Editorial Review

Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy uses a seemingly infinite array of purely natural materials, from snow and ice to leaves, stone, and twigs in the creation of his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Unlike such artists as Christo and Michael Hiezer, whose works leave definite marks on the landscape, Goldsworthy's approach is to interrupt, shape, or in some other way temporarily alter or work with nature to produce his fragile, mutable pieces. To create "Broken Icicle," for example, Goldsworthy was only able to work on the sculpture in the early morning, when temperatures were below freezing. As with most of his works, ultimately, the materials used to create this piece returned to their natural state, leaving no trace of the artwork's existence save for the stunning photos in this book. ... Read more

Reviews (35)

Renew your sense of wonder
Andy Goldworthy clearly has an astonishing way of interpreting the world around him. I've grown so weary of photography books filled to capacity with picture postcard scenic overlooks and color-saturated closeups of bees on flower petals. Goldworthy embeds himself in the natural world; all the while remaining in touch with his surroundings, he visually articulates a wonderfully unique re-interpretation that is at once both fresh and startling. As a visual arts educator, I find this book to be a superb exemplar and asset for introducing students to ways of creatively thinking outside the box. For me personally, I can go back time and again to re-examine Goldworthy's concepts, designs, and images and always find something new to admire. Beautifully reproduced, bound and printed, one word sums this book up: Wow.

fantastic resume of the all quality of Goldsworthy
A fantastic review of the large capacities of a great built in nature. We havet not the time to be anoyed reading this book. So impressed that I buy another one to offer to someone special.

He is so smart
Modern artists are often attacked because on the basis of "I could have thought of that."And true, you might say that about any given page in this book.Yet it's unbelievable that one man thought of all of them.Look at the photos in this book, and you'll see art everywhere the next time you walk outside.I could cover a wall with every page that is worth framing. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1900-1999 (20th century)    2. 1956-    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Art, Modern    6. Catalogs    7. Goldsworthy, Andy,    8. Individual Artist    9. Individual Sculptors And Their Work    10. Nature (Aesthetics)    11. Art / History / American    12. Goldsworthy, Andy    13. Individual artists   

Subjects:  1. Calendar    2. Calendars & Diaries    3. Calendars - Photography    4. Individual Photographer    5. Non-Classifiable    6. Photography / General   

Reviews (43)

Only God can create life
This book is truly a celebration of life.If you read this book and still think that allowing abortions on demand is okay, then your heart has grown too hard.dls

Miracle:A Celebration of New Life
The book filled with unbelievable moving pictures of babies and the lovely songs on the CD make this book choice one of my favorites.

some almost ghoulish
Some of the Geddes photos in this book are a bit extreme - almost ghoulish - with babies under stretched sheer fabric - giving a weird, almost preborn appearance to the infant. Most of the photos, though, are beautiful and creative and just what we have come to expect from this photographer. The audio CD by Celine Dion is absolute perfection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    2. Family/Marriage    3. Flowers    4. Geddes, Anne    5. General    6. Individual Photographer    7. Life Stages - Infants & Toddlers/Infants    8. Parenting - Motherhood    9. Photo Techniques    10. Photography    11. Photography Of Specific Subjects    12. Photography of infants    13. Pictorial works    14. Subjects & Themes - Children    15. Gift books    16. Photographs: portraits    17. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Reviews (1)

Killer Cowboy Kate, Beauty and Art have never been so mutually exclusive.
Buy this book now, It's going to be devoured by those in the know and it will cost you a fortune! Ethereal and magical are one way to describe Sam Haskins photos, also sexy and fabulous are good adjectives. It would be hard to choose. I ordered this book knowing that it was, and is, a classic, but had no idea of the impact these photos would have. You can tell by the cover that you are in for an emotionally charged ride that you will never forget. There is a slim narrative running throughout these photos, but you as the viewer are allowedto create your own story , and what a story it is. Kate and her cohorts are iconic babes that transcend the 60's. The girl's sheer beauty and playfulness will make you gasp, and even chuckle at their bodaciousness. I won't give away any secrets, but the photo's are remastered and gloriouslybeautiful.You..must...order...now! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Individual Photographer    2. Photo Techniques    3. Photography    4. Individual photographers    5. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Editorial Review

