Customer Reviews:
All one might want about M. C. Escher.......2007-05-14
This is a major compilation of the work of the intriguing graphic artist, M. C. Escher. Remember seeing depictions of events that seem plausible but, under closer analysis, involve impossibilities? That describes some of Escher's most interesting works.
The book provides just about everything Escher produced (appearing in the "Catalog" section of the book), including his earliest works compiled during his teens. Among the most well known (and fascinating) include "The Waterfall," "Ascending and Descending March," "Convex and Concave," "Liberation," "Synthesis," "House of Stairs," and so on. The catalog section is fun, for one thing, simply to trace the evolution of his art.
But there is more to this volume than the works themselves. The volume provides context, with a brief description of his father's life as well as a more detailed analysis of Escher's life, from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1972.
There is also a most useful chapter labeled "The Vision of a Mathematician" (featuring the thoughts of mathematics teacher Bruno Ernst). It begins by noting two periods in the work of Escher--(page 135): ". . .pre 1935, in which landscapes predominate, and post 1937, which is characterized by a marked mathematical tendency." Ernst describes the mathematical principles in some detail (for those interested in this, a fascinating discussion). The textual portion of the book concludes with an essay by Escher himself on "The Regular Division of the Plane," including his reflections on his art.
This book has been around a while, but it is a valuable backdrop to getting a sense of the art of M. C. Escher.
Wonderful With Great Explanations.......2007-05-13
I love everything Escher. I have several books, numerous calendars, as well as large jigsaw puzzles, T-shirts, magnets and mini jigsaw puzzles. Because of the detail in this book, I will never need to add another book to my collection. I especially appreciate the explanations. I am nowhere near smart enough to figure out what Escher was doing in each of his artworks. The detailed lesson on what each piece means is much appreciated by an art fan who is not an art scholar. I think this book would be great for any Escher fan, but I feel the need to tell you it is very large. Make sure you have room for it.
Essential for the Escher fan.......2006-08-13
And c'mon - if you've seen his work, you're a fan.
The great thing about this book is not just the extensive and readable biography, but the complete (so they say) catalog of his graphic works. Even people very familiar with Escher's ouvre will be surprised by some of the entries here. They go back to work he did at ages 18 and 19, and show the devleopment of the Escher that has become so famous. It's just a little disappointing that the catalog is printed only in black and white, when so many of his works used color. The catalog reproductions are just that - a listing of his work, not a gallery, so the quarter-page size of most pieces is adequate for recognizing a piece, if not for appreciating it fully.
It is fascinating to see Escher's style develop though his (and the twentieth century's) twenties. Various influences early on suggest Beardsley (cat. 49, 67), Picasso (cat. 51, 58), or the pervasive Art Deco of his time (cat.34). Even then, some of Escher's later fascinations begin to emerge, including hands and reflective balls (cat. 88 and 80), symmetries and tilings (cat. 61, 65), and complex interactions of many figures in a repeating structure (cat. 90). The lesser-known parts of his work also start to emerge by the time he's 30, including delicate lithographs (cat. 129, 132). As much as I love his visual paradoxes and flirtation with the infinite, the lithos and mezzotints are the pieces that truly move me. "Snow" and "Blowball" (cat. 278 and 330) have an eloquent simplicity. "Eye" and "Drop" (cat. 344 and 356) demonstrate his classical sense and his perseverance with the demanding medium of mezzotint.
The text is also thorough and enjoyable - a good thing, since it takes up half of this heavy book, including its own set of illustrations. I admit that I have only skipped around this section, which starts by describing Escher's father. It's small wonder that his father was an engineer and that his son Arthur studied geology. Although an artist to the core, Escher had fruitful contact with mathematicians and crystallographers. He is one of very few artists that have successfully incorporated hard science into their artistic vision at such a visceral level, and the scientists appreciated that as much as anyone.
Although out of print, this book is available inexpensively on the used market. It's one of the best bargains around; if you've read this far, you'll probably find it well worth having.
//wiredweird
M.C. Escher.......2003-10-31
Definitely the first book every Escher fan should purchase. It's helpful in getting to know about the man himself as well as his brilliant artwork. It may seem pricey, but it's totally worth it, being hardcover (at least the one I got), and high quality photos of his work. It also shows his lesser known works (ones never released apparently), as well as photos of himself and his family. A very informative read and a quality edition.
