Book Description
From the Japanese Zen Garden to André Le Notre's Versailles, the?history of landscape reveals that every garden embodies a philosophy.?Focusing on the metaphysics, aesthetics, and theology of the seventeenth?century, Allen Weiss's analysis offers new insight into the major gardens?of this period: Vaux-le-Vicomte, Chantilly, and Versailles.?
?From the Meditations of Descartes and Pascal's?Pensés, to the intrigues of court politics, Weiss reveals?how the structure of these gardens reflects -- sometimes literally -- the?power of Louis XIV, the relationship between God, King, sun, and infinity,?and the new science of optics. Weiss's sophisticated yet highly readable?text combines contemporary theory with a careful historical reading. He?gives us a richer understanding of gardens than allowed in more?traditional formal and stylistic analyses.
Customer Reviews:
A Paradigm.......2006-10-07
What would you rather do, talk about making love, or make love? If your answer is the former, then (A) please don't bother reading on, and (B) good luck! Talking about making love makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's absurd! The same holds true of art. Oh yes, there are those movie critics, art critics, music and CD critics, you know, all those people who think that their opinion matters. (What's worse, of course, is to write a critique of a critique as I'm doing here [lol].) Think about it in practical terms: out of a population of six billion people, why would you rely on the opinion of ONE human being? That makes no sense whatsoever. If you wanted some sort of opinion that was worth a hoot, wouldn't you ask more than one person? Or even more importantly, why wouldn't you trust your OWN judgment instead of somebody else's? Makes no sense to me whatsoever! Unlike other disciplines -- politics, religion, sports, etc. -- there is no "middle man" in the arts: there is no politician, no priest, no referee. ONLY in the arts do you have a direct relationship between the two parties, that being the art object -- the particular work of art -- and the "receiver" who "interacts" with it -- the listener, the viewer, the reader, etc. What a unique, simple yet powerful relationship and process! So, IF you are going to write about art, you better do it right: you better speak the truth by examining the subject methodically. And this is exactly what Mr. Allen S. Weiss has done in his "Mirrors of Infinity: The French Formal Garden and 17th-Century Metaphysics."
Mr. Weiss has chosen a very narrow subject for his dissertation: the aesthetic examination of the French Baroque garden through the analysis of only three gardens -- Vaux-le-Vicomte, Versailles and Chantilly -- by the era's greatest champion, Andre Le Notre. (Note that I did NOT state `three masterpieces', because, as Mr. Weiss will correctly prove, the gardens of Versailles are NOT a masterpiece. It might be one in terms of size, but certainly not in terms of design. It was a surprise to me, too.) At the core of Mr. Weiss's dissertation is his examination of this era's logic through its aesthetics, and therefore, he begins the book with the analysis and explanation of the contemporary paradigm both in the arts, philosophy and sciences. Excellent! (Every landscape design book should do that.) In the Preface, Mr. Weiss discusses the aesthetics of various garden designs of various eras, i.e., the Zen garden, the Italian Renaissance garden, etc., in order to provide a general background of garden logic, so to speak. Also, it is important to note that Mr. Weiss, throughout the book, questions the visitor of why he/she visits a garden and how this mindset affects our perceptions of a garden! In the subsequent chapter, Mr. Weiss explains the aesthetic transformation that occurred within the Baroque era from "motion" to rigidity, the latter being the paradigm for Le Notre. In the following three chapters, Mr. Weiss gives both a historical account of each garden as well as a complete aesthetic analysis to show what makes each garden unique. Finally, Mr. Weiss concludes with a Postface in which he recounts a couple more historical facts about the French Baroque garden in subsequent centuries, and concludes by, once again, questioning us why we, the visitors, enter these gardens. This is actually very important.
With this book, Mr. Weiss has not only given a thorough dissertation of French Baroque landscape design, but has elevated the level of dissertation of a landscape design era to such a degree that all future discussions of any other landscape design era MUST now be as methodical and complete as his: he has "raised the bar" of landscape design dissertation.
The Quotation of Versailles.......2000-03-09
This book was recommended as further reading in my History of European Garden Design course, and proved helpful in understanding the quotation of Versailles to the imperial gardens of Rome, and then lead me to research why L'Enfant would use Versailles for the blueprint of Washington D.C.
Elegant, gracefully erudite, and concise........1998-08-29
An elegant, gracefully erudite and concise intellectual history. It is a focussed and yet wide-ranging look at the function and meaning of French 18th century formal gardens, specifically Vaux-le-Vicomte, Versailles, and Chantilly. The sources cited are also fascinating, and it is a book that leads you to many others. I found it quite wonderful, and am looking forward to reading more by the author.
Average customer rating:
- Poetry CAN be fun!
- Zero Stars in the sky for this one...