They had faces then, in the golden age of Hollywood when a publicity photo could make or break a star. The visual power of George Hurrell's portraits, with their Rembrandtesque lighting and dramatic poses, shaped the careers of such stars as Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Jane Russell, and did as much or more to establish them as their film performances. Mark Vieira, who adopted Hurrell's techniques and uses them to this day, explains how the master portraitist lit and retouched his photographs--a portrait of Crawford before and after retouching reveals what an artist the one-time painter really was--and analyzes their impact. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
This book -- how beautiful.I have photography books by several of the great portrait photographers of the 20th Century, and this one is the best.There are a wealth of photographs, and the story of Hurrell's life is also interesting.If you ever thought about seriously learning about photography and taking some good pictures, this book will take any hesitation out of your mind.Gorgeous!!

Hurrell's Hollywood Portraits
This book is everything I expected.The pictures are great and the text very informative.I am enjoying it very much and it is a valued addition to my film library.

EXCELLENT BOOK! Vieira's mastery of the written word brings that era to life.
I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through and then reading this beautiful tribute to the legendary work of George Hurrell.As compelling as Hurrell's photos are it is the author's indepth knowledge and understanding of Hollywood and Hurrell that set this book apart.
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Subjects:  1. 1904-1992    2. Glamour photography    3. Hurrell, George,    4. Individual Photographer    5. Individual Photographers And Their Work    6. Motion picture actors and actr    7. Motion picture actors and actresses    8. Photo Essays    9. Photography    10. Portraits    11. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts    14. Chapman, Bill    15. Films, cinema    16. History Of Art / Art & Design Styles    17. Hurrell, George    18. Individual artists    19. Inter-war period, 1918-1939    20. Photograph collections    21. Photographs: portraits    22. Second World War, 1939-1945    23. USA   

Reviews (2)

Photography of David Hamilton
Absolutely yummy!! The Best of David Hamilton
What is there not to like about David Hamilton's photography? "The Best of..." doesn't begin to cover the breadth of his art, but is an excellent taste of his work.It captures the beauty of nature, youth, maturity, eroticism, sensuality, thought,humor, curiosity, tranquility through the eyes of his lenses, and his own stylistic interpretation. "The Best of...." is, in a phrase, relaxation for the eyes. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Photography   

Reviews (2)

Alien among us
Hans Rudi Giger, a direct descendant of Hieronymus Bosch, H.P. Lovecraft and Salvador Dali, is a unique artist whose works depict cosmological visions and nightmarish dream-state revelations. As you leaf through the glorious illustrations in 'H.R. Giger's Biomechanics', you begin to realize that it takes a deviant personality to create deviant art of this caliber. The kind of paintings on display here are something nobody could conceive without total 24/7 commitment to unleashing the subconscious for all the world to see.
Good introduction to his more complicated works
This was the first book of his that I bought. It is very well done like all the rest. It is a good book to get your "feet wet" and to decide if you want to go any further into his work. I liked it very much, and recommend it as an introduction. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. (Hansruedi),    2. 1940-    3. 20th Century Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Giger, H. R    7. Individual Artist    8. Special Effects (Cinematography)    9. Themes, motives    10. Illustration & commercial art    11. Individual artists    12. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (5)

An AbsolutelyInspiring Book
A truly beautiful book, with rich photographs and nice summaries. Inspiring to the last page - and particularly useful for igniting one's creative juices. A small note to the Amazon reviewer: Andy Goldsworthy was born in England in 1956. He lives in Penpont, Scotland, but is English - not Scottish.

