interesting Native American quotations to add to my 400+ collection of quotation books. I discovered an inspirationial book which deftly interweaves philosophy, ecology, history, anthropology and spirituality. Actually, it is a first hand account of the eradication of the American Indian culture and extermination of their peoples spoken by the tribal leaders. Yet it is uplifting and inspiring, not desolating. Page after page I found my heart glowing, or chills running up my back, as I was touched by the pure, noble, plain yet profound talk of these great yet simple men-- Seattle, Tecumseh, Black Hawk, Geronimo and lesser known chiefs of Choctaw, Nez Perce, Yuma, Hopi, Chickasaw, Sioux, and Cree nations. They, with great nobility and anguish, speak the case for their simple way of life, embracing nature and sharing its bounties with all their equal partners-- the buffalo, eagle, bear, trees, wind, earth and sky, all part of the great spirit.
The archive photos alone are worth the bargain price of this treasure.
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