A Complete look!.......2003-05-20
I haven't even had a chance to go through all of this remarkable book yet, but I am so impressed with it so far I cannot burble enough about how delighted I am with my purchase. This is a beautifully produced, designed, and wonderfully complete book. Many tales of the personal life an vision of the artist, countless, cleanly reproduced graphics, many works I have never seen or heard of before. Terrific! Can't recommend enough!!!
Customer Reviews:
EXCELLENT! My husband loves this book.!.......2007-01-10
A very intense book on print making. A must have book for serious artists, who want to expand in their field. Lots and lots of contacts in back of book maiking it easy to find anyone you need for print making! A+
Complete Printmaker, really complete.......2006-07-10
I am taking a class at the local community college. The professor of my printmaking class recommended this book highly and said it was the best on the market, so I purchased it and am totally happy and satisfied. It explains the different processes very well and the illustrations accompanying the text help visualize the different methods of printmaking. I am totally satisfied and will use it as a reference book throughout my printmaking activities.
Susy Moesch
Complete Printmaker.......2006-06-26
Very lengthy but i did learn from it
Review for "The Complete Printmaker".......2005-10-03
Delivery time was as promised. The book came securely packaged and the book itself was in pristine condition. I save $25 under the cost as charged in my college bookstore.
Process, process, process!.......2004-10-31
This book is almost a catalog of every printmaking process around. It covers all the basics: intaglio, relief, screen prints, litho, and monoprint. It covers related technique, including embossed "dimensional" prints (aka "blind" prints), molded paper, and more. It devotes special attention to collographs, prints from textured or collage surface, and much too much more to describe.
Best, the tools, materials, and how-to of every process are described in a fair bit of detail. Because so many processes are listed, each one gets just a short section, nowhere near what a printmaker would need in practice. Still, the descriptions serve at least two purposes. First, they may entice an artist into learning more about a process.
Second, and more importantly for me, is that you don't have to be a printmaker to read this book and benefit from it. I'm a fan of fine prints, even though I don't make prints myself. I like to know what I'm looking at. I like to see a mark in a print and understand where it came from, how the artist's hand created it. By explaining each process, this book helps me understand the result of the process, and understand its effect on the finished product. Not everyone sees art that way, but it makes me feel somehow closer to the creator.
I recommend this to anyone who loves fine prints. Perhaps it's helpful to the printmaker looking for new techniques to try. It is certainly useful for the viewer, in understanding how the artist makes a vision come alive on paper.
//wiredweird
Average customer rating:
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Complete Printmaker
John Ross
Manufacturer: FREE PRESS @ SIMON & SCHUSTER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000U2GK34 |
Customer Reviews:
The First Book in Any Collection.......2001-01-19
I have been a fan of Escher for a long time, and own several books relating to him, but for the serious student in art this is the book to own. There is an well done biography about his productive life. But lets face it , it's the pictures and there are hundred's, some you may be familliar with but most will be a pleasant surprise.
Amazon.com
Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 collects more than 100 portraits--from daguerreotypes to cartes des visites and early photographic postcards--depicting affectionate male friendships whose precise nature, whether platonic or sexual, will never be known. Editor David Deitcher, who teaches art and critical theory at the Cooper Union, reflects on the history of these images and their possible significance. In the late Victorian period, he notes, men commonly established intimate, passionate friendships with other men, and often "posed for photographers holding hands, entwining limbs, or resting in the shelter of each other's accommodating bodies, innocent of the suspicion that such behavior would later arouse." These photographs have long been collected by gay men, for whom they are vehicles of longing "for the self-validation that comes from having a history to refer to; longing for a comforting sense of connection with others--past as well as present--whose experience mirrors one's own." Nevertheless, Deitcher reminds readers, because almost all the subjects of these photographs are anonymous, "they are powerless to communicate anything more than the following: This is how these men looked on that day when they sat for the photographer." But what these photographs prove is ultimately far less interesting or engaging than what they are: tender, funny, strange relics of a time when public expressions of love between men were freer and more natural than they are in our own ostensibly more liberated age. --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
Dear Friends is the first book to demonstrate how common it was for 19th-century American men to commemorate intimate friendships with a visit to the local photographer. Reproducing more than 100 never-before-published vintage photographs, this groundbreaking book provides evidence of a kind of physical intimacy between men that challenges the conventional view of the Victorian era. David Deitcher's provocative text combines historical research, social observation, and pictorial analysis to explore the nature of same-sex affection between men during the period.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting Concept, Awkwardly Executed.......2005-12-20
If this were just a book of "photographs of men together" without the heavy-handed, ponderous stretches of the author's awkward, long-winded prose between photos, it would be an enormous improvement. Deitcher's text reads like a proposal for selling the book to a publisher - I lost count how many times he states things like, "this book is..." and then describes the book you are holding in your hand.