Astonishing natural art
In "Stone," as in his other books, Andy Goldsworthy takes the natural play of a child--fooling around with sticks, leaves, water, stones, mud, and more--and elevates it to something above and beyond its natural status.He uses his adult design skills to create great manmade beauty from existing natural beauty.He never falls over the line into obvious, coy, or precious art--he simply lets nature be what it is with a tiny little bit of rearranging on his part. breathtaking simple beauty of nature & imagination
Andy Goldsworthy's art is so inspiring.In this book, the art pieces focus on, as the title says, stone.It's unbelievable.He just unveils so much magic in the world with his brilliant thinking."Otherworldly" is surely the word to describe how much of the art in this book feels.I keep thinking it couldn't possibly be this planet, but I suppose it's not even a planet anymore; it's the mind of the artist.Time also plays a significant role in this art.He builds pieces with the intent to photograph it when the day moves & the light hits it a certain way.Or he builds things that the incoming tide tears apart.In a piece I love in this book, he gathered ice from a lake & put it on the shade side of a rock.The ice gradually melted & was shed.I wish I could have listened & watched.Something that adds so wonderfully to this book's beauty made from such simple natural materials is that he also accompanies photographs with very Haiku-like, very poetic, short descriptions of the art pieces & how they existed in time & in the act of his making them. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1956-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. Goldsworthy, Andy,    6. Individual Artist    7. Individual Photographers And Their Work    8. Outdoor sculpture    9. Photography of sculpture    10. Sculpture    11. Themes, motives    12. Photographs: collections    13. Science / Geology   

Features

• Box set

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    4. History - Contemporary (1945- )    5. Individual Artist    6. Sculpture    7. Catalogues raisonnes   

Editorial Review

To achieve the quiet beauty of his art, Andy Goldsworthy spends long hours in rough weather, engaged in a tug-of-war with nature. He wrestles heavy stones on top of one another to form tall, egg-shaped landmarks known as cairns. He painstakingly covers fallen logs with bright golden bands of Dutch elm leaves—a last hurrah for a proud species decimated by disease. He pulverizes white chalk to lay a long, wandering path in the woods that gleams in the moonlight. Works like these are as much about the transience of life as they are about a sense of place and the pleasures of color, light and form. In Read more

Reviews (2)

A modern naturalist
When I first heard of Goldsworthy my temptation was to label his art as New Agey because of his interaction with natural mediums and his works' outdoor settings.This would have been a gross mislabeling.I've also heard the term "environmental artist" bandied about, but that is just far too vague and I'm hoping we don't adopt that as part of our art-appreciation vocabulary.I think Goldsworthy and Christos are grouped together under that title, but they couldn't be more dissimilar.Christos' works always so statement oriented and meant to be observed from a distance, while Goldsworthy's evocative sculptures and leaf paintings invite you to examine them more closely and admire how well they fit into the landscape.And though his art is made from natural materials and dependent on the elements, the works themselves are very modern.Passage was the first book of Goldsworthy's work that I've been given, though I've seen some of his smaller pieces and photos in several galleries.
amazing
The pictures in this book are once again amazing - and also very touching. It's easy to forget the time when you flip through this book and read the artist's remarks about certain works. The artist is simply a genius. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1956-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Goldsworthy, Andy,    5. Individual Artist    6. Sculpture    7. Art / Individual Artist   

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (6)

Great recipes, easy steps, wonderful results.
This book puts you on the fast track to grafting the styles of famous artists into your own work through more than five dozen easy-to-follow recipes. Not surprisingly, you'll find yourself learning more than you originally expected to about Photoshop.

not-so-fast ...
Earlier this year I reviewed what many will see as the companion volume to this book ("Photoshop Blending Modes Cookbook for Digital Photographers"), written by the same author. Unfortunately, the newer publication is less useful. It seems to have been written on a pretext that it's clever to be able to duplicate what traditional artists can do. This seems - from my own personal viewpoint - to be greatly undervaluing the power of Photoshop (and similar software). Practitioners of digital fine art should (really, constructively) be looking to explore what the principles of prior and traditional art can mean within a new domain.
Excellent!
Wonderful effects for the artistically inclined.The recipes in this book truly are easy to reproduce.You can apply these techniques to any of your digital photos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computer Graphics - Design    3. Computer Graphics - Game Programming    4. Computers    5. Computers - Other Applications    6. Operating Systems - Macintosh    7. Operating Systems - Windows    8. Computers / Computer Graphics / Design    9. Computers / Other Applications    10. Computers/Operating Systems - Macintosh    11. Computers/Operating Systems - Windows    12. Digital techniques    13. Image processing    14. Photography    15. photoshop, adobe, digital photography, digital effects, photoshop effects, artistic forgery, artistic effects, daguerreotypes, calotypes, tintypes, pre-raphaelites, muybrudge, stieglitz, man ray, lissitzky, paul strand, edward weston, walker evens, dorothea lange, answel adams, bill brandt, henri cartier-bresson, brassai, cecil beaton, yousuf karsh, irving penn, arnold newman, angus mcbean, ernst haas, les krims, don mccullin, jerry uelsmann, david bailey, robert mapplethorpe, annie liebowitz, david hockney, sebastiao salgado, martin parr, mick kent, mantegna, da vinci, durer, caravaggio, el greco, rembrandt, vermeer, turner, caspar david friedrich, impressionism, seurat, van gogh, gauguin, cezanne, whistler, munch, hokusai, chagall, modigliani, picasso, futurists, salvador dali, hopper, o'keefe, grant wood, diego rivera, warhol, lichtenstein   