- Ridiculous Is Right
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Haiku! Gesundheit : An Illustrated Collection Of Ridiculous Haiku Poetry
Ross Venokur
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0689840446 |
Book Description
Reality time
is not nearly as much fun
as fantasy time.
And it's definitely fantasy time, as pop surrealist Kenny Scharf illustrates Ross Venokur's zesty, zany poems written in the ancient Japanese form of haiku. While keeping to haiku's strict limit of three lines totaling seventeen syllables -- five, then seven, then five -- Venokur and Scharf create an alternate universe in which Rossi the dog-boy barks at the moon, Anne becomes an eggplant, and a vacuum cleaner turns on its owner.
Welcome to the world of Haiku! Gesundheit.
Customer Reviews:
Poetry CAN be fun!.......2006-04-20
Whether or not this is a collection of great poetry is not the question. The questions is: will a bunch of kids like these haikus? And the answer is, yes! This book shows kids that poetry isn't just a bunch of flowery language describing a blade of grass. Poetry can be fun. This book also shows kids that they can write their own poetry and it doesn't have to be serious. Kids aren't serious, they're kids! They like to play and joke around. Their poetry should reflect that.
This book is a great way to open the door of poetry to a bunch of kids who might otherwise write it off as "boring".
Zero Stars in the sky for this one..........2001-11-20
What IS this? I looked at this title thinking I could use
it in my classroom. This is a waste of words. Isn't it
something that an author (and a large publisher) would think
that because one can count .... one, two, three, four...
wow..all the way up to SEVENTEEN (syllables)that HAIKU
poetry it makes?? What was everyone thinking.
Pass on this one. A rip off plain and simple.
Ridiculous Is Right.......2001-06-15
With the abundance of fine, original haiku that has been produced in English over the past thirty years, it's sad to see a major publisher like Simon and Schuster launch this unfunny, self-indulgent mess. The imagery is merely gross, the jokes old, the witticisms tired and vacuous, the quality of imagination on a par with the last schoolyard cliche. Venokur's work is neither haiku nor poetry but it does get high aces for achieving a kind of ridiculous waste of paper and ink. The same energy could so easily have gone into a collection of real merit (and of other poets' work), turning kids on to the world around them as only haiku can do. . . but that is another book.
Product Description
Text in Spanish & English. From a 1996-97 exhibition.
Average customer rating:
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Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf: In Your Face
Richard Marshall
Manufacturer: Malca Fine Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Basquiat, Jean Michel
| ( A-C )
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Haring, Keith
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ASIN: 096590105X |
Average customer rating:
- Kenny Bubblegum
- Where is the color?
- A must have for any fan of Pop Art!
|
Kenny Scharf
Bill McBride , and
Kenny Scharf
Manufacturer: University Galleries of Illinois State University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0945558260
Release Date: 1999-02-02 |
Book Description
This retrospective catalogue examines how both the techno-pop appeal of Kenny Scharf's work and its playful commentary have established him as an important player in late 20th century art.
Customer Reviews:
Kenny Bubblegum.......2006-11-10
An interesting collection of texts about Kenny Scharf, but I hoped for more pages and pictures in full color! A tiny issue, but after all good.
No problem! I'll continue to looking for books with AMAZON!
Where is the color?.......2003-03-21
Color is such an important element in Mr. Scharf's work that it's difficult to believe this monograph was published without it. There is not a single color photograph aside from the cover. And the book is so tiny [Dimensions (in inches): 0.26 x 7.85 x 5.28] that color photographs wouldn't do Mr. Scharf's work justice anyway. I recommend that interested parties try to find a copy of one of his out-of-print books at their local library. Mr. Scharf's work is amazing, and well worth viewing in full color, as he intended it to be viewed.
A must have for any fan of Pop Art!.......1999-07-13
The whimsical paintings of Kenny Scharf could never truly be captured on the pages of some book- but this one comes very close! It's the best I've seen in the genre of Pop Art books and has some very interesting interviews with Kenny. But the artwork speaks for itself!
Average customer rating:
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Kenny Scharf: Jungle Book (Art Random, Vol 22)
Kenny Scharf
Manufacturer: Books Nippan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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| Abstract Expressionism
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ASIN: 4763685457 |
Average customer rating:
- Awareness...
- A Beatiful Portfolio of Street Photography in Color
- Nice Shots from real life under the earth.
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Underground: Travels on the Global Metro
Manufacturer: Aperture
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
| Photography
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ASIN: 0893817538 |
Book Description
Candid pictures from subways in ten cities around the globe.
The Italian photojournalist Marco Pesaresi takes us on a wild underground
railroad ride, with photographs of subway commuters that cut across continents and cultures on what feels like one continuous line of tracks through New York, Tokyo, Calcutta, Milan, Madrid, Mexico City, Paris, London, Berlin, and Moscow.