Newsflash: We're already reading the book. Stop describing what you intend to accomplish with it and just do it, already.
I liked when he used quotes and excerpts that were contemporary to the times the photos were taken, which give the reader a better idea of what life and society was like then. But there was too little of this, and too much conjecture on his part, and, yes, I know it's his book, but too much personalizing. I wasn't interested in knowing that the author, as a young man, fantasized about the photos of swimmers he saw in American Red Cross "Junior Lifesaving" manuals (page 50). Rather, I was a little creeped out, and unsure why this very personal anecdote is included in his book.
Here's a passage that kind of sums up my problem with his writing - also from page 50:
"Today we can swim in seas of homoerotica and X-rated porn. It should not be taken as a detraction from the pleasures of porn to underscore the guilelessness and ingenuity with which image-starved gay men and lesbians once perused everyday representations for sexual excitement; nor to admit to mourning the passage of such creative strategies for (homo)sexual survival as one of the costs we have had to pay for replacing gay subcultural ingenuity with gay culture, tout court. There are, of course, other related trade-offs in which one thing is lost at the price of another being gained. Ultimately, this book provides evidence of a parallel trade-off that results from the historical transformation of the social meaning of same-sex affection from a nineteenth-century tradition of romantic friendship and comradely love, and its physical expression among men who posed for photographers holding hands, entwining limbs, or resting in the shelter of each other's accomodating bodies, innocent of the suspicion that such behavior would later arouse."
And he goes ON like this! I defy anyone to get any sort of cognizable meaning out of all this academic double-talk. I'm left wondering if the photos came up short and he had a larger page-count to fill because he says basically the same thing over and over throughout the course of the book, and it never gets any more straight-forward or lucid than what you just read above.
So - in short: Liked the concept, loved the photos, was NOT a fan of the text.
Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918.......2005-10-04
An excellent gift for a gay male friend.
Words worth of pictures.......2003-01-06
Alas - I wish I could have given this book a top mark, but it is not to be. What kept me from doing so were not the pictures, but the limply connotating articles that accompany them. In this day and age of multiple choice selections the author may be forgiven to think that readers (or viewers alike) would be unable to detect what matters in the details of an image.
However I found it annoying to have a visual sensation reproduced (and that means interpreted) by often sensually inept words. Inept, because these saccharine follies detract from what should have really mattered: a distinction in time and culture.
The age which produced the spirit of these pictures has been edited out of our consciousness - the fact that no man's and no woman's sexuality has to be pre-defined is what interests now. The fact that things were different once( but how so?)also interests now.
This book is very much a child of the spirit of its times, ours. As such it contrasts what we have come to struggle with: the rigidly stereotypical images we have created of our senses and genders. In the same vein it also does what has become 'de rigueur', drown those things which speak for themselves, instead of understatedly enhancing them.
The yearning for acceptance; the proof to show that things were not always as we have them now is, I think, the main missile behind this book. Looking at the other reviews, it is clear that such a search is on, now. For bringing those images to mind, letting people know tha no-one is an island, even over the centuries, the book should be lauded.
However - I should recommend that Mr Deitcher begin work forthwith on a book showing us picture of soldierly love from the two world wars, a field that has not been explored to depth.
A Wonderfully-Written Book.......2002-09-08
I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but I am grateful to the author for writing it. The photographs Deitcher describes and provides for us are beyond words. They provide such a wonderful insight into male friendships/relationships in the 19th Century and are very interesting to look at and ponder. This book is of particular interest to me as I'm currently writing a novel about a great uncle of mine and I have several photographs of him with other men, some more defined than others. But it isn't just the photographs that makes the book so excellent, it is Deitcher's words that bring everything to life. I was interested in his analyses of the relationships and that he is honest and forthcoming with the fact that we can never really know for certain what these photos represent, particularly when examined within the context of 19th Century social constructions.
A Wonderfully-Written Book.......2002-09-08
I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but I am grateful to the author for writing it. The photographs Deitcher describes and provides for us are beyond words. They provide such a wonderful insight into male friendships/relationships in the 19th Century and are very interesting to look at and ponder. This book is of particular interest to me as I'm currently writing a novel about a great uncle of mine and I have several photographs of him with other men, some more defined than others. But it isn't just the photographs that makes the book so excellent, it is Deitcher's words that bring everything to life. I was interested in his analyses of the relationships and that he is honest and forthcoming with the fact that we can never really know for certain what these photos represent, particularly when examined within the context of 19th Century social constructions.