Reviews (7)

Very well written. Answers questions artists like myself have
Very well written. Answers important questions artists like myself have about reed and quill pens, inks, etc. that Vincent used. If you enjoy working in pen and ink this book provides lots of exciting details. Such as Vincent's method of drawing in pencil and heightening in pen and ink and his common sense method of making the paintings proportional to his drawing paper dimensions.
Vincent Van Gogh:The Drawings--beautiful to look at and a great reference!
This is an excellent book.It is beautifully illustrated, making it a lovely overview of Van Gogh's drawings, visually-speaking.
A different perception on a 'known' man.
Van Gogh:You say the name and 'scream', picture a world of madness, body parts and 'what must he have been doing to paint this?'But these drawings...the application of thoughtfullness, sensitivity..a simultaneous perception and understanding.Something may have happened later on, but do not let the simple minded sully the portrayal of a genius at work.Gordon ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1853-1890    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Exhibitions    7. General    8. Gogh, Vincent van,    9. History - General    10. Individual Artist    11. Art / Individual Artist    12. Drawing & drawings    13. Individual artists   

Reviews (2)

poor quality
not worth it. very low quality paper, low quality reproductions, bad ink.... publisher has put his profit over any quailty for the reader.

High water mark of renaissance painting
This remarkable show (and catalogue) is a summary of Venetian painting from 1500 to 1530, allowing a side by side comparison of the work of Bellini, Giorgione, and Titian in what was one of Venice's astonishing high water marks of artistic creativity.
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Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Exhibitions    5. History - General    6. History - Renaissance    7. Italy    8. Painting, Italian    9. Painting, Renaissance    10. Venice    11. Art / General    12. High Renaissance (c 1500-1530)    13. Painting & paintings   

Reviews (1)

David Hockney as Curator
"The Definitive Retrospective" sounds a bit unctuous and presumptuous for a book of selected paintings from an artist's enormous output, but when the artist himself makes the title, we pay attention. This is a splendid picture book with minimal writing and conversation put together by Hockney and Gregory Evans, a book that surveys almost every aspect of this prodigious artist's career.To a point. The book was published in 2004 and Hockney is still painting daily!
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Hockney, David    4. Individual Artist    5. Individual Painters - Contemporary    6. Themes, motives    7. Art / General   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    4. Individual Artist    5. Popular Culture - General   

Editorial Review

This lavish but manageable book is the catalog for one of the most successful van Gogh exhibitions ever (at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., through January 3, 1999, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from January 17, 1999, to April 4, 1999). Judging from the haunting, beautifully reproduced paintings and drawings in the book--which range from the iconic to the rarely seen--it is easy to see why hordes of people keep pressing through overcrowded galleries to get a glimpse of the originals. The ones here are all from the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, where most of Vincent's work resides. Read more

Reviews (6)

the most original artist of his time
Vincent van Gogh is the artist who I feel I relate to most on a personal level. His demons are my demons. His yearning to some day find "the right girl" is my yearning. His spiritual faith in God is my spiritual faith. His weaknesses are my weaknesses. His strengths are my strengths. I'm very fond of van Gogh. He made many mistakes, including getting involved in a doomed love affair with a prostitute, or how he cut off his earlobe in a fit of anguish. Well, okay, I identify with him but that's something I've never been tempted to do haha. Vincent was a troubled and tormented and deeply under-appreciated artist in his day, only managing to sell one or two paintings in his life. Now he is among the very most popular. His works sell for many millions, even minor works. A GREAT JOURNEY WITH VAN GOGH
One of the best pieces that I ever read explaining paintings along the different periods which were passed by Van Gogh. Also, it gives a complete ride through his life and personality.