The "getting there" is everything in these pictures: within the mundane grind of the daily commute, Pesaresi finds drama, local color, irony, and startling cultural differences. Straphangers wait for the train in bare feet in Calcutta; Muscovites scurry to earn a day's wages under the disapproving scowl of a leftover Lenin mural; a Milanese nun sits in solemn meditation amid the noise and haste of rush-hour transit. Across the globe, the images speed along as quickly as the trains themselves. In this tumble of tracks, engines, advertisements, and jostled riders, the subway becomes the great common denominator. The world turns, and millions of commuters mill about underground--waiting for the next station, the next daydream, the next distraction.
Customer Reviews:
Awareness..........2005-09-07
Never a subway ride will be the same once you read, & have, this book. And the beauty lies in that you'll always come back to your book to enjoy further.
Aware...of everything that surrounds you.
A Beatiful Portfolio of Street Photography in Color.......2000-11-27
I love the works of Pesaresi being shown in this book. Although a photojournalist, Pesaresi shows in this collection of photographs, that he is capable of creating works of art that are so incredibly personal and beautiful.
Street photography is a subject that mainly is portrayed in black and white. Pesaresi's depiction of the world of the underground transportation done in color photography is really something quite special. The usage of colors don't simply become a decoration to the photographs. Instead, they strengthen the athmosphere being captured in the photographs themselves.
Nice Shots from real life under the earth........2000-07-03
Very good work, is what everyone of us sees around and is not able to shoot. Every pic is a world of sensations, a description of the daily culture of the place. Pesaresi not only travels around the world, he gets into private worlds in public places.
Book Description
Inspired by a ubiquitous piece of graffiti that U.S. servicemen left behind during World War II, Emmy Award-winning television journalist Charles Osgood has collected an assortment of classic stories and comic tales that buoyed the spirits of Americans who served on land, at sea, and in the air.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but not very funny.......2007-08-12
In the mid-1980's, Studs Terkel came out with a Pulitzer Prize-winning book called The Good War, an oral history of World War II. In a way, Charles Osgood's book, Kilroy Was Here is a sequel to this book, in that it also presents a view from the trenches.
The focus of Kilroy Was Here is the humor of the soldiers. Even in peaceful locations, the military life was often unpleasant in minor but irritating ways. Whether it was ill-fitting clothes, bad food or not-so-bright brass, the reaction of many soldiers was to poke fun at their circumstances (just like Dilbert lightens the days of office workers by joking about the cubicle life). And in the book, we get a collection of anecdotes, cartoons, poems and other writings, most of which were related between soldiers.
As a historic document, Kilroy Was Here is interesting and informative, giving the reader a glimpse into the mind of a serviceman. If there's a problem with the book, however, it's that it's not really very funny. While there is plenty I find amusing that comes from this era (for example, Abbott and Costello or Hope and Crosby), this book gave me only a couple minor chuckles.
I suppose it's a case of you-had-to-be-there (just as a farmer or a cop may not be as entertained by Dilbert as an office worker). And, of course, humor is subjective, so I don't want to be too negative about this book. For the historical value, I am giving it three stars. But for laughs, I'd look elsewhere.
Great for a WWII Vet.......2007-01-05
I gave this book to my cousin who was an Army hero during WWII. He had been in the hospital with a heart problem, and this book brightened his spirits. He told me he enjoyed the book very much and it brought back memories of some of the fun that went along with being a infantryman in 1944/45.
Kilroy.......2005-09-20
This is an excellent collection of World War II humor and pathos, and should be of interest to most of the dwindling group of veterans of that war who are still alive.
Pretty funny stuff!.......2004-12-02
Osgood has sifted through the mountains of GI books and papers, such as "Stars & Sripes" and "See Here, Private Hargrove," to find some of the funniest bits from WWII. There are the famous cartoons by Bill Mauldin, short pieces by celebrities, but most of all, humor written by the men at war.
As Osgood says:
"War is hell, but it can also be hilarious. And in no war was this more true than World War II. While there is nothing remotely funny about the war itself, it's clear that some of the hardship endured in that conflict was made more bearable by generous doses of humor."
A lighter note about World War Two.......2004-04-14
The book "Kilroy Was Here" is a great insight into what went on behind the scenes during World War Two. Charles Osgood has done a spectacular job collecting different stories from so many sources; it's unbelievable! I loved how he focused on the humorous aspect of the war because it really gives you a first-hand glance at the determination of these soldiers and their strong will. They always managed to see the best of everything, even in the most trying times. I really liked the Dictionary of American Military slang at the beginning of the book. There were so many words in there that i had never heard of before, and it helped to keep me on track as i read. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh and who knows any history about World War Two or fought in World War Two. Some of the stories might be hard to understand if you don't have any knowledge of the war. Being able to see the optimism in our war heroes first-hand made me appreciate them even more.