Average customer rating:
- Spiderman, Behind the Scenes...
- So, you want to know more about SPIDERMAN
|
Spider-Man Confidential: From Comic Icon to Hollywood Hero
Edward Gross
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0786887222 |
Book Description
For four decades, Spider-Man has enthralled fans of his comic books and television show. Now, step inside the story behind the superheros growing empire, which is as fascinating as any of his adventures. Entertainment writer Edward Gross tells all in this first unauthorized history of the Spider-Man (a.k.a.webslinger), his creator, and the movie that will catapult him into the public eye. Gross shows how Stan Lees frustration as a comic book artist spawned the creation of a revolutionary comic book hero as he follows Spider-Mans popularity through the 60s and 70s. He provides Spider-Mans fans with a riveting biography of the superhero, a rogues gallery of archenemies, and a behind-the-scenes episode guide to all five television series. Spider-Man is back and this fact-filled, fully illustrated book will become the perfect resource for his millions of fans.
Customer Reviews:
Spiderman, Behind the Scenes..........2003-07-20
This is a great book on all the politics and ego clashes that have gone into making all the various Spiderman incarnations throughout the years, on TV, the cartoons and the films. The one down side of it all is - no pictures. Then, too, it is also billed as an unauthorized bio so it would be fitting that Marvel Comics would not permit any artwork to be used (see the DC Comics approved Les Daniels histories if you want the watered down histories of comic book characters). Particularly of note is why Steve Ditko left drawing Spiderman in the first place (according to the book, he didn't like Stan Lee), why the great Spiderman cartoon of the 1990's was cancelled (network idiocy, according to series writer John Semper), and why James Cameron never got around to making the Spiderman movie (after Titanic was made, he felt he was too big for it). This is a no-holds barred look at the Spiderman franchise, all it's good incarnations and it's bad (like the awful Nicholas Hammond TV show and the last terrible Spidey cartoon, Spiderman Unlimited). It isn't a comprehensive book, but it is a valuable resource for those of us who always wondered why such a great character never received (until recently) a good screen treatment. In the past, according to the book, Marvel Comics was mostly just interested in making a buck on Spiderman, could have cared less how he had been portrayed. These days, since they're owned by Toy Biz, they have an interest, at least - to sell more Spiderman toys. The fact that so many pin-headed executive types have been involved with the character over the years makes you grateful that the character has been as creative as he has. Spidey's greatest villain is not the Green Goblin, it's all those network execs that have kept trying to dumb him down for televison or improve on an already good idea.
So, you want to know more about SPIDERMAN.......2002-10-09
This is another book that capitalizes in the SPIDERMAN HYPE
after the movie, it is mostly a summarized review of the
comics, the Cartoons and the TV series that were made before
the movie.
If you are a new fan of SPIDERMAN and you need to know how
does the story in the comics differs from the one in the
movie, you need to buy this book; but remember that there
is going to be lots of spoilers.
The cartoons descriptions is Okay, including a very rare
summarization of a Japanese Animated version of spiderman
with weird storylines (please skip the chapter, the japanese
transformed SPIDERMAN into a POWER RANGER), unfortunately
there is no pictures to know how these animation looked like;
obviusly there is no reference pictures of the other animations.
About the old TV series, it is mostly a behind the scenes of
the production, with an episode guide and some politics of
the showbiz.
Now we get to the Movie, the book details the long process
since the movie was tried to be produced until today, please
note that there is big reference about the previous script
which had DR. OCTOPUS as the villain instead of the GREEN
GOBLIN.
Average customer rating:
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Cartoon Confidential
Jim Korkis
Manufacturer: Malibu Comics Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1563980053 |
Average customer rating:
- is the right title connected to the right ISBN?????
- All expectations met
|
Movie Star Confidential - The Super Adventures of Harry Chess Comics
A Jay , and
Mike
Manufacturer: Leyland Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
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ASIN: 0943595169 |
Customer Reviews:
is the right title connected to the right ISBN?????.......2004-06-08
I have this ISBN attached to a Leyland publication paper back book titled "HOT TRICKS" edited by John Dagion. NOT THE TITLE HEREON LISTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All expectations met.......2003-06-27
Loved it, please get more like this. As good as I thought it would be.
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- Mirrors of Infinity: The French Formal Garden and 17th-Century Metaphysics
- Mudworks: Creative Clay, Dough, and Modeling Experiences (Kohl, Mary Ann F. Bright Ideas for Learning Centers.)
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M.C. Escher : 29 Master prints
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