A Quality Work!!
I have this book and I am so glad ,I discovered it. I am, a painter,andhave always been influenced by Van Goghs work. However most of the books Iown do not have very good quality , printing .This book however isexcellent! It is very close to , standing in front of the originalpainting. I would recomend this book to anyone that loves Van Gogh. I am soproud to make this book a part of my art library. Get it while you can!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1853-1890    2. Amsterdam    3. Art    4. Art & Art Instruction    5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    6. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - Museum    7. European    8. Exhibitions    9. Gogh, Vincent van,    10. Individual Artist    11. National Gallery Of Art - Exhibition Catalogs    12. Netherlands    13. Painting    14. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam    15. Art / General    16. Gogh, Vincent van    17. Impressionism    18. Individual artists    19. Museum, historic sites, gallery & art guides    20. Painting & paintings    21. Post-Impressionism   

Reviews (3)

Young man crazy about this book
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
Excellent printing and selection, a great book for art reference or read.

The definitive collection
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Asian    4. Individual Artist    5. Techniques - Painting    6. Art / Individual Artist    7. History of art & design styles: c 1800 to c 1900    8. Individual artists    9. Prints & printmaking   

Reviews (4)

The Uncommon Power of Common Things
Wall is a visual journey into the uncommon power and beauty of common things. Stones, leaves, a blade of grass. Rushes, thorns, the splash of water on a quiet rock. In the thoughtful hands of artist Andy Goldsworthy, these ordinary landscape artifacts are pressed, moved, shaped and juxtaposed, then left to melt back into earth over time. When viewing Goldsworthy's art, one thinks of the rapt attention of a child, who sees possibility in every fallen branch. Yet, the overall impression is philosophical in nature. Even the person who claims little understanding of art can find a way to enter in, especially with the help of Baker's essay. A beautiful read, a beautiful look.

Another flight of imagination from inimitable Goldsworthy
Imagine that you're a giant playing with pebbles in your backyard.There's a big puddle nearby, and a lot of weeds.You idly pick up pebble after pebble, placing them gently one on top of the other, winding what ends up being a wall through the weeds until it gets to the edge of the puddle.That's the deliciously disconcerting feeling you'll get as you page through Andy Goldsworthy's "Wall." Thoughts from a bent back
As one of the wallers involved in the building of Andy's wall at Storm King, I can honestly say that this book gives a really good insight into the ideas behind his work and some of the technicalities involved in its construction. The photography is wonderful and the text informative. This book is well worth a look, and so is the wall itself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1956-    2. Art    3. Art & Art Instruction    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions - General    5. Design - General    6. Dry stone walls    7. Exhibition Catalogs    8. Goldsworthy, Andy,    9. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)    10. Individual Artist    11. Mountainville    12. New York (State)    13. Outdoor sculpture    14. Walls in art    15. Art / General    16. Goldsworthy, Andy    17. Individual artists    18. Installations   

Reviews (2)

Nan Goldin's Magnum Opus
DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND is a lap-heavy, huge tome of the creative photographs of Nan Goldin, many of which have never before been published.Goldin is know throughout the museums of the world as a photographer who knows no barriers for her subject matter: AIDS victims, mental patients, transvestites, poor families, rural landscapes, constructed still lifes - these are but a few of the categories studied and captured by Goldin.For this full color volume Goldin selected the layout and the progression of sections, making the flow of the book even more fascinating; the book is one where she is both artist and curator and the result is a powerhouse of statement.
Devil's Playground
No other word for it except MAGNIFICENT!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Essays    2. Individual Photographer    3. Photo Essays    4. Photoessays & Documentaries    5. Photography    6. Individual photographers    7. Photography / Individual Photographer   

Reviews (1)

A Very Personal and Tender Survey of the Works of David Hockney
David Hockney is an artist whose works are familiar to everyone, whether from exposure to his many museum shows, his paintings and drawings included in every major survey of contemporary art, to his magical sets for operas such as The Magic Flute, Die Frau Ohne Schatten, The Rake's Progress, Tristan und Isolde, etc.
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Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. Fine Arts (Specific Aspects)    4. General    5. History - Contemporary (1945- )    6. Individual Artist    7. Portraiture    8. Subjects & Themes - Portraits    9. Art / General