Arts!

A selection of our new and noteworthy materials on the Performing Arts as well as other Fine Arts

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Alternative Histories: New York Art Spaces, 1960 to 2010

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"In some 400 pages this book provides thumbnail sketches of more than 140 alternative spaces and related organizations, including the artist-run restaurant Food, Bomb magazine and the activist group Gran Fury... This is an indispensable source boo that leaves you wanting more--specifically, individual studies of some of the organizations it covers. It stands as a vibrant and irrefutable evidence of what happens when people take things into their own hands." "The New York Times"

Monday, January 14, 2013

Drawing Projects: An Exploration of the Language of Drawing

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Library Journal (12/01/2012):
This unusual volume profiles the working process of ten contemporary emerging and established artists working in the medium of drawing, with 15 related projects for the reader to work through.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

George Bellows

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Library Journal (11/01/2012):
In association with the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, which is currently holding a major George Bellows retrospective, this account of Bellows's paintings, drawings, and graphic art has 12 contributions, each written by a different scholar. The result, edited by Brock (associate curator, American & British paintings, National Gallery of Art; "American Modernism: The Shein Collection"), is a lively and comprehensive consideration of Bellows, the Ashcan School artist known for his modernist figurative depictions of life in the first two decades of the 20th century. Bellows's art famously covered wide subject matter, including New York tenement life; Woodstock, VT, townscapes; Monhegan, ME, seascapes; and boxing matches and portraiture. No other volume solely on Bellows's work has been published in decades, though he has appeared in books about the Ashcan School, such as the recent "An American Experiment: George Bellows and the Ashcan School" by David Peters Corbett. The Bellows retrospective will move on to New York's Metropolitan Museum and London's Royal Academy. This well-written book will appeal to art lovers in the three cities hosting the exhibit, and anyone interested in the Ashcan School or New York in the 1910s and '20s. VERDICT This is a fresh look at an artist due for a book-length treatment.--Kathryn Wekselman, Cincinnati, OH Copyright 2012 Reed Business Information.

The Art of Urban Sketching: Drawing on Location Around the World

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Library Journal (06/01/2012):
Campanario founded the nonprofit organization Urban Sketchers, and this book showcases the work of over 100 artists worldwide who draw scenes from the cities where they live and travel, posting them at urbansketchers.org. The concept caught on fast, and new groups are forming around the world, connecting with each other online. Here, Campanario offers guidance on tools, techniques, the urban environment, and drawing styles, but the main strength of this book is the 500-plus full-color examples of successful sketches drawn in metropolises and towns all over the globe. VERDICT Part travel book, part art instruction, this is a great guide to look at before (or instead of) your next vacation. Copyright 2012 Reed Business Information.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous

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In this sexy, bold book, Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Brian Smith tells the stories behind the photos and lessons learned in 30 years of photographing celebrities and people from all walks of life. 

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art from Egypt to Star Wars


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The ever-provocative Paglia returns with a survey of Western art, captured in 24 essays that move from Egyptian tombs to Eleanor Antin's conceptual art project "100 Boots". In the end, she proclaims that the avant-garde is dead and that George Lucas is our greatest living artist. This will get the smart folks talking. Copyright 2012 Reed Business Information. Library Journal (05/01/2012):

Monday, November 5, 2012

Aperture Magazine Anthology: The Minor White Years, 1952-1976

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Published on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, this is the first ever anthology of "Aperture" magazine. This long-awaited overview provides a selection of the best critical writing from the first 25 years of the magazine--the period spanning the tenure of cofounder and editor Minor White. "Aperture" was established in 1952 by a group of photographers, including Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Barbara Morgan and historian-curators Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. Their intention was to provide a forum "in which photographers can talk straight to each other, discuss the problems that face photography as profession an art, share their experiences, comment on what goes on, descry the new potentials." With its far-ranging interests in diverse photographic styles, myriad themes and subjects (including a strong streak of spirituality in diverse forms) and an adventurous commitment to a broad international range, "Aperture" has had a profound impact on the course of fine-art photography. The texts and visuals in this anthology were selected by Peter C. Bunnell, White's protege and an early member of the "Aperture" staff, who went on to become a major force in photography as an influential writer, curator and professor. Several articles are reproduced in facsimile, and the publication is enlivened throughout by other features, including a portfolio of exceptional covers, as well as a selection of the colophons (short statements or quotes) that appeared at the front of each magazine.