Average customer rating:
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Kilroy Is Here
Joe Pruett ,
Tim Bradstreet ,
Guy Burwell ,
Phil Hester ,
Ken Mere Jr. ,
Michael Avon Oeming ,
Mike Perkins ,
Andrew Robinson , and
and more!
Manufacturer: Image Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1582405875 |
Book Description
A being of unknown origin and power who is drawn to scenes of human suffering, Kilroy is an avenger of the innocent and protector of the weak. With topical stories focusing on the little known or forgotten atrocities of the real world, Kilroy Is Here has become a cult classic series where a number of today's top creators honed their craft.
Average customer rating:
- Fey, intelligent 1960s novel of love, art, and myth
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Here before Kilroy
Su Walton
Manufacturer: Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006BYLRG |
Customer Reviews:
Fey, intelligent 1960s novel of love, art, and myth.......2007-07-03
Su Walton's novels defy classification, and it's even quite hard to decide whether they are well or badly written. Mediocre, they certainly aren't. Energy, intellectual curiosity, and love of life explode from the pages; but Ms Walton has little time for the conventional formalities of literary construction. "Here Before Kilroy" is a one-book picaresque revival set in the exciting new world of the 1960s. It follows the lives of a motley group of boys and girls, from schooldays through university and professional success (or otherwise). The central character, Adam Bound, is a quiet, dreamy, introspective musician who drifts through life, experiencing dreams or raptures in which he confronts Odin, Loki, and other gods, while himself taking the guise of heroes like Gilgamesh. Other members of the extensive and colourful cast are tied skilfully to Adam through his beautiful cousins Beatrice and Maeve ("two girls with red-gold hair, one a Renoir, the other a Burne-Jones"). Their mostly bourgeois family backgrounds are spiced up by the addition of Ron Binns, a talented working-class tympanist, and the magnificently-named Tamburlaine Wolfingham Belvedere, who traces his roots back to Saxon and Norman nobility. Then there are Sigmund Weiner, the love of Maeve's life, who escapes from East Germany after a ridiculous misunderstanding involving Ron and an unintentional exchange of passports. Last but not least, meet Philo, perhaps the ultimate anti-hero - the negative charge that complements Adam's positive. Thought-provoking, fascinating, clever, riotously funny in parts, even perhaps infuriating, "Here Before Kilroy" is a terrific book. You'll be glad you read it, even though it quite deliberately takes you nowhere in the end.
Average customer rating:
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Kilroy is here
Gordon Willis
Manufacturer: Pluto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Literature & Fiction
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| Classics
| Comic
| Contemporary
| Literary
ASIN: 0902818740 |
Average customer rating:
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Kilroy Was Here
B. G. Hopkins
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 155369029X |
Book Description
What makes this monster unique? He collects "Kilroy Was Here" rocks. He even goes to Monster markets to find them.
However, there was another reason for writing this book. In the youth-time of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers these young men, finishing a most terrible war, met up with an elusive character named Kilroy. On buildings, on monuments, on rocks, in the most unlikely places he scrawled his name, providing a light moment at such a terible time: "Kilroy Was Here".
Before their stories, their oral history, vanishes with these men, my book, I hope, will give them a chance to share this time with their grandchildren. Maybe it will not only provide a sharing time, maybe one of them will know who was Kilroy.
Average customer rating:
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Kilroy Was Here
Manufacturer: Not Avail
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
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ASIN: 1863254471 |
Average customer rating:
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Kilroy Was Here (Phoenix Living Poets)
John Cotton
Manufacturer: Chatto and Windus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
British
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General
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ASIN: 0701120894 |
Books:
- Mudworks: Creative Clay, Dough, and Modeling Experiences (Kohl, Mary Ann F. Bright Ideas for Learning Centers.)
- MVRDV: Reads
- New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Workbook: Guided Practice in the Five Basic Skills of Drawing
- New Profits from Old Buildings: Private Enterprise Approaches to Making Preservation Pay
- Newspaper Designer's Handbook with CD-ROM
- Oscar Niemeyer: Houses
- Painting Better Landscapes
- Pueblo Architecture and Modern Adobes: The Residential Designs of William Lumpkins
- Raymond Hood
- Rebuilding Central Park: A Management and Restoration Plan
Books Index
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- Encyclopedia of the War of 1812
- Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art
- Along Forgotten River: Photographs of Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel, 1997-2001 : With A
- My Father's War Stories: Mt. Battaglia to Quang Tri
Andre Le Notre : Gardener to the Sun King
The French Garden
The World of Andre Le Notre (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture)
Architecture and Landscape: The Design Experiment of the Great European Gardens and Landscapes
Gardens Through History: Nature Perfected
